Quarter Panel Replacement Video
 

The quarter panels were hiding rust and previous crash damage "Lou's Change", so we replaced them with a pair of full quarter panels from Classic Industries. This video explains a few tips to replacing quarter panels successfully.

Lou's Change Hood
 

In this chapter, the V8 Speed & Resto crew creates a custom hood for the 1969 Camaro called "Lou's Change" featuring a new carbon fiber insert from a 2013 Camaro ZL1. The hood reflects the Steinhauser Design rendering, incorporating new design elements into the original '69 shape for a fresh take on a classic design.

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I remember when we started the project how badly I wanted to retain the stock SS hood since I always liked that design so much.

Now, I wouldn't want any other hood design on this particular car more than what we ended up with.

It's always cool when people work together and leverage their various talents. Often, as in this case, obstacles and problems have a neat way of turning into new opportunities.

Lou I love the car. You and your son did an awesome job coming up with the idea's for the design, and you picked some great people to work with. Kevin and the crew did some beautiful work, and I love the job they did on the hood. Its a Beautiful car!

Well, the car has been home for a few months now.

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Dave Mikels recommends I put a couple hundred more miles on the car before we do the final calibration on the chassis dyno.
That should help minimize rear end noise down the road and assure everything else has been sorted before really beating on the car.

Tony, the GM tech who installed the engine upgrades recommended by Dave and Thomson Automotive, stopped by to check the car out. I asked him to sign the car too.

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While the car is not yet ready to beat on, I took it to Gateway when the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge series was in town.
They offer an option to enter in just the design and cruise portion of the event. I learned a lot by observing and talking to people during the event.
I found everyone there to be VERY outgoing, friendly, and wanting to offer help if needed, in any way they could.

Unfortunately, while they did "judge" my car for design, they apparently do not tell you how you scored unless you also race.
Oh well, I really went to learn more than compete anyway.

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As is usual on total builds like this, there are numerous things that show up and need sorting/tweaking.

This is the phase when you find out which manufacturers and service providers really meant it when they told you how much they care about your enjoyment of their products and services.

I've found that some really meant it and some couldn't care less once they no longer saw me as a source of additional revenue.

Most everyone already knows this but Detroit Speed really means it when they tell you they want you to enjoy their parts.

I ran into Kyle and Stacy on separate occasions during the event. They both made it a point to say I should let them know if I needed anything at all, anytime.

I took Stacy up on the offer and asked her to sign my car. Kyle had already signed it at SEMA.

Check out what she wrote next to her name:

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The cruise part of the event was fun. It was cool to park among such high class company for a couple of days.

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You built a very nice car Lou,one to be proud of for sure.This car will look great anywhere you park it:trophy-1302:

Amen to that!!

It's surprising to see how many companies are very short sighted and place no value on customer service. It's as if they either do not care or are unaware of the impact poor customer service has on their bottom line. Bizarre mentality in the age of the internet.

As I type, I'm tallying up the sales companies have lost just due to people contacting me and asking my opinion of the products on my car. I know for a fact that two engine makers have lost at least half a dozen sales between them because of my negative review. Two wheel manufacturers have lost four sales between them. One radiator manufacturer most likely lost two sales in the last two weeks alone. Who knows how many sales are lost when I speak my mind at car events... but my guesstimate is I speak to maybe a thousand people a year at cruises and get togethers.

:thumbsup: Great company! I bought a C&R Radiator through them a couple weeks ago. Could have ordered direct from C&R but I'm such a fan of DSE that I ordered it from them.

I'm bringing my Sharpie to Good Guys Scottsdale. Maybe I can get the faster Tucker to sign my car, too.

Oh, and orange Camaros rule. :lol:

Trend Setter
 

You have such a great car. Starts with having a vision, being able to communicate the decision to the builder, and seeing it through to completion. It's unfortunate that some companies drop the ball after the sale. What worse is that this happens at many different levels in the auto industry. After nearly 30 years working for OEM auto makers it's amazing the issues that they have to deal with from suppliers that say "It's not my part that's the problems after a 2 hr powerpoint presentation on the issue and the research to identify the problem.

I was so fascinated with the build that I followed all the episodes on V8TV, checked their website for updates, and eventually downloaded all the video clips from YouTube at 1080p so that I could watch them on my big screen tv freezing it to study details that I couldn't see on my PC monitor.

Really outstanding build and vision. My project vision is far more modest, but Kevin and his crew certainly show a lot to think about in a build plan and how to be flexible when changes occur for some reason.

I hope that you are enjoying it in spite of the issues that have been coming up. And you have to love Staci's signature - definitely being the 2nd to sign has it's advantages.

Rod

Still LOVE this car Lou, I saw it in person this past fall in Rosemont so nice!! You really don't get all the details until you see up close and in person!!