Kevin's 67 Camaro
 

Ok here it goes, I am NOT new to the site but have been fairly quiet on here. I was kind of holding out on posting my project because the progress has been painfully slow. I bought it back in Jan of 06 while going to school. I was taking a ten month CNC machinist program that also started me off as a first year apprentice. Here is the car in 06 when I brought it home.
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/554a163f.jpg
It was in very good shape, and the gaps were perfect throughout. I should have just painted it and drove it. The only problem was the previous owner had shaved the door handles and trunk lock, along with the filler cap; it also had a makeshift roll pan on the back:rolleyes: It was all cool, but not quite what I wanted.
Moving on, I finished my machinist course with a scholarship and a job working for a pipe threading company in Edmonton. I ended up doing my practicum with the company, but did not like the repetitiveness, or the city for that matter so I moved back home where I was offered a job at the restoration shop I bought the car from.
I thought this was going to be great, I would get to learn the skills to do all the work on my car myself leaving money to buy some of the items on my growing wish list: A Viper T-56 from DandD performance, DSE minitubs, quadralink, hydroformed subframe, and Fikse profile 5-S wheels.

Shortly after starting at the body shop I tore the car down, and began working on it. First off was getting rid of the ugly roll pan that was on the back of the car, and getting the door handles back in which lead me to this
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/d0df3e20.jpg
I was not overly happy with the original tail pan once I got the roll pan removed so I ordered a new one. Then I got looking at the quarters, and decided to replace them; not because of rust but because of some minor damage lurking underneath.
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/ea799bdd.jpg

Somewhere along the way things got carried away. I ended up re-skinning the doors, the quarters, roof, and tail pan; installing mini tubs (twice), and stretching the outer wheel tubs to accommodate the 335/30/18's I had planned for the back. here are a few pics.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/24f2a40e.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/f1773c95.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/52b7b7bc.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/d60d0360.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/fd7634e3.jpg
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/011ca6ca.jpg
I have a lot more of this story to share so it will be continued.......

Nice project. Lets here the story :_paranoid

Great project! :thumbsup:

over the next year and a half I worked quite a bit on the car in the winter evenings and weekends; shaving the fire wall, relocating the wiper motor underneath the drivers side fender, stretching the trans tunnel an inch and a half for the t56, installing DSE subframe connectors, installing mini tubs, and building my own cross member for the t56/ 396 bbc combo I had originally planned on using. I was not able to work on it very much during the summers because I used to coach wakeboarding lessons, as well as going to competitions on days off and weekends.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/affbf532.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/03b5f93b.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/cef9ebe7.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/34670fd6.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/2ffa924e.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/5ac6da69.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/6e94c0fe.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/4cbb3c8f.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/28b6e0e7.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/35f5ef3b.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/dd9682f5.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/b9dbeabf.jpg

So this brings us to mid Feb of 2008.
more to come, I apologize for the poor pictures, I didn't realize how bad they are until I started posting them.

Nice project Kevin! Keep it coming!

:cheers:

Thanks for the comments guys, it's nice to have some support on here.

So now is where progress on my project pretty much stops. I was living in Calgary, AB taking my second year in autobody; living with my older brother who at the time was working as a geologist and decided he didn't like the city either. He had it in his head that he wanted to go farming. During my two months there he convinced me that it was a good idea as well. All we had to do was buy some really expensive equipment and take over the land our dad had rented out five years earlier.:_paranoid
Our first year had turned out quite well for us so in jan of 09 I quit the body shop to concentrate my efforts on the farm and help my parents out (in fall of 08 my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and my dad was fast approaching a kidney transplant, they are both recovering very well). Over the next three years my brother and I have taken our farm from 1500 acres to 7500, leaving very little time for my car. To keep the dream of my camaro alive I logged on to lat-g frequently, and kept purchasing parts; acquiring a short block LS7 with darton sleeves, katech pistons, and a callies crank, along with a set of fikse profile 5s's, and some wilwood 14" brakes front and rear.

This pretty much brings us up to date. I have been trying to find some spare time to work on my car this winter; so far I have installed a DSE quad link and have a 9" from DSE on order along with some ls headers, engine mounts, and a battery relocation kit. ::woot:

I will move this thread to the project updates when I have some new pictures for you. To hold you over here is a crappy pic from my phone.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/bc280aa8.jpg

That's a nice story about patience and perseverance... like many members' builds on here.:thumbsup:

Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Nice work Kevin. Iphone pic looks great. :thumbsup:

Very nice story indeed. Car looks great and that phone pic is better than some people's camera pics these days. :D

Saw the pic of you and your bro and the farm equipment in the other thread... very cool too. :thumbsup:

7500 acres... I'd be happy with .75 acres where I live. :willy:

Thanks Compos, I have wanted this car since I was 14 so I will not give up on it. It is because of all the other builds on here like mine that kept me motivated.

Thanks Track junky,
Actually it s a blackberry, I expected to get a bit of flack for that pic; to me it looks blurry.
I will probably make the switch to an iphone once this one dies.


Thanks Flash, About half of the land is rented, and the other half is owned by the bank at the moment, so don't be to jealous.
I have read your build thread, I definitely envy you, being able to use your car, and have fun with it like you appear to be having.

Thanks again for the comments guys.
:cheers:

Awesome build Kevin! Move this over to the projects section...:yes:

The car looks great!:thumbsup:

That crossmember looks good. It has given me a couple ideas for the one I am working on.

I look forward to seeing more progress

Will do Ron, as soon as I have an update.

If I were to do it again I would build it so the cross bar is on the rear side of the trans mount; I think I could have tucked it up a little more.
Here are a couple more pics for you, again not the best quality.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/5e6a3b0c.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/c73d499b.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/b86e5a82.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/0241ed88.jpg

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Nice work on the 67, definitely post more pictures when you have some. Thanks for looking at my 67 thread.
Michael

Nice work Kevin,

Work like your keeps me inspired, I know the feeling.

Really like where you are heading with this. How about some specifics .. Tire and wheel size , backspace, How wide is the rear, etc . Also do you have anymore pics of the tub modifications .....Looking for ideas for my 67 . I am ready to starting hanging sheetmetal on mine and I think I want to mod the outer tubs to get the car down lower. I am putting DSE inner tubs in mine also.

The rears are 18x12 with 5.375" bs, and the fronts have not been measured yet.
The tire sizes are 335/30/18, and 275/35/18
sorry I don't really have any detailed pics of the tub stretch.
I tried to explain it below but it is kind of hard to follow. (sorry it's late)

First I drew a line on the tub where I wanted to cut it, I made the cut go quite a ways down the tub.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/ea799bdd.jpg

Then I put the 1/4 panel back on and clamped the inner tub to it; then I pulled them out to where I felt the 1/4 would still fit properly(gaining about 3/4"). Then I tacked a brace to the inside of the tub to hold it in place.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/519f5d57.jpg

When I pulled the 1/4 off again and shaped the lip it looked something like this^^

Next step is filling in the gap with some new 16 gauge metal.

Note during the shaping process I had to cut the structure out and trim it up in order to raise the tub for more clearance.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/432665f7.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/01ce87b2.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/52b7b7bc.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/2cf12eae.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/8592963a.jpg

Nice surgery!
 

Kevin ... that's how I envisioned the stretch the first time I saw the pictures, very nice :hail:

Michael

Very slick ..... Lot more work than I envisioned but that looks like the right way to accomplish sitting low .....I like it ...! Do you happen to have any pictures of the car sitting on the ground yet ....curious how high the body is in relation to the tire

Not yet, that will be the next update though; my new 9" housing should be here on monday then I can set the car on the wheels to see how it all looks.

Now why didn't I ever think of that. Love the way you did your tubs. They are coming out perfect.

Tip on how to take better pics...lay off the peyote :lolhit: just kidding

Cant wait to see it on the ground .......! :thumbsup:

Nice job Kevin keep us updated.

Here is a small update. I was able to get my rear end installed to see how everything fits, so far so good. I have lots of room, it should sit pretty low, and nothing will hit when I have people in the back, or am cornering hard.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/4f190929.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/2b166aeb.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/043a7de8.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/1e21cd6e.jpg

Next I have to measure my off set for the front. I wanted to try and fit a 10" wheel with 275's but I think I will have to stretch the fenders a bit to do so.
I am undecided of what to do there.

Will the car go any lower than it is now ? Did you mod the outer 1/4 opening for clearence ? Are you using coilover shocks and 4-bar in the rear ?
Sorry for all the questions .....! What you are doing is what I am wanting to do to mine.
The car looks great so far !!!!

I could probably set it down another 1.5" with not to many problems but then the subframe will only be 2.5" to 3" off the ground. The way it is now when it is on the ground my knees are level with the body line through the middle of the door, and I am only 5'8". I have not trimmed the quarter lip yet, I am going to cut about half inch off of that, and I am using a DSE quad link with their double adjustable shocks.

DSE Rear
 

Kevin .... looks nice, what were the rear end measurements that you gave DSE and did they weld their brackets prior to shipping?
As always thanks,
Michael:thumbsup:

looks great!

Awesome job.This is going to be an outstanding build.:thumbsup:

Micheal,
The rear width is 52.875" hub to hub, then add .185" for each rotor hat and you end up with 53.245 (53.25")

Thanks guys,
It has not come easy for me thats for sure. I appreciate the kind words:lateral:

Looking good!

Looks great Kevin. I like the stance a lot.

Cant wait to see this on the floor .....! :yes:

Any new updates ........ Got it on the floor yet .....?

Sorry, not yet. I have ordered my front wheels from Fikse though.... not too sure when they will be here. I have been super busy with work so not a lot of time to work on my car.

Looking forward to following this build thread! Looks great so far!

I guess i do have some small updates. They have nothing to do with the stance though.
I have spent a little time cleaning up the welds from the quadlink install, I also recessed the battery mount. I saw this on Kyle Bush's camaro over on the DSE site and copied it.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/cbe129c3.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/3c984981.jpg

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I like that nice touch..

Its been a while ...... Anything new to show us ...... ! Love the build and cant wait to see more of it ........!