My Dynacorn 1969 Convertible Body Camaro
 

I have been watching cars on Lateral-G for about a year, but I just joined today. As the title indicates, I am building a car from scratch utilizing the Dyanacorn convertible body. This is my 4th car to build, and based on past experiences I anticipate it will be another year and a half before this one is done. So, I guess I am asking that everyone be patient with me. Here are the details in list format:

Body Modifications:
Inset round brushed aluminum bezeled A/C vents in the dash
Firewall partially smoothed
Mini-tubs from DSE
RS headlight assemblies converted to electric utilizing the Retro-Electric conversion kit
Marquez design parking/blinker lights converted to driving lights
Marquez design RS tail light bezels
Foam insulation (Great Stuff) sprayed into all void spaces in the body

Drivetrain/Suspension:
Merlin X block based all aluminum 540 CID fuel injected motor
TKO 600 5 spd. transmission from Keisler
Ford 9" rear end from Currie
Wayne Due subrame utilizing C-4 Corvette components and QA-1 coil overs, power rack and pinion steering
Air Ride technologies triangulated four link rear suspension utilizing QA-1 coil overs rather than air bags
Global West subframe connectors and DSE solid body mounts
13" Corvette ZR-1 breaks with Baer Eradispeed rotors up front; and 12" Baer brakes in the rear
Fikse FM-10 wheels on Michelen tires - 18"X9.5" up front and 18"X11" in the rear
Ron Davis aluminum radiator with dual 13" fans and custom overflow reservoir
Rick's Hot Rod Shop stainless gas tank
3" exhaust with 4"X14" round Magnaflow mufflers used as resonators and 4"X14" oval Magnaflow mufflers (I like it quiet)

Interior:
Deluxe door panels and quarters with brushed stainless inserts
Black leather Corbeau front seats, with the rear seat narrowed (for the mini-tubs) and stitched to match the fronts
DSE instrument panel painted gloss black with white faced and stainless bezeled Classic Instruments, round brushed aluminum bezeled Vintage Air A/C vents, matching round brushed aluminum headlight and wiper switches, Watson Streetworks oval brushed aluminum dual switch panel for driving lights and power top, Alpine head unit with brushed aluminum finish
Custom consol coverd in black leather, incorporating Vintage Air A/C controls and Watson Streetworks oval brushed aluminum quad switch panel for Electric Life power windows
Steering wheel - Undecided

Other:
DSE multi-speed wiper motor and switch kit
DSE polycarbonate halogen headlights
Dual Optima batteries mounted in trunk
American Autowire wiring with the fuse panel mounted in the trunk
Lots of relays for all of the accessories
Custom subwoofer box in trunk with a singl 10" sub
Vintage Air Compac II mounted using the DSE bracket
Vintage Air Front Runner set up
The car will be painted black, and the top will be black

There you go. My mail order G machine.

I will submit some photos of what has been done so far soon. At this point the instrument panel is done; the front suspension is on the powdercoated subframe; the mini-tubs and rear suspension are done; the headlight assemblies are converted to electric. That is about it. The rest of the parts are either in the rafters of my garage or in stacks on the floor.

I would be interested to hear about other people's experiences with Dynacorn bodies. Mine was built by American Muscle Cars in Southern California.

Not spoken with anyone
 

that has done a body like that. How has the fit and finish been?

Looks like you have quite the project going on....post pics

With a last name like that I figured you were writing from La....I spent some time in a little town out side of Baton Rouge called Gonzales.

Sounds like a good build.

I too would like to know how that body fits up.

Would also like to see how that Aluminum Merlin block works out for you.

Good Luck :thumbsup: .

Welcome and good luck!

Sounds like you have put alot of thought into this project and of course I'm interested in its progress.

I too would like to know your thoughts on the fit and finish of the body

Do you have an estimate cost and would youlike to share?

I would also like to know what others on the board feel about the AirBar w coilovers setup, I've been thinking about that myself.

Keep us posted and many pics please!!!

Rob

Sounds like a cool build we will need some pics......

-Paul

Welcome to the site. I'm glad you signed up, I'm looking forward to seeing it come together. :thumbsup:

As others have already said, we're real interested in your thoughts on the Dynacorn body and how it all works for you, especially the fitment and alignment of panels.

Dynacorn Body Build
 

All,
Thanks for the kind words. As far as the fit and finish of the body goes, as of right now my assessment is fair to good. The quarters will definitely need a little straightening. I am not real happy with how the quarters line up with the rockers or the rear panel. It is all definitely fixable, however it just means more body work, which of course means more money. Even though doors and a trunk lid are fitted to the body at the manufacturer, I am sure there will be work required to get my doors and trunk lid to line up properly. I have not yet mounted them though. The budget for the build is around $65K. I feel pretty comfortable with that since I have purchased just about every component at this point except for the engine and fuel injection. The X block is still not available. I have $8K budgeted for paint and body. I think this should be pretty close since no rust repair is required. I will be sure to get some pics out early next week. This week is busier than I hoped at work. The nerve of those guys encroaching on my social life.

Thanks again. I will also be looking at your projects soon!

PS The family is from LA, however I have been in TX all of my life.

There is a intersting thread at Camaors with someone forrm the manufacturer taking questions. Post 28 will be interesting when the answerrs come in

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showth...t=86875&page=2

Agreed Frank, the reply should be very interesting.

BThibodeaux

Thanks for sharing, $65000 to me sounds a bit low, is that including all the small stuff that you must get from Rick's or Year One. I've racked over a few grand on my vert and its a complete car.

Wiring, interior, weather strip, trim, all can add up very quickly

No way will that thing come together for 65k , good luck and i want to see some pics also .

Welcome to Lateral-g !!

This looks like a great project. Please post pictures.

I have thought about the dynacorn bodies quite a bit. The one big question I have not been able to get a straight answer to is: How do you get one of these cars registered and licensed without a real VIN. When I have asked this question to distributors I sort of get the wink wink knod knod donor car answer...implying that one would transfer the VIN from a donor car to the dynacorn body. Does anyone know?

-Tracy

while a lot of people will do that , it is completely illegal !! I know of many camaros that were prevoius firebirds now.

I was told that there are 8 vin's on everycar !!
I know i found at least 3-4 on my 70 GTO .

on the Camaros, it is the firwall and cowl numbers is it. Non Air Cars have 2 firewal numbers, A/C cars have one, then the top of the cowl.

Tracy, the VIN question is answer at the link I posted.

I was really suprised to notice from Ricks or others camaro parts catalog at the dynacorn body is "imported" ? If so where-mexico?

Tracy,
In Texas, it is fairly straight forward. I will have to complete a few forms, show proof of ownership for the body and most of the drive train components, and get the vehicle inspected by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
I have no intention of trying to obtain a donor VIN and title, or trying to pass the car of as an original Camaro in any way. If I did, you sure as heck would not see me participating in any open forum.

Datsbad/Rob/Frank,
If it costs more, it costs more. I will complete the car. As far as all of the small stuff goes, I have purchased it all, as well as obtained most of the things that are not yet reproduced. I bought most of the reproduced stuff from Classic Industries when they had one of their 20% off sales.

Rob/Frank,
I am also interested to see the reply to #28. I will be large pissed if I have the same issues with the doors. If Dynacorn claims to have pre-fit my body with doors and a trunk lid, and that much work is still required, I will be going after them. As far as the primer goes, I specifically ordered my body without it. I plan to strip the EDP off and start with bare metal.

All,
As promised, pics to come next week.

change vins
 

it is not illegal to take the vin and tags off a body and install them on the replacment body, i have done a few truck cab chanes etc due to damage and i swap all tags etc over to the new/used cab that is used. i know some uys here who build bikes, all they do is call the state police have them come inspect the bike and stamp it with a vin, this could also be done to a new kit car body, and no it does not make them a 2006 here either
jake

Probably Tiawan, like basically all other sheetmetal for these old cars.

Not sure how true, but my parts guys said as a rule of thumb, if it has that black primer, it's there to protect from the seawater/humidity when being shipped over here.

Doesn't C.A.R.S have a turn key option using a Dynacorn body? Has anyone looked into this?

BTib
what parts are not repro'd for the car that you had to get?

I really can'tr think of anything you can't buy for a 69 thats repro'd

Parts not yet reproduced for the 69 Camaro convertible
 

Rob,
The items not yet available for a 69 convertible are as follows:

Ash tray door on dash
Glove box door
A-Pillar weatherstrip channel (now available for coupes)
Convertible male hinge brackets
Convertible top frame attaching hardware (stuff that is not available at your local hardware store)
Quarter panel to floor braces (these are the bolt on braces inside the car) I have not found these yet.
Rear window access covers (only used in convertibles, and I still need em if you got em)
Rear seat frame
Convertible coctail shakers (I will not need to use these since I am doing some things to stiffen the frame, and I have a fully tunable suspension.)
Under dash bracket that the steering column, clutch and brake pedals, and brake master cylinder attach to.
Wiring covers that screw to the rockers inside the car.
Trunk catch bracket.
When I started pulling parts together earlier in the year, much of the window hardware was not yet available, so I bought it all used and had it replated. Most is now available though.

Well, that is about all I can think of. I am sure I am missing some things that I would not use even if they were available, like some of the original style A/C ductwork, etc.

I'm surprised that the hinge brackets and under dash bracket aren't part of the Dynacorn body.

As far as the Quarter panel to floor braces, if you mean the kidney bean shape looking things check Camaros.net there was a guy selling a pair awile ago, or atlest he had a set. Same for the Rear window access covers

Here are the harness covers: they should be the same for a vert http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-...QQcmdZViewItem

I'm floored that they don't make the ashtray and GB doors in repo....

As far as the rear seat, since this is a custom car think about a custom rear seat, some here, I believe, have used 4th gen rear seats and you can incorporate a cool arm rest with maybe some cup holders.

I wish I could help but I don't have any spare parts like what you need.

I would also look into a vintage ac unit and forget factory ducting...

You can't buy a reproduction wiper transmission either.. I found an NOS one and it cost me $250...

Non-reproduced parts
 

Steve,
The wiper transmission has been available for 7 or 8 months now through either Dynacorn or one of their dealers.

Rob,
I will be going with a custom rear seat and Vintage Air.

Thanks,
BT

Progress photos as of July 8, 2006 (message 1 of 2)
 

All,
Here are the progress photos I promised. There are more in the next thread.
Your feedback is appreciated!

Progress photos as of July 8, 2006 (Message 2 of 2)
 

Remaining pics.

Conspicuous by his absence, I cannot help but notice that Steve from CARS has disappeared from THE Information thread on "Camaro Bodies" over at Camaro's. Seemed to happen right after JC Autos post one week ago with troubles? I hope it is just a coincidence.

BT, mock up is looking cool.

Agree
 

Frank,
Thank you for the encouraging words. As you know very well, I have a long road ahead. However it will be fun (mostly). If my body had come from CARS, I would have picked up the phone by now and demanded a discussion with Steve. However, since it did not I will have to take the wait and see attitude with my Dynacorn body.

An issue I countered is that the rear frame rails are not centered. I know this is common on original Cars, but I really expected better from the new bodies. Then again, why should I expect a small shop to do better than GM. Additionally, after closer inspection since reading Cris' post on Camaro's I discovered that the passenger side quarter is not aligned well with the B pillar. As far as the rails are concerned, I centered the rear end to the car, which put the coilovers at different distances from the upper mounts. I will need to cut one of the shock mounts off of the Air Ride bracket and relocate it to get symetrical shock angles and a level rear end. I will find the culprit with the passenger side quarter when I get the doors on. However, I am afraid it will not be pretty. This will definitely put my paint and body budget of $8K somewhere higher. Who knows what else I or the body shop will find. So, budget, schmudget. Right??

Thanks,
BT

That has been (and still appears to be) the biggest issue with these bodies. Fit and finish will require a lot of metalwork to get it right.

Good luck and thanks for keeping us updated.

Jody

PThibodeax:

Looking at your pictures, you might have some issues with your rear tires rubbing.

Hopefully I am wrong.

Your build looks like a lot of fun.

tyoneal

Rear tire clearance
 

Ty,
I purposely pused them out as far as I could. They may look a little too far out due to the camera angle, however they do clear all the way through suspension travel.

Thanks,
BT

BT:

They look great. I hope mine will fill out the fender wells as effeciantly as yours.

Take Care,

tyoneal

BT lookin good keep up the good work.

Chris

That is looking good, I love the wheels...Fikse right???
The 8k paint and body budget should have been thrown out the window imediately after you thought of it . An 8 k paint job probably would not have made you to happy with the end product .


keep us posted . what are the specs on the wheels?

Fikse Wheels
 

Datsbad,
Thanks. The wheels are Fikse FM10. The fronts are 18X9.5 with 6.5" backspacing, and the rears are 18X11 with 5" backspacing. There is a good deal of room behind the rear wheels, and I could have easily fit 12" wheels with 6" backspacing.

As far as the paint and body goes, I will be using the guy in Houston who is considered the best in the area with 1st gen Camaros. I will pay what it costs, and it should be perfect at the end of the day.

P.S. FUEL turned out awesome!! I love the black.
I was thinking about calling my car X-rod since it is not a real Camaro, and will have the Merlin X-Block. Too corny?

Thanks,
BT

Mr.BThibodeaux does this car look familer to you, i bought it in houston about 1yr ago.by the way nice project :thumbsup:

Cam69,
Yep, you bought it from me in Sugar Land. You live in south Texas right? I hope you ripped that 307 out of it. It looks like you have a few projects there to keep you busy.

I recognized your last name,the 307 is still in ,just with some aluminum heads,cam,and alot more googies.those are projecs from customers were working on.i see you have asome project there looks very,very nice :thumbsup: :bow:

Ah, the pass side quarter rears it's ugly head once again. I have the same problem with my CARS built 69 vert body. I talked to the Year one guys at the Columbus GGs. They bought the blue car's body from CARS. The YR1 guys said there is something wrong with stamping around the floor on the pass side which leads to poor quarter fitment and issues lining up the leaf spring pocket. I have a DSE quad link under mine and I had to remove all of the adjustability of the swivel links in order to bolt the lower link arm into the leaf spring pocket.

I don't know about the SC shop that you got yours from, but CARS does not test fit the doors, deck lid and top prior to shipping. QA is completely absent. All of the stuff in the Hot Rod article is pure B.S. The pass door on my car fits like sh*T as does the deck lid. You can see where they have widened the tail pan bolt holes inorder to line it up with the inner structure. I haven't checked the angle of the a-pillars but YR1 said to expect them to be off. I am waiting until I have the sub underneath and all of the metal on before I continue to press CARS. I hope your car is put together better.

You are right, for 10Grand, I expect better.
A little about CARS inc:
No, I doubt they have built a car using their 17 digit VIN. The stamp they use is so weak that when they primer the car in that god awful red oxide, you can't read the numbers. They use the Federal Re-bodying act to transfer VINs from old wrecked verts to these new bodies being built for turn key. Their original plan was to issue a MSO and license their cars for the HOT ROD replicas in partnership with HOT ROD Magazine. Apparently customers do want to title their cars as 69 camaros for 90 grand so that is why they transfer VIN plates. I received a certificate of origin that does not state that they are a manufacturer (because they aren't), it only decribes that it is a replica body and it lists the serial number assigned.

I had a newbie question. I don't have the big bucks like most of you guys, so my idea was to find a good drive and do my pro touring car peacemeal. This would not be my only means of transportation, so that I why i think it may work. Has anyone else done this or does everyone just do it all at once.

Thanks,

Weaver

I wonder if you could buy one of these in pieces and haul it to someone like Mike's Custom Cars who is well know for re-sheetmetaling first gen's and doing an excellent job.

Mike

I think it can be done if you start with a very solid car that has no rust issues. The thing is, if you find a car like this it will most likely already have been restored and priced accordingly. One big reason I decided to go with a Dynacorn body is that I would have needed to get rid of a bunch of stock components considering the way I am building the car. This is why I sold the blue car you see earlier in this thread. Even though that car was a good "driver" it really needed to come apart to get rid of all of the rust before any money was put into it to build a pro touring car.