Project "ItDoRun" - Phase Two - Lateral-g Forums

ItDoRun · #1 02-20-2009, 11:30 PM

Well, after a couple of requests, I decided to start a thread on the second round of my 68 Camaro build. Here's a little bit of history on the car.

I found this car while riding the school bus when I was in the fifth grade (1988 time frame). My dad bought it for $2500 and drove it home. He started with the engine compartment and got burnt out pretty quick with the restoration. When I turned 13, he told me that I could have the car if I put the rest of the money and work into it. I worked for him at his business saving every penny, literally, that I earned. I paid $1000 to get the body work done, and he helped me out with the paint job for my 15th birthday. So after 15 years, I decided to give it the PT form, fit, and function.

I've been working on it for about a year and a half now, so it will take me a couple of weeks to get this thread up to speed with where the car currently is in the build.

To start, here's a couple of pictures of what the car looked like before I decided to start tearing into it.

And here's my rendering that Carter just finished. The color will be the same as before.

ItDoRun · #2 02-20-2009, 11:49 PM

This car was supposed to be pretty solid, and it really was (to most people), but I wanted to really focus in on the details while going through it. Honestly, it wasn't supposed to snowball into what it has, but that's what has made this whole build fun and educational since I'm doing most all the work myself.

The project was supposed to be focused mainly on budget suspension upgrades, wheels, brakes, clean undercarriage, and slight interior mods...YEAH, RIGHT! Then I found the Lateral-g site, and the snowball began. There were two cars that really inspired my build. It started with Greg Banks (BeCool68) and his 68 Camaro along with Anthony Rose's Camaro. I didn't want anything too flashy, just a killer stance with killer wheels.

Anyway, let's dive into the build/restoration. Here's a few pictures of the disassembly from night #1. I found a few surprises on the floor that I didn't expect.

ItDoRun · #3 02-21-2009, 12:03 AM

After seeing this, I ordered a patch panels for the floors and center trunk section. I sent the car off to body work to have the driver side quarter, roof skin, rear deck filler panel, and DSE tubs installed. When replacing these pieces, I found some rust on the passenger side sail panel area from an old vinyl top. Here's where my learning curve started.

I had heard nightmares about the passenger side quarter panel fitment on the 68 quarters, so I decided to just patch the sail panel area. The problem is that I had to buy a full quarter panel for this task.

Here's a few pictures of the first phase of bodywork.

ItDoRun · #4 02-21-2009, 12:07 AM

Metal replacement.

ItDoRun · #5 02-21-2009, 12:16 AM

Here's where the fun begins...

I dropped the car off on July 9, 2007 and was told I would have the car back in roughly 6 weeks. Finally, in December 2007, I told the body man that I was coming to pick it up the first weekend in January 2008. He never got to the tubs. I get the car home and find additional rust in the trunk area that the patch panel I bought wouldn't cover, so I opted to buy a full trunk pan. Since I wasn't patching the trunk, I decided not to patch the floors, so I bought a full one piece floor pan.

You can start to see a pattern here, huh?

I also found where bodywork had been done on the passenger side quarter, and since I was installing the full trunk pan, I decided to buy yet ANOTHER passenger side quarter. Here's a few pictures of the quarter.

customcam · #6 02-21-2009, 12:21 AM

Cool build and cool render

, theres always something lurking under the skin hey
but uve done it right the first time
what panels did you use?

ItDoRun · #7 02-21-2009, 12:26 AM

I'll skip a few steps and jump right into the trunk pan replacement. I removed the exisitng trunk pan and media blasted everything, then sealed all exposed areas with epoxy primer.

ItDoRun · #8 02-21-2009, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by customcam

Cool build and cool render

, theres always something lurking under the skin hey
but uve done it right the first time
what panels did you use?

Thanks. I bought the roof skin from NPD and all other metal from CPU Muscle Car Parts. The quarters are made by Golden Legion, and I think the trunk and floor are made by Dynacorn.

ItDoRun · #9 02-21-2009, 12:37 AM

Alright, here come the DSE tubs. I was extremely nervous about this portion since I'm a novice at all this stuff, but I figure there's only one way to learn, huh? Plus, there's not any well known resto shops in South Louisiana that I've found.

Passenger side:

Driver Side:

Tubs Clamped In:

ItDoRun · #10 02-21-2009, 12:52 AM

Okay, now I want to open up the floor for discussion. I've been fighting the fitment of the driver side tub. It appears to be leaning in towards the wheel well. I notched the trunk 2-3/4" like DSE said and was very careful when cutting. Does this look abnormal, or is it just me?

It's close, but it does have a slight lean from what I can tell. Any suggestions?