LS7 1969 Camaro SS Convertible - Project "Overt"

[Nine Ball]

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I've owned this Camaro since 2005, but didn't start doing the pro-touring conversion until late 2012. It was purchased as a driver, had the typical 10-footer paint job on it. I found the car in Tennessee, it grabbed my attention due to its pedigree. It is an X55 Camaro SS, with the code 72 Hugger Orange paint.

My buddies told me it needed a project name, so I came up with "Overt". It is a play on words, Orange Convertible = Overt. But, I was more intrigued by the definition of Overt:

overt
adjective \ō-ˈvərt, ˈō-(ˌ)vərt\
Easily seen : Not secret or hidden : Open and viewable : Outgoing

The definition matches up well with a bright orange convertible. And, if I elect to, the name will fit on a license plate later.

I'll skip the tear down process, and skip straight to the restoration and body/paint steps that have been completed. This series of pics happened between 2013-2015. There was a year in there that I got burned out on the project, and it sat for a while.

I put the body on a rotisserie, and sent the car to get media blasted. At the time, I was hoping the car was indeed rust-free, and didn't have any horror stories. I had my fingers crossed for a simple repaint. You all know how this story goes...








Here is what we found under the paint. I wasn't too pleased about it. Just a lot of crappy sheetmetal repairs, swiss-cheese trunk and floor pans, and questionable bondo artistry. This made me regret even tearing into the car, thinking I should have just sold it as it was. This just became a full restoration, because I'm a picky SOB and want things done right.





















Trunk floor = daylight holes.