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  #61  
Old 03-19-2020, 04:19 PM
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jarhead jarhead is offline
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Awesome work Shane!
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  #62  
Old 03-19-2020, 08:47 PM
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Awesome work Shane!
Thank You, Joe!
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Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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  #63  
Old 03-19-2020, 09:26 PM
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I’ve been eagerly waiting to see these new A-pillar panels in place. The old ones were pretty rough and had been the victim of some hacking. With so many of these panels available, it just makes sense on this car to replace them now. Here’s the passenger side for anyone wanting to see what the fit looks like...the original dash panel was removed for easier access and will be reinstalled once the backside has been bead blasted and put in epoxy. Aside from the inner roof structure, the dash is the only remaining original metal on the car.
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Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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  #64  
Old 03-20-2020, 08:48 PM
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Got the backside of the dash blasted and epoxy primed...ready to be reinstalled.
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Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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  #65  
Old 03-25-2020, 05:18 PM
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Picked up a trunk lid molding. It’s an original, not NOS, piece and the chrome’s in phenomenal condition. When I bought the car I didn’t get any trim with it so I’ve been picking up various pieces along the way. I’ve got a small fortune invested in trim at this point but this piece was priced right and the condition is better then most of the junk I’ve seen out there. I got it cleaned it up and just need to repaint the black areas...
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Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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  #66  
Old 04-13-2020, 08:51 PM
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Default New vs Refurb Body, That is the Question!

Finally got this heap back from the body shop today. Here’s what she looks like...literally the only original metal is the dash, inner rear quarter panel structure and inner roof structure, everything else is new.
Since the beginning of this project, there were some (not on this site) who questioned why a person wouldn’t just buy a reproduction body and start with a fresh slate. While I’ll admit I questioned that many times along the way myself, I was confident that for me, it was more cost effective to refurb the old body, even one that was in terrible condition. So for the good of the experiment, I’ll tip my hand on some personal information and lay out how that scenario shook out for me.
Keep in mind when I say body, I’m counting everything from the doors back (no front clip, no suspension) but including everything that welds to the body such as frame connectors, mini tubs, torque boxes, and even door latches, door hinges, roof panel, trunk lid and trunk latch. This car may be the closest “apples to apples” comparison of New vs Old simply due to the fact that literally almost everything was replaced that can be bought for this car. As with my previous builds, I keep a very detailed spreadsheet with every cost associated with the car so it’s easy to track budget, expenditures and part numbers and sources.
So for comparison purposes, if a person were buying a new 67 Nova body from Real Deal Steel and it included the automatic shift, bucket seat, quarter panels, doors, roof, deck lid and mini tub options, as well as $500 for shipping (which I think is conservative) and sales tax (7% for me), you’d be at basically a number very close to $18,083 for a car with No VIN tag, no subframe connectors and no torque boxes. Keep in mind, that’s not taking into account getting any sale deals on the body, etc. but it’s also not taking into account the fact that you’re gonna spend a minimum of a few thousand dollars (if you’re lucky) getting that new body properly gapped and adjusted for paint prep. It also doesn’t account for the fact that you won’t have a VIN tag...or if you do, add the cost of the donor car and bail bond (if you get caught!) to the price of the body.
In my case, for the car you see there, while not perfect, I believe it represents something closer to a finished product in that it has proper gaps all around and includes a VIN tag and the reward of saving an original car from the graveyard...all at a price that’s $13.58 less then the new body shipped to my house but otherwise untouched.
My point with all this is simply to provide a real world example with hard numbers for others who may be considering a “New vs Refurb” build. At the end of the day, there’s no right or wrong way, only personal preference. For me, my preference was to preserve the VIN and know that I had brought some old bones back to life!
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Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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  #67  
Old 04-13-2020, 09:00 PM
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A buddy was kind enough to lend me a rotisserie so I was able to get the car mounted on that which should make installing the Quadralink, cleaning up some welds and paint/bed lining a ton easier. I won’t know how to act without molten metal burning thru my shirt as I lay on my back welding!
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Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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  #68  
Old 04-14-2020, 02:30 AM
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Default $$$$$

Shane......that's quite a chunk of work you've taken on, great work and documentation, thanks for the updates.
Bravo to TomM for posting that body-in-white data...saved an ulcer I expect.

However, back on post 51 u stated that you'd saved a bunch of money by going the route u did. Post 66 above (which is incredibly well detailed) says u saved $13.58.....is there a decimal place gone missing?
Also what percentage of the work did u do compared to body shop? SWAG.

More power to you.
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Last edited by Beechy; 04-14-2020 at 02:35 AM.
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  #69  
Old 04-14-2020, 02:35 AM
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Love it! Glad you didn't buy a "new" body. On principal it just bothers me.
What's up with the Camaro up in the air? Spring cleaning?
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  #70  
Old 04-14-2020, 01:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beechy View Post
Shane......that's quite a chunk of work you've taken on, great work and documentation, thanks for the updates.
Bravo to TomM for posting that body-in-white data...saved an ulcer I expect.

However, back on post 51 u stated that you'd saved a bunch of money by going the route u did. Post 66 above (which is incredibly well detailed) says u saved $13.58.....is there a decimal place gone missing?
Also what percentage of the work did u do compared to body shop? SWAG.

More power to you.
Thanks, I appreciate it! Yes, Tom’s info was a huge help in making sure everything was in its proper placement. It definitely saved a lot of second guessing and rework...I appreciate it Big time!

Yeah, for sure, there’s no error in the decimal placement, unfortunately, mostly because there were some additional items that I could have reused but decided to ahead and replace “while I was in there” type of thing. The biggest over-run was the A-pillar panels which led to the roof panel and rain gutters (or vice versa) The bottom of both A-pillars were rusted out above the rockers and in areas on the inner portions next to the windshield. Initially, the body shop quote was to just patch those areas, however, I decided I wanted to replace the roof since the PO had butchered the seam on the passenger quarter as well as both A-pillar seams while removing the outer A-pillar panels. Since I had sprung for the complete new A-pillar panels, I didn’t see the point in cutting off small areas when I could just have the whole thing installed on both sides netting a better finished product. That involved removing the outer cowls which I had installed already. Since the top part of those panels attach to the inner roof structure under the roof skin, it made further sense to do it that way while replacing the roof panel.

Some other items that impacted the bottom line was that I got too busy with work and went ahead and had the shop do some things that I had originally planned to do such as finish welding the mini tubs, closing off the factory fresh air vent in the lower cowl and rebuilding the upper door hinges...nothing major but it all starts adding up and accounted for about $1800. In the end, between work, kid’s sports and thrashing on the Nova, I was beginning to burn out and just wanted it to get done.

Although there’s no way to know for sure in my case, and definitely every new body is different, I still say that the biggest savings would come from the fact that there’s still gonna be a substantial body shop bill to get a new body gapped and have panels massaged. I have a buddy who bought a new 69 Camaro body and paid big time to have the door, trunk and rocker gaps filled with metal rod to close the gaps to 3/16’s as well as other problem areas. That may not be a requirement for everybody and certainly many people have the ability to self-perform more work and are more patient then I am and don’t mind walking away when they feel burned out which could save even more money.

As far as the percentage of work, I did all of the rough alignment and positioning of all the sheet metal as well as installing the mini tubs, torque boxes, subframe connectors, front subframe supports, rearpackage tray, full floor pan, etc. when I took it to the body shop, most items were held in place with either sheet metal screws or vice grips and spot welds. I intentionally left everything “loose” so they could do the final panel alignment and fine tune the gaps without first having cut everything loose. They then replaced the roof, A-pillars, rain gutters, fit the stainless trim to the window openings, fit the tail lights to the tail panels, removed the dash so I could get it blasted and primed and closed out the lower cowl. They also primed and painted the inside of the lower cowl since this area’s not accessible once the top cowl is welded on. They also sanded and protected the top of the inner roof structure before reinstalling the new roof.

The pics below give you an idea of what it looked like when they got it (top) vs when they were done with it (bottom). No difference to someone who doesn’t know what to look for but big difference in the way things fit. Hope that helps and thanks for tuning in!
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Shane
#theanchorholds

Link to my 68 Camaro build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56387

Link to my 67 Nova build thread:
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=57769
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