Rebuild an old Camaro?

[MRR]

Johnnynumfiv probably knows a ton but I am considering trying to find an old beater camaro (67-69 preferably maybe even an RS, SS, or z28 if I can find one - would prefer an original 4spd manual car as well) and putting it back together again. Problem being that good original bodies and frames are hard to come by. Again I have never undertaken anything like this before and I know I will need access to a machine and body shop among other things. Can you rent out floor space at some local shops or something or do I have to do this all at home and just run errands to get parts machined?

[johnnynumfiv]

What budget do you have?

[baddabang]

Everyone always thinks this is simple.

You need A LOT of time, and A LOT of money.

You are better off doing this at home since it will take probably a year or two. You're not a professional and won't be doing this 40 hrs per week. again it takes A LOT of time.

Look for cars in the southern U.S. Oh and buy a welder, and start drinking.

[MRR]

Not sure about a budget it is just something I have always wanted to do. I know this could eventually cost upwards of $10,000s of dollars.

Originally Posted by baddabang

Everyone always thinks this is simple.

Definitely don't think that. The little literature I have run across is already making my head explode

Originally Posted by baddabang

Oh and buy a welder, and start drinking.

Sounds dangerous

[baddabang]

Originally Posted by MRR

Not sure about a budget it is just something I have always wanted to do. I know this could eventually cost upwards of $10,000s of dollars.



Definitely don't think that. The little literature I have run across is already making my head explode



Sounds dangerous

It's more dangerous without drinking.

[johnnynumfiv]

Originally Posted by MRR

Not sure about a budget it is just something I have always wanted to do. I know this could eventually cost upwards of $10,000s of dollars.



Definitely don't think that. The little literature I have run across is already making my head explode



Sounds dangerous

Good luck finding a core for 10 grand. You really need to do some more research on it. Our last camaro project cost more than $50,000. Thats for the core, parts, and materials. All work was done in house.

[Quiggs]

How much of this work do you think you can do yourself? Plan all your costs and time out. Then double the cost and triple the time.

[whiteballz]

PM/IM werty. He and his dad had an old camaro built up... He should know a fair bit

[Quiggs]

They dropped the car off with a blank check, too.

[werty]

Originally Posted by Quiggs

They dropped the car off with a blank check, too.

Thats not true. But it did take a long freaking time. Just over a year with 2 guys working on it. But they were seriously 2 of the slowest laziest people on the earth. It would have been more fun and faster if I had built it myself in our garage.

If you cant find an original, you can now buy this shiz...

Licensed Replacement Body Shells

kinda lame that they make these, but whatever

[MRR]

I think I have been misinterpreted. I just wanted to explore it (somewhat seriously) but I'm not necessarily doing it any time soon. Basically this could become very expensive very fast and I have lost a lot of money to begin with in the past few days with the looming 2nd depression.

I found this beautiful 1969 SS convertible that seems legitimate and not a fake but the buyer doesn't have the original 350 ci engine and 4 spd tranny but says he knows a shop that has it and is working on it and I have to buy the motor from them (I contacted him and confirmed this)?! I would much rather learn to rebuild the motor myself and I don't know how high the bidding will go.
eBay Motors: Chevrolet : Camaro (item 160290347488 end time Oct-16-08 17:31:09 PDT)

[johnnynumfiv]

That car is shot. Find a more solid core to start with. You'd need to replace the doors, quarters, floors and who knows what else metal wise. I would start reading up on date codes on engines, transmissions, rears, and other parts. It will help you find the correct parts for your build.

[Juggs]

Dude I don't think you understand what a MONUMENTAL undertaking restoring a car is. Your better off just buying one thats in decent shape (aka driveable) and slowly working on some of the things that are still wrong with it. Also just buying a good rolling chasis is not a bad idea either if you can find one and then you can just build the drivetrain.

[thevipermanv10]

if your going to rebiuld an old camaro, you will need the original parts to it, because some of those older cars, for example a 1956 chevy bel air, just because some doors are from the same make doesnt automatically mean that the doors will just "fit". my advice get the whole car acid dipped overnight, that is a big time saver and does a hell of a lot better job, but it does cost money, but its worth it, i did it on my old val, and she still runs like a dream.
and for the engine you will have to get it balanced properly unless you have stock engine mounts and the stock engine, if you get a bigger engine you probably cant use the same mounts, or the engine will just jump as soon as you start it.
get the whole body cleaned up after the acid dip, then fix all the rust and make any adjustments needed, then spray it with sealer, which protects the metal from any rust forming again.

[jcp123]

It took us two years and cost my Dad $30.000 to restore the Mustang I drive today, and it was a solid, non-rust, no-bodywork-needed car from Bakersfield, CA. Trust me, it will take that long and cost that much to get one you can be proude of. You can save some money if the previous owner's done some work like body/paint or engine.