68 Camaro Build

[jmking9]

After spending over a year looking for a 66/67 Chevelle or first gen Camaro, I finally found a car that was a decent foundation. A friend of mine was at work one day talking about going with me on a 5hr round trip to look at a "very solid" Camaro that was rotted beyond belief. A guy he works with over heard him, and told him he had a Camaro project he would sell if I was interested. The best part was that he lived 10 min from me. After looking it and the parts that came with it over, I knew I had found one that was a solid foundation (for a gen 1 camaro) When he told me what he wanted for all of it, I REALLY knew it was the one!
Its just a plain jane 68 coupe that was originally Lemans Blue with blue bucket interior. Had a 327 with a powerglide. Both are long gone. The car is really solid for a Camaro. Floors have been replaced by the previous, previous owner who owned a body shop. It needs both quarters, inner and outer wheel houses on both sides, and a passenger rocker. There are a few other small patches here and there, but nothing crazy. Looks pretty ugly on the trailer with all the missing pieces and different colors. And the passenger quarter is partially cut off also, adding to the beauty
This is probably going to be a fairly slow build at the beginning. Im planning on some mods that will make this a fun car to drive. I don't know all the details just yet, but here is the basic run down:
*Mostly stock appearance, probably cloned SS
*some kind of 4 link rear with coil overs
*DSE mini tubs
*Coil over front
*unsure of engine, LS or ???
*TKO 5 speed or T56 not sure yet

Going to take a ton of time and money to build this one. Hence the anticipated slow pace. I will be doing all of the work myself, so it will take me a while. Should be fun!

[jmking9]

Forgot the pics

[flashed]

I know of a 67/8 Camaro in pieces but complete with all the new parts needed to build a nice car but just cant pull the trigger yet .He even said he would put the new quarters on it to make it a roller for $10,000 .Im afraid my wife would shoot me as I already have 2 trucks at his shop.

[Bomp]

Congrats on finding one so close.
I've had my '69 since I was 19. Rust free car. Have all the pieces. Big block going back in it when the right time arrives. Have to finish my '66 pickup first.
I keep it up out of the way in a dry place.

[flashed]

That is one way to store one out of the way .

[jmking9]

That's awesome!

[jmking9]

Been slowly chipping away at getting the body stripped down to see exactly what im dealing with. So far, there haven't been any big surprises other than the bass boat blue sparkle paint job about 3 layers down. I finally tracked down a nice oem decklid and doors from craigslist. After a LOT of manipulation, I got the decklid fitting pretty nicely.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Great job on the decklid!

This is my rusty turd. I got mine for free, but it was my dads car. I can't believe the prices of these cars!

Like you, I tracked down a rust free decklid, doors, fenders, and an OEM 400 style hood I "stole" off craigslist for $50 (guy bought a repop because body shop wanted too much $ to bodywork the OEM hood). I got it cheap because someone boogered up the tach hole trying to weld it up - obviously, not the hood on the car now, that's the solid one my dad gave me with it. Yours is a lot nicer than mine. I'm going to need floors, trunk, and quarters. Surprisingly, it was super solid around the front and back window. Go figure.

You must be like me... I've seen a lot of nice versions of these cars, but unless it was a big dollar well done build... I can tell when aftermarket panels were used.... they just don't ever look 100% right... that's why I tracked all the OEM stuff down. The only non OEM will be the quarters... I can't afford $1,500 for NOS quarters

I'll be following this one!

[jmking9]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Great job on the decklid!

This is my rusty turd. I got mine for free, but it was my dads car. I can't believe the prices of these cars!

Like you, I tracked down a rust free decklid, doors, fenders, and an OEM 400 style hood I "stole" off craigslist for $50 (guy bought a repop because body shop wanted too much $ to bodywork the OEM hood). I got it cheap because someone boogered up the tach hole trying to weld it up - obviously, not the hood on the car now, that's the solid one my dad gave me with it. Yours is a lot nicer than mine. I'm going to need floors, trunk, and quarters. Surprisingly, it was super solid around the front and back window. Go figure.

You must be like me... I've seen a lot of nice versions of these cars, but unless it was a big dollar well done build... I can tell when aftermarket panels were used.... they just don't ever look 100% right... that's why I tracked all the OEM stuff down. The only non OEM will be the quarters... I can't afford $1,500 for NOS quarters


I'll be following this one!

Yeah, NOS quarters are out of the question for me also. I bought some AMD quarters and they look really nice. Everyone says they fit much better than all the other repops. We'll see.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by jmking9

Yeah, NOS quarters are out of the question for me also. I bought some AMD quarters and they look really nice. Everyone says they fit much better than all the other repops. We'll see.

Those are what I plan on using. I bought the AMD floor pan and inner rockers, but my car is a few years away from being worked on (trying to be realistic). From what I understand, they're still not an "AMD product" but they consider the quality high enough for them to rebox and sell.

I did "finish" my 65 mustang project, *almost* finished with a 6 year full home renovation, and currently doing a refresh on my C10. THEN the firebird is up...

[jmking9]

Nothing exciting to report, other than I did get a good deal on a 12 bolt out of a 65 Chevelle. The early Chevelle rear ends are the same width as the first generation f bodies. Someone had already cut the A-body brackets off and welded on the spring perches to use in a Camaro. But I'm going to cut them off and use the weld on brackets when I install the four link. I am also planning on the having the rear end narrowed when I have my axle guy build it.
I am still collecting parts at this point, but I am very close to diving in on some of the major metal work.(hopefully)

[swamp rat]

In for the ride, Love the camero's.

[jmking9]

The top of the dash had some rust on both sides out toward the a-pillar. I was going to replace the whole top with a new dash top from AMD. After thinking about it and really inspecting the area, I decided just to patch it. Doing this keeps me from having to deal with the problem of transfering the VIN tag to the new dash top. Heres the before pics.

[jmking9]

Patches tacked in...

[Advanced Design]

You have a great project here and I will be tagging along.

Did you fabricate the cowl patch?

[speedy gonzales]

Nice find I love the first gen Camaros, I have been working on a 67 that I bought back in 1997 getting close to finishing, would be done if I wouldn't have so many projects ,1955 stepside,1976 cj-7. Check out the protouring site a lot of great builds there.

[jmking9]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

You have a great project here and I will be tagging along.
Thanks. Its going to be slow going for a while. I'm just going to try to slowly chip away at the body for a year or so.

Did you fabricate the cowl patch?

No. I had already bought the panel when I first got the car. So I figured I would save myself a lot of headache and just cut out what I needed. That particular area has several contours and shapes, so I probably didn't have the skill/tools to fabricate it anyway.

Originally Posted by speedy gonzales

Nice find I love the first gen Camaros, I have been working on a 67 that I bought back in 1997 getting close to finishing, would be done if I wouldn't have so many projects ,1955 stepside,1976 cj-7. Check out the protouring site a lot of great builds there.

That looks amazing! You have good taste in projects. I have a CJ-7 also.
I have a feeling the pro touring site is going to cost me a LOT of money! It seems to be a great site.

[trixter99]

I too am a fan of these cars I've never owned one but I've painted a few over the years. Here's one of them

[trixter99]

One more. It has Ridetech shockwaves all around as well as the Air Bar rear suspension. Powered buy a small block with a Holley Mini Ram fuel injection. I painted it DuPont HotHues Molten Orange candy. I never saw it finished the guy got into some trouble with some serious people and had to liquidate some property to get clear of them.

[T_Raven]

Only a year? That's not so bad lol. I've wanted a 68 Camaro since I was 12. I just never found the right deal on one and ended up with a 67 Firebird in high school and got more into Pontiacs and Firebirds. I still have that 67 as well as some other Firebirds, but I finally got a 68 Camaro the summer before last.

It took me 18 years but I got one. I paid $2000 for both of these bare shells, and sold the 67 for $2000. The 68 needs quarters and a tail panel but the floor and rockers are solid, and you cant beat free. I've got doors and suspension but I'll be ordering all the other sheet metal soon.



I'll be eager to see what you do with yours