67 Camaro Build

[7dee2]

Here’s how the windshield opening turned out before any filler. Also a couple of pics of the left side glass with the upper weatherstripping installed. Yippee Ki Yah, glass fitment is all good and we’re moving on to other stuff (Dang windshield opening was really a pain.)!

[regan wilson]

That looks really good. I'm glad you have the eye to not just slap it together.

[7dee2]

Thanks Regan, it would have been disappointing if we had. Perks Auto Body continues doing a great job and are truly perfectionists. With Chris, Kelly, and I all eyeballing this thing I’ll say it’s definitely Mr. Picky Pants approved.



This scrap bar stock is the beginning of our rocker mounts for our roll bar feet. The rocker is the only area we can’t access from the backside when mounting the rollbar, everything else bolts through the floor. Not sure what they used back in the day, lag bolts (nut certs?) perhaps.

My friend Dekon (Vent Racing Technologies) made short work out of the base plate part of this roll bar project. He cut and formed the 3/16” plate pieces to an exact match of the size and floor profile I gave him.

https://www.facebook.com/VentRacing/

[7dee2]

More progress on the rollbar feet, as mentioned in the last post bar stock with welded nuts will go inside the rockers.


An update on the 1953 Corvette Vin #001 (aka 3950), Corey has the car running and driving and recently had it on display in the National Corvette Museum’s Skydome. Here’s a cool pic, the One Millionth Corvette built with the first Corvette in the background.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...08975011274936

Additional links with info on the first Corvette discovery.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=326

[7dee2]

During a garage purging, I gave away a decent set of these AC push-in breathers over 15 years ago. Of course, now I want another set for this build and my BBC valve cover collection. After looking for what seemed like for-ev-er, I ran into this embarrassingly eBay-overpriced NOS pair.

On a cheapo note, the second round of rollbar hardware bought online did arrive (more than 1/2 off the local stuff). I’d rather support local but I got quite a bit more hardware at a much better price, when I brought this to the local guy’s attention they really didn’t care. Oh well, more shekels for old car parts.

Started cutting standoff pieces for the rollbar feet.

[7dee2]

Next, the inner standoff centers will be welded to the outside tube. Then a test fit of the feet with the hoop in the car and if everything looks ok, they'll get tacked into place.

[7dee2]

Ha, the look on the base plates says it all. The first attempt was a fail, the hoop landed lower on the base plates than I had hoped. And this is why we test fit, even after giving one of the standoffs more angle it still fits poorly.

Practice makes perfect, here’s a second set fit to the bases using my reference frowns. I’ll betcha this set is going to work out just fine.

[7dee2]

Back at the body shop to get the standoffs finalized and the rear down bar built. Grabbed a length of sacrificial exhaust pipe that will be cutup to determine the base plate angle and correct length for the special ordered round tube. Only get one shot and if it’s cut short or at the wrong angle I’m toast, there’s not enough material for a second attempt so I’m just not going to do that.

This 69 Chevelle project belongs to Kelly, it's loaded with Speedtech goodies, LS3, and custom body work by Kelly of course. He was kind enough to let me confirm that the original Lakewood rollbar foot kit does fit the GM A Body.
https://speedtechperformance.com/

[7dee2]

It’s all good news, man these base plates fit the Camaro floor really well, no problem there (the subframe connectors look like they might even miss the rollbar mounting hardware, I hope). Found that the hoop can be set back towards the rear a bit more and not be a problem for the rear seat bottom or armrests.

Making as much room for the front seats as possible is a good thing. If the driver’s seat is able to adjust as far back as the factory tracks will allow that’ll be a win for sure. I think the back seat will probably need to be modified for the rear down bar. Not a real biggie due to the fact that it has to be modified for the mini tubs anyway.

As the rollbar will be stripped and repainted, I went looking for replacement Lakewood stickers. Ran into these early original Lakewood non-R stickers that are the correct rollbar/traction bar size, score!

[7dee2]

Ha, late 60’s early 70’s state of the art bolt in Lakewood safety! It's tacked and ready to be burned in, looking pretty cool. After that Kelly will install the (enclosed) rocker backing plates. And when that bit of hidden magic is done he’ll go ahead and drill the rest of the holes to mount the feet and down bar to the car. So still a few things to do but it's taking shape.

[7dee2]

Next, I came in and retrieved all of the glass, mechs, etc. to start the process of setting the new and sexy green side glass.

A quick double check was performed that the defroster duct and pedal assembly are still ok from moving the dash top and they were fine.

With the glass out of the way the dash top to cowl, inner cowl, and firewall all need some work. Permanently reattaching the dash and welding up all the masked holes on the cowl and firewall.

[72 tigger]

I really appreciate your attention to detail and period correct pieces

[7dee2]

Thank you very much Kirk. The old speed parts really do add a lot to the build.



Not a real fan of the glass etching on these new repo wing window assemblies. The good news is the vent glass that came in our complete glass kit has much less etching and it’s so close to the edge it should be hidden by the setting material. Also noticed that the new weatherstripping gasket on these assemblies is coming apart already, jeez louise that was fast! We’ve got extras with our weatherstripping kit so I can replace these also while rebuilding the new wing windows.

The old flatbed certainly did make for a nice big workbench on occasion!

[7dee2]

Much better, the left side is done.

[7dee2]

And now the pair, good as new (or newer?).

[7dee2]

Before disassembling, I took a few measurements to ensure that the new door glass could be adjusted to match the old one.

Another step closer, Kelly got the rollbar mounts burnt in.

[7dee2]

Reattaching the dashtop to the cowl is done and looks great (we won’t be needing that other dash I ordered). Kelly extended the lower part of the right a-pillar to match the left when the molding was in place. Firewall holes are filled and while messing with the right fender the antenna hole was also drilled (oh yes, there was some heartburn putting a big hole in the new slick fender ).

[7dee2]

I couldn’t find any new setting material with this OE u-shaped bell profile. Honestly, it’s in surprisingly great shape for being 57+ years old and could go again. Before and after, sand blasted the surface rust off the window tracks the rearmost sections on both sides had the most.

[7dee2]

To finish the window tracks I gave them a few coats of this rattle can galvanizing. The resulting finish seemed so porous that I top coated them with this aluminum paint to give a better seal.

[7dee2]

Reassembly of the door glass went well using this rachet strap method. Additionally, I wiped down the old setting material before assembly with some thinner to help rejuvenate it. It is pliable enough to go again and has got a very good hold on the new glass.

[7dee2]

Here’s some flat gasket material that was ordered to replace the rest of the original stuff. The quarter glass setting went kind of wellish especially after I gave up and took the weatherstrip pieces to a local glass shop (which they promptly farmed out also). This style of quarter glass is famous for having the weatherstrip carrier trim pieces pop off. Also, I’m sure there’s a magic trick to getting the rubber into the carrier correctly. All in all, it was well worth $50 to get this part right the first time.

Alright, alright, alright! Kelly got the rollbar bolted in, which means the enclosed rocker pieces are in place. The final step before it's ready to be refinished is to drill the holes that bolt the feet to the hoop.

[CG]

Saw this and it reminded me of your build.

[7dee2]

Hey CG, as the advertisement claims, Lakewood, and possibly Deputy Fife were committed to complete safety!



A last look before all the sexy green side glass goes in a big box to wait for final assembly.

[7dee2]

The Camaro has moved back to the paint shop for more blocking.

[7dee2]

And a little more blocking of our lumpy baby! Chris is doing a great job, the body lines are sharp and all the panels are flat. Perhaps the car should be painted black to show off the excellent bodywork. Mrs. 7dee2 is still wanting red which would look great also, I don’t know, decisions, decisions.