67 Camaro Build

[7dee2]

While messing with the rear down bar I thought, now would be a good time to check the driver’s seat clearance to the rollbar. Not too bad, that’s with the seat adjusted all the way back. Looks like I’ll have all the factory legroom, bonus!

On the other side, I guess that the passenger seat will probably not have quite as much legroom, maybe an inch or so less. Me and Mrs. 7dee2 are on the short side so it’s all good.

It’s been a very long time but I don’t recall the driver’s seat cover being so misaligned, dagnabbit. My OCD can’t handle looking at that all the time!

[7dee2]

The Camaro is back on 4 wheels again and the appointment with the upholsterer is coming up soon. I need to finish fitting the backseat frame, then they will put it all back together modifying the seat covers as needed. They’ll also install the headliner, sail panels, visors, rearview mirror, coat hooks, and recover the rear armrests. And of course, I’ll have them address the driver’s seat cover alignment.

Since the driver's front seat cover is so far off, I checked the passenger seat as well (2nd & 3rd pics). The cover is aligned nicely but the back will not latch in the upright position. So, both front seats require some tweaking to be acceptable.

Sat the backseat top frame in the car for a look-see. Yep, it’s going to need more of a notch than the bottom did.

[7dee2]

It's the same deal as before with the bottom, didn’t remove the cover completely. I don’t want to lose this cover's alignment that matches up so well with the bottom.

Removed and turned back the side springs then cut both sides, set it back in the car to see where to bend. A small nick with the cutoff wheel and then shaped it to clear, easy peasy! Here’s both upper and lower pieces back in the car to see what we’ve got, good to go for now.

Almost forgot to mention, yes, I did mark the area where the rollbar down bar will pass through. It looks like it will get into the upper back a little more than the bottom. Decided to collaborate with the upholstery shop on the best way to modify this area.

[7dee2]

I was on the fence but went ahead and added sound deadener to the inner roof skin. Time will tell if this was a good idea or not (summer heat, gravity?), fingers crossed. After cleaning the area, I used a knurled roller set (link) to apply this stuff. It would be really hard to miss a spot with the marks the roller leaves in the product after doing a crosshatch pattern.

Followed by dropping in a mockup motor (yup, again), we’ll need it for the exhaust hanger work coming up.

https://www.amazon.com/ITEQ-Insulati...31364620&psc=1

[Tempest67]

Great work,

I like your shop, neat, clean, and lots of space.......... very nice

[KevinK7]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

Great work,

I like your shop, neat, clean, and lots of space.......... very nice

Ditto, Brett's place looks crazy clean , along with the Camaro of course
Along those lines (and I know this isn't the Camaro project related, ...but) Brett, what coating is on the concrete floors? Is that stain w/clear over?
Asking since I am looking at options and considing concrete stain myself.

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

Originally Posted by 7dee2

I was on the fence but went ahead and added sound deadener to the inner roof skin. Time will tell if this was a good idea or not (summer heat, gravity?), fingers crossed. After cleaning the area, I used a knurled roller set (link) to apply this stuff. It would be really hard to miss a spot with the marks the roller leaves in the product after doing a crosshatch pattern.

Followed by dropping in a mockup motor (yup, again), we’ll need it for the exhaust hanger work coming up.

https://www.amazon.com/ITEQ-Insulati...31364620&psc=1

Not sure about the sound deadener, they do make more a stick on heat thing, but the deadener should do better than nothing. I still have the original headliner in my 68 and I can feel the heat on a hot day, right after I burn my arm on the 68 RS door top trim, lol.

[7dee2]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

Great work,

I like your shop, neat, clean, and lots of space.......... very nice

Originally Posted by KevinK7

Ditto, Brett's place looks crazy clean , along with the Camaro of course
Along those lines (and I know this isn't the Camaro project related, ...but) Brett, what coating is on the concrete floors? Is that stain w/clear over?
Asking since I am looking at options and considing concrete stain myself.

Thanks guys, I like my new work space. Especially after working in tight cluttered spaces for years, it’s so nice to have a little room. I’ll tell yah keeping the main space tidy is a challenge, some parts storage in the basement helps a lot but as you’ll see from time to time it still gets cluttered.

You’re right Kevin, it’s multiple colors (5 to 6) of concrete acid stain applied separately with a satin sealer top coat. At our last house the concrete contractor mentioned staining the garage floor. After seeing how easy it was (and getting used to that floor) I wanted it again in the new place. It kind of looked like throw up prior to the top coat. (lol)

We lucked out though, a local concrete supply store was phasing out this stain brand (pic) so we bought up a bunch at a discount. Doing roughly 2,000 sq ft counting the vertical spaces we had 4-5 gallons left over.

Stain https://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Acid...24424960&psc=1

Sealer https://www.wrmeadows.com/cs-309-25-...ling-compound/

[72 tigger]

Everything looks great! Did the upholstery shop give you a timeframe for their work?

[KevinK7]

Brett, Thanks so much for the links and info on the stain. I think I'm convinced, this will be the route I will go. I've been working on a 36x48 pole barn garage project for the past 5 years, ..maybe I should start a thread in 'alternate tinkerings' lol and the concrete coating has been an open issue for a while

[7dee2]

Originally Posted by CAMAROBOY68SS

Not sure about the sound deadener, they do make more a stick on heat thing, but the deadener should do better than nothing. I still have the original headliner in my 68 and I can feel the heat on a hot day, right after I burn my arm on the 68 RS door top trim, lol.

Perhaps having a white car will help with the summer heat. That and I’m a wuss, always looking for a shady spot to park.

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Everything looks great! Did the upholstery shop give you a timeframe for their work?

Thanks Kirk, I don’t recall but from the dates on the pics they only had it a couple of weeks was all.

Originally Posted by KevinK7

Brett, Thanks so much for the links and info on the stain. I think I'm convinced, this will be the route I will go. I've been working on a 36x48 pole barn garage project for the past 5 years, ..maybe I should start a thread in 'alternate tinkerings' lol and the concrete coating has been an open issue for a while

No problem, I like the floor treatment it’s very durable. As it ages it’s like an old car that gets some character, patina.




After installing the orrrong’e headers, it was time to load it up on the trailer. Now for my tow test, can the new Canyon pull this stuff easily or not? We’ll have a pretty good idea after the upholsterer, followed by another quick trip to the exhaust shop.

[7dee2]

While the car was gone it was time for some lift maintenance. Look what showed up, a brand-new ram for our old 4-post. Apparently, I contaminated the old cylinder after enclosing the lift and using it as a paint booth (Seemed like a good idea at the time! ). http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=438

Or perhaps it was sandblasting stuff in the proximity either way it developed a pretty good leak and couldn’t reach the highest setting. When we moved the lift this last time, I sent the cylinder out to be repacked. It came back better but still leaked a bit, they told me the inner rod was damaged on one end so the top setting was still an issue. Decided to pull the trigger for a new ram before I could no longer get a replacement for the extra long, extra tall Eagle.

Upholstery update, Mike has the headliner in and it looks great! He’s still working on the other stuff but is close to wrapping that up also.

At the same time, I’ve decided I need to change out the lower alternator bracket on our good-to-go 511. Here are some BBC short water pump alternator lower bracket differences (circled). The idea is to move the alternator forward to give more room for the taller M/T valve cover setup. This bracket will swap belts front to rear (alt. belt in front, water pump belt in back) it also changes the upper bracket to mount to the rear instead of the front of the alternator. It is the correct bracket for an early 396/427 with a short pump and manual steering.

[7dee2]

I’ve had this Eagle lift for nearly 20 years in 3 different indoor locations, the first being a storage unit that had power. With the new ram it works like new again, and can hit the top spot with no problem.

[7dee2]

It’s back from upholstery and still on the trailer. They knocked it out of the park, looks great!

[7dee2]

I ran outta picture room on the last post. Here’s a couple pics of how the front seats are looking. The driver’s cover is aligned and both seats latch as they should. Very pleased with the work and turnaround time from Mike at Wasatch Upholstery.

Back at the muffler shop for a different rear hanger arrangement. The shop owner Tage, went through the trunk floor the first time (link). He’s a pretty talented guy so we’ll see what he comes up with this time.
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...&postcount=288

[Lost in the 60's]

Wow, that exhaust shop wouldn't exist in most states anymore, having a huge, open pit like that. I'm surprised "big brother" hasn't required a 6' high fence and locked gates around it.
The left seat looks great, good they were able to pull the 2 parts in alignment.

[Lost in the 60's]

Curious why he didn't just use the original hangers and mounting locations in the floor behind the mufflers and outside frame rail hangers for the extensions. Yes, it would require modifying the brackets for the elephant trunk size pipes, but the locations and brackets are right where they need to be.
I thought I had a pic of my exhaust with original hangers, but can't find it now.

[7dee2]

Yep, I'm very happy with the way the seats turned out. You know, I did mention the factory hanger mount the first time around as a possibility. But, as it turns out the final hanger solution is going to work out even better for me.



Here is what Tage came up with, we have an additional lateral bar that acts as the rear hanger mount. I think this will work out perfectly, my plan is to mount our fuel filter on that bar also.

I'm updating a little earlier this week as we will be on the road at the usual Wednesday morning time.

[7dee2]

Dropped the exhaust again and started to install the brake lines. I've figured out where I’ll be mounting the amp and checked for clearances. This should work well under the passenger seat, if necessary, the seat could be raised slightly. We’ll see if raising the seat is necessary once the carpet comes into play.

[7dee2]

Started the a-pillar trim fitment, I'd given the trim to the upholsterer but he said they fit so poorly he wasn’t messing with it. He wasn’t kidding, this took a good minute to do an initial installation.

[Lost in the 60's]

My originals were vacuum chromed and were painted black by a P.O. I bought a pair of those aftermarket covers too and they are garbage next to my originals. The dash pad is supposed to be under the trim and it doesn't fit at all. The pad is way too thick in that area too, which only makes it worse. I may end up sending my original parts for restoration, which is way out of budget, but this aftermarket stuff is just too crappy.

[KevinK7]

Like you guys are seeing, those repro pillar post trim pieces are some of the worst, and it's compounded by the repro dash pads.
Your best bet is to try to restore or find usable originals, of both.

[7dee2]

Didn’t take long to decide that this would be a conversation piece when and if people noticed. It’ll be like yep, you got me, the dash pad does go under the a-pillar trim which is not at all possible with the repro parts I have. That could lead to a more in-depth conversation that this is not a restoration but an exercise in making aftermarket parts work (a challenge all on its own).



So, after some more fiddling, I got both sides fitting better. They are laying flatter where they meet the windshield. I'm glad I installed these trim pieces before the windshield, I don’t plan on removing them, ever!

[Lost in the 60's]

They do look much better and you may as well leave the pad over them. That looks OK that way too.

[7dee2]

Thanks, I wish these parts fit like the originals but I’ve gotten accustomed to the look.



The new kick panels took some trimming to get them into place and are lining up nicely. The pull vents do open/close as expected.

I’m considering using this old Mr. Gasket diff cover, I’ve got 3 different covers to choose from. It has some minor floor jack damage but I like that it has a drain built in, more on the diff covers later.