Newbie, building a 68 Camaro for my bro-in-law in Iraq - Page 4

FlightMech, I appreciate it, man! If I could get a driver's door I'd be set! 

Camaro Dreams, thanks for your service and stay safe!

Yeah, I don't know if they will contact you or not... I hope they do. You might want to update your list of needed parts though...if it is not up-to-date that is...

I'll get on that tomorrow. I've been super busy this week and haven't had a chance to touch the page.

Got some good stuff in this week! I got in the Hotchkis 2" front drop springs I bought off of brownz on the pro-touring board, and the VBP 2" drop leafs I bought off of 68sixspeed on the pro-touring board. Many thanks to them for hooking me up!


Also got in the Covan's dash panel that Queen City Speed donated to the project. Major thanks to them for taking care of us there!


And finally, we got everything we need to get the rear frame and suspension fabricated! But, our brand new Hobart welder crapped out after about 30 minutes of use. Yeah, it is covered under warranty, but I won't have it back till the end of next week. So I'll be able to fab everything up next weekend, but this week all I'll be able to do is mock it all up. At least we can do something, though.

Do you have any sort of idea when the LT (your Bro-in-law that is...)is coming home?

He'll be home in July. 

Been doing a bunch of work over the weekend. Got the front subframe all sandblasted, Marine Clean'd, and Metal Ready'd. Tomorrow night I hope to get the POR-15 on it.


Also worked on fitting up the rear suspension. Here's a shot with the center and rear frame sections sitting on the leaf spring. I hope to have this all installed this weekend when I get my welder back from the shop.


And we also got these sweet seatbelts donated by Morris Classic Concepts. They are a 3-pt replacement for the factory lap belts. Now Shawn will be safe when he's crusing around town.

what are those seat belts from?  Doesnt look like a 68

Blade, they are aftermarket seatbelts that are a direct fit for a 68 Camaro. Check out http://www.morrisclassicconcepts.com and see. They make all kinds of retrofit stuff for old musclecars.

Got a lot done tonight! My wife and I painted the first coat of POR-15 on the front subframe! Tomorrow night we'll do the second coat and then it'll be ready to install the suspension this weekend, and then back on it's wheels when I get the spindles back from being modified for the LS1 brakes by Ed Miller!


I also fabbed up a bracket and mounted the Wilwood adjustable prop. valve. I was going to bend the brake lines tonight, but they sold me the wrong fittings at the store, so I gotta go back tomorrow and get the right ones.

It looks like it is coming along! Man that is one lucky guy.

Big day today! I had the day off of work, so my brothers came over and we knocked out a lot on the car. I finally got my welder back from the shop and got the seat support all welded in. We also got the final coat of POR-15 on and a topcoat of Rustoleum semigloss black and then installed it on the car with the new Prothane bushings. Also had to run around town trying to find the right fittings for the LS1 brake booster before I realized I had a spare ABS module in the attic and could get the fittings off of it. I also started working on the subframe connectors and rear frame, I hope to have it all tacked in and mocked up this weekend. I told myself I'd have it rolling by the first of the year, and that could be a real possibility!

We also got a set of Bilstein shocks for the car donated by G-Machine!

def coming around keep up the good work

Man that is coming along nicely. That new looking front subframe looks nice. I always like to see the shock on someones face when they ask if that is a new part and you tell them you sandblasted and repainted the originals. Looks great and keep the pics and info coming.

Bilsteins donated by G-Machine!


I also got some of the rear chassis worked out. I used the Competition Engineering SFCs with the built-in spring pockets. I measured it all out and notched the drop crossmember 1/2" to recess them in there to make them fit tight. Should be really strong with them set into the crossmember and welded to the floorboard. Don't mind my ugly tack welds.



I also fit the LS1 brake lines to the 1st gen brackets. I just painted them for now, but I'll powdercoat them later. It was pouring rain out and I didn't feel like having a powder cloud floating in the shop while I worked. I also used some stainless bolts on it.

Ran into a major snag tonight. With the suspension and chassis setup the way we were installing it, there is no way we're gonna fit a stock gas tank in there. If anyone has any advice or can hook me up with anything, please let me know! For right now, we're just going to install it as far apart to get as big of an aftermarket tank in there as we can. He'll still be able to fit some big meats under there if Shawn ever wants to.


We did get in some goodies, though! Goodmark donated some inner wheelhouses, a radiator support, and a driver's door shell!




I also bent up a brake line for the front subframe. I need to get a junction block for the driver's side, but I got the crossover done. I used insulated line clamps and stainless bolts to fasten it down.



And last but not least, I got the rear leafs painted and installed the Prothane bushings!

Dude! Did Goodmark send you that stuff?  I wonder if the email that I sent had anything to do with it!!!  I am so stoked for you!  I don't know if I had anything to do with it or not but that is frickin' awesome.  I love that company.  They are great. How cool!

I don't know, but I honestly think it did help. I really appreciate it, man! They sent me an email out of the blue, so I think it was you who cued them in. :)

Either way it is way cool that they hooked you up.(or the LT, that is...)

I wish I had more progress to post, but a lot of the things I've been doing have been things not worthy of pictures! I powdercoated up the rearend parts, worked on the axle I'm using for mockup cutting off the spring perches to shorted the spring width on them, and just some other small stuff.

I had it all set up so I could install the rear frame, suspension, and axle and have the back rolling this weekend. Of course, my brand new Hobart welder broke AGAIN and I am not sure if I'll have a welder for this weekend. Needless to say, I am PISSED!

Anyway, if I get lucky I'll have a welder for this weekend and then all my front suspension and steering parts will be here by next week and then I'll be rolling by  next weekend.

Powdercoated spring hangers, spring plates, and a-arm washers:




I finished up the other taillight, too.


And I even had some help from Shawn's wife on Sunday. I taught her how to powdercoat and let her try it out on the dash bezel that was looking rough. She did a great job.

I still think that this is so cool that you are doing this... You are the man..  Oh yeah... buy a Lincoln!!!! hahahaa

I spent a large majority of today on sandblasting and powdercoating. The door hinges on the car were in ROUGH shape. They were incredibly rusted and the rollers were bent and broken, not to mention the pins were bad off, too.

After much sawzalling, hammering, sandblasting, straightening, swearing, and PCing, here are the finished products.

The red is the color we will be painting the car. My powder supplier has a line of automotive paints that matches their powders, so we picked a red we liked and bought a bunch of powder.





And I also powdercoated the rear calipers that RPM donated to the project. I went with a silver PC on the brackets and a Anodized Blueberry over a silver basecoat on the calipers. Tomorrow I'm going to do the front ones I have here.

I like the white springs... Looks sharp.

Got the steering stuff all put together. We blasted and painted the center link in semi gloss black and then I painted the tie rods with gunmetal. The Prothane boots really set off the part, too. I'm also replacing pretty much every bolt and nut with either stainless of grade 8 stuff. I'm also eliminating all the speed nuts that I can.




And I powdercoated the front calipers. The slider pins were crap, so I didn't bother assembling them yet.



And in other news, we're gonna be on TV! A NC show based out of the Charlotte area called Cruise Control TV is going to be doing monthly segments on the car, out first interview is this coming Monday! I'll keep you guys posted on the air dates.

Got the calipers assembled tonight. I bought new sliders, but found some old ones in the shop and used them just for mockup. I'll install the new sliders when we put them on the car. I am EXTREMELY pleased with the color scheme I picked for the brakes. The silver and blue just really pop.




I also got my welder back and they finally figured out the problem. This weekend the rear frame and suspension goes in!

Not any new pictures since it has been friggin cold and my son has been feeling bad, but I did get the mock axle ready to go on so I can fab up the rear frame and suspension. This week I'll get that all squared away so this puppy can be rolling again!

We also have some Patriot Dream stickers for sale to help with the project. They are $8 shipped and come in red, white, or blue. We only have a few right now, but I'll get more if they sell quickly. Here are some photos of them on my wife and my cars.



If you want one, send an $8 paypal to donate@patriotdream.org or send me an email at that addy and I'll give you our mailing address if you want to send a check or money order. 

No real updates on the car as far as work goes. My little boy has an ear infection and we've been up taking care of him all weekend and all. Poor little guy.

But I did get a Flaming River steering column in that NPD donated to the project!
IMG://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l201/Birdman79/Patriot%20Dream%20Camaro/IMG_0503.jpg