Topics

16

Originality / Plastic wire harness cover tube in trunk

« on: November 07, 2018, 07:56:54 PM »

My Question is about the plastic tube like cover which goes around the tail light wire harness on 1968 Camaros (maybe 1967 and 69 as well) . I have noticed that on some original cars there is a plastic tube or black plastic like cover which goes over the tail light wire harness. You can see an example on Darrell Cook's L78 car in the Original Cars section ( look at the trunk pictures). The "tube" I am referring to seems to start over the drivers side wheel well ( in the trunk) and continues at least until the DS tail light. I have noticed some examples of this cover continue on under the gas fill tube over to the PS tail light. I want to know what this item is called, what details or features would make it correct and original and which vendors have one of these tube covers available? Thanks in advance.
Allen

17

Maintenance / mystery oil leak

« on: November 05, 2018, 12:23:32 AM »

I need help with a real mystery. I have an engine oil leak under the hood apparently from the passenger side valve cover bolt holes. My car is 1968 SS 396 with automatic. The engine is stock with stock heads and intake manifold and carb and original valve covers ( I think , they may be very good repros). Every time I drive the car now there is engine oil on the valve cover between the hold down bolts ( on the lip toward the intake manifold side). There is no oil under the valve cover lip on the intake manifold just on the chrome lip between the bolts. I have tried re-tightening them and even putting thin rubber gaskets around them. Still I get the oil between the valve cover bolts. Sometimes when I drive the car for 10 or 15 miles or more there will be a light spray of engine oil on the underside of the hood right over the passenger side valve cover. There is no evidence of engine oil on any other parts anywhere under the hood. No oil on the underside of the air cleaner or on the flat area of the valve cover or on the rest of the engine. No evidence of oil around the air breather tube that I can find. the engine oil is on just the underhood area over the passenger side valve cover and on the passenger side valve cover lip that is on the intake side. This is driving me crazy so I hope the FORUM can help me out with some ideas. Thanks in advance.
Allen

18

Restoration / 68 purple wire w/yellow stripe under dash

« on: June 05, 2018, 12:07:19 AM »

My question is about a purple wire with yellow tracer/stripe hanging down under my dash. I have 1968 SS coupe with auto. After working under my dash I noticed a purple wire with a yellow stripe hanging down unconnected. It has a male blade clip and is on the left side of the steering wheel column. I have checked the AIM and this forum thoroughly but I can't find a reference to this wire. It is just long enough to go to one of the accessory points on the fuse block but I don't want to just connect it to power without knowing what it does. I hope one of the experts on this forum can chime in and tell me what this wire is for. Thanks in advance.
Allen

19

Restoration / GM hood hinge springs

« on: May 12, 2018, 12:34:36 AM »

This post is about my experience with hood hinge springs on my 68 SS. I know there are some older posts on this subject but I think this warrants a new post to share some part numbers. When I refreshed/restored my 68 SS in 2017 I thoroughly cleaned and painted my original hood hinges. I bought and installed new reproduction hood hinge springs for SS hood application. These were made by Classic Industries and had 28 coils. The hood always sagged a little. I thought it might be due to the somewhat worn original GM hinges. Recently, I decided to try GM hood hinge springs part number GM 3848272. The GM springs look pretty much identical to the reproduction springs. I installed the new GM springs and now the hood opens easier and there is no sag at all! I am very pleased. The GM springs are not much more than the repro SS hood hinge springs but they made a world of difference. I recommend using the GM springs that you can get from any GM parts dealer. Also, I used the washer trick to remove and replace the springs - that method works very well and its pretty easy. I hope someone finds this information useful.
Allen

20

Originality / rear antenna bezel and base plate

« on: March 26, 2018, 02:38:27 PM »

My question is about the design of original bezel and grounding base plate for the rear antenna option on 68 Camaros. I bought a rear antenna kit from a reputable parts place that supposedly has all the assembly line correct parts. The chrome bezel looks just like the front antenna bezel and does NOT have a "tilt" to the design. Most of the parts suppliers show this bezel as being correct for the rear antenna. One vendor (HBC) shows a bezel design with a "tilt". Which one is actually correct for 1968 rear antenna? Also the base plate I got appears odd to me and doesn't really fit the contours of the underside of the fender no matter how I adjust it. Comparison of the commonly available repro base plate/ground plate to the 1968 AIM and to some photos from actual NOS rear antenna parts I found on line, show that the original base plate design may have been different from those being sold as correct for 1968 Camaro at multiple vendors. I have scanned many other posts on this forum regarding the rear antenna option but I have not found an answer to my questions. I hope the experts on this forum can chime in on the 'tilt" versus no "tilt" bezel question as well as the base plate design question. Photos of original rear antenna parts would be most helpful. Thanks in advance.
Allen

21

Restoration / Under Hood Insulation 68 SS

« on: February 28, 2018, 10:32:41 PM »

I want to ask the forum about under hood insulation for my 68 SS 396 Coupe. I am aware of several threads which address this topic ( see two of them below). However, the first thread is up to 10 years old so I am wondering what is the latest consensus on under hood insulation. Cook_dw tried to revive the question in 2015 but he got only one reply. The second thread has some good tips on clips and some great pictures. I recently bought the molded insulation pad from REM and the Classic Industries original style clips. The quality appears to be very good but I am having a few issues. The pad is very thick and getting the clips to go in is difficult to say the least and some of the clips keep popping out. I have an original GM SS hood so its not the clip hole size. Also, the pad has a green tint to it and it keeps shedding this abrasive green dust from it. I had an original Firebird some years ago with the original insulation ( worn but still there) and I don't remember it having this texture or the green tint. Two of the pictures on thread 2 show black tint pads with the texture I remember and one of the pictures shows the green heavily molded pad. Thread 1 has a recommendation from Jerry M that you should just buy the non molded pad which he says looks more original. However, that recommendation is from 2008. I hope some members will reply on this subject to bring it up to date on the various pads available, how to get the clips to stay in and relate their experiences and give me some recommendations. Thanks.
Allen

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=3331.msg21783#msg21783
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=13891.msg121196#msg121196

22

Originality / gas tank straps - color and anti sqeak strips

« on: January 22, 2018, 09:08:09 PM »

My question is about original color for gas tank straps for 1968. Were the straps natural steel color or painted black? Also, were there rubber anti-squeak strips between the straps and the tank? Finally, was it common for a rubberized mat to be present between the tank and the trunk floor in addition to the rubber strips shown in the AIM? This forum is excellent and I use it often as a supplement to the restoration books and the AIM. Thanks in advance.
Allen

23

Originality / Bumper Guards for 1968

« on: December 30, 2017, 02:47:36 PM »

My question is about the quality of fit of the original bumper guards against the bumper profile? In other words, I would like to see some close up examples of ORIGINAL bumper guards fitted on the car in order to judge the fitment of originals. I would like to see some pictures of front and back if anyone has them or can post some. I also started a thread in the Restoration section about who might make the best reproductions. NOS bumper guards are very expensive so I will be forced to use the repros - (or maybe just put rubber plugs in the holes). I looked at the cars in the Originality section and some show bumper guards but there are no close ups to show the fitment against the bumpers. Thanks in advance - this is a great forum!!

Allen

24

Restoration / Bumper Guards for 1968 SS

« on: December 26, 2017, 07:19:50 PM »

I bought some repro bumper guards for my 68 SS both front and back (The old ones had some pits and rust spots). The new ones do NOT fit the bumper profile very well. This car has older repro bumpers from a previous restoration in about 2006. Does anyone make bumper guards that fit the bumper profile better? The ones I recently purchased are Golden Star repros. I would like to other from others in the Restoration section about other brands and/or experience with the repro bumper guards? Thanks.
RAS

25

Originality / Silver paint on 68 SS hood ornaments/louvers

« on: December 14, 2017, 10:03:34 PM »

My question is regarding the originality of silver paint around the individual chrome plated stacks of the late 68 style hood louvers. Over in the Research Topic section there is a thread titled "68 SS Hood ornaments" that collected input from readers to determine when the SS 350 hood ornaments changed from fin design to the velocity stack design. Part of that thread also covered details of the stack design including that some original ornaments had a mat silver paint applied around the outer part of each individual stack opening. Toward the end of the thread it seems some originals may not have the silver paint after all. I would like to get a good answer from the "originality" forum topic group. So my question is - is it correct for the original stack style hood ornaments to have the mat silver paint applied to the outer part of each stack (but not on the upper chrome edge)?
Allen

26

Originality / Trunk decal for posi traction

« on: December 13, 2017, 07:23:08 PM »

I want to know about the correct style for the posi traction caution decal in the trunk for my 1968 L34 coupe. I recently received my decal from Camaro Central and it has round corners. After looking at some "original" and survivor pictures it seems the correct style is supposed to be with square corners. Which is correct? Any help or definitive pictures would be greatly appreciated.

Allen

27

Originality / 1968 non-RS wheel well moldings

« on: December 07, 2017, 03:26:04 PM »

I have a question about rear wheel well moldings for NON-RS 1968 Camaro. Many references and parts suppliers indicate that the short rear wheel well molding is only correct for the RS equipped cars in 68. However, many survivor photos of Z28, SS models and non-RS base models with survivor status and legends class winners show that many of these cars ( NON RS cars) had the short rear wheel well molding. But I have also seen original survivors with the long version like the 1967 cars. My 68 SS L34 currently has the short version with no screw holes present for the long version (but it has been restored before so not a perfect example). My question is - is it correct for Non-RS equipped 1968 camaro to have the short version of the rear wheel well molding? And what determines which type ( long type or short type) goes on each car? I have read many if not all the posts related to the RS wheel well molding but can find none which address my question.
Thanks in advance - CRG is a great web site and I visit it often.
Allen