Topics

1

General Discussion / Transporting my Camaro from Florida to Upstate New York

« on: May 18, 2023, 07:38:47 PM »

I am looking for some thoughts, opinions, and/or recommendations on transporting my 1968 Camaro from the Orlando, FL area to Upstate NY.......To the Binghamton area which is at the intersection of Interstate 81 and NY Rt. 17 ......and then transporting it back to Florida around four months later.......About 1200 miles one way.

I will be going up there for the summer and fall and would love to have my car up there with me. I would be going in mid to late June or early July and returning in late October or early November.

It is a frame off restoration. I've owned this car almost 45 years, spent 15 years and about 80K restoring it so great care is of the utmost importance. An enclosed trailer would be a must!

I am thinking of two different ways I could go. One, hire a transporter.....or two, possibly rent a truck and single car enclosed trailer and haul it myself..........As far a renting a single car enclosed trailer, right now, I don't have the first clue where you would go to do it.

I AM NOT a "money is no object" guy so price will be a consideration.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

2

Restoration / Chirping / squealing noise at highway speed ???

« on: November 25, 2022, 09:20:26 PM »

My '68 is a fresh frame off restoration. Everything is new or refurbished. Before today, it's only been driven about 100 miles since finishing the restoration. Today was the first time though that I took on the highway and got it up above 45 mph.

Once it hits 50 mph and faster, there is a fairly loud chirping or squealing sound. The best comparison I can make is that it sounds like a bunch of crickets chirping away at night. When you drop back down below 50 mph, the noise disappears.

It sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side but I can't be sure.

In the front, the spindles, wheel bearings, rotors, brake pads, and tires are all brand new. The tires are BFG Radial TA's.

The rear end was professionally rebuilt. The axles, wheel bearings, brake drums, and brake shoes are all new. Also, it has a new Eaton posi unit in it.

For what it is worth, the front disc brake pads seem to be clamping awfully tight on the rotors with no pressure on the brake pedal. With the front wheels off of the ground, I've never felt so much resistance when trying to rotate a tire by hand.

Any ideas on this sound (and the tight brakes), I haven't got a clue.

Thanks.........Dave

3

Restoration / '68 wheel and tire size questions

« on: June 03, 2022, 05:19:17 PM »

I am nearly complete on the restoration of my '68 and am ready to order wheels and tires but need to make some decisions on wheel and tire size first, especially in the front!

This is the set up I have. I have a Hotchkiss TVS suspension on it which has the 2 inch lowering springs in the front and 1 1/2 lowering leaf springs in the back. Also, the heavier front sway bar in the front and now a sway bar in the back too. I have Koni Classic shocks all the way around. If it matters, I have factory power steering. The box was rebuilt by Lee Power Steering and converted to the 12.7 to 1 ratio.

I have had my heart set on Torq Thrust D or similar wheels forever and ever and I would be running a 15x7. In the actual Torq Thrust D, that size only comes in a 3 3/4 back spacing. I would like to get as much tire width in the front as I can but with the 2 inch lowering springs and the 3 3/4 inch back spacing, that really limits me on tire width. After some rough experimenting, I'm making a half-educated guess at a 205 width maximum. I wouldn't consider changing to another style wheel to get more tire width. The Torq Trust D style is the look I want. It doesn't have to be actual Torq Thrust D but would have to be something that looks very similar to it.

That being said, another wheel choice would be the ET Wheels Classic V wheel, which in their 15x7 size, is available in different back spacings up to 4 1/2 inches. I would consider this wheel as it is very similar to the Torq Thrust D.

So my big question is.....does increasing the backspacing and moving the tires inward negatively affect handling?

The reason I ask this is that many years ago, I was running Goodyear GT Radials on Crager 14x7 slotted alloy mags. I don't recall the back spacing of them but assume it probably around 3 3/4. The car handled very well with this set up but I was having tire rubbing issues in the front going over bumps. So I switched to Goodyear Eagle GT's on 15x7 steel wheels with 4 7/16 back spacing. At that time, the Eagle GT had replaced the GT Radial as Goodyear's performance tire. My tire rubbing issues went away but the car did not handle as well with this set up. Within a 1/4 mile of leaving the tire shop, I knew something was different. The steering was not as crisp. It was looser and sloppier.

So I always wondered if the reason for that was because of the change in backspacing and moving the tires inward. I see suspension geometry diagrams which show lines intersecting at the center of the tire contact patch. Do you screw up the geometry, and in turn the handling by moving the tire center contact patch inwards and putting it not where the geometry design intended it to be?

So as far as handling is concerned, would I better off with the 3 3/4 backspacing and a narrower tire or the 4 1/2 back spacing with a wider tire?

Thanks for any thoughts on this in advance.

Dave

4

Restoration / DOOR PANEL WATER SHIELD VINYL POCKETS ???

« on: May 07, 2022, 01:19:06 AM »

After buying and returning repro door panel water shields that were terrible, I decided to make my own out of 6 mil vinyl.

The original factory water shields had a vinyl pocket covering the opening in the water shield for the door opening mechanism that pops through it. The screws attaching the interior door handle to the mechanism went right through the vinyl pocket.

I've looked at several repro water shields online and haven't seen one that had the vinyl pocket. Just a hole for the mechanism to go through.

So I'm wondering what others might have done to replicate that vinyl pocket. I know, if I wanted to, I could just cut up a sandwich bag and tape it over the hole in the water shield and be ok but was looking for something a little better than that.







Thanks........Dave

5

Restoration / Can seat tracks be disassembled ???

« on: March 11, 2022, 04:52:52 PM »

Can seat tracks be disassembled for cleaning and re-greasing? I saw a video on Youtube where a guy did it to a set of '67 tracks by inserting a little hook tool and grabbing the assembly that has the roller and two ball bearings and working the assembly out.

I don't know how he accomplished that. When I look in there, I don't see how you can get the roller past the stops that are stamped into the lower track section.

If they can't be disassembled, and suggestions on the best way get 54 years of dirt and old grease from the insides of the track assembly?

Thanks.....Dave

6

Maintenance / Turn signal goes on and opposite brake light goes out !!!

« on: March 06, 2022, 10:53:54 PM »

Hopefully someone with more electrical knowledge of these cars than myself can point me in the right direction on as to where the trouble is.

When you apply the brakes, both brake lights light up as they should.

With the key ON....and the brake lights on, when the right turn signal is turned on, the right turn signal/brake light flashes as it should but the left brake light goes out.

Also, if the key is OFF.....and the brake lights are on.....if the right turn signal is turned on, both brake/turn signal lights go out.......If the left turn signal is turned on, only the left brake/turn signal light goes out and the right one stays lit.

Any ideas?

Thanks......Dave

7

General Discussion / Posting photos on this site ???

« on: March 02, 2022, 06:04:41 PM »

Can someone give some advice on post pictures on this site.

To post pictures on this site and at Team Camaro, I used to host my pictures in Photobucket. I would copy the link from Photobucket and paste it into my threads. The pictures came out fine here and at Team Camaro also.

After Photobucket started charging to post their pictures, I started hosting my photos on the Team Camaro site. Their pictures came out fine over there but came out huge on this site.

So now I've tried hosting on Imjur and again, the photos are fine on Team Camaro and huge over here.

Any ideas on how to fix that?

Thanks.....Dave

8

Restoration / Magnaflow exhaust - Hotchkis rear sway bar - interference???

« on: February 19, 2022, 06:45:45 PM »

Has anyone been able to install a Magnaflow dual exhaust system with a Hotchkis rear sway bar also installed.?

This is the Magnaflow part number 15896......2 1/2 inch pipe with dual mufflers with the tail pipes exiting the mufflers and going up and over the axle housing.

The reason I ask is because, unlike any other dual exhaust complete system I have seen out there for first gen Camaros, the Magnaflow system's mufflers are splayed instead of being parallel to each other. The back of the mufflers are pointed slightly outwards.

The Hotchkis sway bar uses vertical "dogbone" connectors to attach the sway bar itself, which is fastened to the axle housing, to the support bracket that is connected to the frame rails. The way the mufflers are splayed outward, it looks like tailpipes coming out of the mufflers are going to come very close to those vertical dogbone connectors if not run right into them.

It also looks like the sway bar support bracket that attaches to the frame rails might interfere with the Magnaflow muffler hangers which bolt to the factory threaded holes in the floor board.

So before I spend $800 on the Magnaflow system only to find out it interferes with the sway bar, I was wondering if anyone has successfully used this combination  or if it's been tried and can't be done.

Thanks.......Dave

9

Restoration / Best seat covers for '68 black deluxe interior ???

« on: February 11, 2022, 12:12:04 AM »

I am looking for any opinions as to who's making the most correct seat covers for a '68 with a black deluxe interior.

I'm needing to recover both my front buckets. After talking to experienced people locally and going on their opinion, I ordered covers from Legendary. When they arrived and I pulled them out of the box, I was amazed at what I saw. Super shiny vinyl! They looked like they had been covered with a gallon of Armour All. I showed them to the upholsterer who is going to recover my seats. He is a top notch guy and very experienced with classic cars. I also showed them to a guy who has been restoring Camaros for 30 plus years.......Both agreed that they looked totally wrong and that I should send them back.....which I am!

I called Legendary and asked them about it. The guy couldn't tell me much other than if I ordered another set from Legendary, that they would look the same. That they had thousands of yards of that material. He did ask me for the date on them which was 8/2021 and said maybe I got a different dye lot.

So to compare, I ordered seat cover material samples from Legendary, PUI, TMI, Distinctive, and Al Knoch. I have all of them in hand except for the PUI. The Legendary sample is almost as glossy as the seat covers they sent me. All the others are what I would have expected. Just a touch of gloss. A satin finish at best....and a much better match to the rest of my original interior.

So Legendary is definitely out and now it's a choice between PUI, TMI, Distinctive, or Al Knoch......except I don't know a thing about any of them as far as quality and how close they are to the originals.......Any opinions would be appreciated.

The Legendary covers sent to me are pictured below. The late afternoon sun is shining on them.....Sorry for the size of the picture. I host my forum photos on Team Camaro. The come out fine over there and huge on this site. I don't know how to fix that.

Thanks .....Dave

10

Restoration / Will this wheel and tire combo work?

« on: February 01, 2022, 02:17:28 AM »

I was wondering if someone could give an opinion on a wheel and tire combination I would like run.

I have a '68 coupe that has a Hotchkis TVS suspension kit on it. It has the 2 inch lowering coils in the front and 1 1/2 lowering leafs in the back with front and rear sway bars. All other  suspension components are stock.

I want to run P235/60R 15 BF Goodrich Radial T/A's on 15x7 Torq Thrust D's all around. The Torq Thrust D's have a backspace of 3 3/4.

I don't think there is any trouble with the rear tire interference but with the 2 inch lowering springs in the front, I am concerned about interference in the front.

Has anyone run this combination or something similar and can comment on it?

Thanks.....Dave

11

Restoration / Inspection cover - 403 bellhousing - one piece rear main seal?

« on: June 25, 2021, 11:40:49 PM »

Do they make a flywheel inspection cover that will work with a "403" bellhousing mated to a one piece rear main seal engine?

When I tried to install my original cover from the two piece seal engine on my new one piece, the cutout on the cover that goes around the crank seems to be hitting the housing of the one piece seal before you can push it all of the way up.

If they don't make a cover that works with this combination, are people trimming their original covers to fit around the one piece seal housing?

Thanks......Dave

12

Restoration / Header recommendation.....'68 small block with factory power steering

« on: June 22, 2021, 07:14:04 PM »

I am looking for a recommendation on headers for my '68 with power steering and the original Saginaw power steering box.....I am looking for 1 5/8" primary tubes in ceramic coated or stainless ( some protection other than just paint)

I have a new small block crate motor, and a Flowmaster American Thunder exhaust system in 2 1/2 diameter stainless steel sitting here in the box waiting for headers so that I can install it.

I know of the problems people sometimes have with headers clearing the power steering box. I have searched the site for recommendations but most of the post are several years old.

In these posts, I did see Hooker Competition and Hooker Super Competition mentioned as clearing the power steering box without problem. Hooker also states in their description that they will work with power steering.

When I looked at the Hookers on Summit though, I was pretty discouraged by the reviews. There are some good reviews but an equal number of bad ones. Some regarding fitment but more so regarding the poor quality of the finish!......One reviewer mentioned that one header is lower to the ground than the other one by a couple of inches. I read somewhere in the product description that one side is lower than the other so that these headers will work for multiple applications but it never said by how much.......If that difference is actually two inches, that is something I wouldn't want and I'm not sure how I would mate the pre-bent Flowmaster pipes to one header that much lower than the other one anyhow.

So just looking for a recommendation on a header that will clear the power steering box, has a decent finish on it, and will mate well to the Flowmaster system.

13

Restoration / CONSOLE GAUGE AMMETER TO VOLT METER CONVERSION.

« on: March 31, 2021, 03:06:48 AM »

Over a year ago, I purchased a volt meter to replace the ammeter in my '68 console gauge set up but am just getting to it now. I am using the original factory harness.

There are at least two versions of this volt meter. There is the one made by American Autowire and there is another made by AC Delco. I went with the AC Delco that I bought from Heartbeat City for two reasons. One, it was less than half the price of the AAW, and two, the font looked closer to the original gauges. In pictures I've seen of the AAW version, the font seemed a little thinner than the originals. Not quite as bold. Maybe that's just my perception.

Today was the first time I compared the AC Delco volt meter to the original ammeter I want to replace and two things bothered me. One, the brushed aluminum face of the AC Delco is lighter in color than the original gauges and I think it's going to stand out.....And two, there are three studs/terminals on the back of the new volt meter (at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) and there are only two on the original ammeter (at 12 and 6 o'clock). This means I would have to drill the gauge mounting plate at 3 and 9 o'clock to mount the new volt meter. AC Delco knows this and gives you a template to do so but I'm not so crazy about doing that.

So my questions are to anyone who has used the AAW version....

1) Was the brushed aluminum face of the AAW the same color and shade as your other three original gauges? (So that it didn't stand out!)

2) Did the font on the AAW match your other three original gauges? (So that it didn't stand out!)

3) Did you have to drill your gauge mounting plate to mount the AAW?

Thanks......Dave

14

Restoration / New disc needed for Hays Borg and Beck clutch

« on: March 06, 2021, 09:05:29 PM »

I have a Hays Borg and Beck style three finger 10.5 inch clutch that was bought back in the mid 80's. The clutch itself is fine but it needs a new disc.

What I need is a disc for a 10.5 inch GM clutch with a 1 1/8 inch diameter 10 spline shaft.

I went to Hayes' website and looked on their clutch disc page for a replacement. There is no such disc shown! They do however, offer a GM Classic Street Clutch kit, Borg and Beck style, disc included, that is 10.5 inches, and also for a 1 1/8 inch, 10 spline shaft.

So I called the Hays tech support line and asked why they don't offer this disc alone when they make a clutch kit that includes what appears to be the disc I am looking for. The guy there said the disc from the kit is not offered as a stand alone part  and  even though the dimensions match, it still might not be correct for a clutch from the mid 80's.
I have no paperwork from my clutch showing the part number of the disc and there is no part number stamped on it. It's only stamped "Made in the USA" and has a letter "C" all by itself. It does have six springs where as most discs I see have only five.

Doing some research, I do see some Hays discs for sale from vendors other than Hays that look like they may be what I'm looking for. They have the six springs and are Hays part number 55-111. Even though, you have it listed, some vendors say not available or sold out so it may be the last of some NOS stuff.

Can anyone verify if P/N 55-111 would be correct for this clutch, or if not, what would be a suitable replacement f or it?

Thanks......Dave

15

Restoration / Steering coupler / rag joint help !!!

« on: May 19, 2020, 03:54:58 PM »

Does anyone know if the rag joint shown in my first two pictures is actually available anywhere?

This rag joint is shown in at least two parts catalogs but when you order it, you're sent something else.

First, I ordered it from Classic Industries. It is for my '68 with power steering. It is Classic Industries and OER's part number 7828871. What they sent me is what you see in the third and fourth picture. The box was labeled correctly 7828871. So I called Classic Industries. They really had no explanation. I asked the guy I talked to if there was any way to know if the wrong part was put in the right box and if they actually had the part that they pictured. That seemed to throw him a curve he couldn't answer. I am returning that part.

So I look on Heartbeat City's website and I see the same coupler that I want.....the coupler in pictures one and two. HBC part number FEP-1334. Before I order it, I call there and talk to a guy named Jim. I explain what happened with the Classic Industries order and say, before I order this, I want to be absolutely sure I am going to get what is in your picture. He assured me once and then twice that I would. Well, it arrived yesterday and guess what? I got the exact same part I got from Classic Industries, again in an OER Box labeled 7828871. Needless to say, I was a little ticked off! So I called them yesterday and talked with Adam. His only explanation is that OER probably updated their part since that picture was taken. So I'm sending that one back too.

So again, just wondering if the coupler show in pictures one and two actually exists and is available?

Thanks.......Dave