Messages

1741

General Discussion / Re: Supposedly 302 Mustang 'Barn Find'

« on: January 07, 2014, 02:00:39 PM »

Mice anyone ? Not to mention the inside would look like the a scene from the Munsters due to spider webs. I recently bought and sold a " garage find" 68 ss elcamino. Interior gone ,I mean gone from critters. We wore respirators due to the smell while stripping out. Wiring--gone ,or certainly not safe. Tires dry rotted , aluminum wheels would not hold air due to corrosion around the beads. This was a low mileage Arizona car brought to Ohio in the early 90's that sat due to mechanical issues.    

I love good stories ! The little old lady from Pasadena's Super Stock Dodge ,that sat since her husband's death in 66' . Car would not start ,so she let it sit all these years ,come to find out her husband pulled the coil wire to prevent theft. Put in some fresh fuel ,charged the battery and fired right up ! All original ! Except for the driver's side front fender to rear quarter which was replaced. Oh and the passenger fender was replaced. I have always loved that car since I was a child, used to help Mr. So n So wax it. Being such a good friend of the family she finally decided to sell me the car this year. I am like a grandchild to her as they had no children ,and she feels very sentimental ,as do I, about the car.---Reserve set at $65K---see my other items listed under Ashyster.

Remind anyone of some listings out there?


Love the thought of classic muscle cars being found and brought back to life. Mythical. However ,as was posted, certain TV shows have really increased these "barn finds" ,which lends scrutiny to legit finds. Does make for good entertainment I guess. Street racing 1000+ hp cars on the side of the highway ,that don't break loose, building cars in 1 week ( well 300+ man hours)---anyway gotta go , time to look for Bigfoot.

 Afew comments: 1st hotrod68 said ,"that no car looks that good after 40 years without some tweaking." I'll add, same goes for most women too,LOL. Now on to Janobyte: Nothing worse than bringing a car to Ohio, IMHO. If you like to see something deteriorate quickly, bring it to the Buckeye State.  Not to mention moisture and subsequent rust/mold, oxidizing rubber and paint deteriorating from acid rain etc...but those dang rodents have ruined many a potentially nice car. Rats literally ate the plug wires off my big block car and gnawed the carpet off the bottom of the deluxe door panels. Gave a whole new meaning to "Rat Motor" see pic. And why are you making fun of my family's name, Ashyster? (just kidding,lol).

1742

General Discussion / Re: 69 rosewood Steering Wheel

« on: January 05, 2014, 01:10:06 AM »

Now I'm intrigued as well.  I can only think of two possibilities for this wheel:
1) It's an early prototype built by the company that produced the wheels for Chevrolet?  What company was that?  Does anyone know?  Tin-top:  Do you know the history of this steering wheel?  where it came from and when?
2) The *other* possibility is that it's an attempt (not a bad one btw) by an unknown company attempting to mimic the great beauty and style of one of the many beautiful parts used on the '69 Camaro.... 

Any other opinions??     Ed?

Now I'm intrigued as well.  I can only think of two possibilities for this wheel:
1) It's an early prototype built by the company that produced the wheels for Chevrolet?  What company was that?  Does anyone know? 

I believe the Inland plant in Dayton,Ohio made the wheels.

1743

General Discussion / Re: Closet Find..

« on: January 04, 2014, 03:46:02 AM »

Well DW,...more and more folks are coming out of the closet these days...LOL. Glad you finally came out and started going through the mags. Sorry...just had to ad that. Funny, I was sick too and with it being sooo coold, I too dug out some old mags. Right now, the commode reading room has a stack of 1952-3 Speed Age and another 1965-7 various Hot Rod type mags. Happy read'in and thanks for sharing and get well.

1744

Mild Modifications / Re: rear end upgrade 1969

« on: January 03, 2014, 08:11:49 PM »

The only 12 bolt that is a bolt in fit are the housings made for 1967-9 Camaros and 1968-71 Novas. You need to research on your own this topic on this site and there is plenty to read because having told you which housings fit, those housings, at least most, will have multi leaf perches so you would need different perches or adapters or different springs. Having said that, I only would pursue that type rear if I was a purist for original equipment(which I am). A 9 inch ford and Dana 60 have always been regarded as stronger units and preferable. If 12 bolt is your pick, then I feel a cheaper route would be to get an 67-72 A body (Chevelle,Cutlass,LeMans,GS Buick) coil spring which are much more plentiful thus cheaper and weld the leaf perches on. They are a little wider, but wheels are available with many offsets nowadays. I would keep the mono (single) leaf springs as most serious drag only cars ran these. Good Luck...Oh, and the traction bar? If it is metal, it can be straightened,and I will add-cut,drilled,welded,altered and re-fabricated. Would like to have a pic first to see for myself how to proceed, but guessing an arbor press and a rosebud torch will take care of this. Air shocks...scrap 'em. Those A body rears came in a lot of 6 cylinder cars believe it or not. I got one out of a Canadian 69 Buick Special 2-door post I scrapped if you can't find one.

1745

General Discussion / Re: '68 on the main page

« on: January 03, 2014, 07:02:17 PM »

Steve,
For those of us still pursuing a restoration, and I believe I can speak for all of us in that phase, I would be beyond delighted if my car comes out that nice. Outstanding! Well done!

1746

General Discussion / Re: Looking to get lots of photos for the Home Page for 2014

« on: January 03, 2014, 04:06:58 PM »

Hey guys,

We have a new year coming and I am looking to collect lots of nice photos for the home page.  Not just for next month, but for the entire year.  So send in your photo of your Camaro and I promise, it will get on the home page.  If you have a special month, for example, a birthday, or the month your Camaro was built (Like I'm not the only Camaro owner that knows the birth week of his vehicle), I will be happy to post that photo for that specific month. 

You Camaro does not have to be perfect, heck, if it's in primer, or rusty and dented, or has dull paint, send a photo anyway.  This site is not about perfect and restored Camaros, it's about OUR Camaros, of all conditions and styles. 

The next Camaro of each model year will get posted for the start of the New Years.  Don't worry if the pic is not perfect, as I will do my best to crop it and re-size it if necessary. 

So please, send in your pics, this site is about you and your Camaro, so represent and send in your pic.

Send photos to:

sdkar@bellsouth.net


Thanks,

Steve 

Hey Steve, I can't fully celebrate a New Year or New Month either, since the home page does not have up the new pics and already three days in to 2014. Sure hope you are not ill or something. I had some kind of crud going around, here, in Ohio for about a week of sickness so I would understand. Of course, it could be all those Bowl Games too, kind of has me behind on stuff around here not to mention it is going to be around zero or below for next several days. During the cold season, it gets to  where I look forward to CRG updates more than the mail at Christmas.

1747

General Discussion / Re: 69 rosewood Steering Wheel

« on: January 03, 2014, 03:49:29 PM »

I would say that someone has added those embellishments (rivets) in a customizing attempt.

1748

Restoration / Re: 454 engine

« on: December 27, 2013, 03:12:32 AM »

Trans is adequate, no problem there. Only worry is keeping tires on the rear!

1749

Originality / Re: Exhaust Manifold #s

« on: December 26, 2013, 01:44:20 PM »

Charley, awesome gesture.  Makes a person rethink trying to make the all mighty dollar vs helping out a fellow enthusiast.

On behalf of all car enthusiasts trying to make a dream come true and your ability, Charley, to fulfill that dream, a HUGE thanks and God Bless!

1750

General Discussion / Re: Pic of My new car from 1979

« on: December 25, 2013, 02:19:15 AM »

Well...right now hoping and praying I can find someone to do the body-paint work and find the funds to finish the work needed before I lose total interest.

1751

General Discussion / Re: Pic of My new car from 1979

« on: December 24, 2013, 11:09:09 PM »

mid 12's

1752

General Discussion / Re: My other 2 69's

« on: December 24, 2013, 08:59:32 PM »

Maybe kinda tough to see, but I put '70 mirrors (R&L, driver remote) on my '69 in '75. Other mods (which fortunately for the car never happened) were planned aftermarket "T" tops (the rage in mid '70's, mfg. by Hurst and others), custom grille with square headlights, black paint with gold highlights/panels; I did install an in-dash AM/FM CB, plus a column mount Sun Super tach. Removed the console, installed a Mr. Gasket Pro Shifter, recarpeted with fuzzy shag black carpet. I was proud of it, still am considering I should be shot for what I did to it, or for what I wanted to do to it - at least most of the car made it this far fairly intact.

In 1979/80, I learned what the X77 stood for on the cowl tag, so mods ceased and recovery began - still at it all these years later.

Regards,
Steve

It struck me as funny that I was just sharing some pics from back in the day and the conversation turned to "mods" we did or saw. Normally, I would be embarrassed to show what my mods were going to be, but here goes with the following pics. I will remind you guys that I always appreciated originality, even when I was 18. I did not like "hacked up" cars then or now. The blue car pics are the "born with" engine with some idea where I was going with the car mods. Ended up putting the setup on the Yellow car for awhile, but now that setup is on a shelf. I kept all the original parts by the way including manifolds and air cleaner, Thank God. Will post current pics of yellow car later.

1753

General Discussion / Re: starting my resto

« on: December 23, 2013, 08:13:58 PM »

1st thing I would recommend is getting lots of different size ziplock bags or what you prefer and storage boxes or totes to put components in and a log book to write down different aspects such as making diagrams, documenting part #'s, etc.. along with taking pictures of everything,even stuff you are not sure of their significance. Make sure they are close up, detailed pics too as to see how stuff was mounted,how it comes apart and markings and paint details. Buy an AIM and put it in the reading room (translates bathroom for me) and study it as compared to what you are dis-assembling. If you damage a bolt or anything save it as well in the baggies to compare when you replace with like kind.Save all old gaskets and weatherstrip as samples to compare against replacements. I feel a complete dis-assembly is the only way to do a quality job, but you better decide before the 1st bolt is removed if you have the fortitude and funds to see it through and this may be a long term process. The less you remove, the more compromised the quality of resto, as masking around stuff is usually harder and more detectable as amateur-ish. If you do not feel you have the stomach for this, then my advice would be to leave the car alone and keep it original refurbishing only components needed to make car function well. The next step would be to study what parts are available, their costs. My own preference would be used good parts opposed to reproduction or carefully considering the quality differences which are almost all covered here on the site in forum posts which will save time and money by doing your homework first, except for soft parts like weatherstripping were NOS or good original is hard to find and cost prohibitive for most. Be  aware that it will cost about the same whether it is a Z or a 6 cylinder with the exception of some engine components so a restoration has to be a passion with the understanding that the whole endeavor probably will cost more than what the end result will be worth.The word restoration is mis-used as it means to restore as original. Good luck.

1754

General Discussion / Re: my 1969 z28

« on: December 22, 2013, 12:31:42 AM »

17 yrs..  and 3000 miles?    You need to drive that car some..    Keep it lubricated and functional....   
I can tell you what happens when they sit for 33 yrs..

Ditto!! Mine sat waaaay too long.

1755

General Discussion / Re: My other 2 69's

« on: December 21, 2013, 12:46:06 AM »

I always like the vintage pics....thanks

So by 79 besides the dent, they had already swapped out the drivers door mirror?  :-\Seems funny to get a new camaro now, look at the whole car and think "I gotta get rid of that mirror!" What were they thinking back then guys? I mean was it that hard to go to a chevy dealer and have him grab one off the shelf or order one? I see funky antennas, mirrors, guys swapping out seats, and makes me wish I could of slapped those guys up side the head sometimes. Think of all the motor swaps that led to a real 67, 68, or 69 Z/28 turning into a orphan.... tragic!!! 

I think that is why these (Ist Gen) are such a challenge to restore and why this site exists. When explaining my restoration to a non-car person, I tell them that early Camaros are probably one of the most modified cars you will find. I maintain a couple of antique car collections for elderly friends. They don't understand why a component would be missing especially so many components. Some of their old cars still have the original air in the tires (I joke) because the type cars they own, where not messed with. So when you buy a car like the ones I maintain for those guys, you usually find them just as they came with manuals and all.