putting a car back together. i wish i had more skills.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Is there a more popular muscle car than the '69 Camaro? I doubt it.

(Mustangs don't count, those are pony cars. Yuuuuge difference)

There are so many parts and so much information on those cars that the most incompetent maroon could put together a pretty nice example. You are not that maroon!

Do it!!

(I love that clapped out Z/28. I would totally be proud to own that car!)

Mustang and Camaro are both pony cars.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by speeder

That is actually Smokey Yunick's cheater manifold he designed that matched the performance of the tunnel ram. That's what he told me. It's definitely a really SY piece.

Stock Z-28 302 dual quad crossram manifold

[john70t]

Put on some soft shoes and kick it in the side.
Spit on it. Turn around and fart on it. Piss on it if you wish.
You can't do much more harm than the last 50 years of nature has already done to it.
It's just an assembly of stamped sheet metal, on top a simple box of steel, with bolts holding it all together.
It rolls on connected moveable inflated rubber circles bouncing on a bunch of parts to soften movement from the person in the box.
Pieces of rubber or other mater sometimes separate the parts.
On most others, the connectors have to be tightened like so.
It's as expendable as the tens of thousands already run into something crushed into squares and made into other things without a second thought.
It's just some metal piece of crap.
Put on music and get to work.

[john70t]

(Hint: I'm also talking to my lazyself)

[scottmandue]

Do it!



However I feel your pain, any 'project"' car for me has to be a driver or I will get overwhelmed and just let it sit.

When I had my Miata my rule was if I spend more than half a day under the car and I could not see the end in sight I would put it back together and drive it to the mechanic.

Do you have mechanically inclined friends? Invite them over on the weekends for a BBQ and wrenching party? (I know that would be A LOT of BBQ'in to get a project that big done)

[scottmandue]

Hmmmm

1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS clone | eBay

1969 Chevrolet Camaro

There is a car in his pic but I haven't found it yet.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro | eBay

I think you get the idea.

[Scott Douglas]

This thread reminds me of the day I hauled my second 912 home and finally got it parked in the driveway. I sat there looking at it from across the street as I'd gone over there to take a picture of it and the house. I thought to myself "What the he!! have you got yourself into now?"
All I had to do was swap the whole drive train and most of the interior from the one already in the garage to the one in the driveway. Piece of cake. My brother put the one in the garage together by himself, I've got a willing teenager to help me with the heavy stuff. All it took was some planning and execution of said plan. Write the plan, work the plan. Check lists help.
If I could plan how to build a satellite I sure as he!! could do this too.

[DanielDudley]

If I had a dollar for every internet story I read about a guy who went back to his family's place only to find his car gone, I'd have enough for a pretty good dinner out.

Make your intentions clear, and get that out of there before it is too late. Sell it or put some cash into it. Right now it is taking up space in two places, and one of them is your mind. Why not be honest with yourself about time and budget, and see if you can line up some locals to make that sucker run.

One of the guys here started a 3.6 conversion, and had one of teh big guns here finish it for him. No shame in that. How bad do you want it ?

Tip. Make it run before you paint it.

[wdfifteen]

You couldn't ask for a much simpler car to restore. Having said that, I thought my '47 Dodge truck would be simple - flathead six, three speed, doesn't even have a heater. What tripped me up was little things, the body work, and interior. I would hire body & paint, glass, and interior done and do the mechanicals myself. Wrenching is way more fun than sanding. What kind of shop space do you have?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

You couldn't ask for a much simpler car to restore.

I had the same thought... growing up my family was a GM family... Oldsmobile for dad and Chevy station wagon for mom. Dad had me do some of the maintenance on them (mostly the Chevy because that was the car I drove the most).
I was a teenager with very little experience and still managed to do brakes, shocks, water pump, even the rear end (after I bent it street racing).

[vash]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

You couldn't ask for a much simpler car to restore. Having said that, I thought my '47 Dodge truck would be simple - flathead six, three speed, doesn't even have a heater. What tripped me up was little things, the body work, and interior. I would hire body & paint, glass, and interior done and do the mechanicals myself. Wrenching is way more fun than sanding. What kind of shop space do you have?

Shop? Nope. Just a very vanilla two car garage. I am gonna bend over backwards to not displace my wife's car from the garage.

I would get the body and interior done in my old home town; El Paso. Just much cheaper. I'm gonna reach out to all my hot rod friends back there. Then fly to Austin to suss it out next month. No sense speculating from here.

[Jim Richards]

I would love a project like this. I hope it works for you, Cliff.

[cabmandone]

If I were to get rid of my 911, that would be the car that would replace it. I LOVE that year Camaro!
It's on badass looking car.

[look 171]

Cliff, what a story. Go have a look, what's there to lose?

How about getting it done in Mexico? I had thought about painting my dirty old truck down there, but decided to just sell as it is. Well, I must put an ad out there first. Its been more then 6 months and dragging my tail doing nothing about it. Now it just sits. I know if I came across a project like that, I WILL NEVER finish due to work, family and lack of will and knowledge but I am sure the process is fun. I am in the middle of building up a 72 from a bare body with motor and tranny in pieces. All I did was help fit a couple of items when I visit. No way I am going to finish.

[Jim Richards]

I can help you out, Jeff.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by vash

Shop? Nope. Just a very vanilla two car garage. I am gonna bend over backwards to not displace my wife's car from the garage.

I would get the body and interior done in my old home town; El Paso. Just much cheaper. I'm gonna reach out to all my hot rod friends back there. Then fly to Austin to suss it out next month. No sense speculating from here.

Good for you. Somehow this will work itself out.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by URY914

Skills you got.
Time is the killer.
It will take FOREVER!

As long as there is little or no rust they are simple. I have done two early k code Mustangs and they were as simple as pie.

Every part imaginable is available. Stock or retro mod.

[vonsmog]

Vash,
Go for it, there is nothing magical about putting one of these together, plus there are parts galore for them. The hard part is when you try to modify something and have to re-engineer to make it all work and fit. Right now I am finishing up a Unimog that is so modified, that it is taking me years to get it together, as everything is being changed, (i hope for the better). This is my own truck, so I am making it the way I want. If it was stock I would have been done years ago with it. So if you don't go crazy, you could have that together in a few months after the bodywork is done on it.