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

[vash]

1969 Z28 CLONE.

my brother drove to Austin, TX and bought a Ducati. he brought along his GF, and my elderly mom. mom being mom, wanted to see family.

my cousin pulled my brother to the side and asked if i was ever going to come and get the camaro. reminder, it is in boxes, the body is parked transversely in the front of the garage, just taking up space. my cousin has had enough.

it's a partial Clone project in it's infancy. all of it is there. z28 parts and all. the "it's in boxes" part is daunting.

i KNOW what i want. i modern crate motor, AC, way better brakes, etc. he said the Muncie 4-speed is there.

i think i am going to fly to Austin in a few (with my wife) and see for myself what is there.

is this insanity? like the other thread..is this the cure for happiness? i'm no gas-monkey shop.. but this would be badass:

[vash]

i would get the body work done in El Paso..where it is cheaper and my brother knows people.

[jwasbury]

don't you build bridges and stuff for a living? You got this!

That era Camaro is very cool looking IMO.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nice! If that's something you want, go for it! That era of car is dirt simple, and there's only about 10,000 books and websites dedicated to restoring Camaros. Plus you can get parts at every auto parts store on Earth, and they just about give them away.

[speeder]

I knew a guy who had a '69 Z-28 clone that was seriously one of the nicest street driven hot rods I've ever seen. I'm including Porsches, exotics, everything. Haven't seen him in years but ran into one of his buddies the other night and thought about asking him if he's seen Darren, (guy w Camaro).

It was black w a white stripe and had a well-tuned 427 w 4-speed and 12 bolt posi w good street gears. Racing seats and harness, aluminum roll bar, nice gauges, etc., etc...

LAPD would pull him over just to ask about the car and drool. It was seriously quick and set up for handling w modern brakes. That thing would just rip your head off in the passenger seat.

Just food for thought.

[VincentVega]

at least check it out

So many options to put one together, lots of OE to all custom bits work from various years/models.

[RANDY P]

It's not mentally challenging, it's the unwritten little things- skills you need to make it all fit together. Fit and finish stuff, and fixing years of PO butchery.

Pisses me off the most about working with domestics, you can buy brand new stuff, for a car or engine that has been around for 50+ years, and the stuff still fits wrong.

Headers come to mind.

You need determination and effort. If you leave unfinished projects, then maybe this isn't for you.

rjp

[pwd72s]

Hell Vash, you DO have skills. Just maybe not in wrenching, body, and upholstery work.

Bound to be a gas monkey like shop near Austin...Texas is big on Muscle cars. Find one and turn 'em loose. Join a Camaro forum, and have fun!

(edit) You might check out this Texas shop...they've built some amazing high end cars. Have a large checkbook balance, tho...

https://vorshlag-store.com/

[stomachmonkey]

What's the question here?

Go get it.

You can fly straight into Austin but if you fly into DFW stop by for a beer on your way through.

If you don't want the car tell me where it is, I'll go get it this weekend.

[speeder]

Came out of one of my lunch spots downtown recently and saw this. Hmmm, cool. Ratty '69 Camaro being driven. Then a double take. Z-28 badges. Ok. Closer inspection... could it be a real one?

Owner comes out and sees me eyeballing his car, I start conversation to assure him I'm just admiring it. Yep, it's a real Z-28. He's had it for years and it was his brother's before that. He has the original 302 on the shelf, (worn out), and a built SBC in it now. All original parts on shelf, lots of upgraded stuff on the car.

The owner is a young Latino guy, (at least young compared to me) , I ask if he worries about it getting stolen and he tells me that he lives down in the 'hood where no one has a clue what it is. Everyone just thinks it's an old POS car. Lol...

[masraum]

These aren't that complicated. Nothing that you can't do.

Do you like a project? Some folks prefer the project to the finished product. I've seen plenty of folks finish a restoration, drive the car a couple of months, sell it and then buy another project. I prefer driving them.

I supposed if I had the space and time and money, then it might take something like this on. It's something that you probably need to not be in a hurry to see complete.

Still, if you can get a really good deal on it, and you won't be pissed if not EVERYTHING is there, then go for it.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by speeder

Came out of one of my lunch spots downtown recently and saw this. Hmmm, cool. Ratty '69 Camaro being driven. Then a double take. Z-28 badges. Ok. Closer inspection... could it be a real one?

Owner comes out and sees me eyeballing his car, I start conversation to assure him I'm just admiring it. Yep, it's a real Z-28. He's had it for years and it was his brother's before that. He has the original 302 on the shelf, (worn out), and a built SBC in it now. All original parts on shelf, lots of upgraded stuff on the car.

The owner is a young Latino guy, (at least young compared to me) , I ask if he worries about it getting stolen and he tells me that he lives down in the 'hood where no one has a clue what it is. Everyone just thinks it's an old POS car. Lol...

Wow, super cool. Looks like the original dual quad crossram top for the 302 intake was changed to a single quad which is probably not a bad idea.

[1990C4S]

Dead simple car. Go for it.

[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.

[RANDY P]

car is literally held together with an assortment of self tapping screws and 9/16 coarse thread bolts almost everywhere. Not hard at all.

rjp

[Scott Douglas]

Think of it as going together one piece at a time.

[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!)

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Think of it as going together one piece at a time.

That's how Johnny Cash did it.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by astrochex

that's how johnny cash did it.

lol!

[URY914]

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