68 Camaro bodywork

idrivejunk · March 11, 2016, 03:52:38 PM

Howdy.

This poor old car came into my work stall yesterday for an estimated 14 weeks of bodywork. Then paint. Our hero bought almost all new steel, and had the car tubbed, caged, four-linked, and fuel-celled. The quarter panel installations left a lot to be desired, but in all fairness are unfinished. The customer is once bitten, twice shy but I aim to do him proud so his vision can become reality.

The new panels don't line up and theres not a decent gap in sight. Somebody put a real top shelf botch job on the quarters. Never fear, this is kinda my specialty and I enjoy getting nice results. Its my first big Camaro job though.

I'll just give you a glance in this tip-of-the-iceberg post, and starting Monday I'll be on it full time. Think of this as the pilot episode of a new TV series, lol. Theres still a Mustang for me to put together but other than that, its this. Get out your snafu counters, here we go...

UGLY OLDS · March 11, 2016, 04:11:07 PM

YEOW..

Did the same people do the cage, four link AND the sheet metal :?: :?:
If so, I would look REAL deep into that car .....

Just to make sure...
Scary.....Nice that they marked the dent in the right rear valance though.. :?

Bob....

idrivejunk · March 11, 2016, 04:30:24 PM

I don't think I'll ever get to know who did what. Its just me and the car and the rest is a mystery. Surely tidbits of info on it will surface as we go. You 'uns will eventually see all the gore right here, and I want to be shed of this thing by fireworks time.

Didn't like what I saw inside and underneath much better, to be honest. But I am not to measure the chassis nor venture there, only to get gaps and eliminate dents without opening the worm can very far. Rest assured, I am the biggest measuring freak you probably know when it comes to car bodies. I did ten years of collision repair and another five of classic and custom so far. So its against my grain but doesn't grind my gears. A guy can only sell what they are buying on a given day.

I am reminded of what happened to Bullwinkle just after he said "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!"

kb426 · March 11, 2016, 05:58:24 PM

I'll be watching.

enjenjo · March 11, 2016, 07:04:33 PM

How are the reveals around the wheel openings on the rear quarters? I'll bet not there.Looks like who ever did the used just skins and not full quarters.

UGLY OLDS · March 11, 2016, 07:38:42 PM

My question about "who did what" was more from a safety concern than anything else ...I mean..If that's what was done on the parts you CAN SEE.... :?: :?:

Bob...

idrivejunk · March 11, 2016, 09:28:23 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"How are the reveals around the wheel openings on the rear quarters? I'll bet not there.Looks like who ever did the used just skins and not full quarters.

They look like full quarters to me, at least the door jamb area is included. Single wall at the wheel opening, tub is just cut near the quarter skin.

idrivejunk · March 11, 2016, 09:39:10 PM

Quote from: "UGLY OLDS"My question about "who did what" was more from a safety concern than anything else ...I mean..If that's what was done on the parts you CAN SEE.... :?: :?:

Bob...

Oh I know what you mean, and I will be keeping an eye out for scary things. The floor welding resembles the quarter stuff, but the cage and chassis looks like a different guy. Or it could be the same guy but with an aversion to thin stuff. I seriously have not looked it over very well yet. All I have been tasked with is non-structural, so I will stay away from all of that and get gaps. Any potential safety issues will get red-flagged by me but that means very little, to be honest. Just gonna do my job, I'm no tech inspector.

idrivejunk · March 14, 2016, 11:17:03 PM

Got a better look around it today and took some pics. Did some exploratory excavation, made a list, took the front clip off and started lining up the right door. Lots of areas to fix sheetmetal-wise, but the chassis work looks to be typical race shop stuff or so I am told. Looks like two different guys worked on it, to me. The body measured out square to the frame and most of the errors are in the quarter installs. But its a mess and I have a long row to hoe. I have plans for all of the fixes and options are being weighed on this n that. Feel free to discuss what you see. Its Art Morrison chassis parts, I am told.

UGLY OLDS · March 14, 2016, 11:36:20 PM

Ahhh... It started life as an Illinois car ...You can tell by the window openings & the rain gutters ..

Bob..

idrivejunk · March 14, 2016, 11:48:42 PM

60s steel is getting that way fast here in Arkansas. I hate drip rail and window bed pits. Theres a patch going all the way across the top of the windshield bed but the old flange was kept. I made a hole to see if it had been patched over rust but it looks like it was cut out. All along where the top molding clips go. Kinda crooked there...

:?

:oops:

rumrumm · March 15, 2016, 12:38:16 PM

I hope the owner has deep pockets. I see a lot of hours to get that body respectable.

kb426 · March 15, 2016, 12:46:15 PM

I understand the 14 weeks estimate. It looks to me like 3 different shops have worked on it.

idrivejunk · March 15, 2016, 09:14:30 PM

Thanks for peeking. Its a handful, ain't it? :!:

Well guys at least the doors and fenders aren't fighting me too hard so far. The left rocker is a culprit but I will probably modify the door for clearance, as the path of lesser evil. At this point I have reasonably happy door-to-qtr-and-fender gaps except for that and the right fender which is next.

I have the shots, but... :oops:

I set my camera so pics are 1.66 MB or so.

Always thought my pics wouldn't upload here because the limit is 160KB which seems small. :? But I see Frank's pics are 1.75MB.

Can anybody help me with this? :?:

I'd like to upload them here.

but they won't go. :cry:

kb426 · March 15, 2016, 09:33:20 PM

I'm using a windows gadget for 7 that lets you right click on a pic and resize it. I know there are similar programs for other operating systems.