68 Camaro bodywork

chris spokes · May 27, 2016, 05:46:44 PM

always a good feeling to see them in one colour

idrivejunk · May 29, 2016, 09:48:54 PM

Quote from: "UGLY OLDS"WOW That looks NEAT .....

WAIT ... :!: :!: Maybe THIS could be your next project

Its like its wearing a glass poncho!

Thanks again, gents. The front clip and dash may provide yet another round of adventures. I will do the right thing every chance I get, that I can promise!

Beck · May 29, 2016, 11:36:56 PM

In my early street rod days I would have thought covering complete panels with filler like that wasn't right. It took may years to understand that is the only way to get panels really straight. Unfortunately I never figured out how to make it straight after the filler was on.

I just got caught up on this post.. Looking good! Keep the progress reports coming.

idrivejunk · May 30, 2016, 01:06:04 AM

Quote from: "Beck"In my early street rod days I would have thought covering complete panels with filler like that wasn't right. It took may years to understand that is the only way to get panels really straight. Unfortunately I never figured out how to make it straight after the filler was on.

I just got caught up on this post.. Looking good! Keep the progress reports coming.

Yes- its the transitions that kills ya when trying to do smaller sections and blend them together. Panels aren't that big when you do rough shaping with an 8" DA. Learning to wipe large and fast is an art in itself. That durn bodyfiller is high though, whew! We pay dearly for the good stuff but thats whats fastest. Kinda like how using dull sandpaper really doesn't pay... any little thing that can make it easier saves money. My approach is to use tools with sufficient length to not lie once the blocking starts.

In theory there will be one spot priming with polyester after this then a couple coats of urethane primer after everything is right. Then a lighter sanding and it'll be as yellow as this forum. But the front end parts have to catch up.

Thanks for reading along.

More to come

idrivejunk · June 01, 2016, 07:32:05 PM

Today, a guy who has never used a sanding block... blocked the whole thing in an hour or two with a 24" DuraBlock. Another guy blocked the doors and might have taken an hour or so. Guide coat remains in low spots around the dent fix on the roof, seen as black spots here.

idrivejunk · June 06, 2016, 08:05:54 PM

Painter is working on it now. We sometimes call him "Little Father" because he takes everything a little farther. Makes up look like champs!

idrivejunk · June 08, 2016, 08:23:00 PM

I missed a gear on taking pics this week. Really just building suspense, ha ha. Seriously, I'm busy and forgot. The 68 Camaro got urethane primer today, on the body. Pics coming soon... it will be grey again but a litle darker and probably all dusty from sanding by the time you see it!

idrivejunk · June 09, 2016, 08:53:52 PM

Crummy shots of the urethane primer job. Looks crisp! Anyway, tomorrow I will start fitting the front clip and tying up the remaining "loose ends" of things.

idrivejunk · June 10, 2016, 10:25:25 PM

I'm back working on this car now. Today's work went fine and I was happy with what I accomplished... but it was an exercise in futility.

We had another cowl hood in storage, and new hinges and springs for this car. The new hood we have did not fit well enough so we wanted to try another. After removing what was on it, I put new hinges on and tried the storage hood. It was better, but I don't have a striker or bracket to latch it with.

Main problem I found was the top front fender mounting holes are placed differently on the two fenders, with the passenger side holes being about a half inch farther inboard than the other side.

I was slotting the front hole and broke my only burr bit. Had it for at least a decade. Time for new. Seemed strange to me though, the cutting head separated from the shaft. Like maybe those things are fusion welded, made from two pieces. Wierd. I meant to get pic but didn't. Anyway, I borrowed.

The header and valance panels were also preventing a proper side-to-side alignment of the hood, so I removed them for now. In this pic the top one is just wedged in. Gaps are great if you hold the thing shut-

So I reported that this hood was gonna work nice. And it would...

but it belongs to another job, a long-term one not currently on site.

Phooey! Fits nice but I can't use it. At least we know now that our new hood is indeed the problem. The back of the scoop looks crooked to me on both hoods but thats probably to be ignored for now. No telling what I'll end up with. Glad to know that theres not a problem with core support positioning, because now I'll not worry about that any more. Fenders are going to need work at top rears but a nice 1/4" hood gap all around should be achieveable and thats a load off my mind.

idrivejunk · June 13, 2016, 08:04:12 PM

First thing today I tried the other hood back on it, just in case my core support and fender adjustments from the grey one would help it. It did, to a degree. The front gap looks the same but the rear of the hood is just too narrow. You could stick a pinky in each side. So still a no-go on that.

But the new dash top panel was waiting for me so I yanked the fenders and tackled that instead. Starting point. This piece is too far forward.

So I get to chop on a Monday!

OH! Yeah, hey... theres some rust monsters under that glass bed! I'll just clean that up and make it black, eh? Still solid where my part welds on at .

Took awhile to deftly grind all the old dash weld off the bars but not the lower dash or front edge. Those were barely attached. Main reason this is happening is because the glass bed area was misaligned and not flush. But the welded dash to rollbar was the clincher, it just looked bad.

So I put away all that surface rust (will seal the area before welding this up) and had a go at carving corresponding notches in the dash, for the bars to reside in. The plan is to just leave an even gap around them, more pleasing to the eye than what was there. Pretty sure it won't show but now there will be a spot to tuck upholstery if desired.

I did suggest adding a dash bar to the cage at this time, and will suggest having me make wrap-around fiberglass dash pad end caps to use with a bobbed new dash pad. Anyway I was still sneaking up on the right side when the Pontiac clock said 4:55 so here ya go-

UGLY OLDS · June 13, 2016, 09:14:43 PM

WOW

Does the welding on the rest of the cage look like that :?:

Your way on the dash panel looks 900% more gooder ....

Why do guys fail to address rust issues like that when they are soo far into a build :?:
As you have shown, it only takes a little more time to do it correctly ...

Bob..

idrivejunk · June 13, 2016, 09:51:33 PM

Most of the rest of the cage welding is much more gooder but not sure how many bajillions of percents exactly. Damifino. I'm not going to make an issue of the rust there (remember front of roof inner structure?), although in previous years I might have. But I feel like it will be solid enough with the dash installed securely, and I'm confident I can weld it well enough despite how it looks out on the flange. That rust came right off but old pitting is present although fairly clean under the paint.

Right now, my plan is to just be sure that no air gets in under that rusty flange by using 2K seam sealer or panel bonding adhesive between the upper cowl and firewall, on top. Before installing the dash. So wiper area wind can't get under the dash.

UGLY OLDS · June 14, 2016, 10:19:16 AM

Quote from: "idrivejunk"Most of the rest of the cage welding is much more gooder but not sure how many bajillions of percents exactly. Damifino. I'm not going to make an issue of the rust there (remember front of roof inner structure?), although in previous years I might have. But I feel like it will be solid enough with the dash installed securely, and I'm confident I can weld it well enough despite how it looks out on the flange. That rust came right off but old pitting is present although fairly clean under the paint.

Right now, my plan is to just be sure that no air gets in under that rusty flange by using 2K seam sealer or panel bonding adhesive between the upper cowl and firewall, on top. Before installing the dash. So wiper area wind can't get under the dash.

Sorry .... i was referring to the rust the guy BEFORE you left there when replacing the dash panel the first time .... :oops:

He could of easily addressed the surface rust at that time .....

You are taking the time to do it right ......

Bob...

idrivejunk · June 14, 2016, 11:06:08 AM

I knew what you meant, brother Bob! Sorry I didn't use enough smileys to have it come out right. Thanks again

idrivejunk · June 14, 2016, 08:15:46 PM

First I wanted to be sure no gouges would show where all the grinding happened-

Shot some black over that on both sides then scuffed it once dry-

Swapped the VIN tag over with plain rivets, and weld prepped the dash. Cleaned and painted a little behind the old dash face. Put some wide masking tape behind that rusty old top flange, then I used 3M 8308 seam sealer over it from the front side and went to eat.

It dries shiny like that and is kinda rubbery like pliers handle dip. Like a layer of plastic because its 2K. Anyway, I scuff sanded that and used trim black over it. Then I welded the dash on and smoothed the welds. Bottom edge welded up just fine. I was very careful in placing my plug weld holes over good steel and it paid off with no giant warpy blowed open spots-

Before walking out, I degreased and hit the bare stuff with two coats of epoxy primer on a foam brush. Its really humid out. I believe the window bed will work now. The notches may be entirely covered in the end. I will be sure painter knows about the underside of this seam needing corrosion protection and perhaps seam sealer, from inside the wiper area.