Car Stuff

[Argabarga]

Well, I liked my ol' Camaro, but it was getting awfully rusty around the gills as of late. Durn that road salt. Guess that happens to a car when it gets old enough to vote and then some. (FYI: 1986 was NOT that long ago! I'm older than that!!) The bottoms of the doors were staring to rot out from water that seeped in past the worn out weatherstrips, and all the bumper corners had collected their fair share of scrapes, there were your garden variety small dents n' dings, and to top it all off, the clearcoat started to flake off the roof like a bad sunburn.

And then, about a month back, I nailed a deer that ruined the hood and front nosepiece, the SECOND TIME in my ownership that's happened, the first time was ANOTHER CAR and neither were really my fault! Is this think snakebit or what?

So, considering that every single surface of the car had been blemished in some way, and considering the age and everything, well, I decided that there was only one thing to do....










TOTAL RESTORATION TIME!



Should be out of the paintshop sometime in the next couple of weeks, while it's apart, I bought replacements for just about everything that had to come off. New weatherstrip, new emblems, new door handles, new grille, new lock cylinders for the doors, new hood supports (it uses the hydraulic kind without a prop, and they lost their "zip" long ago) and I got a set of correct wheels for it too, so I won't be rolling around on the functional but mis-matched ones it currently has.

Once that's done, it's onto the interior, keep ya posted. Hopefully I'll have a car worth cruising this summer.

It's primer grey now, but I went with the stock charcoal grey it came in for the color.

[MoonCat]

Something like this?

[Argabarga]

Well, it wasn't until they stripped the paint off that they told me that both the doors were red underneath... and thus off another car. I didn't know that before.

[sms001]

Something like this?

hehe. Fits in well with my first thought, which was Arga being EXTRA vigilant for trespassing Camaros until one stayed in the impound lot.

Looks like a fun project Argabarga, can't wait to see the finished car. Enjoy!

[ApolloSZ]

Its ok Arga, that car is only as old as I am XD
Looking nice with the primer, did you have to get much panel/filler work done?

[Argabarga]

Not a lot, I'd been carrying around a thumb-sized dent in the one door, but that was about it, the rest was your basic rust pockets and surface scratches. The one door corner was badly bubbled up with rust, so they had to fill it in, other than that, there wasn't much messing with the overall structure.

[protege]

Looks good so far

I'm going to have to do some bodywork on my project car eventually. There's a spot starting to bubble through on the lower front fender. Plus, the inner sills (rocker panels, under the doors) are getting frilly. Some of that is simply because of age, but some is due to a certain shop not bothering to refit the gasket for the radio antenna. Water got in, couldn't get out, and ate through the panel. Pain in the ass to repair--multiple panels involved, all of which contribute to the car's rigidity.

[Argabarga]

One one hand, having the lower-tier trim level of this car helped.

It's a sport coupe, that's bare-bones, way below the Z28 and IROC-trimmed cars with the T-tops, fancy louver hoods, ground effects and whatnot. On the surface, that's why very few people hung on to them. However, it works out great for me, all those bolt-on exterior trim bits like the side skirts are places that can trap water and rust out.

Also, cars with the T-top option are notorious for not only leaking as the weatherstrips give out with age and UV damage, but also flexing themselves loose over time. The lack of a solid one-piece roof induces a bit of body flex every time you go over a bump, up a ramp, etc. Even revving up the motor and making the car torque a bit from side to side causes this. Not a lot, but over the life of the vehicle, the cumulative effect eventually leads to loose panels, loose windows, loose trunklids and tiny stress cracks causing paint to flake off... so having a really "plain Jane" model means you don't have those problems when you want to go for a restoration.

That's another reason for the whole project, it's rare to see a lower tier car saved AT ALL. They were already being treated as disposable when I was in college 10 years ago, the kind of secondhand car a kid could buy for a couple thousand and throw away in 5 years. Now, they're almost extinct as they've been either beaten to death or used as donor platforms to give up what pieces are compatible between them and the Z28/IROCs

[Antares]

I am envious. I had a 1986 Daytona Turbo Z I sold about a month ago. I hated to get rid of it, but I as much as I would like to be able to, I couldn't afford to maintain and store 3 cars. I know I'm going to miss it when the weather gets nicer.

[protege]

That's another reason for the whole project, it's rare to see a lower tier car saved AT ALL.

Yep, look at all the 1950s Chevy 150s and 210s that were broken up over the years to fix up Bel Airs. So many, that the lesser models (and 4-doors) are now very rare. Even the six-cylinder variants are rare--everyone wants the V8s.

[Argabarga]

Better look now that they took the masking tape off while mixing up the paint. It seems to be a shame to have to put it all back together, I was kinda warming up to the "Road Warrior" look. All I need is a .50 cal Browning strapped to the roof and a pair of leather pants and I'd be ready to RULE the wasteland!

[sms001]

Shaping up nicely! And lol'ing - 'snot a proper garage w/o a girly calendar, eh?

(P.S. - can you throw a 'W' into your image tags for those of us with monitors as old as your car? )

[Argabarga]

Fresh outta the paint booth

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...22998371_n.jpg

[JustaCashier]

Niiiicccccceee!


Of course, you'll post a pic of the complete car when it's all back together!(?)

Mike

[sms001]

Nice! Simple but shiney.