Quote: Originally Posted by Sickness91Z28 These cars are never done.. That is sick! Wanna trade ?

here's mine

had a 305TBI

I built the 355 myself....first motor ever built...fired on the first try
only issue I had was 2 bad injectors...so went from 19lb to 30lb

(I feel Bad...had to have someone else do the chip for me)


grin from ear to ear when I turned it over and it worked

TAKING CREDIT FROM THE MECHANIC?

thats always a great feeling. I remember the first time my car brokedown and had to have it towed to the house. Its a great feeling to turn the crank after fixing it and hearing it actually fire up while 2 hours ago it wouldn't...

Just remember, I won't look down on YOU for not doing your own work. YOU don't look down on ME for giving you less respect.

...and it's carguy respect, not overall respect. I have a buddy who served overseas as a medic, and now is a paramedic back home. Can't count how many lives he's probably saved, and he has my full respect. ...I still give him all kinds of crap for not ever touching a wrench on his tricked out Dodge Ram.

Car guys bond over busted knuckles stories, not credit card receipts.

This is my project since the 8th grade

http://rusty-nutsgarage.com/83camaro.htm

Here's my favorite ThirdGen..... ( I have a couple ! ) And yes; my hands are constantly healing due to the abuse that wrenching on ThirdGens causes ! Anyone can buy a nice ride - not many can make a ride nice !


'MEAN GREEN'
By John in RI











It's got a little paint damage to the nose so it doesn't visit the shows anymore,..... But I still get a lot of questions from people that think they have seen everything !

Looking forward to additional posts to this thread !

"Car guys bond over busted knuckles stories, not credit card receipts." So very true and well put ! May I use that ?

These are all very nice rides, that people have put a lot of time into building something that is just for them.

It's always nice to look at different projects for ideas, no-one really ever plans on stealing someone else's idea, like (wow I want my car like Sinister's)

which is one hell of a ride
and the black one earlier posted by Sickness awesome

We all want to stand on our own merits, be different.

I look for the little details that someone might put into it, that a normal person, that doesn't know squat about a 3rd gen would ever see.

okay enough more rides please

Here is my car... It may not be the best car on the website, but I built the entire thing by myself. I've never done anything like this before, so for my first time, I think I did a pretty good job!! 2.5 years to get it on the road...

Here is a before and two after pics... It may not look 'too' bad in the first picture, but by the time it got painted it was about 8 different colors!! The badges may say RS, but it's spec'd out to an IROC!!

As HCR13 said... it feels good to get your car towed home and then be able to fix it in a short amount of time. I had the waterpump pully shear off all 4 bolts this past summer on the way home from the beach. I was on the highway and stepped into it. I dont know what happened but i lost all power, lights dimmed etc. I pulled over and when I popped the hood, the 4 heads came off the bolts and the belt was off (obviously) I called tripple A... when i told him to send a tow truck he asked if I was out of gas....I laughed at him

Not really a purpose built show-car, but my dad and I built this one from start to finish in our 1.5 car garage, including paint.

Here is my work in progress. not a show car yet. still needs wet sand/ buff and then some decals and rims but I have done all the work myself to this point. When I did the paint I was living in an apartment about 45min away from my car in my parents garage, so any time I wanted to work on the car I had to drive there and back. My wife and I recently moved from New Hampshire to Pa for her school. Now that I have no place to work on my car I am looking for someone to wet sand and buff my car for me. I guess what I am getting to is that you can only do so much to your own car but sometimes it is more practicle to pay some one to do it for you. I think every single person may have a different definition of what built at home is. me being a welder would not consider a set of weld on sub frame connectors built at home. A person that works at a michine shop would probably not consider an engine built on a stand with parts you bought at a store building your own engine.

accidental re-post, can someone get rid of this? lol

From what pics I could see on my work computer...very nice. I do what I can myself, but there are somethings that I can't do because I don't have the place or tools to do it...or the knowledge. Does that make me any less of a car guy or enthusiasts if I pay someone to bring my vision to life because of one of the reasons above? I've done my share of turning wrenches both with friends and family on their cars, our cars, and my cars. I will continue to do so when I can...but when I can't it goes to folks that I call friends to help me translate what is in my head to my car.

I think the conversation about paying someone or building it yourself is interesting. I'm not sure the burger analogy mentioned really applies though. when you go to McD's and order--you have your choices already laid out for you. you can change some minor details (no pickles, add bacon, etc.), but the basic burger choices are already there. when you create a design/plan for your car, you are in essence building the entire inner part of said burger (we'll consider the bun as being the same as the shell of the car).

I think that the creative aspect of building your car is often the most overlooked. we tend to look at it in compartments--engine/drivetrain; interior; suspension, tires & wheels; paint/body. The best designed and built cars are those where the builder has an overarching plan that incorporates all those things into a finished whole. Thats not to say you can't have a nice car doing it in pieces like that, but I think having a complete vision of the car works the best for having a drop dead georgeous car.

If you dream but someone else builds it, are you still the builder? Lets call it being the architect as opposed to the builder. I have great respect for those who can and do do their own work. I also appreciate those who dream it even if others build it. It takes both kinds. And mad props if you are gifted in both areas.

Im at work all i have is my sig pic...

more at myspace.com/cook2199

I couldnt agree more i dont do my machine work but that is it i do all my welding painting building and appolstry. and i am glad that the coment was made about not being born with a tool in your hand i was a pro machanic for 7 years and alot of people wouldnt teach me...they thought i should have already knew and did not want to teach me so any one have any questions i will gladley help... I learnd it with the attatude that if one man did it i could to.

Not quite a show car yet but Im workin on it. Hasnt been to a shop in the past 3 years that I have owned it, I did most of the prep and sanding and my friends dad layed down the paint.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3303356

My Camaro isn't even close to being done, so I won't ruin a post of beautiful cars with my ugly multi-colored project. Sickness - I absolutely love that car, especially the 2nd gen fender vents.

That being said, I have done 99% of the work on my car and plan to do all of the rest of it, including paint. The things I have not done to it myself fall into 2 categories: 1 - those that require expensive equipment that it doesn't make sense for me to buy(front end alignment, crank grinding) and 2 - things that I legally can't do, such as the annual inspection required in PA.

Some things also just don't make sense cost-wise, whether your a poor high school kid, a middle-class family man, or a corporate CEO making 8 figures or more a year.




One last thing, there is a difference between DESIGNING and BUILDING.

DESIGNING a car is when you supply the idea and the money, and someone else puts it all together for you(ie-Chip Foose on Overhaulin').

BUILDING a car is when you physically put all the pieces together to make a functional vehicle(ie-The rest of the guys on Overhaulin').

Both require knowledge, skill, and talent. Both will also win you the respect of a lot of people and a beautiful car. Both must also be learned along the way. There is only so much a school can teach you in this hobby. The rest must be absorbed through your bleeding knuckles, greasy fingers, and the dirt that falls into your eyes while lying on your back under the car. There is no way around this, it is part of the learning experience.

Beautiful car but my favorite is this one.... it just looks so bad-***. I don't know why.

heres mine. did it last summer, just got a new one last night. allready kinda a show car thoa, mint 83.

AFTER

you know you guys have all posted some realy great pics and all have some unique cars.... Now when in put this thread up i never ment to offend any one by wanting to se some self built cars its just like seeing what middle class people like my self do with the same passion that i have and saying that A self built show car is a car that was built at least 85% by the owner i know that things like stitch work and machining isnt something that we all have the equipment laying around in our shops to use but if you try to do every thing you can without having to have someone else do it well then (YOU GIT IT)

there is a lot of beautiful cars here. but i'm wondering what some of you call middle class? I myself am working class I guess you'd call it. I do my own labor and work on my cars because I can't afford to pay someone else to do it. I've seen guys call themselves middle class but spend almost 5 figures on a paint job. My car is being fully restored from the ground up but it's years in the making since i have to make the money first then figure out what best to spend the money on.

i blow about 3g's a year on my car typically. IMO that's well within a working class's budget. I don't go out every weekend or spend money on bars, etc so we all have our hobbies. I added up my friends smoking habits costs each year and it was similar to what I spend on my car. If you want it done, you'll work the overtime, sidejobs, whatever to make it happen.

Bro your car is just sick....

do you run the camaro pic site? if so, have you considered or already done it, added my ride?


i consider mine "showable".(took 1st at 09 3rd gen fest camaro modified) not too many only show cars on here except for maybe sinisters and kandied. can't see them driving their cars too much. all my pics are in sig link.

oh, and if you look at my build. only thing i didn't do was build the motor. father-in-law did. i would have helped/learned with him however i was stuck in Iraq. and paint my car. i put the trans, rear end, driveshaft, interior, accessory eng components and have removed and re-installed the trans about 5 times. I BUILT MY CAR. i would have painted it also, but didn't have the place, equipment, and time. what was a one month job would have taken my 4. i think if you can't do the basics, oil change, spark plug/wires, thermostat fixes then you shouldn't own an old car. if you can't paint or build an engine, you can still have built your car by doing everything else. there are definetly some nice rides out there. congrats to all who built or are building there cars.

I built my car my self, but i did have a little help for my buddy, it has been a labor of love for me, and she still isn't done! but soon i hope, i have a few pics on car domain , i go as newfiecamaro if you want to take a look, but here are a few pics, and to everyone on here, nice cars and nice work by the way.

camaro pics (49).jpg

camaro pics (173).jpg

camaro pics (184).jpg

From a 305 tbi car to 385 lt1/t56, complete 4th gen in 3rd gen cloths.(rear, dash, interior, drivetrain, overflow, washer tanks, front brakes)

all work done by me and help from my brother
engine
(lsx transplant)
wiring.
(fully functional 4th gen dash install)(interior lighting)(panels etc)
drivetrain..
(mn12 six speed)(4th gen diff)(suspension)
body work - not the greatest
(home made lip)( blue bowtie grill.)


no one else has worked on my car besides the tuning, welding.. lol
and the paint work .. since i don't have painting experience.
my friends helped me out on that