tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

so guys heres my story, i tried starting a build thread on my states website and no one followed so i gave up on them. anyways, the end of my junoir year of highschool i acquired my dads 85 z28 after selling my 79 trans am. ive always wanted the car in fact it held a ton of memories to me, in fact when i was born i was picked up from the hospital in the car. life went on and we won car shows, burnout contest you name it. around 2001 my parents got a divorce, i was only 10 at the most and it was very difficult for me. shortly after my dad lost his job. the car was in his possesion and was neglected because he had no way of keeping it maintained. a series of events then happened, he moved a few times, after one of the moves he lost the keys. we supposedly put them in a safe place and hid them from ourselves, which wasnt too smart. the car wasnt insuraned/plated or anything so we had no reason to drive it, we also couldnt afford it. my father moved once again and this time the car was stored in the subdivisions storage lot with campers/quads etc.

during the time in this holding facility, the key holder to the strorage area became an enemy of my fathers. no reason why at all the guy just didnt like my father. everytime i visited id ask my dad if i can go see the car or change the oil or do this and he agreed, almost bringing a tear to his eye that he could use the car as it was suppose to. then it happened i came out to see the car and the windshield was spidered all over the place, the man who didnt like my father took a baseball bat to it, we saw the surviellance tapes but they were erased after we filed a report. my dad was struggling to get by. his paychecks were cut, child support increased and he was behind on his house payments so the new windshiled was never put in. we were then told the car had to be moved and it couldnt stay there anymore. we had to store the car in a close friends field. if you think this story couldnt get worse it does. we stored the car in the friends field but the problem was her kids. the cover we put on the car was destroyed after 4 years of sitting, they played in it. the eldest son even claimed to his friends that it was his in front of me, and i sorta broke his nose. the car was trashed with dents and left uncovered.

we then had a falling out with that friend as i was approching my sophomore year so the car moved to another friends lot. i kept begging my dad to please get it runnig or something please please daddy. i hated to think of that car just sitting there rotting away as my visits were shortened. this continued until i bought my 79 trans am for 100 bucks. i wasnt happy with the car i liked it but i always wanted that z28. afterwards i sold the 79 and shortly after doing so my dad gave me the 85 for my birthday. a 20 mile+ trip was in order to get the car to my house while overheating and on tires that were screaming in pain due to the dry rot. i got it home. there it was my pride and joy i was so happy until i took out the carpet. there was absolutely no floor left, holding the seats in was the carpet. i came home one day after a trip to ann oror for an automotie competition and i found my dad in the garage screwing in floor pans from a donor car. i appreciated what was done but i knew it wasnt right and i didnt feel safe. i didnt care though i fixed it so it was driveable and drove it to school my senoir year. towards the end that little 305 didnt want to take anymore. it was once a beast but now it just didnt have that juice left in it, so i bought a truck for a daily driver. since then ive been looking for a god shell to start the reincarnation of my car. and one day i did. i picked up a 92 rs for 300 bucks plus tow. i was estatic. my goals then were to build the car that i always wanted with a very limited budget, and by that i mean i will shop around forever to find the best deal, because im really in no rush.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

ill get pictures up later, but my plans as of so far are
ls swap- i want to swap everthing including brakes, rear end, driveline, gas tank.
my goal is to keep it very budget friendly with decent power and mileage. it will definitely be a slow build.
now this will be the first car ive ever taken down to nothing and started from the ground up, i havent even found a donor car or decently priced parts yet. as of lately i have the car down to its shell and im starting minor rust repair/ and body work
i plan on welding the seams in the engine bay and smoothing everything out as well. the 85s interior with 4th gen leather seats, 4th gen door sills and seat belts. i will most likely lower the car but other than that the exterior will remain simple and original appearing

all the useable parts for the 85 will go into the 92, and just recently i decided to keep the 85 around and make some wacky project out of it when all is said and done.

SDTransAM

iTrader: (5)

Truly awesome story. I wish you the best of luck.

Post some pictures.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

thanks man
heres the car when i first got it home and when i discovered that nasty stuff after pulling the carpet hopefully the pics will show up

http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_1996.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_1997.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_1999.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_1998.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2009.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2010.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2011.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2012.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2013.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2014.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2015.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2020.jpg

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

heres when i was driving it to school
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...amaro/0052.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...amaro/0072.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...amaro/0082.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...camaro/053.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...camaro/058.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...camaro/059.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2097.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2093.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2127.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2126.jpg

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

and heres the car i picked up after i got it in the garage on jacks
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2143.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2144.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2145.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2146.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2147.jpg
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/100_2142.jpg

SaltLifeCamaro

i wish you the best of luck.

Brando5641

iTrader: (-1)

Have you thought about new floor pans for the 85? I would fix the 85.. I had a 79 trans am as my first car and i have baby pics of me with it in the background it was my dads car,i got it out of a field and fixed it up and was ran off the road by a old lady and bent the frame. I bought another 79 and swapped all my stuff over and it just wasnt the same. It didnt have the sentimental value it had before even tho it was the same exact car. Its your car and your call but im just speaking from what i whent threw on the same deal. Hope it all works out. Good luck

midias

Good luck I hope it works out for you.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

i was gonna try to get new pans, i sunk every dime i had in that car during my junoir year and when my dad screwed in solid metal from an 86 bird that was crashed i left it. i think i will keep the car but im finding more and more rust just by looking at it each day. the fender lips are about gone, i think paint is the only thing holding it together, theres just tons upon tons of rust, and since i dont know how to weld i figured, why not save that car and so that when i finish my 92 i have a project to fab up whatever i like

1gary

One of the major tools in a major rust ground up repair is a rotisserie and of course a shop/tools,equipment.It is that hidden costs that not many people account for.That also takes yrs to acquire too.The good thing is it is a investment that goes well beyond just this project and for every dime you spend on that,you can consider a savings from you doing the work yourself over having to pay someone else.If you threw the work your doing on your project gain a rep,you might be able to pick up side jobs to help pay for the project.

Here is a site about metal fab filled with professional fabricators working on projects in the auto section.

www.allmetalshaping.com

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

small update, i cant really work on the car, i moved to front jacks to clean under them and now the car wont sit stable. ive spent 6 hours trying to get it to a point of stability but no luck. anyways heres pics of it as of 3 hours ago, unstable and stripped to nada.
if anyone in the michigan area has a lead on a 4th gen rear with brakes let me know i cant find one

85z28kid

iTrader: (7)

Any updates

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

updates are that i suck at welding, sheet metal is too thin for my harbor frieght special welder. i picked up some rust inhibitor as well as red oil based paint that we coat the underside of the car after im dont taking the grease and grime off with denatured alcohol and a wire drill attachment. currently looking for an ls1/wiring/pcm/maybe trans but i may keep the 700r4 because it only has 28k on it roughly. i have a member of our home site (mifbody) doing some photoshopping work for me.
im not at paint stages yet, but i figured why not price it out now and get everything finalized thought wise so im ready to dig into it when the time comes, so my nieghbors parents and boyfriend are looking into paint for me. they own a dealership and he does collision and body. im going to force monty (85z28kid) to powdercoat stuff for me, and im also in the process of getting my cad files in order so i can whip those out when its time for some of my custom fabbed touches. more thought has been done that work, i have had very little motivation

85z28kid

iTrader: (7)

Any more updates lets see some progress! I wanna start a project on my 91 that I got but moving and a few other things are holding me back like my big block swap.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

oh yeah forgot i had this thread. monty go post everything from mifbody on here

midias

What kind of welder?

is it the harbor freight flux welder?

Here is a tip for body work with a mig or flux with too much power.

Make a tack every 3/4 of an inch then connect them after they are done one at a time waiting a few seconds in between. The extra mass will help with thermal dissipation and less blow through.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

yeah its a harbor frieght 90 amp flux. i think the metal i was using is too thin, i havent had the extra time or cash to go to the store and pick up some heavier guage sheet metal. thanks for the tip though, i have a few updates i have to get to i just keep forgetting i have this thread.

85z28kid

iTrader: (7)

So what's the updates? Where's the under body pics?

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

monty i dont know what id do without you, i keep forgetting bout this

blakecharles

Looks good Tyler... I will be watching with great intrest. You did amuch btter job stripping the car then I.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

i thought you did a better job. i havent touched the car lately my truck took a poopy on me and its been a bundle of fun trying to rebuild this thing. two rods were backwards some of my bearings were undersized some were not, they put in stock pistons on a .030 overbore, the crank had a nice gouge and now as i have micrometered my cam it looks as though it is undercammed compared to stock

blakecharles

Oh yea.. I have the HF 180 amp MIG. That 90 amp works nice on thick metal (exhaust and turbo pipes). If you need to use it on thin metal, I would suggest using a heat sync to reduce the chance of burning through the metal. You can also mod the 90 amp to have more heat settings, but for what that cost u can just buy the one I have.

midias

Put a bunch of tacks in a row then connect them one by one it will reduce burn through and heatsink better

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

that thing just aint all that great for the thin metal, it has a lot of sputter, but worked great on my friends seat frame on his truck. i really gotta get going on this again

blakecharles

this guy did a bunch of welds to body panels with the 90amp (they don't look so nice, but after they are grinned down and filled, you wouldn't know anyway.

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBullet...d.php?t=265528

that 90amp is only $100, my 180amp was $200... and it can take gas. was worth the lil extra.

any updates?

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

no updates ill take pics of what ive been doing. my dd took a poop on me and ive had to wait on parts suppliers, machine shops and the like to get this thing done. i also cant leave a dang thing alone so im in the process of shampooing carpet, installing l.e.d's in the gauge cluster and going from bench to buckets. the 383 is almost done for it though just waiting on rockers and timing chain

zraffz

Awesome story... can't really feel bad for you or your story though. At least you have a garage to work in lol!

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

i love my garage id live in it if i could. most people think im crazy for thinking that. thas alot for the kind words guys i hope to get this show back on the road soon. i got a few gadgets that may help me out in the long run

ZSabotage

I'm in a similar situation as you man. Lotta sentimental value, but alot of rust. I just finished taking the interior out, and am planning on taking the engine and drive system out to kill the rust that lies underside. However, a lot of people (including my dad) are discouraging me from doing so, but it needs it bad. So I guess my questions are, How difficult was taking everything out, and what are you using to treat the underside and the floorpan?

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

well i figured this has been too long since ive worked on this thing. ive done a few things here and there but its been mainly collecting dust. my main focus has been my truck which has been a project from hell upon taking it apart i found the heads were cracked, it needed ring, the piston heads were stock size but the block was already bored over. the crank was gouged, the bearings were rather shot. it had the wrong flywheel and flexplate on it so i basically started new. i read aa ton of 383 builds and i went for it. well this block doesnt like me whatsoever so ive been running into a ton of road blocks. anyways i think i have most of them figured out i have to put in new cam bearings and get everything rebalanced. my rods are still slighly hitting on 6 or 8 so im going to look into that. anyways heres pics
empty engine bay, the camaro is wearing the trucks whole front end at the moment

heres the 383 so far, lt1 cam i got from brian, all new bearing, rings, seals. new piston heads and wrist pins. i bought the correct flywheel and harmonic balancer, and of course new crank


also picked up a set of dart heads from Monty(85z28kid), bought some roller tip rockers for it and all that stuff is new.
Mike(hoogiesngrinders) was kind enough to let me pick his brain throughout this build and even hooked me up with a tuned ecm. Thanks Mike!

lastly, since this thing has taken so long i took out the interior to clean it, ive been sick of the bench seat because the seat rails dig into my back due to it being so worn, so i met up with dakota and he hooked me up with buckets and matching center console which will all due for now. Also got red L.E.D.s all around the guage clusters and domes and everything for around 25 bucks from a member on gmt400.

thats what ive done on the truck so far. as far as the camaro goes i got the interior all cleaned up and set in for mockup purposes. i bought a harbor freight paint gun and painted the k member red. im waiting on my friend at midas to press out my control arm bushings and ball joints, and then new poly bushings are on their way for those. also picked up a gallon of primer to start priming and filling the engine bay and hopefully can get this thing at least on two feet.

blakecharles

bump... what's up with this?

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

so far im stuck on the dash wiring harness. i need to retain the heat and delete AC but as this car was stolen recovered and sold to us in 86 the wiring has been messed with quite a bit so it interesting for sure. sorry i updated my other thread on my local forum and not this one. i will fix that.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

i have the 85s dash held up by zipties currently for mockup purposes. the mounting plates on the sides of the car are different from that of the 92s so i have to cut the dash a little and will be drilling a whole through the top with a bolt into the bracket.

the body harness is in except for the hatch wiring of which im lost on. my 85 has a button relaese in the center console but the 92 does not. the 92 has the power retract and i cant seem to figure out how to wire them together.

as for new parts i acquired an ls1 gas tank for free. i helped a friend get his car on the road and he asked what i wanted in return so i asked if he could get it from a friend of his and he accepted.

heres the wiring mess i have to deal with


LS tank


as for everything else this car may change direction. i may be picking up an 85 iroc for a driver. the other 85 that ive been sacrificing for this one will get completely stripped this saturday and cut apart and scrapped. if i do get the Iroc then this car will be getting frame work done and a big project will be made of it.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

so ive been working on stripping the 85 for the past two days and got alot off her.


still need to pull the drivetrain as well as hatch and one door and the front suspension then some guys from Mifbody are gonna stop by for some beer and a swazall party. R.I.P 85. itll be a sad day especially when a car with 40k has that much rust on it.

also painted the engine bay of the 92

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

so another update. today i converted the camaro into a truck by starting to sawzall he rear off =( i also painted the font cowling gloss black for the other car as well as mocked up the wipers. the brake booster is in the 92 as is the brake pedal.

the engine and trans are ready to come out of the 85 ut i just have to find a cherry picker.
rust pics of the 85 coming soon.