i am 19 years old, and purchased my first camaro (1987 V8 5.0 carburated) when i was 16...
it's been a good car, Engine runs great, only has 60k miles, so i think i'm good to go under the hood....
one major issue i'm having though is that i have quite a few rust spots on the body work. both fenders, and door skins are almost rusted through in the corners.

so i wanted to try and fix it up a bit with either some brand new pieces or repairing the old ones.

BUT i'm on a very limited budget ($2000 or so) so i need the most economical and user freindly way t odo this.

I am anticipating a new paint job, but that will come much later in the process.

I plan on contemproizing it a bit (don't shoot me all you purebreds!) so i'm open to body kits, or maybe something a little different.

so i just wanted everyones opinion and see if i could get some feedback.

i can post pics later on if you'd like me too.

discription: yellow w black racing stripes, T-Tops, AC, enhanced sound system, additional subwoofer, new front seats, origional tires.
discription of rusted parts: 1. passengers side fender, 4" triangle (paint noticably bubbled) in the rear corner where the door and fender meet. 2. drivers side fender, 3" triangle (paint scraped off) where door and fender meet. 3. passenger door skin, 6" tall, 3" long triangle (paint off) where door meets fender, AND 2" spot where door meets rear fender. 4. drivers side door skin, 4" triangle where door meets front fender. 5. rear drivers side fender, cracked body work, which has rusted about 1/2" wide, 3" long.

well i hope someone can help me out, i've done a bit of research and found body kits, but not a whole lot else.

thanks everyone.

Andrew

 

More than anything.....
I'd be concerned about a 87 passing inspection with a carb. Cause it isn't gonna happen. All 87s were fuel injected, whether TBI or TPI.

 

pics

and start to invest in a good drill and wire brush combo and some por15 and put all that rust to rest

 

if you have that much rust on the out side I would also pull the interior out and look at your floor boards. as for fixing rust spots, you will have to use iether a wire wheel as mentioned above or an agressive sanding pad on a sander. once you have all the rust removed you can decide what you have to do to fix it. as for body kits, good luck, your selection is very limited. there are a good number of hoods out there to change the style of your car but your looking at $500+. the reasson people dont put body kits on these cars isnt because they are purebred american, anti jap. Its because these cars are pretty square with nice lines that are hard to work off of and they already bottom out on some speed bumps. good luck with the build and dont let anyone pursuade you that what you want is bad but take what people say into consideration.

 

They did make a few carb's in 87. I almost want to say it was all Iroc's not sure though.
I would do like everyone else has said.
I do have one comment for you. If you have the original tires, you need to change them before one blows up.

 

Are your doors hitting your fenders when you open/close them? Without seeing pics of the exact location of the rust, its hard to say, but it sounds like they might be rubbing? Wire wheel on a drill would be the second fastest way to take the rust off, the fastest I've found is an angle grinder with a 36 grit sanding disc. You just have to watch you don't go through in a thin spot. Por15 is great for removing/preventing rust, but I don't know if you want to put it on your doors and fenders.

I agree with pulling the carpet and checking your floorboards. If you can't pull the carpet, at least crawl under the car with a bright light and examine the underside for any signs of rust. If there is undercoating on the underside, scrape it off in a few places. Be sure to check the back side of the rocker panels. Also, I would check the bottoms of the doors if you have that much rust on the outer door skins.

 

My '87 is a carbed four barrel quadrajunk and it is stock. I bought it from the original female owner and other than a weird body kit is completely original.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/1987-chevy-camaro

https://www.thirdgen.org/1987-pontiac-firebird

 

OK already! Like others haven't already posted that I was wrong.....I need ANOTHER post telling me that???

Or you just the kind of person who likes to point out other MISTAKES, despite others having already said it???

Give it a rest!

 

Give your attitude a rest, it's tired.

 

Don't post a flamebait & you won't see it.

Really...Like I needed to be told THREE TIMES. You just HAD to say it to, huh?

 

Links to accurate information is now flame bait ?
I'll make a note of that.
Thank you.

 

No.....But posting they info, for the 3rd time, is....

 

alright everyone, looks like theres a discrepency among the group.. but i'll bypass that and contunue on with my thread.

The camaro doors do not rub, but the spots that are rusted appear to be the result of water damage. the small (3") "mudflaps" don't really block all the water from hitting those spots. and i think it will continue to get worse if i leave it alone.

i'm not sure if it is an I-ROC or not. it had a custom paint job (banana yellow+black) when it was only a few years old. all origional paint was removed or painted over.

it appears to be an older model. but i really am unsure.

I really would like to put the money into the car and not just make "temporary fixes" so is there anywhere you guys suggest to get new fenders? and i looked online, and theres a front fender set for about $130, BUT it's not origional steel, it's plastic.

do you think if i replaced it with plastic it would still look the same? or will the plastic make it appear different?

unfortunately i don't have any good pictures with me right now, but i'll get them up ASAP.

thanks for your help guys.

 

Depending on what part of the country you're in you can prob find some good panels at a junkyard. I got all my stuff for around 500 bucks and thats front bumper, one fender, two doors, quarter panel, and fiberglass ram air hood. Check any local forums or craigslist sometimes has some good stuff. Some advice if you have the space and have another form of transportation i would recomend cleaning up the underside POR15 the bad spots and use a roll on bedliner to undercoat it. I did that to mine and its bullet proof. A friend of mine did it to his Cuda and after about 5 years it still looks like new. Take your time with body work and rust repair, short cuts will only hurt in the long run, expecially if you plan on keeping the car.

 

I was looking the other day for new metal panels are I too need to begin considering tackling the body work my car needs. I found the Year One has a surprising number of steel reproduction panels- fenders, quarters, and the center trunk section. They are mostly in 20 gauge steel, not 18 like the originals though. Also, Hawks Third Gen sells sheet metal panels, but they are fairly pricey. It frequently depends on whether you take aftermarket or want GM repros. For example, aftermarket fenders ($70) while GM ($450). Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Also, I was wondering if anyone has had to replace the rocker panels while correcting damage before? I mean in particular the piece under the edge of the car that is spot welded together to form the flanges that you are supposed to be able to jack the car up on. Mine are bent and one actually torn open a bit when I went to jack the car there...

 

The aftermarket panels might take more adjustment than the gms but for the most part mine look the same. Yea those are the pintch welds, I never jack the car up on those for that reason they get all bent up.

 

my car has been sitting in a covered barn for about a year with a car cover on it, i start it once a week, and have done a few engine cleaner kits also.

it will be sitting in the barn for another 3ish years, so the cars not going anywhere soon. it's DEFINATELY a project car right now. i would LIKE to do all origional parts.... but if the price is really that much cheaper for plastic parts, i might reconsider. but has anyone worked with these parts? are they really just as good as the metal? do they fit the same way?

thanks,
Andrew

 

Dont go with plastic. I didnt even know they made plastic fenders for these cars. Like I said ask around local forums and look on craitslist. Im in NC and saw a dude selling a fender for 30 bucks no rust, dents, nothin wrong with it just prep and paint so you can find stuff for a good price.

 

i checked craig's list and got a couple leads... but not too much to go off of. hopefully i'll get one or two responses.
not a whole lot of car restoration around my erea. but i might be able to find something... who knows.

thanks,
Andrew

 

For the rust on the quarter panel, id check the for sale adds and look for someone whos parting out a car and send them a picture of the piece you need and have them cut it out and send it to you (if they're willing to do it). No sense of replacing a whole quarter if you dont have to.

Check out classic industires for replacement parts too
http://www.classicindustries.com/con...CategoryId=562

 

Okay... what is a "flame bait"? Sorry for the "Junior Member" question. Is it an offensive post?

 

hey guys.. found these pics from my senior prom 2007 i believe.

you can see the rusted spot on the door frame, MOST of the rust is actually behind bubbled paint so it's a little hard to see in this picture, but feel free to point out anything else you see that could use a little updated.
I will be saving up for a new paint job as well. so don't worry about color. haha the rear bumper and front drivers side fender are actually a tint shape lighter... but don't tell anyone..

thanks,
Andrew

 

how about these? yes they are fiberglass... but isn't everything these days?

http://www.andysautosport.com/chevro...s/vision_auto/

they sound good to me, and it would cut weight down. anyway, just trying to think of alternate ideas.

 

what do you guys think of verticle doors on a camaro? i think it would be sweet. but i think it would need a really nice paint job to make it look good.

is there any modification of the door needed? or do you just replace the hinges and bend the fender a bit?

 

Modern cars are built with aluminum-foil-thickness metal anyways, these days, so the stock fenders aren't exactly heavy.

I've see fiberglass parts laid so thick, they MIGHT shave a pound or two off, if not weigh even more! In other words, not always exactly worth the $ to always go with fiberglass.

 

Search "lambo doors" here on TGO...You'll find Camaros with them & threads about some.

 

This is just my opinion but I personally like the look of the ground effects so if you get new doors look for ones off a iroc, rs, etc and a 85 or up front bumper and rear bumper. Just something else to think about, thats what I ended up doing. Lambo doors might look good.

 

i think i'll start with the body parts, and if i get adventurous some day i'll try the Lambo doors.

I'm going to keep the same paint colors and style, but i'm going to geta completely new paint job once i'm done.

 

I just got offered a Camaro at a REALLY good price, but i only want the fenders.... if i baught the car, would i be able to part it out? it seems kind of a pain to un-build a car and sell it, but if theres a demand for it, i'm willing to make my money back.

and when i saw "good price" i'm saying you would probably get double your money from scrapping it....

so what should i do? i'm 19 yrs old, and i have a WHOLE summer to work on anything i want.... should i buy the car?

 

lambo-no, suicide-no, suicide lambo-hell yeah

 

alright, well i'm t buyng the whole car... it looks like i'm just going to part it out.
BUT i have to know how to get all the pieces i want off the actual frame. SO my question NOW is.... how do i get all the fenders, door skins, and rear fenders off? i think the front fenders will be really easy... but i'm not too sure about the door skins and rear fenders....

the rear fender is one BIG piece, so what bolts and crap do i have to take off in order to get the whole peice to come off?

and do i have to take apart the inner door to get the door skin off?

any help would be great. i go on sunday to take a look.
i'm getting all the parts i want for $200 and they appear to be really nice pieces.... they'll need a little sanding, and priming.. but thats why you guys are here to help right?

well thanks for all your guys' help!

 

The door skins & rear quarters are WELDED on. Sorry, you can't simply unbolt those.

The whole door will come off the car, but not just the outer skin.

 

oh, bummer..... hhmmmm is it worth trying to get them off to replace them? or not? hmmmmm i'll have to see what i can do....

thanks guys.

i'll need help with a paint job coming up.... i've got a friend who offered to to let me use his paint booth and tools, but i have no idea how to use them, and the proper way to apply coats and primer.

 

For the doors, simply swap the whole door. It'll unbolt from the hinges.

For the rear quarters, cutting & welding is the only option there.

 

If the other car you bought has a better body you might want to consider making that one your project... body work is pretty rough, especially the rear quarters. I'm still debating whether to tackle those on mine or look for one with a good body. As for paint, check out this thread:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...o-i-paint.html

 

i would defenitly compare the two cars pros and cons before you start rippin and tearing.

that yellow one looks to have alot of (bondo) on it.

oh and those mudflaps should be removed asap, then burned.

 

haha yea, the mudflaps came off soon after the picture

the yellow car has had alot of repainting done to it, so i think the front fender on the drivers side had quite a bit of repair done to it.

so i believe i will have to sand it down quite a bit, then use a couple coats of primer.

alright, thanks everyone.

 

One of the things to keep in mind is that there will always be rust!You may want to look into the reason why the car rusted in those areas.You may need to invest in new weather striping, and possiably seam seal your new doors.Both of the doors on my car are rusted bad.I had to weld up the holes in the bottom of the door.
You also said that the rear bumper doesnt match and the drivers side fender.Its possiable that the car has been repaired at some point and needed a new bumper.Or maybe they replaced that door.
When you do go to prime, if you are not going to use a DTM primer(direct to metal)Make sure you get some etch primer!!!!You spray it on BEFORE you prime!
One more thing....I dont mean to sound like a bitch...but please stop calling the quarter panels "rear fenders".It makes me cringe.

 

Well if you want opinions, mine is that they are terrible. But that's just my opinion. I would only do that if I had a Honda or something. I don't see too many Camaro's with them. But if you want unique, that's great. It's your car, make it your own!