This is my first post so sorry if its messed up, but I will be restoring an IROC-Z that my dad purchased in 2003. ( hasn't moved out the garage yet! ) He attempted to rebuild the engine, then gave up on the project. He and I are continuing this project as it will be my first car.

 

We will be painting it and putting it pretty much new interior. Can you recommend any tips how and where to get the engine put back together? I want it to be mostly stock though. It used to run, but it had 200,00+ miles on it. So we are redoing it.

 

Where in northeastern Indiana are you? You may want to get a hold of 1MeanZ, (Jeremy). He's up in your neck of the woods.

 

Welcome aboard Dylan!

I look forward to following your progress.

 

Looks like a good project for you and your dad. Lots of good information and members on this site. Welcome to the org!

 

chazman, I am in Wabash, Indiana. I go to Fort Wayne quite often though.

 

Okay, PM Jeremy and have a chat.

 

Here is an extremely minor update. Pulled the seats out completely. Going to clean the interior then paint the inside best i can. (Dont know why i want to paint it, just do. After that, gonna order most of the stuff i need to complete the interior, i.e. door panels, weatherstripping, etc.

 

Look for a lower mileage vortec engine and buy a vortec TPI intake manifold. That will probably be easier and less expensive then properly rebuilding a sbc to stock specs. Impressive that you found what appears to be a rust free Camaro. When I lived in the Chicago region for less than $5K they all would have a rust issue somewhere that needed tend to.

 

Looks pretty solid Dylan. I'm with Tibo...that's a great find.

As for your inclination to paint, I totally agree...up to a point. This is certainly the time to do it, no doubt. So good thinking, addressing this now and not skipping important steps to get done faster.

AS to how much to paint, and with what...I'd get it cleaned up real good in there. Where you have flaking paint with a little rust under it, I'd scrape back that pealing paint until you find clean metal. Then, I'd coat that rust with an encapsulator, like this product.

http://www.eastwood.com/rust-encapsulator-27490.html

Then top coat with a little red if you'd like. But in the places where the factory paint/primer are solid, there's really no need to add another coat.

 

Tibo, it is mostly rust free, a few minor patches, but easy fix. I will look at some and consider that, Thanks!

 

DynoDave, not going to paint stock color, im thinking about a dark grey, or dark blue. Wanted the interior to (mostly) match the outside, even if you cant see it when the interior is completely finished.

 

Getting most of my parts from Classic Industries, ebay, craiglist, etc. Is there any site that sells gray seat covers such as these, new?

 

It will be easier and cheaper to just swap to fourthgen seats.

 

Good Luck!! I hope you have as much fun as I did doing my 1989 Iroc. Looks like she has good bones to start with. Here is a link to my restoration.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...ml#post6070088

 

Where did you get those seat covers?

 

If those seat covers are not ripped give them a good cleaning. The replacement covers don't look original and although the original fabric is available from a couple vendors, making new covers is expensive$$$$$$ .

 

All of my interior parts were from RockAuto.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/c...lstery,1001572

 

The driver is ripped, backseat has a huge stain on it. Wish i could just clean them lol

 

I've cleaned some pretty disgusting seats and carpets. If you keep at it, they usually come clean. As far as your ripped driver's seat, a couple of times I've gotten a mint passenger seat and had a shop use that seat cover to fix the driver's seat.

I'll be back with some pics....

 

Driver's seat before:



And after:

 

And just to show you how dirty the interior was, this is ONE wipe of the driver's seatbelt on the same car after applying an all purpose cleaner.

 

I can provide a pic later, but the rip is frayed and goes down the whole side of the seat. Don't think I can fix that. Your seats do look nice though!

 

As Chazman eluded to you can cannibalize two or three bad seat covers to make one good one. A regular sewing machine could sew that fabric together.

 

Exactly! Most passenger seats, even in junkyards are in pretty good shape, just really dirty.

 

I've read that shaving creme makes a great automotive fabric cleaner. Can't hurt to try. Just don't go gonzo scrubbing and rip the fabric. Let the cleaner and a soft bristle brush do the work with moderate effort.

 

Hi ,
I second what DynoDave said. I used Barbasol shaving cream on my seats, and it took a lot of stains out. In my case, the dark red color was faded, so I had to spray dye them back to original.


Here are some before and after pics...

 

Would that work on door panels? The top one is pretty bad

 

It should work on the cloth parts, yes. Same type of material.

 

Minor Update and more pics. The engine is in the trash bag, FYI

 

Do the seats have a crinkly, hard, crisp feel to them after the spray dye?

 

Hi Tibo,
the seats were slightly stiffer after spray dye, but I vacuumed them then massaged them , and hit them with a damp cloth and let them sit in the sun for a couple hours. They now feel almost like new. slightly stiffer then before, but not hard. and they were too soft before I started.

 

Hi DylanMiner,
I would be careful about using a lot of water on the door panels. they are made of cardboard, and can absorb water and get soggy if you use too much. I would suggest using the shaving cream on them, using an old toothbrush or small scrub brush, then using damp towels to remove the shaving cream. Once you have the stains out, hit it with a hair dryer to dry out the water. That should keep the panels from becoming waterlogged and possibly warping.

 

I haven't been able to work on the car recently because I was clearing out the garage, and I built myself a little desk to work on stuff. This isn't about the car but I am proud of myself.

If your wondering, I'm 15.

 

The thing about changing colors on a car is the engine bay. A dark blue or gray exterior with a maroon bay might need to be addressed. They just clash. Mines red on red but even a solid black bay will work with just about any color.

By the way the "Air Induction System" on that TPI is IMO the best design I have seen on any "stock" car and the closest to earning the name "Cold Air Intake.

 

The book finally came!

 

Going a little slow, as it is winter. Getting parts for the interior that are salvageable down from the attic.

 

Keep at it Dylan....is it a 5.7 car?

 

Yes

 

Keep up the good work Dylan. Don't know your budget for seats but check out lethalinteriors.com . Install isn't too difficult and the product is top notch.