mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

kurt and derek, the gafba shootout is THIS weekend! i'd really like to see you there if you guys can make it!

kboehringer

· Derek's mother picked up some black material at the local sewing store. I don't know what it is, it has a sorta veloury and strong.
· Derek's sister (Sarah) is now looking forward to going to High School in the Z-28 next year.
· The car had glued on moulding, I don't believe it was factory. It was removed to paint the car properly.
· I feel pretty lucky to have been able to spend so much time with my son. Hopefully, Derek will do similar things with his Children and Grand Children. We're almost done with this project, once done (99%) we plan to start work together on MY{?} Second Gen. Son#3 (Karl, Age 11) has expressed an interest in the Second Gen..

· Derek and I have talked about this event and I mentioned it at the ACFA meeting. Now that the Z-28 is running very well it could be the perfect opportunity for him to get some highway driving experience.
· I'm going to try to find the street address on GAFBA's web so I can do a MapQuest on it. Keep your eyes open for a Gold '82!

Sincerely
Kurt
P.S. Photo attached... Before/After & Derek Driving Practice.....Sarah got the front, I got Jammed in the back...

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

Kurt & Derek,
I agree that the glued on bodyside moulding was not factory for '82.My '83 has the aluminum channel with rubber insert secured with rivets(RPO B84).I don't know when the change came to the body colored adhesive type.
I was thinking of going to a piece goods/fabric shop for material for my headliner.The job you did looks like it turned out pretty good.
And the before picture of the interior.Man what a difference when you see it next to the after one.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

http://silverdollarraceway.com/directions.htm

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

so, how bout those pics i took of you guys?

kboehringer

TGO Friends,
Derek and I took our first long test drive and met our friend MW66Nova at the GAFBA (Georgia F-Body Assoc.) Spring Shoot-Out at the Silver Dollar Drags in South-Central Georgia. We met several of the the GAFBA Members and were somewhat surprised that a few of them (Other than MW66Nova) had been following our progress on TGO. The car drove very well excluding a "Glitchy" Cruise Control and Wipers that are still not 100%.

I decided to let Derek experience the 1/4 mile and we each made a couple of VERY SLOW runs....Times will not be posted!

We (mostly I) were very concerned about needing a 100+ mile tow home. Since the engine is basically new and the car was really never intended to serve this purpose, we were VERY VERY VERY gentle with her.

MW66Nova was able to snap a couple photos of Derek (I'm in the passenger seat).... Please see attached.

This kind of event is what all this work has been intended for. We spent the day together, made some new friends, met a TGO Friend and had a really good time. THANKS A BUNCH TO ALL THE TGO FOLKS THAT HAVE HELPED US GET AS FAR AS WE HAVE.

Sincerely,
Kurt

P.S. - Server must still be "SICK" can't upload any one of several different formats of a very small photo.

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

Kurt & Derek,
That's great she ran well and you got a chance to go.I wish there hadn't been so much distance,among other things to have made it there.
I know we talked about the cruise control - I belive you said you have the '84 and later electronic.Mine is being stubborn but I have the vaccuum based head unit.It's funny we have prolems in the same area.I'm tracing the problem down on my wipers.
Did you get a chance to check out the thread in the suspension forum on the Gulstrand car?

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

hey kurt thanks for your help with the retaining clip for my fender after the toolbox delema. lol glad to hear that you enjoyed your selves. and hope to see you guys at the fbody gathering. sean

kboehringer

TGO Guys,
They must have fixed something because I am now able to load a photo.
Thanks for the help with the pics MW66Nova!
Kurt

EDIT: Over the next day or two Derek has been assigned the task of making a complete and thorough inspection of the ENTIRE vehicle. All nuts & bolts, Tranny Mounts, Engine Mounts, Sway Bars, Torque Arm, Fluids, Linkages, Etc. Etc. It seems prudent to make sure everything is still in tip-top condition after our 200+ mile excursion. This truly was the very first real test of this vehicle since repairs and restoration began over a year ago. ONE CAN NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL..... We want to keep this Z-28 around for a LONG time!

eric17422001

Kurt you do realize you won a trophy didn't you?

It was nice meeting you and Derek and seeing the car in person- I enjoyed talking about old snowmobiles with ya, and hope BJ and I wern't too bad of an influence talking about our misuse of automobiles as teenagers.

Finally avatars on this board that suit me!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

glad you guys had such a great time. it was good to finally meet some of the people that i have been conversating with for so long. hopefully we'll be able to talk you into making some full 1/4mile passes with that thing. i know it's probably got some 14-15second passes in it.

Crazy Firebird Kid

Wow, finally got caught up on this post after not having read it for several months. Car looks INCREDIBLE!!!!! Great job guys.

flaming-ford

iTrader: (7)

owww that realy musta been some horrendously slow and easy 1/4 mile laps then huh hehe. With 300 hp you should run low 14s maybe even high 13s with perfect conditions and launch with no wheel spin....

Anyways i definetly understand the reasoning of takining it easy on the old *new* car.

As usual she looks like a beauty throw me pics of the 2nd gen as you start on her from time to time if you will. I'll definetly remind you via pm if you forget .

kboehringer

TGO Guys,
Thanks for the responses and sorry for the delay in responding.

We've managed to get another item or two off the checklist. Yesterday we picked the Z-28 up from the muffler guy (thanks LT1 GUY!) and we're pleased as punch with the new tailpipes and "Y" pipe.

We had those ugly chrome tips cut off and had a new "Y" professionally fabricated. It's actually the only thing we weren't able to do by ourselves.. The muffler guy added "Turn-Downs" and they are a 100000000% improvement over the "BUBBA-TIPS". He left them a little long as he wasn't sure how we wanted them. This weekend, Derek and I will take a Zip wheel and knock an inch off of them but they look great compared to the previous set-up.

Sincerely,
Kurt

kboehringer

Another little project completed.

Derek took a bit of time last weekend to repair another little item. It took 10x as long to tape the area off as it did to do the actual painting...

Although she's really not perfect (YET!) she is DEFINATELY turning heads for the RIGHT reasons. The muffler guy (previous post) laid on some serious compliments about Derek's Z-28. He even commented on how nice everything on the underside looked and how professional the underside repairs looked!

Talk to ya' guys later!

Sincerely,
Kurt

P.S. Derek is scheduled for his GA driving test on 5/20. We've been working on parking almost daily! His final skill to master He's spent the last several training sessions at the Middle School Driving around "BACKWARDS" in figure 8's trying to get him an understanding of how the turning radius works.
We're gonna let him take the test in the Z-28 since she runs so well and he's most familiar with her.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

man, that trim looks great around the hatch. i gotta do that to both mine and Kody's cars...what kinda paint did you use?

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

damn that looks great guys. i need to do that to

kboehringer

Matt,
Derek grabbed whatever we had on the shelf. I think it was something from Lowes. Derek sanded it down very nicely and put a couple good coats of Rattle-Can on it. We wanted to catch the rust before it became a real problem. Just one of those "ATTENTION-TO-DETAIL" things......

RESTORATION UPDATE:
We're not 100% decided yet, but we may not apply the new decals/striping at this time. Derek and I are somewhat pleased with the paint (and it's a better job than the $$$ we paid for it) but it's something we think we'll try to improve on in a year or two. There are still a few little dings and imperfections that are annoying. Putting a couple hundred bucks worth of decals on, only to remove them later, seems a little foolish. However, we will definately install the Scoop Decals as we both feel that they are an absolute MUST!

Kurt

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

totally understandable. i'm having jeremy redo some things on my car and will be making the bottom of the car black, like the sportcoupes had from the factory and putting the striping around the bottom. couldn't do that till the rest of the car is totally up to par though.

btw, do you know where to get the factory style pinstriping?

BumpaD82

I know you are going for a correct restoration... BUT in the mean time if you decide not the install the side decalls you could save the hood indent decals also by masking off and painting inside the areas with a good semi-gloss paint... On my hood they painted them in with gloss black (to match the GFX) when the car was reapainted charcoal...

Just a though ~DaVe

P.S. sorry the color difference is hard to see in the picture...

kboehringer

TGO Guys,

I don't know if anyone is still following as this thread has kinda died over the last month or so. Derek and I have been driving all over the place and working on his driving skills. He is scheduled for his driver's test on Saturday. Hopefully, he'll pass without smashing too many of the cones or the Z-28's fenders! Parking is still painfully poor!

Thanks to a great TGO Friend who helped us sort out the axle, tires, etc. we should have the proper gears for the speedo (45 & 15) tomorrow at the local Chevy Dealer. We also found that the Rear Axle is from an '84 and has 3.73 gearing (also not standard/available in '82)

We're getting ready for the FBodyGathering #10 and Derek is extremely excited and working his back-side off trying to make his Z-28 look like something good. His new carpet showed up today!

Any advice on installing the carpet? Make any mistakes you'd like to share so we can avoid them?

We're gonna install the hood decals but skip the decals above the GFX. We really hope to get a SUPER DUPER paint job in the maybe not-so-distant future, wasting $150 worth of decals would be a little stupid.....

Sincerely,
Kurt & Derek

camaro430sut

iTrader: (2)

sweet, new carpet. i was goin back and forth between new carpet or LS1 brakes(chose the brakes). cars turnin out real nice guys, nice to see an update after such a long time. keep up the good work.

matt

MNformula350

iTrader: (2)

Been following this thread myself over the months, and the car looks great!

As for the carpet install, all I can offer is to make sure you leave enough extra, even if you think you are cutting enough. I have a spot near my passenger seat belt from cutting the carpet to short to go under the door sill, otherwise it was a pretty straight forward install.

flyitlikustolit

hey kurt!

I'm back from Ft Leonard Wood and Ft Sam Houston. While I was gone, my baby got a little love, but not much. Now I'm sliding in a new set of 2210 hooker longtubes and a new exhaust system. she still looks like crap.... but runs like a raped ape. I'm looking forward to when my bonus comes in- it's all going to paint. I'm so happy you guys have come this far- 15 months after purchase, and you guys have a helluva car to be proud of. you earned it. it was really cool to get back a few days ago from combat medic school and read all this over night. good luck on the driver's test. when the next F-body gathering? i have drill this weekend, but I'd like to see if i can go if it's this weekend. take care; talk to you later.

kboehringer

OFF TOPIC:
Great to hear you're back in town. As a Multi-Year NAVY Vet and Long-Term Drilling Reservist I understand the requirements of Drill Weekend. Thanks for the Service......

The F-Body Gathering is the following weekend (5/26-28) in Marietta. Make it if you can. Derek and I would like to meet you. We attended last year and felt very out of place without Derek's vehicle. Hopefully some of the guys (yourself included) will not be under-impressed with his Z-28. She's not perfect, but we're pretty proud of how well we've done. I am sure that some "non-professionals" might not have been able to get the car as nice as she is now. I'm most happy about the time I've been able to spend with my son.

Again, glad you're back!

Sincerely,
Kurt

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

Hello Kurt,
How's the driving "experience" going?Did my suggestion seem to make sense to you?I wish derek luck in taking his test.
Have you taken any recent pictures of the Z with the hood stripes on?One of these days I'll have a way to post some pictures on my '83.

kboehringer

TGO Guys,

DEREK PASSED THE DRIVER'S TEST....... ZERO (0) Infractions and NO DAMAGED Cones or CAR(S)!!!!! DARN...Now I have to put his name on the insurance policy.....There go my insurance rates again!!!!

We've had a BUSY weekend and it's just started. We're trying to do the best we can to get the Z-28 ready for the Fbodygathering in Marietta, GA next weekend!!!

Got all the old and Stinky Carpet Out of the Ole' Girl. Should get it in late this eve...... Got a little surface rust that'll get a little wire brush and some rattle can paint before the carpet goes down....only a little very minor!

Been fighting with the Speedo and until today...LOSING! Purchased the proper gears from GM put them in a housing not designed for a 45t.... lasted about 5 miles and snapped off... Went to the J.Yard after the Driver's Test and found (after MUCH searching) only ONE(1) F-Body with a tranny still installed! It had a housing rated for a 40,41,42,43 and had a 43T inside it. The perfect fit/calibration for Derek Would be a 15T/45T. I think we're close enough with the 43T. We'll keep checking the J.Yards whenever we go eventually we'll find a Housing Rated for 45t and a good 45t gear.

Gold Overspray..... Noticed some Gold #55 Overspray in the rear wheel wells and decided that it looked like poop.... While the car was in the air for the speed fix Derek removed the rear tires taped off the ENTIRE side of the car, the shocks, drums, etc.... and scraped all the old crappy Undercoating out of the wheel wells.... Sprayed a nice THIN & EVEN layer of Good Quality undercoat into the wells..... LOOKS REALLY SHARP!

Finally, bit the bullet and TRIED to install the Hood BlackOuts... WHAT A MESS! Got very ************** (ANGRY) and ripped it slap off the hood... Guess we'll be buying another set of those!!!!! Sorry CoolRam.... You don't want to see them stickers!! We'll get 'em right before Friday!!!

That's the end of this update.... Hope Everyone is Enjoying their weekend.

Sincerely,
Kurt & Derek

P.S. Hope to see ya'll at F-Body Gathering 10.

kboehringer

CoolRam & TGO Guys,

Got the hood blackouts on...... First try (DRY) was not at all successful!

Second try WET looks like it will work very well! There are a few tiny bubbles but the directions I downloaded CLAIMED they would disappear after a couple days in the sunlight. I never would have imagined that putting soapy water down first would have been any good at all. The decals were definatley rolled up way toooooo tight from the supplier and this caused a couple wrinkles in both of the sets but using the wet method let us get them fairly well flattened out. I think they're gonna look good. THEY DEFINATELY MAKE THE CAR an '82!!!!

Sincerely,
Kurt & Derek

kboehringer

Just for laughs!

Red90IROC

Kurt/Derek, your Z28 is just fabulous. I've been keeping up with this thread, and it's a joy to read! You are an inspiration... I hope someday that my humble Camaro looks that sharp!

BumpaD82

WOW the stripes really do make it a whole differnet car !!! Lookin' GREAT !!!
~DaVe

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

Hello Kurt & Derek,
So you have to apply the decals similar to window tint.Very good tech point to know.But they do make a big difference.And the night and day difference you 2 have come with her in just 15 months.Like Red90IROC,and many others,you two are an inspiration to all of us.Thankyou

kboehringer

Red90IROC,
I've looked at your "More Pix" and you have anything but a "Humble Camaro". You have Derek and I beat in a LOT of ways. The Interior is better, the paint is probably a lot better, GFX stripes are on, and the overall condition looks to be much better.

I really wish we had better paint (like you have) so we could install the Stripes above the GFX. I really think this would be a complete waste of $150 as we are definately going to get a better paint job sometime in the future.

Sincerely,
Kurt

Red90IROC

Kurt, thanks for the feedback! But you need to see my Camaro up close - then I think you'd be of a different opinion (It's been repainted, one-stage enamel, and there are tons of flaws but oh well I still love it).

Actually I'm wondering if the GFX on my car are incorrect (they are clearly not original)... they are gray and I thought I read in here, the GFX color theme was keyed to interior color (?) which on mine is definitely OEM blue.

I don't have time to go back and find it in this thread... but it really resonated with me when you said a while back "The GFX really turn this car from a 'kid's-toy' into a true classic". I agree 100%! I see a lot of 3gens where some kid thought it would be 'cool' to strip and de-badge a 3gen Z28... and frankly it cheapens them, IMHO. If I were you, I wouldn't wait to put on the GFX. My Dad always says "How many times do you go thru life? Son, this is not a trial run!" From what I've seen, you have excellent paint on Derek's classic Z28. The GFX will put it over the top. Go for it!

kboehringer

Red90IROC,
Someone will certainly correct me if I state this improperly but to the best of my knowledge the early ThirdGens GFX ('82 - 84) were only available in Gold or Silver. Now as far as coding to the interior is concerned I assume they picked which ever one of the two would look better. Obviously, Gold would have looked like poop with your Blue Interior & White Car, hence you got silver.

From the looks of it (pictures are pretty decent) those are the stock GFX for an '82,'83, or '84. I was referring to the Stripes ABOVE the GFX.

Sincerely,
Kurt

Klortho

Kurt, you have got to put together a photo album of everything that's been done to the car from start to current to take to the G10 this weekend. This car has turned into what I think to be a work of art. I hope to see this car in person when I get down there and get to meet both you and Derek.

kboehringer

You're probably in for some serious disappointment..... this is NO work of art. Considering it should have been in a J.Yard....it's pretty nice..

Derek and I hope to be able to meet and personally thank so many good TGO people that helped us get this car running great and looking "Fairly Decent". Unfortunatley, many of the TGO folks across the country that provided parts and assistance won't be there......

Just to recap some TGO friends supplied parts....
Grills - South Carolina
Rear Emblem - Kansas?
Z-28 Rocker Emblems - Iowa
Fan Shroud - Canada
Door Locks - Maryland
Couple Small Items - Washington State
There were several others........

Guidance and Personal Assistance/Advice came from EVERYWHERE....

Very Sincerely,
Kurt

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

glad to see you guys have been working on her somemore i just cant believe the diff, hope to see you all at the fbody meet. i plan on coming up.

Red90IROC

Kurt, sorry! I was in a hurry. I was referring to the vinyl stickers ON my GFX, should have specified that. I do agree that the GFX themselves were only painted one of two possible colors in 82-84, either silver or bronze. I was wondering about the stickers. Is it safe to assume, that with my blue OEM interior, I should have originally had blue-tone stickers on my silver GFX? Or was it possible I would have had gray/argent/silver stickers, like I have now? They are definitely new stickers... not even one tiny rock chip anywhere on the stickers, on a 40k+ mile car...

TIA

Red90IROC

In case anyone has an opinion or recollection - I did notice today that the 'Z28' emblems at the bottom of my front fenders are blue. Would that mean that the original above-GFX stripes were blue too? TIA

urbanhunter44

iTrader: (3)

wow, havnt read this thread in awhile. looking REALLY good kurt!

Klortho

Don't let him fool you, this car is very nice looking in person.

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

Thankyou Klortho for posting the great pic of Derek & Kurt's '82(sorry Kurt had to put Derek first LOL).She is definitly looking great and Kurt is just being modest about thier great work.

Klortho

Yup, he was even hangin' with the 4th gens on the Varsity Cruise I got the video to prove it

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

i would have to say that has to be the nicest 82 i have seen, you guys are way to modest on how nice this car has turned out.

kboehringer

TGO Guys,
Don't get too mad at us for hanging our with the 4th Gens... There were very few Thirdgens at the event. Probably about a dozen, maybe a few more......

We got an opportunity to meet a few TGO Guys (Klortho obviously), Scottmoyer, Abubuca (? Spelling). Scott's Son's IROC is absolutely the MOST Showroom PERFECT condition ultra detailed ThirdGen anyone will EVER see. It should take first place or the best in show for ThirdGens anywhere in the country.

We had a good time and learned a bit about what to do, and what not to do and Derek will be better prepared next year. Maybe I'll even be able to drive MY SecondGen? Scott gave us a few pointers (he was a judge) and I believe Derek could have won a nice award if I had realized we were the only car in the Camaro Modified (CM) 1982-1987 category. Unfortunately, I changed his entry to "Reunion Class" and I don't know yet if Derek won anything because we left after the cruise today. The V.P. of our Club (Parked next to Derek in Photo) will grab the award if anything was awarded for Derek's Car.

I'll post up some multiple photos in the proper forum (after I find it).

It was really great meeting a few guys and their families. Derek is still hiding in his shell a little bit but that will change. Thanks a bunch Klortho! How do we get a copy of that video?

Talk to ya'll later....
Sincerely,
Kurt & Derek Derek's here but still hiding in his shell!

Klortho

It was nice meeting you and Derek, and I finally caught up to Scott today right before we left as well. PM me an e-mail address and I'll give ya a link where you can download it

kboehringer

Seean,
Thanks. I should have done a lot better job cleaning. Scott told my dad that the judges give a little break sometimes when the car is daily driven or maybe when it's really old like mine. But I could have clened the underhood stuff a whole lot better. Next year it's all for me to do and maybe we can make my dad's Trans Am run for the next one.
There were no other early thirdgens except for a berlinetta and I don't think it was entered in anything.

Derek

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

I would have loved to make it up thier to meet everyone and see all the beautiful cars.But what I've got going around here didn't allow it.And my '83 isn't exactly show material(one day I'll be able to post some pictures of her).Kurt she does look great i have to say again.

There was a nice show here in Beaufort Saturday I almost forgot about.When I got there to look around mine was the only 3rd gen period(even though i've seen a few nice ones around town).Was a great mix of hot rods,muscle cars - a mix of 1st,2nd and 4th Gen Camaros.

kboehringer

CoolRam,
We didn't think that she was that good either especially when we're parked between to GEORGEOUS 4th gen Special Edition 500HP SS Camaros! We had a little trouble getting home Friday eve. I had managed to hookup Derek's CFire Flapper Friday A.M. I also managed to screw up the Alt. Wiring when I was hiding the wires for the flapper. That operational CFire flapper will really turn some heads!!!
Sincerely,
Kurt