fryer1979

So, I'm starting this thread to keep some what of an online journal of my progress with my project. Unfortunately because of cash flow and time, this may be drawn out for a while. The plan is to strip the car down to the bare bones, and rebuld it from the ground up with aftermarket suspension and brakes. Give it fresh paint and interior, and an LS1. I know, I know, high hopes, we'll see how it goes. Background on the car is a buddy of mine bought it from a salvage yard almost 10 years ago with it's original engine losing cylinders on the drive home. He got it home and pulled the engine and transmission out. Then it sat that way in his back yard until last fall when we pulled it out to my shop. So here is the photo story so far.

Still in her resting place


A lot of junk cleared just so we could steer


On the trailer she goes, that's me kneeled on the trailer BTW.


Back at the shop a few days later with most of the dirt and leaves removed


And the interior cleaned out

Thirdgen Ranch

iTrader: (5)

Looks like it will keep you busy for awhile but it should be fun keeping track of your progress. Just take your time and do it right and I'm sure it will turn out great. Good luck and have fun!!!

fryer1979

So I pulled out the ac/heater box to cut out the AC portion. Here is a couple shots of my progress. It is just a first coat of fiberglass on the stretch cloth, and some rough shaping. A lot of sanding and a few more coats of resin are going to be needed.

fryer1979

Ok, my last post to start this thread. Yesterday I spent the afternoon removing the old interior. Here is the pics...

In position for complete dis-assembly.


A pile of interior parts


At least the floors are in great shape




No, that rust colored spot isn't rust, it's some kind of adhesive that melted and pooled in the bottom of the trunk.

Staged84

Same color scheme as my 84- I'm slowly stripping and rustproofing all of the undercarriage, which is not fun without a rotisserie. Funds are a big hold up for me too. I've finally got a blast cabinet and should have it going in a few weeks- so the parts stripping process will go much faster.

Thanks for posting the pics and story! Looks like you have a pretty cool place to work on it also!

fryer1979

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've never liked silver on these cars, so true to my style this Z is gonna be black. It's not going to be some crappy MACO repaint though, each body piece will be completely painted before being reassembled. No overspray, no missed spots.

The shop is my own little corner of heaven. It's about 5 miles out of my town in the country so it is often quiet and peaceful, just how I like it. It's big enough to fit two rows of three f-bodies inside bumper to bumper and door to door. But four fit in nicely with room to work around them, so it should suit my rebuild nicely.

Progress will be very slow, but I am hoping that with time will come perfection, or at least as close as I can get it. There are just a lot of other projects going on at the same time; I've got a backyard that resembles the Amazon that i need to be working on, My wife and I both have gone back to school, and we both do shift work type jobs. So life is busy, but that's life, and someday I will get this Z28 done.

Iroctopless

That's pretty much a normal thing when it comes to the car hobby!

Good luck and thanks for bringing us along for the ride.

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

Is the floor pan dented upward on the passenger side behind the front seat?

fryer1979

I think it is just some minor dings that look bigger because of the lighting. Nothing major worth stressing over for me, I'm not building this car to sell or for it's value.

fryer1979

Ok so I'm a little bit ashamed to abmit that I've had this car for almost 8 months and have never pulled the wheels off or even looked at the brakes yet. Being the gearhead I am that would normally been a first day deal, but things have been crazy lately and I haven't had much hands on time with the car. So went out today to pull the wheels so I could loan them to a buddy of mine for his project since he has to keep his car as a roller. When I removed the rear wheels I was greated with a pleasant surprise; rear disc brakes! Now I'm starting to re-think a 4th gen rear end swap.

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, it looks very minor. Mine were so bad (a PO obviously put a floor jack under them) behind the front seats, that I put in through-floor subframe connectors.
Lucky find with the rear discs!

fryer1979

I finally got to get underneath the car this afternoon and pop the diff. cover off. I was greeted by an open diff. and a set of 3.23 gears. I still can't be too down, afterall I do have the rear discs and I did find that it is a 10 bolt. Plus I will be changing to an Auburn posi unit and 3.73's along with a new set of axles for the rebuild, so a one tire accelerator will be a thing of the past. Other than that, nothing much else to report. More tagging and bagging, and continued disassembly of the dash (man there are a lot of pieces to these things). Nothing worth taking pictures of this time around, maybe next time. That dash pad is in the poorest condition I have seen in a long time. Anyone want a cracked to hell dash pad or a gray dashmat? LOL!

92RS(real slow)

looks like the z has a very solid body...looking good so far

Irocz28NCHS

good luck looks like you have alot of work ahead of your but alot of fun too

fryer1979

Thanks a lot guys, and yeah she has a solid body and for that I am thankful. Unfortunately with my very limited time and budget, it may be a few years before it is finished and on the road again. Hopefully my extended time frame will allow me to take enough time to do things right.

fryer1979

Just a small update: I've been spending a little bit of time with some more minor disassembly. Bled all of the fluid from the brakes, continued removing stuff from the engine, and got the fenders and bumper cover off as well as the side GFX. Progress is slow, but I am starting to get a little cash to spend on her, and as we begin to cool off (hopefully) I will get more time in the shop. Here's today's pics:





Hard to see from these pictures, but this thing is still covered in spider webs, leaves, and dirt. Geeze...

fryer1979

By the way, we've got a change in plans for the color of the car. After seeing the nice paint under the carpets I have been thinking a lot about how the graphite color will look on the whole car. I think I'm gonna give it a shot; body and GFX will be something like a graphite metalic, and the hood indentations, headlight pockets, and grill will be a satin black. Still haven't decided on wheels yet, need something 17" or better to get high performance brakes and tires, but I really wanted to run the 16" Iroc-z's, we'll see how it goes.

Staged84

You're making great progress!! I think I will put mine back stock color, wheels- everything. But the mill inside will not be stock- lol!

fryer1979

Not much to report for progress, got the suspension out from under the car and a little more cleaning out of the engine compartment. Unfortunately I forgot to take some pics while I was there. Usually I would wait to post until I had pics, but it appears the moderators are cleaning out some older posts and I just wanted to make sure this one didn't go anywhere.

P.S. I finally got that bastard Black Widow that was hiding in the front end and making some big*** webs, he was a big sucker too! I really need to talk the land lord into fumigating soon.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Consider me subscribed... cool project and good luck!

Sgt. 56

Looking good man! It's addicting once you start rebuilding! Lol

Mark in Maine

Nice solid project car - I'm looking forward to reading your posts as work progresses . . .

bakes85

looks like a good project

SolarGoldRaptor

Looks clean for a car that's been sitting for 10 years !

Do you have a good picture of the bracket that holds the rocker panel ground effects ?

fryer1979

It really pains me to post this, but this dream has come to an end. Due to a financial, family, and time issue this project has to go. I've got a friend that is looking into picking it up from me, but if he doesn't I will post the for sale info on this page, in the classifieds, and in my home NorCal boards. Thanks for the encouragement guys, hopefully my return to the Thirdgen world will be swift.

Iroctopless

Sorry to hear about it. Keep in touch, car or no car. It's still a good time to acquire knowledge and have a little fun here as well.

fryer1979

Oh I'm not planning on leaving TGO, I enjoy this site too much. I've just got to clear out some space and shrink my collection a bit which means no more 84 Z28 for me. I'll have another in time, and I still have my second gen.

Awesome-X

That really is too bad I was looking forward to seeing the restoration

fryer1979

Me too, but things happen. My friend backed out so now I've got to post this thing up for sale and hope someone gives it the attention and care it deserves. All I am looking for is someone to show up with a trailer and $100 cash. Here is the link to the for sale thread:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cama...84-camaro.html

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

I would be strongly considering taking that if it had a title, but I've made the mistake of buying a car without a title before, can't do it again.

Good luck with the sale, seems like a good deal.

fryer1979

There is no issue getting a new title. Once a car is "junked" in Ca the titte gets destroyed, and all that remains is a sheet of paper from the slavage yard. All one would need is this sheet of paper from the salvage yard and a bill of sale, then to register it would be a smog and brake inspection. Thats it, a new tittle comes in the mail to you, no chasing necessary. At least that's how Ca works.

fryer1979

Well guys, got some good news today. A friend of mine just got the ok from his "banker" to start a car project, so we spent today loading her up on a trailer. She is gone to a new home, and I am very pleased to not have been resposible for the death of a good F-body. I told the new owner about TGO, so hopefully he will join up and show his progress. Thanks a lot guys.