ok so i sold my last camaro, for this new one. the old one was an 82 v6 that i had painted and it came out pretty nice, but this new one has a 350 swapped into it with a 600cfm edelbrock carb, headman long-tube headers, 3 inch straight exhaust, and a few other things that i cant remember the name of at the moment. the plan is to get it painted, the previous owner painted it flat black....(not a fan of it) and it has no rust that i have found in the last few days of bodywork. here's what it looked like when i got it



overall it was a pretty good deal at 700, i had to do the usual oil change,and i still need new spark plugs and wires. it runs fine except for it runs a little hot with this radiator, i need to flush it, but i figure ill need a new one soon anyways and why flush it twice. the interior, is in descent shape, with some waer and tear on the drivers seat, and some sort of spill on the passenger seat (not sure what it is...) the t-tops dont leak and the seals look good, now for the bad...
it has a huge exhaust leak, but its just the manifold is loose between the exhaust manifold and headers, and i have to sort out the previous owners wiring (he wired the radiator fan straight to the battery with a switch right below the headlight switch) and my new 150 dollar battery was slowly drained empty after not driving it for a few weeks....but me being a little on the lazy side i got a connector for my battery with a lever on it so i can disconnect when i turn it off. tomarrow il get some pics of the engine and the bodywork so far

 

You say the car is running hot. Look under the front end for the lower air deflector. The front end looks low, so the previous owner might have removed it for clearance. It is a requirement for these cars to have that piece. It directs air into the radiator.

 

yea i haven't been around for a few days, but yes i checked that and yes, it is missing. i went to a junkyard and found a single deflector even though it was just a sea of camaros and firebirds. i didn't get it though, the guy knew what it was and tried to charge me 10 dollars for the only warped and slightly ripped one....and i just left im not going to deal with that guy, i mean in that condition, it wasn't really worth anything
okay let me take some recent pictures of my body work so far
and as for that piece, i think il have to search craigslist or try to make one myself

 

i also just picked up a orbital sander, which im gonna try out here in a few hours when it starts to cool off, cant wait.
also, should i go ahead and prime it myself before i bring it to maco? (yes, maco, i don't have the tool to do it myself, plus i wouldn't trust myself to learn how to paint on this car...) i have did this on my last one and the guys there said they wouldn't warranty it that way, because they didnt know if my primer would last as long. however, i use the primer to help me find imperfections so im kind of in a bind here.

 

interior


engine compartment (needs a good cleaning)


also, im looking for a good low profile air cleaner, if anybody has any suggestions

 

You need to get rid of that aircleaner. People always buy those because they're cheap and they'll clear the low hood, but the foam filter will break down and fall apart, assuming it doesn't catch fire first. I'd probably get a waterneck for a late 60's small block chevy (No sensor ports) at the parts store, and relocate the gauge sender to the cylinder head. Clean up the wiring, spark plug wires, hoses, etc and it wouldn't look half bad under the hood. It doesn't take much effort to make a profound improvement.

 

yea that's why im needing a new one, any suggestions of a good low profile one that fits under the rs hood?

 

You could try an aircleaner with a drop base. That'll gain you an inch or so of clearance, but what you'll probably find is that with an aftermarket intake and carburetor, you start running out of clearance. You might be stuck without going to a cowl hood for more clearance.

 

okay i guess its time for an update

i ended up getting a new hood, with louvers, and i have the car primed and only need to fix a few more spots that are barely visible from a few inches away (what can i say, i like to do things right) heres how it looks so far



*i still need to paint the louvers*

today i got started on the engine compartment with some degreaser and its looking pretty good, tomorrow im going to start sanding and priming it and in the end it will be black. (i like to things right, but its not worth pulling the engine) i still need to clean up wiring before its ready to paint so im also going to pick up a new air cleaner so i dont have to see that crappy one on there anymore. pics of the clean engine bay coming soon

 

Looks good, keep us updated. Mine is currently in the same stage but in sealer. I still need to get some things straight before I feel happy about it.

 

thanks, me and my dad talked to a friend and hes letting us use his garage and compressor to paint the car, next week we are putting sealer on it and from there we will see (if we get to use his garage im definitely going candy apple)
ok gonna get those engine bay pics up later, i still have a good 3 hours of working time left

 

alright, heres how it sits now, with new air cleaner, and water neck.


its not done yet, but its coming along. also after having the window washer fluid and coolant reservoirs out for a while im starting to like the look without them, i may look into making or buying a custom coolant reservoir that takes less space and can be mounted somewhere else. maybe move the battery to the other side and put the new reservoir where the battery sits now. not 100% on how that would work seeing as how the coolant is gravity fed

 

i decided on more of a high gloss black, i think it looks a lot better. also did a few more finishing touches, after that all thats left in there is the firewall and ill probably call it done. a few friends saw it today and loved it, so i figure its good enough for now


and closer up

 

i wonder if i can change the name of this thread...its more of a project now, rather then announcing i got another 3rd gen....

 

Start a new thread. I think it's beginning to qualify as it's own topic. I like to follow our members restorations.
Maybe put a link to it at the end of this thread.

 

Very nice job so far . Looks like a very solid car and will be sick with a paint job and maybe a nice set of wheels .

Personally I would not paint the louvers . On my louvers , I sanded them with 2500 grit then used Mothers aluminum mag polish . They will look like black plastic mirrors and you wont have to worry about all the junk associated with paint .

 

alright starting a new thread here

thanks for the info on the louvers...sadly i already painted them black with krylon fusion, when they start to need a touch up i may try what you have suggested