When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
I still need to do the bodywork on the hatch. I’m deathly afraid to move that dang thing around. That’s all I need is to explode the glass from a wrong move. I feel like I’m already skating on thin ice. If you’ll remember from an earlier post, when I attempted to remove the hinges the first bolt started turning in the hole and a small sliver of glass chipped away. I thought it was on the verge of exploding right then. I thought maybe I should try to relieve any possible stress by carefully grinding and smoothing the damage.
I did some research and it seems there is a combination of depth and edge distance where the tempering starts. Since the damage is at the surface, it’s probably OK. If it was deeper in the tempered area I probably wouldn’t be discussing this, I’d be looking for a new hatch!
On the hinges, I’ve done some searching on TGO and there are a lot of different results and opinions using the billet units so I’ll probably will stay with my original hinges. I never once worried about breaking my hatch and it’s survived just fine. I haven’t thoroughly checked them for wear. If they are not that bad I will also probably not even remove them. They have the typical bend in them. The bolts on the glass side need replacing but I can replace them one at a time and leave the current position on the glass undisturbed. I had a little overhang but if I can remove that by adjusting the hinge on the body side, I’ll be fine with that. I don’t want to disturb the glass to metal structure interface either.
Dang, it’s been a while since I posted. I haven’t been working full-time on this lately. I’m still in the process of blocking out the panels before I shoot the final primer-surfacer.
I did start on the hood repair, which is new thing for me with it being SMC. Although most of you know what this is, you might find this detailed look interesting. Here is what I have learned about SMC, courtesy of AI and Wikipedia:
“Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) is a glass-fiber-reinforced, thermosetting plastic composite material used for compression molding high-strength, lightweight, and durable parts, especially in the automotive industry. The material consists of a resin paste, fiberglass, fillers, and other additives, which is formed into a continuous sheet that is then cut into "charges" for molding into complex shapes.
How It's Made
1. A resin paste is dispensed onto a plastic carrier film.
2. Chopped glass fibers are cut onto the resin.
3. Another carrier film is added on top, creating a "sandwich" with the fibers embedded in the resin.
4. This sheet is compacted and then matures, allowing the resin to thicken.
5. The carrier film is removed, and the sheet is cut into charges for compression molding.
The Molding Process
Compression Molding: The material charges are placed into a steel die, which is then heated under pressure to cure the composite and form the final product.
Finishing: Once cooled, the part is removed from the mold. Post-molding processes can include trimming, painting (including in-mold painting for efficiency), and other finishes to achieve desired surface quality and appearance.”
There are lots of videos showing this process in action.
So, as far as we are concerned with the repair of SMC, we can’t treat it like your typical fiberglass part. The only material that can be directly applied to SMC are epoxy products, hence my decision to apply epoxy primer to the hood first. If there is damage or deep gouges, pits, etc., an epoxy filler or adhesive should be used first to build up the material to its nominal shape, repair cracks, etc. After first blocking the bare hood, I realized that the damaged areas that were showing fiberglass fibers hadn’t deteriorated as much as I assumed. It still had its original shape and contours, so I was able to go directly with the epoxy primer then Featherfill.
However, after blocking the Featherfill, I discovered some deep pits. I could only assume those pits went into the SMC. To play it safe, I spot sanded the pits with 80 grit until I was into SMC and reached the bottom of them. I then applied the epoxy filler, (Polyvance #2020-T), into the sanded areas and sanded them level with the Featherfill.
During the initial blocking of the Featherfill I stopped blocking when I reached the SMC substrate. I applied epoxy primer to those areas first before shooting additional primers. I sanded those areas down a little so there will be less tendency to uncover bare SMC again.
Some of the low spots were deep enough to warrant using a skim coat of body filler. They were still within the depth of the Featherfill, so a traditional polyester filler worked here. The rest of the low spots were very shallow, (within the depth of the orange peel), so I just shot those with more Featherfill and then completely covered the hood with two more coats. The hardest areas to work were the edges around the scoops. Pretty much the entire perimeters were pitted and deteriorated. I had to be careful to get them rounded correctly.
Great information sir! I am still hesitant to tackle the prep work on my hood. But with your description and process, I am more confident on my process. I know that my particular hood was painted once before the factory (with single stage) the surface is still pretty solid, but with a few spots that have SMC/shredded fiberglass has been exposed around flat area for the scopes. Instead of going full force with the normal 120 grit on the entire hood, I will use 80 grit on the exposed areas fill with the epoxy stuff that I got for SMC repair, and then probably go with 180 to prep the rest of the surface, graduating to 220, 320, and 400 before I spray.
My underside of the hood is pretty solid but I was planning on scuff sanding 180 to 220 and just applying paint. I am not looking for perfection just coverage, as I plan on putting under hood insulation back on.
Keep up the posts (when you get a chance)!
I just received the rebuilt dash pad from “Just Dashes”.
I don't know...The quality looks awesome. It looks very well built.
But, there are a couple of things I am concerned about. The shape of the pad is off. It's kinda close, but I can tell right away it's not correct. The rear edge on the new pad is not vertical. It is rounded and has a slight slope, approaching the slope of the 84 and up pads. The ribbing is also in the wrong location. It is on the top of the pad and about 1/4" from the edge. My original was on the very edge, just about on the corner. The defroster vents fit OK; I just need to trim a little on the edges of the vinyl.
I can't tell right now how well it will fit as the car is too far disassembled. Unless it is too thick, it should fit since it should be my original structure. I wish I would have taken more detailed photos of the old pad.
I just got off the phone with Andy at Just Dashes after he called me to address my issues.
They are going to make it right. They will send me a free shipping label to ship the dash back to the them. They will also take care of the return shipping.
I told him how this is being discussed here and that I was hopeful they would take care of me. He made it clear that they take customer service seriously, and so far, I believe it. I am giving them an A+ for the time being. Let's just see if they can get the contours right this time.
Now, I wonder if the repair will be worse than the defect. I would imagine to do it right, they will need to completely strip off the vinyl and foam. I'm sure the vinyl can't be removed without destroying the foam. I hope they don't cut corners and try to reuse the foam.
I also noticed that on the underside where the forward mounting screw holes are located, on one side there are two inserts/pads of some sort, the other has none. He said those pads are part of the structure and the broken ones were missed by the estimator. Normally, they would have charged to repair those missing pads but he said they will waive the charges.
I haven't gotten around to shooting the primer-surfacer on the body or stripping the hatch so I've been cleaning up the hardware. I started on the chassis. Doing the best I can at forensics on the finish, I just spray VHT "Flame Proof" flat black after glass beading them. Anything that appears to have had a zinc finish, I glass bead and shoot VHT satin clear.
Even though I am trying to duplicate the factory assemblies and finishes, I am not going to the extent of perfection. In the case of hardware, the general look is all I am after along with corrosion protection.
Here's a sample:
When I started to degrease the spindles I noticed a coating of some sort. It looks like dark gray phosphate, however, it's thick enough to chip. I don't think phosphate does that. I was reasonably careful so the coating survived the glass beading. I simply coated them with clear.
Same with the rotor shields. It looked like some sort of galvanized surface, so I cleared them too after blasting. I didn't have any decent shield seals, so I just applied a little Permatex #2. You can see it squishing out around between the shields and spindles.
When I started to clean the rear sway bar links I noticed that the bushings and hardware looked like aftermarket poly items. I don't remember changing them. The fronts are still original but useless as the bushings are brittle and they break into pieces. I believe they used a harder compound of unknown material for the Z28's. They definitely weren't using rubber.
Does anybody still have the original rear sway bar link setup on their car? Could you snap a pic or describe what the bushings and hardware look like?
Does anybody still have the original rear sway bar link setup on their car? Could you snap a pic or describe what the bushings and hardware look like?
Here is a photo of the rear sway bar end links on my '84 Z28. I'm not the original owner, but these appear to be original. Yours definitely look aftermarket to me.
Brake calipers are done. Corrosion on the cylinders was minimal with typical minor pitting. The pistons were in excellent condition. After bead blasting, a little bit of light wire brushing got the seal surfaces very smooth. Using brake assembly lube, I assembled them and then shot a couple coats of clear. I did this after assembly so I wouldn’t have to worry about scratching or rubbing off the clear coat during assembly.
I also rebuilt the clutch Z-bar. Years ago, the tab that the Z-bar bolts to broke off the frame-mounted bracket. I rewelded it and added a small gusset to strengthen it.
I wasn’t sure if I welded the tab back on in the correct position, so a few years later, I found an almost complete NOS Z-bar assembly including the brackets and pedal to verify the repair and to use them in case my repair was off. The repair was good and it’s still holding up so I reused it. The welds are a little sloppy but they are strong. I also remember the rods and holes were wearing a little bit so welded them back to spec years ago. They still look good, so I was also able to reuse everything.
NOS Assembly
The rotors couldn't be saved, safely anyway, as they were just under the minimum thickness specs and grooves were wearing into the surface on top of that. I hated having to use aftermarket rotors because in the past, replacement rotors warped too easily. But I have had success so far with buying the best a brand has to offer.
I bought this car from the original owner and he left the car all original. Maybe Firebird is different than Chevy or on anti sway bar diameters on different handling packages?
I bought this car from the original owner and he left the car all original. Maybe Firebird is different than Chevy or on anti sway bar diameters on different handling packages?
No, those are aftermarket sway bar links. And improperly matched hardware like I said before. They are not original GM.
I forgot to mention before, those weren't even tightened down enough for proper bushing "squish". Likely because the long bolts do not have enough threads and the nuts are bottomed out on the shoulder of the bolt.
Last edited by 86blackiroc; Nov 21, 2025 at 09:16 PM.
Interesting. I will see him in the coming weeks and will ask him if he changed anything? I did notice the differential cover had been removed and siliconed back in place so maybe something has changed on the rear end. I thought he had just changed the gear oil.
Here is the possibly original rear links on my '85 and '86 project cars. Both need replacing. The hardware, particularly the washers appear to be identical between the two cars (notice the raised area of the stamping) and appear to be the same as ryguy's '84 and Z28cop's '85. Interestingly, my '86 car shown has brackets that seem to have been coated in a dove gray color, rather than black.
On my IROC, I just took them off, soaked them in EvapOrust and repainted the spacers and the bolts. Sometimes (like my 85) the metal
spacers were painted, mine were yellow. I assume from working there, this was done to identify different links for the different cars. A lot of parts had different paint colors to differentiate between models, like the 3 painted stripes in the middle of the drive shafts. Usually you can find a Testors bottle of paint to match many of the clolors.
Parts/hardware cleaning and painting is still in progress. After discussing the rear sway bar links with other members, I decided to reuse the existing links since they are in very good condition. Just to make things look a little more factory, I blasted the hardware to remove the dichromate plating and cleared them. I even painted the bushings flat black. The paint doesn't scratch off either.
Here is one storage bin’s worth of body items. Shooting flat spray paint is nice because it dries fast and I can move through the cleaning and paint process quickly. I lay the partially dried items on the parts bag to keep track of them while they dry overnight. The chassis parts are complete.
I use VHT Flame-Proof SP115. It seems to hold up well. I can only vouch for one out of 6 the builds I did. I haven't seen any issues on that one.
I haven't done any actual testing on how well it holds up in extreme environments. I can say that I use it in all areas, interior, exterior and engine compartment, exhaust manifolds included. But, how well it holds up to UV, dunno!
I recently restored an engine compartment and used it on the exhaust manifolds. I took the time to cure them in the oven, baking them according to the instructions. I could only get up to 550 degrees. They recommend 650 degrees. After about 1,000 miles it's starting to turn a goldish color. You can see where the temps are little cooler at the front, that area still looks fresh.
Years ago I tried their cast iron color. It seemed to hold up better, color-wise, on exhaust manifolds.
For what it's worth, I believe I used the cast iron VHT on these manifolds. There was some sort of coating that wasn't coming off easily in the glass bead cabinet. I used the cast iron to keep a consistent color.
Today, I am back on cleaning and refinishing the various bits and pieces of hardware, brackets, etc.
For years, I have struggled with holding small fasteners with the bulky blasting gloves. I knew there were such things as blasting baskets/cages, but I never thought the designs would work all that great. Some were just an open basket, (parts flying everywhere), while some were enclosed. Plus, $30-$100 was too expensive to me IMO.
So I made my own. A few years back, I replaced the lightweight screen floor in my cabinet with perforated metal. It’s about a 20ga with 1/8” holes. I used the leftover material to make my baskets. My modification to the typical designs I saw was to add a hole just large enough to insert the gun’s nozzle. I simply shake the basket for about 30 seconds which usually works for mildly corroded fasteners. I made two sizes. A 2.5” and 4” dia.
Speaking of blasting cabinets, my cabinet is an old, used benchtop unit similar to an old Harbor Freight design. The hopper wasn’t a very good design as it wasn’t deep enough and too shallow of an angle to allow the media to settle to the bottom where the siphon could pick it up. I built a deeper one with a spring-loaded trap door.
I also went to “Blast-it-All” and got one of their window conversion kits. It’s so much easier now to just pull the mylar underlay from a dispenser instead of taping a new sheet to the window pane.
I also upgraded the lighting. It originally came with a fluorescent tube fixture which wasn’t very bright. I tried different variations of LED strip lighting. That worked OK until the silicone covering the LEDs got blasted into a brown, almost opaque surface.
I now have a couple of 24” “Barrina” brand LED fixtures. Waaay better. I left on the thin, protective plastic covering the lens, hoping it will take the brunt of the blasting effects. When that gets too frosted, I’ll try some Saran wrap or the sticky version of it. We’ll see how far this setup will last.
They are the same lights I recently installed in my shop, except they are 8’ long. When I first built the shop 18 years ago, the 4500K fluorescent lights seemed like daylight! When those seemed to dim, I went with 6500K. Even better! Then those seemed not to be white/bright enough. I guess my eyes aren’t what they used to be...
What we found that worked best was to cut a hole in the cabinet and slide a piece of plexiglass over the hole, then place the fixtures on the outside where it's clean. When the plexiglass gets pitted simply slide a new piece in and you don't waste light fixtures. That's if you have enough room in the top. We used this method on a welding booth.
I have an older harbor freight blasting cabinet that has worked well enough but i did have to upgrade the lighting to LED also. I've found using walnut shells does a good job of cleaning parts without striping the original finish.
I've never experimented with other media. So you're saying walnut shells will clean parts without removing paint or plating? Or doesn't affect or peen the original substrate? I run into this a lot on, say like cad plating. I can never clean the part good enough to make it look nice again so when I bead blast it, it winds up taking it down to bare metal. Of course, if the plating too far gone no amount of cleaning is going help. Media blasting can be an entire career in itself! There are so many ways to to do it.
I would need several cabinets with different media!
Here’s a quick question. I noticed this years ago:
The cowl screen has three screw holes to secure it to the body. Mine only had one screw in the middle. The two on the ends were never installed and drilled into the sheet metal. It has Christmas tree fasteners to help hold it down, so it never really was a problem. The passenger side wouldn't be to able lay flat very well because of the ridge around the perimeter of the hole. The driver's side has a jog in it to conform to the shape of the rim.
I've never experimented with other media. So you're saying walnut shells will clean parts without removing paint or plating? Or doesn't affect or peen the original substrate? I run into this a lot on, say like cad plating. I can never clean the part good enough to make it look nice again so when I bead blast it, it winds up taking it down to bare metal. Of course, if the plating too far gone no amount of cleaning is going help. Media blasting can be an entire career in itself! There are so many ways to to do it.
I would need several cabinets with different media!
the walnut shells will strip rattle can paint. I have used it with plated parts and it did not strip the plating. depending on the part i would use either 50psi or 90psi. I use it mostly for cleaning parts. I have even used walnut shells on plastic parts. once blasted the parts still need to be washed and painted to polished but its good for getting the old goo or scale
I have used aluminum oxide but only of things that need to be bare metal that will be painted or power coated.
Here’s a quick question. I noticed this years ago:
The cowl screen has three screw holes to secure it to the body. Mine only had one screw in the middle. The two on the ends were never installed and drilled into the sheet metal. It has Christmas tree fasteners to help hold it down, so it never really was a problem. The passenger side wouldn't be to able lay flat very well because of the ridge around the perimeter of the hole. The driver's side has a jog in it to conform to the shape of the rim.
How are the screens secured on everyone’s cars?
On my 82 TA there is one screw on the passenger side and one in the middle. the drivers side does not have a screw.
I've seen a screw in the passenger side cowl screen tang on some '82 F-bodies but they were Norwood built cars. My Van
Nuys '82 and '84 cars only have the one screw in the center.
GM eventually removed the right tang on the cowl screen in the late 80's. It might have been around the time the windshield
sprayers moved from the the cowl to the wiper arm.
Just in case you are interested, I am still working on our 83 Camaro project. I tried to document everything we did to it, but after 11 or 12 years we haven't finished the job yet. It's on here under 83 Camaro/95 Caprice LT1/ transplant. We did a lot of the same things you are doing. Looks like you have gone down the rabbit hole like we did. Life got in the way, but we will get back to it soon. Why we did it? We like the shape and look of the 3rd gen Camaro. You are lucky to have your wife helping out, mine thinks I've lost my mind.
You are lucky to have your wife helping out, mine thinks I've lost my mind.
HAHA! Years ago, she thought I was crazy too but she gets it now. Especially now that I am getting "her" car back on the road again the way she remembers it. She's getting excited now!
"her" car. I have to laugh at this quote as well as Strick1 contribution. For years my car was blown apart, stuck in primer. My wife would not even pay attention to the car or ask me what I am going to do with it? But as soon as I got the back half in paint and started the assembly of the interior, the wife keeps coming out to the garage asking when she can start driving it? like it is "her" car now. But she never complains nor asks me what I spend on parts and materials for this unintended restoration.
Just in case you are interested, I am still working on our 83 Camaro project. I tried to document everything we did to it, but after 11 or 12 years we haven't finished the job yet. It's on here under 83 Camaro/95 Caprice LT1/ transplant. We did a lot of the same things you are doing. Looks like you have gone down the rabbit hole like we did. Life got in the way, but we will get back to it soon. Why we did it? We like the shape and look of the 3rd gen Camaro. You are lucky to have your wife helping out, mine thinks I've lost my mind.
Hang in there. The restomodification on our '86 SVO took 17 years, even with the help from my co-driver. She was great help with the seat recovering, but said we'll never do that again. Well, we DID do it again, but only on one seat on the B4C, and that was using OEM upholstery. I don't think replacement upholstery would have been that bad on the Camaro seats, though, as the bolsters aren't as aggressive.
Not much to report… All the hardware is pretty much cleaned and painted. Now cleaning larger parts.
At the moment, I am cleaning up the fuel pickup/sender. The gas gauge was working when the car was running so the sender should be good enough. I might see if I can find a basic assembly with a 90 ohm sender and install just the sender just for a peace of mind. The short rubber hose that connects the fuel pump to the tubing and the sock was wasted away. Modern fuels for ya.
This car had the fuel percolation bulletin installed. However, the fuel pump is inop. Since the car’s wiring for the bulletin is still intact along with the pickup assembly, I figured I might as well keep everything operating as designed. A little pressure in the supply line can’t hurt to help with any possible vapor lock problems that might occur.
Trouble is, the pump is inop. I’m not having any luck in finding a replacement pump or even something similar. The number stamped on the case is A1774.
Now, I need to figure out how to repair one of the exhaust pipe hangers. This is the one that mounts to the catalytic converter. I never could quite figure out why it broke. The system has been hanging just fine for years using the remaining two hangers at the rear so it's not like it was under that much of a load. I think the heat may have weakened the rubber over time.
I found a company that provides fabric-reinforced rubber. They don't have all the correct widths, so I'll just use my band saw to cut them to size. If that makes too rough of a cut, I suppose a sharp blade will do the trick. (All four of the reproduction hangers on my 69 broke after just 2 years and 4,000 miles. I got enough to repair those too).
Now, I just have to find suitable hollow rivets. I'm having trouble finding a 5/16" rivet with a ~15/16" diameter head.
