Thanks for the suggestions, I plan on reinforcing the firewall with 1" square tubing and also use it as a mounting system for the evaporator case, similar to the picture below. I will also add additional plug welds where the seams overlap on the exterior of the firewall. I was going to tack the whole seam and smooth it but I like visual appearance of the seam running across the firewall.

 

Started putting up my removable "paint booth". I still have to cut holes in two windows, one for the air intake and the other for the exhaust fan. Each window will have a filter as well. I took everything out the garage beside the workbench, I added casters so it can easily be pushed out. I should be able to remove/reinstall in about an hour which isn't to bad. Hoping to get the epoxy and 2K sprayed this weekend on the interior.

 

I had a chance to spray the epoxy this weekend on the interior. I came out pretty well, the only issue I ran into was that on part of the second coat (passenger side) did not lay as well as the rest and has a texture to it. I believe this was a rookie mistake on my part my not cleaning the gun between coats, live and learn. I am not to worried because this will all be covered by the RestoMod Air Membrane and carpet. If I can not level out the passenger side door jamb I will respray it when I do the engine bay. Next weekend I will be shooting the 2K primer.






This is the texture I was referring to.

 

I had a productive few days. I was able to 2K prime the interior, however I made a rookie mistake using the same color for both epoxy and 2K primer but will be moving to black epoxy for all future areas. It shouldn't be a big deal since the only areas being finished sanded are the jambs and the rest will just be scuffed prior to basecoat.

I was also able to mock up the Restomod Air Haymaker-S. It was an extremely tight fit but fits absolutely perfectly. You can still utilize the under dash plastics and the whole unit is completely hidden. I decided to use steel brackets and mount it from the cowl rather then the firewall since it is much more sturdy. The defroster outlets on the unit might be a tight fit given the proximity of the cowl. If need be I should be able to add 1/2"-1" spacers to push the unit out to give more clearance. However, I will wait until final assembly for that since there may be slight variations with production unit.

 

I hate you...JK. I can't believe that system fits that well. My vintage air setup required beyond extensive dash mods. Major surgery. Will you be able to run air through all of the vents? The giant OEM plenums fit around that? Bravo to you sir. This is such a nice build.

 

^ What he said!!!
I love it!

On almost all the Third-Gens that I do, I gut all the HVAC Components for a smooth Fire-Wall.

Most of the time... the ONLY way that I install an AC Compressor, is for a Refrigerant to Water Inter-Cooler.

That HVAC System looks to fit so well, that I would start putting actual AC back into these Cars
(And NOT just for an Inter-Cooler).


Keep up the great work!
You are inspiring me to actually work on my own Third-Gen (Which almost never happens, LOL)

 

My "plan" is to use the right and left vent end ducting pieces, section the center vent ducting and use the floor ducting piece that fits into the center console and get 3D printed adaptors made so that I will not have to use the giant OEM plenum. I have new defroster vents from Restomod Air that have adaptations and will fit where the OEM defroster vents were and are pretty much identical to the OEM.

Also as I am sure you know Vintage Air is coming out with a Sure Fit kit for the 3rd gen in the upcoming weeks that was just on display at SEMA. I am hoping they have adaptors made that do not utilize the large OEM plenum that I could just purchase separate from the kit so that I do not need to 3D print my own. I am sure this is wishful thinking but I am still holding on to hope, so we will see.

I wanted to get this mocked up in the very early stages as the hardest part is going to be sourcing adaptors or making them in my opinion. This way I have plenty of time to work that out because I think it is going to take time and/or a lot of attempts to get correct. Glad everyone is enjoying the build so far and can get some useful information for their own projects.

 

I took advantage of the random warm day here in PA yesterday and was able to blast the engine bay, hopefully I will have it in epoxy by next weekend.

 

On another note, when I first cut my CMC hole I used the 3rd gen pedals and bought a cheap CMC from Amazon to get the location as close as possible. I recently purchased the CMC cut template from "3rd Gen Guy" and noticed that my location was a bit off. I then decided I would mock up the actual CMC I plan on using, which is the Tick so I went ahead and purchased that.

I have confirmed that for whatever reason my original mounting location is off, I figured I'd share my first mistake with everyone. Not sure how I went wrong exactly but you can see from the picture where it needs to be extended upwards and to the right and that is exactly what I was seeing with the cut template mock up. I am hoping once I make the modifications the face of the CMC will cover the now larger mounting hole. If not its back to welding in a patch I suppose....

 

I had a chance to epoxy the engine bay yesterday morning. Unfortunately it came out like absolute trash and will have to be redone. On the first coat of epoxy the gun started randomly shooting out "string" like specs. I should have stopped then and there. Coat 2 and 3 laid fine but the damage was done. The gun was cleaned prior to the first coat and the all the epoxy was mixed at once. Frustrating to say the least because I don't know what went wrong. I planning on doing some research so that I do not make the same mistake again.

*Note: After speaking with a few people that are professionals the consensus seems to be it is lint from wiping the sandblasted metal even though I used lint free wipes and it was not visual to my eye, live and learn. I am going to sand a test spot and respray and see how that turns out since I already have some epoxy mixed up.

 

I am highly impressed with how easy the SPI epoxy is to sand. I prepped two spots where the lint was the worst and I am going to respray tonight as a test. If all goes according to plan I will sand the engine bay back down with 180 and respray this weekend.

 

Turns out it was was lint. The test sections sprayed fine, now I just need to improve my technique to get less orange peel. Looks like I have a lot of sanding ahead of me this weekend....

 

Awesome work I’ll be following progress and starting my own soon.

 

My father is helping me with some of the epoxy/bodywork on the fenders and doors so I needed to get the fabrication completed on the driver's door where the F*ck face broke in and stole the car. I had a donor door to cut out the lock section which was extremely helpful. I am please with the outcome. I just threw come rattle can primer on the bare spots until the door gets completely taken down to metal and epoxied.

 

I had the same damage when they stole my 87. I opted to just replace the whole door.

For the firewall, I had something similar happen to me, I used to aggressive of a activator with a 2k paint and it cured in the gun mid spray on a 2nd coat of clear. Really messed up my paint job but it wasn't like yours. Yours is clearly lint from the rag you used. I try to use compressed air and run my hand over the panel/part with new rubber gloves to get any of the stuck fibers off the rough spots. I would also think that maybe a tac cloth would help get these up as well. Are you going to prime the inside of the door where you patched?

 

My plan was to replace the door as well but it sat for several years outside due to lack of storage space and rusted out, so this was plan B. Yep, it was defiantly lint and lessoned learned. It just caught me off-guard because I followed the same procedure when doing the interior and had no issues. I used a tac cloth but it didn't pull up the lint, so I do not really know. I will be sure just to never wipe sand blasted metal, if anything Ill just spray it with W&G and blow it with compressed air. Yes, the inside of the patch was premiered with weld-thru primer before hand.

 

After getting wrapped up in another unexpected mini car restoration that took much longer then expected I am back to working on the Camaro. I decided since this is the only car I am restoring I don't want to have any regrets so I have decided to smooth the engine bay. I am first starting by stitch welding all the seams. I completed the inside frame rails and will also be completing the inside fender well sides, strut caps and firewall. I will also be removing the "humps" on the inside fender wells. I have also decided to pause on the body work and finish all of the fabrication then shoot another coat of epoxy and move on to the body work. A lot of the filler has not been sanded yet but I will address that before the epoxy. Here are a few shots of the frame rails.

 

I was able to knock out the sides of the inner fenders wells this weekend. I opted to double stitch weld the seams and added a third pass on the ends of both seams so that I could tie the panel into the frame rail. I also finished the passenger strut cap brace and did one pass on the strut cap. It will need several more but hopefully I can finish that up next weekend.

 

Finished welding and blending the passenger strut cap seam.

 

Drivers side completed. Up next, firewall seam.

 

The fuel tank is prepped and ready to go, I just need to add a vent valve. I will be using an upgraded 5th gen ZL1 fuel pump module and PWM kit to control the pumps. This will allow me to run a return-less system eliminating the need for a fuel pump pressure regulator and return line eliminating clutter in the engine bay. Additionally, it will eliminate any fuel starvation issues on track that is sometimes observed with the typical fuel pump/hanger set-up in low fuel level conditions while utilizing OE components.

 

I was able to get the firewall seam stitch welded, I still need to grind down the welds. Not much but at least it progress.

 

I absolutely love to see the Engine Bay given this treatment!

I am rather Jealous as the Engine Bay, I am sure will look amazing.
Damn she is going to look great!!!


Where are you going to have an Electrical Connector Bulkhead?

 

got any more info on that module? It’s interesting. Does it read full empty to full? Like is it deep enough or does empty really mean it’s got more in the tank.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I figured if I have it this far apart I mine as well make it exactly how I want.

I am planning on running the engine harness into the cabin from the front of the trans tunnel that others have done. That way it is not visible and the harness enters the cabin right behind the radio. For the body harness I will be running it under the drivers side fender similar to the DSE car to keep it hidden. I still need to cut both holes to run the harnesses.

 

The module is made by Vapor Worx, they are pretty popular in the Retromod world.

Yes, the gauges will read accurate/correct as the pump is set to the appropriate depth in the tank to function as it would in an OEM 5th gen tank. In my case I will be using the Dakota Digital gauges which have a setting preprogramed for the 40-250 ohm sending unit that is used in this pump. Alternatively, you could use the OEM gauge set and just use an aftermarket 90 ohm sending unit. There was a provision for that in the installation plate but I had it removed since I would not be using that.

 

I had to order more Roloc disks to blend the firewall seam so in the meantime I figured I would start removing the wheel well "humps". Shoutout to @92RS_Ttop on the write up and confirmation by @Tibo as their method worked great and was much easier then expected. Word of caution, like the firewall the metal is extremely thin and I had to go very slowly only completing 2-3 tacks at a time followed by cooling with compressed air.

 

Haven't had much time of late to work on the car but I was able to grind the welds on the firewall seam and finish removing the wheel well "humps". I also decided to extend the battery tray area and the drivers side equivalent to the frame rails. When I made those panels I wasn't planning on smoothing the engine bay 100%. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures but you get the idea.

 

I had a chance to weld most of the closeout panels in this weekend. I opted to do numerous spots welds rather then stich welding the joints. This will save a lot of time grinding the tight corners and is still extremely secure. I still need grind the welds on the passenger side and finish welding the panel on the passenger side by the cowl. I blew the motor on my compressor so that threw a wrench in my plans to get these finished.

 

You're getting there. Those panels look like they fit nicely.

 

Needed to take a break from the fabrication and decided to make the DSE-Z wiper motor aka C7 wiper motor work with the stock column. Low speed and high was easy but getting the park feature to work correctly was a task in its self.

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3D printed a test bracket to mount the wiper motor, which worked fine. I do not like how behind the wiper motor is open where water could get in (not that it will ever see water) so I am going to weld the front face closed and then drill out the center to allow the wiper crank to fit through with closer tolerances. I know DSE used the third gen crank arm on the motor but for the life of me could not get it to secure to the C7 wiper motor because the third gen is keyed and the C7 is splined. I didn't want to weld it on so I removed the pivot ball from the third gen arm and welded in on to the C7 arm. I forgot to take a picture but I'll add after I make the next round of adjustments.

 

I decided to ditch the mount for the wiper motor and just weld in a plate to reduce the diameter of the opening for the shaft. This allowed for a better seal and provision to bolt the wiper motor to the firewall.

 

The wiper fab. was suppose to be the end of the fabrication to the engine bay before epoxy and body work but I decided to modify the front radiator support. I cut out the center section and welded 1X2" rectangular tubing and radiused the corners. I also added weld nuts to eliminate the bolt clips for the headlight brackets and added a set for the new hood adjustors. I also removed the OEM hood adjustor mounting pads for the hood pins I will be running and smoothed the end seams. I just need to level the mounting area where the hood pins go so they do not stick through the hood at an angle. I could have left the OEM pad but I wanted to something that was not as noticeable to follow the "smoothed" look. I added mounting brackets for custom radiator and headlight fill panels. I also scored an NOS console clock that I have been looking for since ~2003 which was awesome. Hopefully I will have the engine bay back in epoxy and ready for body work by the end of the long weekend.

 

Engine bay fabrication completed.

 

Engine bay in SPI epoxy, Round 1.

 

Applied my first round of filler and sanded it out this weekend. This was just to get the main areas that I could see visually that were low. After sanding I sprayed another two coats of epoxy and will block that out and repeat the process for several iterations. I hate bodywork but I am hoping with each round it will get a bit easier.

Body Filler, Round 1


Engine bay in SPI epoxy, Round 2.

 

This is going to be a sweet car.

 

Completed the first round of blocking. I must say SPI epoxy is great, it sands extremely easy and guide coat is not needed as it acts like a built in guide coat. The results after blocking are what I expected and each subsequent round should look better and better. Some of my trouble areas are on the lower firewall above the trans tunnel. It would require roughly 3/16" of filler but I have to keep reminding myself many areas will not be seen once the engine is in and that is one of them. I do not want to exceed 1/8" of filler in any spots that will be viewable after everything is installed, I think I should be ok but if I need to go back and do more metal work I will. Also some areas are impossible to block such as areas on drivers side of the firewall but again with all the components installed most will not be seen anyway. I will however hit those areas with 80 grit on an interface pad just to level them as best as possible before the 3rd round of epoxy.

Post Blocking: Round 1

 

Looking great! One of the reasons I ended up going with the matte finish is exactly what you are describing now. The man hours required to perfectly get into every nook and cranny was too much for me. More so for the paint than the blocking.

 

Absolutely, I have so many hours into this I stopped keeping track. I am hoping to get it 90% of the way there after my blocking iterations. I am painting the car white which is a very forgiving color so hopefully that will help hide any of the bits I can not get perfect or at least make it so it doesn't jump out at you that it is not perfect.

 

Once everything is assembled and in place you will only really see the strut area leading into the pockets behind the headlights. Spend your time there. The back of the strut humps where they meet the firewall are super hidden once everything is installed.

 

It has been a while since I shared an update mostly because it has just been continued work on the engine bay bodywork. While I think it will turn out good in the end, the countless hours to get every detail squared away is exhausting. I am hoping to spray another round of epoxy this weekend, block one last time to revel any minor imperfections I missed, then seal with epoxy until it is ready for paint and then move onto welding in the DSE subframe connectors and fuel pump access panel.

 

Finished spraying another round of epoxy and it revealed more areas that need attention. It appears I will need a few more iterations of epoxy, block, clean etc. Moving forward I will be blocking with 180 to remove the 80 grit sand scratches.

 

I would be careful spraying the vin tag… I didn’t think you could paint those and if you do minimal coats so it doesn’t make it hard to read. Keep it up but this is way too much work for me lol. My hood is never up except at a show and they are only looking at the motor lol

 

I was able to block out the sections that needed blocking over the weekend and scuff the rest. Honestly, I thought there would be more lows but turned out fairly well. Every round gets me a little closer to the end.

 

I spent the weekend stripping the paint off the shell, that old paint was tough. It took the better part of the weekend with an interface pad and 80 grit, I didn't want to risk warping any of the panels.

 

I was able to get the final coat of epoxy on the engine bay and calling it "good enough" for now. I have a few high spots that are ghosting through the primer that I will try and correct /improve later. The car is being painted white so chances are you will not even be able to see it. I have some minor dings to address on the roof but I am hoping they will just block out. There is one on the roof and one on the quarter panel that will need filler but they are not that bad.

 

I look forward to your next update. Your work so far is impressive!

 

Awesome work! Keep at it!!