Ok guys, here's the official topic... I'll get some hosted pics up pretty soon i snapped some this afternoon of the car.

What I did today... Took out the headlights, not the enclosure though, and removed the plastic buffer in the wheel well.... in preparation for removal of the fender... there is some damage to non-cosmetic areas, but its' isolated...

So, probably sometime this week or next weekend i'll try to take off the fender and the front clip... the ground fx are shot..

So here's my list of needs...

Drivers side fender

IROC/Z28 hoods (ill transplant the hood blisters)

Front Clip

Grill

Front Ground FX.

Ed, you said I should be able to get most of these from the military junkyards and I was wondering if you could help me with this, I already owe you for the seats, and I'll make sure to bring my own tools! (Im probably gonna need a floor jack too right?)

Also, for removing the drivers side fender, I should remove the hood too right, but is it possible to take the fender off w/o removing the rockerpanel gfx?

Front Clip Removal.. do I have to take passenger side fender off too? Ill try searching some more for a tutorial for this, but so far i have had no luck!

Oh well, thanks again for all of your guys help.. Its' been invaluable over these past few months! And I'm sorry for hijacking the Drift Session threads.

 

Obviously you won't be driving the Z28 for a while, so recommend you start pulling the broken stuff off. This will show you how to pull the same items off a donor car. I don't know of any Z28 hoods around, if you hood is not badly bent, fixing it is probably better, well at least until a good hood shows up.

I won't be able to visit the Schofield Salvage yard until Thursday, so it would be productive if you also looked around at other possible sources in the meantime. Here's a three-view of the front end parts so you can see how they are assembled.

 

K my piece number 26 is slightly bent 27 28 are shot ive removed 33

39, 40 are removed, i took em out. I'll work on getting the fender off as well as the front clip... possible to get a replacement #26?

 

Some good body parts on this car in Wahiawa, might give him a call, see how cheap they are...


http://www.islandpreviews.com/main/m...hp?ad_id=23563

PARTING OUT: '89 Camaro RS
Wahiawa
PARTING OUT: '89 Camaro RS, 5.0 TBI, 2.73 Posi Rear, straight body parts. Will not sell whole. Call Robert 291-1328 7am-7pm

 

wow ed, thanks for keeping a watch out for me! I really appreciate it, ill give him a call in the morning... I take it removing the parts from an existing non wrecked car would be easier right..?

hmm im already talking to the guy on forumshawaii.. turns out hes BadBlueSSwithBuickMotor on forumshawaii. 25 bucks each for hood and fender, nose is intact, but no grill. id go for the fender and the nose on it. i kinda want to get 91-92 gfx and an iroc hood. but 25 bucks a piece isnt that bad at all. thanks again ed.

and he would be HI85WH1 on thirdgen.org pretty cool.

 

Damn that sucks to hear what happened. I think you'll be able to get it back together in no time for under $200. Look at the bright side man, at least it happened before you painted the car.

Dont quote me on this but I think the earlier 86-90 upper front clip is pretty much the same as the 91-92 clip, with the lower front lip portion being the difference (86-90 the shorter flat style, 91-92 the longer style with flares). The only differences I can see are the mounting points (which you can make/modify). Kinda like using pre 91-92 fenders on a 91-92 car, just gotta modify how the GFX mounts. I have not used the 86-90 upper front clip with the 91-92 lower front lip myself, but I will be doing this soon with my friends 91Z28 (messed up his upper front clip but lower 91-92 lip still good). Maybe hold off on trying that until I can verify it (so far its only been a visual). As for the fenders, any 82-92 Camaro fender can be modified to fit. As for the hood, I know which one you need, and I dont think they only came on IROC's/Z28's. My 88SC V6 parts car came with one of those hoods (ugly louvers instead of blisters), but yeah they are interchangeable.

If I had to do it right now I would do it in this order: Hood first, then front clip, then the fender. You can leave the rear portion of the sideskirt alone, but you will have to unbolt the front part (pull the fenderwell, there is a bracket behind the fender). At this point I would repair the headlights/headlight mount as well as the crash bar (if it got damaged). I would put it all back together fender first, then front clip, then hood. Remember that you will need to make small adjustments to both the fender and hood (with them on the car) to align them properly to the body.

Good luck!! I've been there!! It sucks but you gotta keep your head up and keep going. Eventually it'll be back together and painted before you know it.

 

Thanks for the encouragement shawn, would your friends 91z28 happen to be white, and does he live/work in manoa? I saw a white 91z28 with a messed up front clip... sounds familiar hehe... well i hope all goes well with him & his car in anycase. So basically, the main front clip can be interchanged, its just the gfx mounting brackets that vary from 86-90 and 91-92? Assuming this is correct, all I need do is find a suitable 86-92 front clip, and a 91-92 front spoiler and any drivers side fender and i'm pretty much set.

Oh and my headlight mounting bracket thing is totally destroyed. Would it be possible to get a whole new one off another car?

 

Those are awesome prices for those pieces. I already emailed him for info on the doors Now that I know it's HI85WH1 here, I think I'm gonna pm him soon. hehe.

 

I wasnt joking when I said it was cheap.... I just want everyone to benefit from this car before I dump it... If I didnt have $500 in it, I would probably have made it a free-for-all...

10 bolt posi.. 2.73's... $100?

TBI 305... offer?

15" wheels?

whatever else...

 

Yeah thanks for helping us out Robert. I sent you an email & will call you later in the week. Thanks again

 

Looks like what i need most now is an IROC hood, and 91-92 front gfx... im having trouble w/ those. I've been trying to call some junkyards today, and trying to find alternate sources, but so far, they've all been closed, so ill try again tommorow.

 

cant you just bolt the blisters to an RS hood? if you look at the inner bracing, all the holes are already there...

just a suggestion and a shameless plug...

 

hmm, can you? i knew that it was all the same on the bottom, but isnt the top a whole other story?

 

IROC hood will be hard to find, and expensive when you do. If it's only the corner of your hood, might be better just to pound it back into shape. Later on, you can keep you eyes open for a hood and pick one up.

The front gfx is also hard to find, I had to get mine via the Internet and the shipping was a killah. Broken gfx are easy to fix with fiberglass repair kits. There's a '91 Camaro at Schofield that might come into salvage in another week, has a cracked front gfx. I'd say fix yours ... upload a photo showing how much damage so we can see...

 

I'm sure you can make it work if it won't on its own. You can have your body and paint guy clean it up.

So, does this delay your whole painting plans? I really wanted to see your Z28 in some kickass blue....

After I'm through with my finals, you can give me a shout if you need any help.

Scott

 

dont know... it was a suggestion...

I'm sure it would be cheaper... the IROC has the raised portion around th gills... but I never looked really close at a 91-92

 

Probably not going to effect my painting plans majorly, but may delay them slightly, expect paint to come within a month of fixing the damage. come to think of it though, i could repair the front gfx, its just the mounting brackets on the inside have been torn off... probably going to have to get replacements somehow.. and melt them on or something. But you right about the hood, thinking about it now it could be pounded back into shape, its only bent inwards slightly. So, in essence, Roberts RS parts should be enough. im converting the pics to jpg now so ill have em up...

Scott, thanks for offering your assistance, i'll give you a call if i really need some help lol.. dont want to be too much of a physical burden.

 

Don't think it matters if the holes are in framework under the hood. In my case, the IROC '87 hood had plastic louvers which fit into a lowered, shaped area on the hood. When I changed to blisters, they fit into the shaped areas. I recall the blister mounts were on legs, so if mounted to a flat surface like an RS hood, they'd stick up in the air.

Although having the blisters mounted half-inch above the flat hood would be a unique appearance, a Z28 or IROC hood is probably preferable if the existing hood can't be fixed.

 

I could swear I saw 91-92 blisters on a flat hood.. but then again... I'm not a F body guy, remember?

 

Well, it could be done if the legs were cut off the blisters, or aftermarket blisters were used. But there is a subtle, gradual curve on the Z28 hoods where the blisters mount that is missing from the RS hoods.

A better and more radical idea is to use your excellent condition RS hood and have racing louvers [old school] cut in the hood, using the blister outline. This would have the added benefit of venting hot air from the engine compartment.

 

It's too bad that the IROC hood that I have is kind of rust infested. All in the hard spots too! At the front of the hood & right around where the plastic louvers are. If you really need an IROC hood after looking for one to no avail & are desperate then maybe we can work something out with my hood. Laterz

Anthony

 

Keola, if you can't find a good replacement, why don't you pick up Rob's RS hood and fabricate something unique to go with your Midnight Blue paint.

Maybe functional louvers that open at WOT? Maybe a scanner in the front! Maybe not....

Scott

 

lmao scott... KITT Camaro... hehe scanner in front lol... i might as well start looking for a pontiac trans am nose... lol. In anycase, fabricating something up would be pretty interesting... maybe ill just slap in roberts hood now, and work on fabricating something outta my z28 hood.

anthony, thanks for the iroc hood offer, if all else fails i guess we could work something out.

About fiberglass repair kits, is repairing these gfx like fixing surfboards...? I used to be an avid surfer in my past so i know how to fix those hehehe... same process? only hard part would be figuring out a way to attach them to the new nose and fender though, the mounting brakets were broken off.

 

hell if i get real desperate and somehow make a load of money soon, i'll pick up a SS hood lol.

 

ACtually, there is a urenthane body filler for use on the soft parts... I understand it's kind of pricey though... that way the part still has some flex... the 'glass repair would be a problem down the road...

 

the main problem with my front gfx though, is that they are in two pieces.... small problem eh?

 

Depends how it's separated.

If you have some fiberglass experience you may as well put it to use. I don't know how similar it is to board repair, but it can be done.

The main thing would be to repair it as structurally strong as possible and have you body guy "clean" it all up as part of the paint prep.

Scott

 

That's the spirit

 

Yeah, and if i win the lottery ill buy all of us 383's lol....

lol and my cousins trying to convince me to ditch the camaro for a 91 supra turbo for sale.. fat chance.

 

Easy fiberglass repair. The GFX plastic loves epoxy resin and heavy fiberglass cloth on the inside with body filler on the outside. I had to do repairs on the GFX I bought from the Internet and it was Slam Bam Thank Ya Ma'am. Those lower GFX always get scarred and torn anyway.

 

Heres some pics.... sad..

 

side view, yep the more i look at it, the worse it gets... lol.. there might be some frame bendage underneath it all... crappy... ill know for sure when the fender and clip is off.

 

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Yeah, you might have some frame shiftage. Possibly the front radiator support crossbeam & right around the area that's all ripped up.

 

Certainly not as bad as it could have been...

The hood is definately repairable, even by nu-b metal benders.

Some of the supporting structure under the fender and clip have been bent, IF the subframe where the steering box is attached didn't get damaged, then the repairs are not difficult.

It's simply a process of replacing the broken parts and hammering the inside supporting metal back to it's original shape. Because the hood has received so little damage, it can serve as the alignment piece, to which the fender and front clip can be adjusted to fit.

Fixing the car will be pretty easy...

I think you got pretty lucky, since fate decided to hand-out punishmenmt for exceeding the capabilities of a powerful sports car with old tires, a rain-slick road, at a location with other cars and people.

The car you hit could have been a new Porsche driven by some heartless ambulance-chasing lawyer with his pregnant wife in the car, instead of a poor uninsured shmuck in a unregistered beater that happend to stop just over the traffic stop line in the intersection [most likely 'cause of the beaters' failing brakes].

No pedestrians got mowed down either -- Just imagine the potential lawsuits from two or three mangled people that continue after the insurance coverage runs out. Their lawyers would be pushing for civil and possibly criminal punishments based on operator negligence , etc. Oh, and guess who they go after if the vehicle operator is a minor...

Well, enough of that. We all have to be careful out there...

 

Horrible... but not nearly as bad as it could have been.

That's why I always say to buy the best tires (and brakes) you can afford. Your first loss of control on wet roads should be a good enough decision maker for you from now on- it certainly was for me.

No one was hurt right? I don't think anyone even asked about you.

I suggest buying Rob's hood if it's straight and cheap enough since you're going to need something to help align your fenders and such.

Take a good look at the area around the steering box. Do you have a steering brace? That's a good indicator of lateral damage.

Good luck, and don't give up. At least you've got a good winter project and maybe your folks can help out with the new (and better) parts for Christmas. You'll need to rebuild your steering componants and a lot of your suspension anyway....

Scott

 

FYI, the nose is off the car already, and I should get to the fender tomorrow. Hood will stay on till the very end. I seem to have the drivetrain sold... rear end is still available.

BTW, your uncle came up today and said he would call you.... I hope the prices are fair...

Rob

 

Yeah Scott, nobody was hurt thankfully... You're right about the best tires and brakes though... looking forwards though, what are some good, safe tires???

I'm pretty sure i can rule out all of the Warrior brand.

*yeah prices seem fair, thanks rob for helping me out, i'd come by in person but school has been really queer lately... so much work. i think its' too late right now, but ill call you tommorow to verify what is being purchased... thanks again.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have enough first-hand experience to recommend a good tire. I suggest checking out tirerack.com reviews in your size or "performance category."

Tirerack has a very good facility but I don't know if the number grading is based off their 'experts' or from the average of reviews by joe dirt giving his (probably) uninformed opinion. They do have comparison reviews which might be a little more "scientific."

Skip all-season and rain tires. You don't need anything snow-rated unless you're going off-roading. If you really want 'rain' tires, I recommend buying a rear pair and have them mounted on spare wheels. Five minutes or less, and you're ready to drive out into the storm... or at least heavy downpour. If there aren't any clouds out just swap the rears back to the normal tires. This is the optimum solution (aside from a bad-weather car) so you can do this later on. If you buy a high-quality primary set you shouldn't need this.

BFG KDW's have always been given good performance reviews, and I personally wanted the Firestone Firehawk SZ50's, but they were discontinued and haven't been replaced yet. I don't know the model names for Goodyears or some of the popular asian brands, but there are other good tires. Expect to pay $110-170 per tire for quality. Make sure your steering, suspension, and ALIGNMENT are set so you don't wear out your $500-600+ tires after two years.

My $75~85 Firehawk 'Indy 500's' are okay. I'd guess they are in the same class as the popular Goodyear T/A's and LIGHTYEARS ahead of the popular (and older) Firehawk 'SS20' model it replaces. I'd recommend them if you are on a budget or as a temporary set. They look pretty good, white walls out or in. They take 20 times more effort to spin on the dry, and probably 100 times more effort to spin on the wet than my old tires. Also helps that I went 1" taller and about 2/3" wider on the rear, so that's a factor. It's a very high-quality tire, but far from high-performance.

The main thing is, don't look at the cheap end of the list. Someone posted a good privately owned tire shop earlier this year on our forum. I'll see if I can find the link.

Scott

 

<b>Posted by Jeff (fratsit)</b>

<i>"If you guys are looking for a top notch tire installer, go see Peni, Virginia, or Ben at Hawaiian Tire and Auto Center. I found them through Tire Rack. Com.

They are a family run business. Dad, mom, and son. Ben was very careful with my rims, ensuring not to damage the aluminum. He mounted the weights on the inside of the rim, and explained everything that he did. I bought the Comp TA/KDW's from Tirerack, then found out the they had them in stock there. Oh well.

The are at:

98-025 Kekaha Street
BLDG 2, Unit 9
Aiea
487-6616

Behind and to the left of Cutter Ford Aiea. Check em out. "</i>

Also, Bridgestone RE750's (I believe that's the correct model name) are another good option. Firestone and Bridgestone are owned by the same company and 'SZ50' sounds like a similar coding system so they might be very similar designs and compounds. Pricing is about the same also.

Both Ed and Shawn run these, right?

If Firestone doesn't release a replacement when I switch to 16"s I'll be looking at those or the BFG's.

Yokohama, Kuhmo, and other imports also have quality tires. Stick to name brands, and you'll be good.

If you do enough research, you should be able to find out if any of those imports or lesser-known brands are the same tire as top-brands. (Same tires sold under different names for less cash.)

Let us know what you find out.

Scott

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

Scott thanks for the synopsis on the tires!

would these be a good choice?

 

A lot of people love the GS-D3's, especially for the money. I don't know what their tread life is, but those will blow your mind coming off of your undersized warriors. If you find them locally, find out the prices.

I've considered those before, but haven't tried looking for them. Those are an excellent choice if you're serious about them. Do it!

Scott

 

The Eagle F1 GSD3's are great, alot of guys in the car club run them and say the performance is great, but they complain about road noise (lol who cares is what I say). I would consider those top of the line. Dean in the Suspension forums swears by them so I know they must rock.

I run the Bridgestone RE730's on my IROC. I've been very happy with them, well worth the cost. I bought them through Costco because of their warranty (they pro-rate treadwear for replacements, got a nail once, cost me $20 for a new tire). The RE-730's have been great on the street for normal and "spirited" driving, both wet and dry. I have not had a problem with them sliding when I didnt intend to slide hehe, very stable tires, even when you slam on the brakes in the rain. I run S-03's on my Z28, IMO even better than the RE-730's. But consider that its not a fair comparison (16's vs 18's). The S-03's would be comparable to the F1 GSD3's, and from what I've heard, they are much better in the rain. I haven't run the F1's so I cant compare, but I do agree that the S-03's are great in the rain.

 

Looks like I'll either be going for the GS-D3s or the S-03s, if the price is right... but then again how can you put a price on maximum safety lol... ok that was sort of retarded.

while im at it, i might as well do some brake-refurbishing... I understand the pads, and rotor deal with disc brakes, but is there any other way to check the pad life span without removing the calipers?

How would I replace/improve the rear drums? A disc brake rear end swap is way beyond my current skill right now...

I guess bottom line is after this accident, I want the car to be as safe as possible... think of anything else I should consider?

 

Read up on pads, I'm very pleased with my bendix pads. If you have the money, go ahead and spring for new rotors if yours are low, otherwise cutting them will be just fine.

You don't need to remove the calipers to see how much meat is left on the pad. Just pop the wheel off, shoot a flashlight into the caliper body and spin the rotor to see what is what. Just like tires make the largest difference for handling and control, pads make the largest difference for braking. With high performance tires you can use much stronger brakes.

Since you live on a hill, the drums will serve you well. Completely overhauling the drum assembly will cost next to nothing, even if you have to buy new drums. A lot of replacements are aluminums, so if you need new ones at least it's an upgrade. If you have a good manual and a couple tools, it'll take you a couple hours tops. Drum parking brakes work much better than discs, and they can lock the tires easier (when they get enough pressure...) than discs, so don't worry about them.

The biggest thing you might want to do is increase rear brake bias, but that is probably more than you want to do right now.

After tires and brake pads/hoses, the next step is alignment and bushings. If there isn't anything majorly wrong just replace things that are in the worst shape first.

If you are on a budget, we can help guide you to what should be done first. If not, go crazy.

Scott

 

Bridgestone RE730's -- had Costco install these on both Camaros a couple of years ago. Excellent tires, reasonable price, take abuse like driving into curbs, stones, debris, off-road. Never had a flat or replacement yet, so when the time comes, will buy the more of the same.

 

Complete nose... innner supports, headlight bar, impact bar, fender, hood.... anything else?... onlthe fender and hood remain on the car for asthetics... and the fender is just about unbolted...

Anything to help out a fellow car enthusiast...

 

hmmm not that i can think of at the moment... i need basically all of the impact parts, bumper, metal bumper, #26 from ed's diagram, etc. from the nose, the fender... and thats about it. Thanks Rob.

hmm and my relative backed up into my front end today with his truck... so some more damage to the front.. yay!

Looks like im gonna need a whole new hood... Rob's RS hood will service fine for now i suppose... I might get a SS hood, and sell the blisters off Ebay or to any of you if you want em.

 

Well, now you have more money to fix the front! Why did he bash your Z28?

Yeah, I'd like to get the blisters to have as backups for my Camaros.

 

his truck is a raised f150, i think my car is too low to see in his rear view mirror.... smart guy... hehe.. well hmm not too sure about whether or not ill get money out of that though... but we'll see what happens.

 

Hmm went to go check out my current tires outside today, and found the real specs on em...

I have one Warrior 225/60
Two Wyndstar Phaser 225/60
and a.. illegible tire 225/60....

Have you guys ever heard of any of these brands?

I haven't.....

Oh, my uncle picked up the parts from rob(I was in school), and I should have them on within the next week or so... give or take the time necessary for a full evaluation of safety, frame check etc. Then i'll have some pics up of the red blue and black z-28 camaro with an RS hood hehe.