car just went to my paint shop for a light restoration on a budget.

in canadian funds;
i got a used rust free hood for 40$
crack free facia with headlight bar for 70$
headlight buckets
emblems
and today i got a bumper metal rebar thing for 40$

new quarter and rockers came in today, they were 300$

i think the evap canister tray needs more attention as well,

im going most of the disasembly/reassmebly and pasrt hunting to save cash.

heres a few pics of how it was before i started

 

heres some accident damage that was bandaid fixed from 2 winters ago that will be done right this time








see how the post that holds the bumper on is crushed? my body guy came over with a pole and chain with a hook, a hammer and 2 metal 1/2 hockey pucks and banged it out to new in 10 minutes. i was



parts

 

heres where the fun begins






more pics soon

 

that thing ur probobly talking about is ur bumper. the thing that goes over that and is what u see is ur bumper cover.

the honeycomb lookin stuff is the impact absorber

*gives a thumbs up*

 

my apartment was looking like the trailor park boys place all year, it kinda still does now that my old parts are back up here

oh and the rear quarter that he cut of was brazed flat peices of metal and the body line was made out of 1/4 inch on bondo from the last time it was painted 10 years ago from the previous owner.
my body guy doesnt cut corners. it will be done right this time.

 

this bumper bracket peice was crushed. fixed now.

.

thats a charger body and a roadrunner gathering dust in the background

 

looks like i need rear bumper metal as well.... back to the wreckers eh?


this is just tacked on



i said to order a quarter panel for the other side as well. the lips around the wells were different. and the quarter on my car was mostly bondo anyway. may as well do it all.

 

should i get new hatch metal also?

 

well if this that that that and that are all rustouts, then yes get a new rear deck lid. didnt ur car have a spoiler on it, im assuming the top of ur deck lid; where ur mounting holes are, there is rust also.

ur 85 is rustier than my 82 and my 82 was/is bad. im glad ur having it fixed professionally tho. alot of people on these boards have no clue what their talking about so dont believe what u hear around here.

check out my site sometime www.cardomain.com/id/82berlinetta305

 

my car wasnt so bad 2 years ago. it had almost no rust at all. but i had to drive it in the snow in canada


went from this
to this in 1 season

 

okay, are you just talkin to yourself now or what?

 

DUDE i like you car and all, but get some new rims

 

i just had the two worse looking of my set of rims refinished professionally. im going to try and match the other 2 to it, ive got them stripped already, just need my bodyman to match my paint.
i have fresh refinished z28 15"s on the car now

 

The wheel lips, AFAIK, are all the same for all the model years... Firebirds and Camaros have diffrent quarterpannels but all Camaros should have the same wheel lips.



Looks to me like that fender was rolled up to make room for some meaty tires.

 

from the p/o the last time the car was painted i think instead of ordering replacement panels the shop made them or just bondoed them in, so when my new panel came in the lip looked different then the fabricated side.

thats the way the panel came

i should have decided to have done both from the start. oh well its not to far along

 

other side cut out and placed on

 

Good post, I like the start to finish shots and it looks like you've done a nice job with your project. Looks good, I like the all original theme you've kept with that model.

 

not only that but my accessories are all original too. my k&n filters were NOS from the 80's. i have a NOS bra, the louvers were made in `86, i have a hypertech chip for my specific vehicle that was manufactured in`88 in there too.

 

car will be finished this week, my bodyman is working all day thursday (canadian holiday) to get the car out. ill be helping.

 

Looks good.I have never seen a thirdgen with rust before in person,not even at the junkyard!Keep up the good work.

 

I love Southern cars. I've got 2 myself.

 

I'm impressed with the amout of work you are putting into it. Most people around here wouldn't restore one thats that rusted. It looks like its going to be a nice car. Nice job. What condition is the interior in?

 

the car wasnt bad at all when i got it, i feel bad like its my fault it rusted out. resotoring due to guilt. rust is pretty common in my area, and parts for camaros are probably as cheap as they ever are gonna be. and i love the car. its in good shape other than the rust, weird options, weird colour. havent seen another one like it.
its also 1 of 12,000 for 85.

 

i think i may have to come down south lookin for my next 2 cars.

in 2 years im gonna need another towncar (black+moonroof) and another camaro (black v8 ttops)

and tomorrow the panels and rockers are getting welded, ground smooth, sanded, primered, sanded.. i hope the hood and facia will get the same treatment. then reaseemble. im leaving the hatch the way it is. hopefully i can find a rear bumper metal before too long.

 

Inside looks good, maybe new carpet and it will look great.
I like the berlinettas.

 

i think the carpet just needs a good shampooing.
hasnt had alot of wear on it at all. only 67,000 miles on the car

 

In the 10 + thirdgens i have owned,not one had rust.As a matter of fact i never even look for it when looking at used cars.Thats only bitten me on the butt 1 time out of 35+ cars i have owned.Lucky i guess.

 

what do thirdgens go for in you rustfree areas?
i want one

 

Man i just reread my post and i come off like a total A S S gloating about rust free cars.I apologize.But since you asked,the GTA i just got less than 2 months ago was $3000.Its 350 with no T TOPS(just like i wanted).No body damage(except for a front fender being slightly bowed out).I would say the car was a 7.5 out of 10.I bought a rust free 86 trans am last year for $1800.Turned out to be a super rare car because it was a factory RECARO equipped car.I could go on and on but i wont.Good luck with your car and keep posting the pics

 

progress was slow, too many cars ahead of mine, and mine is low priority.

anyway found some scary things under the carpet... like tons of water.

the guy did good work though.




heres one of the transams the guy doing the work drives. its a 89? L98 t/a with a formula nose and gold flake in the red. he has a carbed 87 that had holes the size of my head that looks just as good now.

 

Do you have a better pic of the front end? I'm interested to see how he tied the newer-style nose in with the older-style ground effects.

 

he used the formula front ground effects on the facia.

 

and more progress today.
the carpet insulation was soaaaked front and back. smelly under there too
removed everything from inside the car into a shelf in the shop, and took the interior.

rust all on the drivers feet, passenger side is fine.



get r done

 

im going to be driving it kinda ghettobombed for a few weeks. girlfriend though my car was ghetto before... how do you like me now!



he made this floor pan from flat sheet metal and hammered the factory lines in by hand



the last few hours

 

Anyone who does that for a base model camaro deserves props.Ive seen GTAs in better shape head to the scrap yard.

 

nice job kev..looks like you gonna have a big bill when your car is all painted..lol

 

These pictures look familiar, my car went through the same treatment. It's pretty cool to watch them go through the process

 

ive never seen an un-restored thirdgen rust-free

 

berlinettas arent base model. only options my car is missing -out of all options available in 1985 are rear wiper, ttops, and v8.

 

my body guy rocks.
so the car is primered in white/grey, so i ask him if theres any sealed brown primer he can use (so i can get it wet and so it will match the car cloer) so he mixes up the paint to near match the colour of my car! this is on the rear quarters and the rockers.



pretty close no?

so i have a red hood and a white front facia ready to be installed. so i ask him, any of that brown paint left? do the hood and the facia cheap and quick

so he does it

then i got thinking. colour match the grey too so my colours line up

so i come back 2 hours later and not only has he painted my lowers grey, but he made some gold stripes to match pretty close to the ones that was on there




my muffler and dual exhaust tips fell off while it was in the shop, so it was pretty loud when he moved the car around. he offered me some mandrel bent pipe he had kicking around and a muffler super cheap. i said sure. it was welded up and bolted on the car the next day. single outlet but i couldnt say no.

so im finished for now other than paint the headlight buckets and those 3 slots on the nose black i probably wont do anything more until a total repaint.

will post pics when i get my rims on.