Punisher Bass
He who drives a Buick
Very nice job on the repairs.
Ownership Verified: Cursed 92 Camaro is back...
- Thread starter InfernalVortex
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nouseferaname90
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lowering the car in the works?
That white one in the previous page with the rims you liked looks clean. probably the only time I have ever said that about that generation of the camaro.
nice progress on yours.
That white one in the previous page with the rims you liked looks clean. probably the only time I have ever said that about that generation of the camaro.
nice progress on yours.
InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
I'm gonna get the exhaust redone to go over the axle... after that I'll probably drop it an inch.
Ezbok58a
Well-Known Member
Not bad, not a fan of the 4 hood pins though. Too much of a dirt track car look IMO...
InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, part of the original damage to the hood was that the lower laminate that the hood hinges bolt to was utterly destroyed on one side. It had to be converted into a lift-off hood.
Part of our repair was reinforcing that rear corner (that's the one that had all the holes drilled through it to fix the cracks) and we did a lot of work on the underside to stiffen it up and make it as strong as it was.
I considered trying to rebuild the lump of fiberglass there that would be where the hood mounted to the hinges.... but it'd be rather difficult to do. We'd have to kind of eyeball it, lump it on, sand it, shape it, test fit, remove, repeat, etc, for quite a while.
It could be done but it would probably add another 30 hours of work to the hood. And it would also involve filling the back holes so that they can be smoothed over and repaired.
I decided I didnt mind so much, and this way I get to pull off my hood hinges and that saves a bit more weight. Probably around 10 lbs.
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Ezbok58a
Well-Known Member
Its a small thing anyway, and it really doesn't detract from the looks of the car...
JipJopJones
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Looks good. There are only certain cars that can pull off black hoods, yours is definetly one of them.
InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
Nothing since September? Wow...
Well here's the deal. The motor's been acting funny, I think the carb is worn out. I'm still messing with it. BUt I think I figured out why it sounded so weird - I was missing TWO header collector bolts, leaving just 1 holdign the exhaust pipe to the header on the driver's side. It made a horrible rattling bleating loud bludgeoning racket and I was pretty concerned about what it could be. I reached down adn i could clank the pipes around by hand. Hopefully that's all it was, because it pulls great still. Hopefully that's all it is, because I've been doing a lot of work for her.
First I found a 34 mm (compared to my stock which is 30) sway bar from an 80's IROC which I thought was a big deal since my rear sway bar is absolutely MASSIVE compared to the front. I've got the biggest sway bar they ever made for these cars in the back, and one of the smallest in the front. It was oversteer city on the limit. So hopefully this will help balance it out a bit. If not I'll probably try to find a smaller bar for the rear, but the stock 18mm bar is just way too small. It's got a 24mm bar on it now. The goal is to balance the car more than anything.
Pictures:
(Painted to match the rear sway bar and panhard bar I havent yet installed)
Not sure if I mentioned it, but I found an aluminum driveshaft from an LS1 car also and its now installed. I shaved 4 lbs off the drivetrain with that.
I'm also making good progress on those wheels:
I bondo'd the curb rash...
Sanded down to 220 grit...
And will get back to work tomorrow (hopefully) and sand to 320 grit and paint (since I have to cover the bondo, otherwise I'd polish them). After a lot of deliberation between white, silver, black, and bronze/gold, this is the color I've decided to paint them, looks way better than I thought it would, and I think it gets real close to the "hyper black" color that I was originally after (that stuff is $120 a pint).
It looks black at an angle, but almost like a metal flake dull chrome straight on. Very cool, and pretty close to hyper black. Close enough for me anyway.
Also, I've got fresh ball joints and front lower control arm bushings waiting to go in the car. Will probably do it sometime next week. While I'm replacing that, I will be cutting the springs to get the car an inch lower. It should look VERY nice when we get done. Im pretty excited!
Also, in order to pay for rubber on the 17's, I'm planning to polish 2 more of my wheels to get a full polished set with fresh (My tires are only 6 months old) BFG G-Force Sports on them to sell. This is how my first polished pair of wheels turned out:
Compare to stock:
And I restored the parking light lenses:
Piece by piece the car is still coming together.
I also have a gear swap in the pipeline but that's a big undertaking... Need to get some tools I dont have to get it done. Will be an interesting, and likely frustrating job. But it needs to be done.
Well here's the deal. The motor's been acting funny, I think the carb is worn out. I'm still messing with it. BUt I think I figured out why it sounded so weird - I was missing TWO header collector bolts, leaving just 1 holdign the exhaust pipe to the header on the driver's side. It made a horrible rattling bleating loud bludgeoning racket and I was pretty concerned about what it could be. I reached down adn i could clank the pipes around by hand. Hopefully that's all it was, because it pulls great still. Hopefully that's all it is, because I've been doing a lot of work for her.
First I found a 34 mm (compared to my stock which is 30) sway bar from an 80's IROC which I thought was a big deal since my rear sway bar is absolutely MASSIVE compared to the front. I've got the biggest sway bar they ever made for these cars in the back, and one of the smallest in the front. It was oversteer city on the limit. So hopefully this will help balance it out a bit. If not I'll probably try to find a smaller bar for the rear, but the stock 18mm bar is just way too small. It's got a 24mm bar on it now. The goal is to balance the car more than anything.
Pictures:
(Painted to match the rear sway bar and panhard bar I havent yet installed)
Not sure if I mentioned it, but I found an aluminum driveshaft from an LS1 car also and its now installed. I shaved 4 lbs off the drivetrain with that.
I'm also making good progress on those wheels:
I bondo'd the curb rash...
Sanded down to 220 grit...
And will get back to work tomorrow (hopefully) and sand to 320 grit and paint (since I have to cover the bondo, otherwise I'd polish them). After a lot of deliberation between white, silver, black, and bronze/gold, this is the color I've decided to paint them, looks way better than I thought it would, and I think it gets real close to the "hyper black" color that I was originally after (that stuff is $120 a pint).
It looks black at an angle, but almost like a metal flake dull chrome straight on. Very cool, and pretty close to hyper black. Close enough for me anyway.
Also, I've got fresh ball joints and front lower control arm bushings waiting to go in the car. Will probably do it sometime next week. While I'm replacing that, I will be cutting the springs to get the car an inch lower. It should look VERY nice when we get done. Im pretty excited!
Also, in order to pay for rubber on the 17's, I'm planning to polish 2 more of my wheels to get a full polished set with fresh (My tires are only 6 months old) BFG G-Force Sports on them to sell. This is how my first polished pair of wheels turned out:
Compare to stock:
And I restored the parking light lenses:
Piece by piece the car is still coming together.
I also have a gear swap in the pipeline but that's a big undertaking... Need to get some tools I dont have to get it done. Will be an interesting, and likely frustrating job. But it needs to be done.
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JipJopJones
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Looking good man!
I had all but two of my header bolts back out on me on my CJ and they fell off. (probably when I was duning) but it eventually burnt out my header gasket and my truck all of a sudden got REALLY loud and clangy. I was quite worried at first (my mind always goes to the worst possible situation first)
Defently going to pick up some locking bolts when I put the new exaust system on.
I had all but two of my header bolts back out on me on my CJ and they fell off. (probably when I was duning) but it eventually burnt out my header gasket and my truck all of a sudden got REALLY loud and clangy. I was quite worried at first (my mind always goes to the worst possible situation first)
Defently going to pick up some locking bolts when I put the new exaust system on.
InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
I got them finished up. I'm trying to decide whether or not I should clearcoat them.
The color came out much, much darker than I was hoping, but I'm warming up to it. Reminds me of the wheels on this car which was kind of what I was hoping for.
A medium charcoal gray. As long as it wasn't black. For me it's anything but black, hahaha. But now I wish it were slightly lighter. They'll definitely make the car look unique though.
Before paint:
They look either real bright or real dark depending on the angle. Hard to capture in pictures but compare:
And up against the red. I'm a bit lukewarm about them, but it's definitely unique.
The color came out much, much darker than I was hoping, but I'm warming up to it. Reminds me of the wheels on this car which was kind of what I was hoping for.
A medium charcoal gray. As long as it wasn't black. For me it's anything but black, hahaha. But now I wish it were slightly lighter. They'll definitely make the car look unique though.
Before paint:
They look either real bright or real dark depending on the angle. Hard to capture in pictures but compare:
And up against the red. I'm a bit lukewarm about them, but it's definitely unique.
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JipJopJones
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Ahh, I see. I misread the origonal posts. But still, locking bolts are a must (for me atleast)
I think they look nice. It's hard to really tell untill they are on the car.
Edit: Got your rep. Haha, no worries. I didn't think you were being an ass. I have crappy eyesight so I honestly thought I just misread your post.
I tried to rep you for the rep, but spreading it around and such....
I think they look nice. It's hard to really tell untill they are on the car.
Edit: Got your rep. Haha, no worries. I didn't think you were being an ass. I have crappy eyesight so I honestly thought I just misread your post.
I tried to rep you for the rep, but spreading it around and such....
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InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
Got a WHOLE MESS OF SHIT done.
And I'm still not finished! I went and parked the car in my friend's shop last Sunday and have worked on it every day since.
1. The other day the car left me stranded because the ignition switch didnt appear to be working. Just reminded me too much of my old VATS issues. Its too embarassing to ask a stranger to help you push start your car. And to make matters worse, it wouldnt crank when I got home either, but it works fine the next day. It wasnt turning over slow or clicking, I was just geting nothing. As if the starter was getting no signal whatsoever. So I got fed up and just decided to bypass the ignition switch entirely and put in a push button.
Still need to use the key to arm the ignition system, and it's not a big red "ENGINE START" button in plain sight. It's subtle and I normally am down there hitting my fan and fuel pump switches anyway when I crank the car so it's not a big deal to have a button, but if I didnt have to hit all the switches I dont think I'd have bothered. I could see it getting annoying quick otherwise.
2. I added a remote starter solenoid. Hopefully from here on the car will start each and every time I go to crank it. I was getting tired of it's moodiness when it comes to hot starts. It turns over VERY slow sometimes when it's warm, fortunately it's pretty good about firing in spite of it but not always. This SHOULD fix the problem unless all the hot starts have damaged the solenoid on the starter too much.
3. I yanked the A/C. The extra room in the engine bay is amazing. I used the extra space to mount my starter solenoid. Dont have pictures of that since I didnt have the camera with me at the time.
Amazing... I can actually get to my header bolts... imagine that. Got a couple of nice blockoff plates for the holes too that I will be putting in soon. Gonna just leave all that wiring shoved back up in there for now.
4. I also pulled the A-Arms and had the bushings replaced with polyurethane ones. I also replaced the ball joints. Fresh pieces all around!
It's not too often you see one of these pulled apart this far
5. I cut 1/3 of a coil off my front springs. The ride is fine. Not much rougher at all. Got maybe a little less than an inch of drop, but I didnt want a huge drop, just a subtle one.
Before:
After:
6. Got an IROC 34mm swaybar installed. Had a 30mm one before and a 24mm rear bar. Thats pretty unbalanced since 30 is one of the smaller front bars and 24 is the biggest rear bar they ever made.
And I think that's it.... been a very busy week!
Now I just have to figure out what my weird idle issue is. The thing will idle anywhere between 1200 RPMs and 700 RPMs.
Good shot of my recently polished parking lights here, though...
The wheels I finished a couple of weeks ago that im about to get tires for...
And then the new DIY shop decorations too...
It's amazing how much money you save doing stuff yourself and how much you can get done in your free time when you're determined to make things happen.
And I'm still not finished! I went and parked the car in my friend's shop last Sunday and have worked on it every day since.
1. The other day the car left me stranded because the ignition switch didnt appear to be working. Just reminded me too much of my old VATS issues. Its too embarassing to ask a stranger to help you push start your car. And to make matters worse, it wouldnt crank when I got home either, but it works fine the next day. It wasnt turning over slow or clicking, I was just geting nothing. As if the starter was getting no signal whatsoever. So I got fed up and just decided to bypass the ignition switch entirely and put in a push button.
Still need to use the key to arm the ignition system, and it's not a big red "ENGINE START" button in plain sight. It's subtle and I normally am down there hitting my fan and fuel pump switches anyway when I crank the car so it's not a big deal to have a button, but if I didnt have to hit all the switches I dont think I'd have bothered. I could see it getting annoying quick otherwise.
2. I added a remote starter solenoid. Hopefully from here on the car will start each and every time I go to crank it. I was getting tired of it's moodiness when it comes to hot starts. It turns over VERY slow sometimes when it's warm, fortunately it's pretty good about firing in spite of it but not always. This SHOULD fix the problem unless all the hot starts have damaged the solenoid on the starter too much.
3. I yanked the A/C. The extra room in the engine bay is amazing. I used the extra space to mount my starter solenoid. Dont have pictures of that since I didnt have the camera with me at the time.
Amazing... I can actually get to my header bolts... imagine that. Got a couple of nice blockoff plates for the holes too that I will be putting in soon. Gonna just leave all that wiring shoved back up in there for now.
4. I also pulled the A-Arms and had the bushings replaced with polyurethane ones. I also replaced the ball joints. Fresh pieces all around!
It's not too often you see one of these pulled apart this far
5. I cut 1/3 of a coil off my front springs. The ride is fine. Not much rougher at all. Got maybe a little less than an inch of drop, but I didnt want a huge drop, just a subtle one.
Before:
After:
6. Got an IROC 34mm swaybar installed. Had a 30mm one before and a 24mm rear bar. Thats pretty unbalanced since 30 is one of the smaller front bars and 24 is the biggest rear bar they ever made.
And I think that's it.... been a very busy week!
Now I just have to figure out what my weird idle issue is. The thing will idle anywhere between 1200 RPMs and 700 RPMs.
Good shot of my recently polished parking lights here, though...
The wheels I finished a couple of weeks ago that im about to get tires for...
And then the new DIY shop decorations too...
It's amazing how much money you save doing stuff yourself and how much you can get done in your free time when you're determined to make things happen.
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JipJopJones
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Wow, that's a hell of a lot of stuff.
Good to hear that the car is starting up reliably again. Let's hope it stays that way. I know how frustrating an unreliable/inconsistant car can be.
Good to hear that the car is starting up reliably again. Let's hope it stays that way. I know how frustrating an unreliable/inconsistant car can be.
InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
Especially when it's a car that's carbureted... It just infuriates me since I know that if I could just get the damn motor to turn over it would crank. The air and fuel is going to flow and the spark will be triggered... just had to get the starter to cooperate for once! :lol: No stupid anti-theft systems, bizarre ECM glitches or anything like taht. Just have to get the motor turning over...
Here's the remote solenoid. Was incredibly easy to do actually. The hardest part was getting the battery cable to stay inside its crimped connector. If it comes out again I will try to figure out a good way to solder it, but I dont think my wimpy soldering iron will really work for this...
The wires look like a mess, but I decided to keep as many of them their original length as possible. They're all zip tied and bundled even though it looks somewhat messy. But it's really quite organized, they just snake around a bit. The reason the fan relay isnt even with the solenoid is because I wanted to drill as few holes as possible and decided to reuse an existing bolt hole from where the A/C box was. I also added a wire running from the back of the solenoid bracket to the ground strap where it bolts onto the back of the heads just to make sure it got a good ground. I've got blockoff plates for those holes... Gonna be heading up to the store tomorrow to figure out whether I can find some useful adhesive for them before I resort to more mechanical methods of holding them in place.
The new panhard rod next to the ugly rusty old one...
I got lucky and found taht silver panhard used. Looks good with my silver motif. The red LCA's need to go probably, though... I want some double rod-ended LCA's or just something with Delrin/rotojoint/johnny joints on it to allow proper twisting of the axle.
No good pics of it lowered all the way around yet, but here's the rear dropped about a half inch. Matches the front pretty well. Most people would never think it was lowered. It looks stock, but sporty. I may go lower the next time I have it apart but I'm satisfied for now. I've still got an exhaust system to worry about for now. I just removed the rear spring isolators to achieve this. They're about a half inch thick. Just put some heater hose around the top coil of the springs and put em back in. Looked very pro and hopefully it will work well in the long run. I've heard of people not using isolators at all... but I wasnt willing to go that far. Seemed to balance out the car very nicely which makes me think I only got about a half to 3/4 of an inch of drop in the front for it to look so even.
Definitely subtle, but it looks worlds better, IMO.
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JipJopJones
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Once again Carb'd cars FTW.
Watching you get this all together is just making me want to get an El Camino and mod the shit out of it. Mind you I'm about to spend about $1000 on my Jeep for a new Clutch and fixing an oil leak. (due to medical reasons I can't do it myself right now... pisses me off) Then I have to get a new ignition coil and exaust system. Probs another $500 (atleast I can do this myself hopefully)
What was I saying about old cars being better again?
Watching you get this all together is just making me want to get an El Camino and mod the shit out of it. Mind you I'm about to spend about $1000 on my Jeep for a new Clutch and fixing an oil leak. (due to medical reasons I can't do it myself right now... pisses me off) Then I have to get a new ignition coil and exaust system. Probs another $500 (atleast I can do this myself hopefully)
What was I saying about old cars being better again?
InfernalVortex
Well-Known Member
This'll be my last update for a while. Not many peopel seem to be following anymore so I'll stop cluttering up the forum for a bit.
But I will say the handling on this thing is phenomenal right now. Off the top of my head, the only stock suspension pieces left are the torque arm and front lower control arms. The bigger front sway bar made a HUGE difference. The lowering helped a lot too. This thing corners like you wouldnt believe a car this heavy and big and loud could. It's no Miata certainly, but I think it'd surprise a LOT of people. I put it through it's paces a bit today and the only way I was able to break traction was with the oversteer pedal.
Anyway some better pics and one slight cosmetic mod:
I think it looks pretty slick, dont you? It's the same color as my new wheels.
It's strange... suddenly... today... I look at this car... with the stance it has, and I say... I did a good job. I'm finally somewhat satisfied. I feel like it's finally in the ballpark of where i want it to be. All this other time it was all "I need to do this, and then I need to do that, and then I need to do that, and then... then I still have a whole bunch of shit left..."
But now... other than the LS1 I hope to put in there whenever this motor croaks (hopefully later rather than sooner) and the brakes I need to upgrade on the front... this car is pretty well set.
But I will say the handling on this thing is phenomenal right now. Off the top of my head, the only stock suspension pieces left are the torque arm and front lower control arms. The bigger front sway bar made a HUGE difference. The lowering helped a lot too. This thing corners like you wouldnt believe a car this heavy and big and loud could. It's no Miata certainly, but I think it'd surprise a LOT of people. I put it through it's paces a bit today and the only way I was able to break traction was with the oversteer pedal.
Anyway some better pics and one slight cosmetic mod:
I think it looks pretty slick, dont you? It's the same color as my new wheels.
It's strange... suddenly... today... I look at this car... with the stance it has, and I say... I did a good job. I'm finally somewhat satisfied. I feel like it's finally in the ballpark of where i want it to be. All this other time it was all "I need to do this, and then I need to do that, and then I need to do that, and then... then I still have a whole bunch of shit left..."
But now... other than the LS1 I hope to put in there whenever this motor croaks (hopefully later rather than sooner) and the brakes I need to upgrade on the front... this car is pretty well set.
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JipJopJones
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Pfhh, screw them. I'm enjoying it.
Yes, I do. Can't wait to see it with the new wheels.
As for the point of satisfaction, I really hope I get there soon with my Jeep. I'm thinking atleast by summer I should be very close.
bone
"bangle for president"
don't stop...you've made me kinda like your car
always thought about it as an ugly thing, but by coming back over and over again here, i kinda started to like the looks
and you did good things to it...
Crazyjeeper
NickGyver
Don't stop with the updates. Just because there aren't a lot of comments doesn't mean people don't read them.