Clay's 69 Project [Archive] - Lateral-g Forums

clay69camaro

08-20-2009, 04:01 AM

I have had my 69 camaro since I was 16. It was a bondo bucket and had to be trailered to my HS auto shop class. Where it received no real help from the shop teacher and no real money from me. It has sat in the garage or on the street for years. I've saved money in between deployments, built a budget motor, 4 wheel disc brake upgrade, trans swap,and basically when I got out of the marines I came home bought some wheels and tires fixed the ignition system and drove the car for the first time ever since owning it. That was Jan 2008. Now it gets tinkered with from time to time, but I seem to do something to it and it's always temporary. Like I did the brake swap but it's not to the high-end brakes I want to end with, so Hopefully I will be able to save the money needed to order the parts I want to end up with for the next 10-20 years.

I just recently purchased a Wayne Due's front C-4 sub from Tellyv from this site. I'll post up some pics of that install and hopefully some work on the firewall while I've got the chance to get to it.

69x22

08-20-2009, 11:11 AM

Well man we have to see pictures of it please!

XcYZ

08-20-2009, 11:17 AM

Excellent. Keep us posted. :cheers:

clay69camaro

08-20-2009, 11:55 AM

19131

19134

19132

19133

I'll show a few of what I'm working with right now in a few hours. but the budget motor I built is going to be replaced, the front sub is getting swapped out within the next week.

clay69camaro

09-03-2009, 01:35 AM

So I'll get some pics posted up soon, but when I had everything out of the way for me to massage the firewall and put a plate in place of my original a/c hole, I kinda didn't do a good job. First I had the welder set up all wrong, that really didn't help. Second the metal I used was a little too thin so it kept burning through. And third I didn't just do little tack welds, I did small beads and now as a result I do believe I have warped my firewall slightly.
Really crappy yah I know, but it was a painful mistake I won't make again and other spots I have welded came out a lot better, I fixed a hole in my tranny hump that I cut out just a little too big for my shifter. I should have lined up the metal better because one side is slightly higher than the other but the welds are not bad and it's all going to be under sound deadener anyway. So I wasn't too concerned with the aesthetics.

Anyway I have been laying down very very thin coats of body filler on the firewall. Good or bad idea? I just want to get my firewall looking better than stock. I might paint it tomorrow if I finish all the body filler work.

MattO

09-03-2009, 03:52 AM

Hey, way to stick with it man. As for the work, live and learn. My first project was a MAJOR eye opener for me. It taught me alot about project planning, engineering, and hard work. Keep at it and learn from any mistakes you make.

Also, you may end up swapping parts 2-3 times. It isn't uncommon at all. some guys make due with what is available or what they can afford at the time (I know I do) and there is nothing wrong with that at all. What matters is that you are enjoying yourself and learning.

tellyv

09-03-2009, 08:47 AM

Glad to see my stub getting a good home, keep the pics coming!

clay69camaro

09-05-2009, 06:40 PM

trans is out, motor is sold, stock sub is on the ground, still filling holes in the firewall with the welder, and smoothing it out with body filler.

19413
I just finished for today. I need new body mount bushings for my new subframe. I've got some that are like 4-5 years old but I don't wanna re-use them.

19414
It looks horrible right now but I'll be filling a few more holes and smoothing it all out, hopefully I'm patient enough to do a great job and it'll never be noticeable once I paint it.

waynieZ

09-06-2009, 11:18 PM

Keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming.

ZMAN1969

09-08-2009, 07:00 AM

Looks like nice progress and direction! looks like previous owners didnt specialize in good bodywork thats OK - You can make it better and if your not sure what to do - ask - theres lots of good help on here - good luck and welcome to the board! and thank you for your service!!:cheers:

clay69camaro

09-08-2009, 04:19 PM

seriously the stock firewall has so many high's and low's. This is taking me quite a while... pretty happy with the how smooth it is though, just more filler than what I would have liked to use.

clay69camaro

09-15-2009, 05:10 PM

I wanted to get it all covered so it wouldn't rust. Plus now when I block it I will get more of the low spots out and ultimately make it smoother.

Does this all look like quality work or... OMG! what is this kid doing to his car?

The primer wasn't dry yet, and it was a very light coat over mostly 80 grit sandpaper I'll show more after I block it.

rlplive

09-17-2009, 08:12 PM

It looks good to me.

69x22

09-18-2009, 05:30 PM

Looking good!! Wish I still had my high school car.

lhkustoms

09-19-2009, 12:53 AM

lookin good keep up the good work :thumbsup:

clay69camaro

09-19-2009, 08:41 PM

Alright! Thanks for the responses, I just get so hard on myself sometimes looking at other projects. They can be real inspirations, but they can also make you feel inferior sometimes.
Thanks again for the encouragement :lateral: :cheers: :woot:

clay69camaro

09-21-2009, 05:26 PM

painted the firewall today, and I really need to work on setting up the paint gun a bit better, also the paint needed more reducer. So the firewall now has lots of orange peel, which can be sanded out easily enough. but while I was pulling the tape off some of the slack touched the top of the firewall, and well made me an oops.
19723

19724

clay69camaro

09-22-2009, 10:32 PM

I saw camaro2nv do this to his car and I really liked it so I did it to mine too.
19758

19759

19756

19760

19757

How can I make my pictures full size?

clay69camaro

11-05-2009, 02:50 AM

haven't touched the car in weeks so I got on here. Now hopefully when I get up tomorrow I'll cut out some rotted floorboards and weld in some fresh metal. Then spray some por 15 and hopefully have the front sub re installed. screw the firewall.... for now.

Ralphlovs72chev

11-05-2009, 08:55 AM

Dont give up on the firewall yet! your almost there. Now with the black on you can clearly see what needs fixing. Just take your time.Touch up the areas you dislike. I feel your doing a very good job :thumbsup: . If you skip it now later on your going to wish you would have finished it when you could have. What i have learned in body work is that you work on one thing at a time. Dont rush. Working on other areas migth become overwelming.

clay69camaro

11-05-2009, 11:38 AM

No I had to scrap all of the paint on the firewall. I waited a week and it never hardened, the paint didn't require the use of any reducer but I put some in because it sprayed horribly out of my gun and when I put the reducer in, it sprayed down nice and even. So because of the reducer or maybe the paint just wasn't that good ???? I could peel it with my fingernail. I couldn't even sand it either because it would clog up my sanding disc in a minute or two. So I used aircraft paint remover. After I re-smooth it I'll be using normal primer, and some standard low gloss black paint. Covering up the frame won't be hard at all, and I have no motor to worry about or block me.:lol:

clay69camaro

11-07-2009, 07:15 PM

Too many headaches dealing with rotted out floors. I'll cut out large areas of rust and replace it with a patch of sheet metal and once I get a good line of welds going I'll hit a spot on the original floor that has cancerous rust.

So now I'm going to just go ahead and order a whole floorboard piece and a brand new firewall from classic industries. I don't have a plasma cutter or patience to just patch small areas like I've been trying to do. and to be honest If I paid to have my car worked on and it came back like this i'd be pissed so I shouldn't just settle because It's mine and I might have the "whatever" attitude.

Monday I'm going to order up the good parts and get my little tank filled for the welder.

It's time to start doing this right with new parts.

rlplive

11-17-2009, 07:13 PM

clay69camaro

12-02-2009, 11:08 PM

rlplive

12-03-2009, 03:57 PM

plasma cutter....Check
now I can get the floors removed without taking forreeevvveerrrr like i've been doing with the drill.
Plus I got a 15% off coupon good till Jan 1st from classic industries :D
I'm on the right track now

Plasma cutter huh? Man you are high rollin now. Get some pics up.

70rs

12-03-2009, 05:50 PM

X2 on the pics. :thumbsup:

GregWeld

12-03-2009, 07:51 PM

plasma cutter....Check
now I can get the floors removed without taking forreeevvveerrrr like i've been doing with the drill.
Plus I got a 15% off coupon good till Jan 1st from classic industries :D
I'm on the right track now

Make sure you mark the BRACES and don't cut them out -- drill the spot welds and remove the sheet metal floor... unless your new floor comes with new braces.

clay69camaro

12-03-2009, 08:13 PM

I was about to take some pics but my camera needs to be charged :lol:
I'll put a few up tomorrow after or during I brace the SOB.

also I'll make sure to plasma around the braces and remove those by drilling out the spot welds.

clay69camaro

12-04-2009, 07:47 PM

So I did a bit of bracing, not like some of the others I saw. Maybe I should have thrown two in the center making a big "X".

Tell me what you think, did I brace it all well enough?
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/camaro%20brake%20stuff/104_1217.jpg

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/camaro%20brake%20stuff/104_1216.jpg

clay69camaro

03-23-2010, 09:22 PM

well a little more bracing was done and the entire floor is out. I should be ordering the new one from classic industries before the end of the month.

I broke the bank recently because I drove my daily driver too hard and spun a bearing. Since that had to be taken apart anyway I went ahead and had forged pistons installed with a few other internal goodies.

Now when that is back on the road without giving me any problems I will post up pics of my install.

What is needed to spot weld the floorboards like the factory did it? or can I weld up some fat seams every inch or so? I don't care about factory original I want rigid and problem free. :cheers:

clay69camaro

04-23-2010, 01:18 AM

New one piece floor board epoxy primed, and set in place. I'll get them welded in and have the rest of the interior primed shortly.

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1440.jpg

d touring

04-23-2010, 06:36 AM

Looking good Clay
Keep up the good work. One thing check the floor to make sure it is square. You will want to pull a tape from your front frame mounts to the rear frame mounts to make sure they are square.
Also a good idea to check them with the rear of the car to make sure the whole car is some what straight.:thumbsup:
Hope this helps.

clay69camaro

05-17-2010, 07:28 PM

Hmmm what about bolting in my sub-frame? I did that over the weekend and I didn't have any issues about aligning any of the bolts.

If I'm all good on that, what is the best way to... align the sub-frame?

clay69camaro

05-18-2010, 02:15 AM

Bought some more parts today from Classic Industries.

I'll post some pics after the install, or some questions about how to install haha.

clay69camaro

11-12-2010, 06:03 PM

Moving along

clay69camaro

11-12-2010, 06:08 PM

Here are a couple of pictures of my recent discoveries. It looks like a donor roof was glued onto the existing roof and bondo'd into place. The stock roof is completely pitted with rust... I'm thinking it had a vinyl top.
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1603.jpg the bondo is at least 1/4 inch thick.
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1602.jpg
See the pitting, and the outline of a newer piece of metal. it's held on by??? the bondo maybe?
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1601.jpg
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1599.jpg

Northeast Rod Run

11-12-2010, 06:47 PM

Who the hell does that type of work and sleeps ok at night? Really.............

clay69camaro

11-12-2010, 08:16 PM

hahaha I have no idea. I bought the car when I was 16, and I had to pay for all the title transfers (about 6) because no one bothered to register it. So basically any of those jokers could have done it.

But I will not be selling the car, so I'm going to fix her up right... finally lol

clay69camaro

11-29-2010, 11:33 AM

Fake roof is off. It took about 10 minutes with a mini sledge and some chisels and a pry bar. There is so much rot, good thing I was planning on replacing it anyway. :thumbsup:

The rear window came out no problem, but the windshield is proving difficult. I'll get it though

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1610.jpg

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1609.jpg

Here is some more of the awesome work some mad scientist performed on the car before I bought it :faint:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/100_1612.jpg

g356gear

11-29-2010, 12:15 PM

Its amazing what repairs can be done without a welder. :_paranoid

DOOM

11-29-2010, 12:49 PM

:wow: :faint:

Ron in SoCal

11-29-2010, 12:51 PM

Deleted...

Ron in SoCal

11-29-2010, 12:52 PM

She's a sleeper alright....at least you know what you're dealing with.

HRBS

11-29-2010, 01:00 PM

Who the hell does that type of work and sleeps ok at night? Really.............

I agree. The only thing missing is the duct tape.
Glad to see you repairing it the correct way ! :thumbsup:

ps... 500hp on an 18 degree 434 is a drop in the bucket. You'll make closer to 600 with a mild cam.
College tuition must be cheap because 18 degree stuff isnt... LOL

clay69camaro

11-29-2010, 03:27 PM

I agree. The only thing missing is the duck tape.
Glad to see you repairing it the correct way ! :thumbsup:

ps... 500hp on an 18 degree 434 is a drop in the bucket. You'll make closer to 600 with a mild cam.
College tuition must be cheap because 18 degree stuff isnt... LOL

Hey 600 with a mild cam... that would be awesome, as long as I can still use the power.

The 18 degree stuff was not cheap lol. I bought it a long time ago while I was in the military, it has all been patiently waiting in their original boxes.

HRBS

11-29-2010, 04:13 PM

We have a VERY well built 427ci SBC w/ 23d heads making 636hp already running 9.26 @ 144 in a 3100lbs car. Doing nothing but changing over to 18d heads and manifold will yield somewhere in the 880hp range. (so thats what they tell us). Thats close to a 40% gain.
We'll keep you posted.....
Now fix that cancer so you can get started on your engine :lol:

tones2SS

11-29-2010, 05:14 PM

Good luck Clay. Looks like a lot of work.
Keep us posted.:thumbsup:

elitecustombody

11-29-2010, 07:12 PM

That's crazy,I've seen riveted ,siliconed patches,fiberglassed holes,but using bondo to glue on a roof skin is first for me .

If need hook up on new AMD sheetmetal, hit me up.

frankenstang

11-29-2010, 09:18 PM

That might be the worst roof damage I have seen. Amazing a car can get that bad and someone tries to fix it. Even 20 yrs ago, roof skins were readily available.

Good luck with the repairs

clay69camaro

02-08-2013, 06:23 PM

Wow been over two years since I have worked on the car... that's sad :(

Got out in the garage today and told myself I'd get the rest of the roof off so I can proceed to the quarters. Well I winged it, and maybe I shouldn't have.

Used a grinder with a cut-off wheel and I took it a little too deep, I think it can still be fixed by carefully welding the cuts back together:bang: . Looking for a little assistance from someone who has tackled this before so I don't make any more mistakes like this.

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_0922.jpg

I cut above the lead? filler from the quarter to the roof, correct?
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_0923.jpg

I'm planning on removing the drip rails in the future so hopefully all is well.
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_0924.jpg

Jgpclone

02-08-2013, 07:39 PM

welcome back clay

214Chevy

02-08-2013, 08:15 PM

Whoever did that type of work to the car............:guns: :guns: Glad to see the car getting it's proper justice though.

clay69camaro

02-13-2014, 05:19 PM

Getting back to the Camaro!

I'm selling my DD 2005 Subaru STI that has been a ton of fun but took up too much money and I don't see it ending anytime soon.

I've decided to let a professional tackle the body work, and I'm hoping that in May i'll have my Subaru sold and the funds to begin bringing the Camaro back to life :)

Plan is strip the bad metal, media blast the rest of the car, and put new AMD sheet metal on. 6.0L GM iron block with two turbos mated up to my 6 speed, DSE front suspension with my stock frame and maybe their rear suspension. All suspension ideas right now are just ideas, I haven't done a whole lot of research on those topics in a while and the 6.0L is a new idea to me brought to me by my buddy in TX that has seen some serious HP levels come out of junkyard 6.0L builds.

So one step at a time.

Steps:
1) Sell Subaru :lol:

Vince@Meanstreets

02-13-2014, 06:37 PM

Go Go Go!!!

clay69camaro

03-20-2014, 11:43 AM

Been selling off a few extra Subaru parts and I finally sold my 18 degree head set-up. I should be ready to start ordering some sheet metal in the next few weeks. Would love to have it in the body shop by May, but we'll see how that goes.

Also got one of the project motorcycles nearly complete. The wiring is functional, so now I need to fab up a battery hold down and some sort of tray to attach all my electronics. With summer approaching I should get a good deal for the bike.

No new pictures of the car as it's still just sitting waiting for the funds for the body :( but it's getting closer :)

WSSix

03-20-2014, 07:23 PM

Hey, closer is good. Keeping taking one step at a time and before you know it, you'll be done. Good luck with the body work.

clay69camaro

01-09-2015, 12:40 AM

Small update, unfortunately it's not that interesting.

Broke my Radius (forearm bone) at the tip/wrist joint. It was set at the hospital and it's healed but the bone healed a little shorter than it should be so now my wrist joint isn't right, which means surgery.

That's all a bummer because I'm limited on what I can do with one hand, especially my job. Been out of work since the beginning of August because they have a no limited work status policy. Which is really frustrating because I'm able to do a majority of my job, just would have problems with pressing a lot of weight. I'm a service tech for a boiler manufacturer and since we work alone that's what they have their policy for.

Also did not sell my subaru yet and unfortunately the darn thing broke a piston. Going to fix that very soon and part out all the aftermarket parts, won't sell it though since I'm going to need it. Can't ride a motorcycle with a cast on my left hand.

I'm really close to having two of the motorcycles rebuilt and springs is around the corner so I'm hoping they'll sell.

Been sanding the old paint and body filler off more parts of the car. So still the car is slooowwwwwwly losing all it's body filler and I'm getting a good look at what does NOT have to be replaced. It's also a little entertaining to see the terrible repairs that were done and just covered by excessive body filler.

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_5845_zps021572e7.jpg (http://s920.photobucket.com/user/claykinsey/media/IMG_5845_zps021572e7.jpg.html)

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_5847_zpsd7db7077.jpg (http://s920.photobucket.com/user/claykinsey/media/IMG_5847_zpsd7db7077.jpg.html)

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_5846_zpsd695a8cf.jpg (http://s920.photobucket.com/user/claykinsey/media/IMG_5846_zpsd695a8cf.jpg.html)

And my boor bike projects getting covered by all the dust haha, funny how they were meant to fund the Camaro and now I don't want to get rid of them

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/IMG_5849_zps322dde3a.jpg (http://s920.photobucket.com/user/claykinsey/media/IMG_5849_zps322dde3a.jpg.html)

clay69camaro

01-11-2015, 11:10 PM

Just sanding away, getting the body filler and paint off everywhere I can.

patch job done around the rear window was done the same way as the roof skin

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/forum%20photos/IMG_5852_zpsa5b3eb39.jpg (http://s920.photobucket.com/user/claykinsey/media/forum%20photos/IMG_5852_zpsa5b3eb39.jpg.html)

The metal on the inside of the rear window

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad47/claykinsey/forum%20photos/IMG_5853_zps523a2520.jpg (http://s920.photobucket.com/user/claykinsey/media/forum%20photos/IMG_5853_zps523a2520.jpg.html)

Rick D

01-12-2015, 05:03 AM

I'm sure your just keeping busy but from what I see you are going to be changing every sheet metal part on the car so you really don't need to strip the paint unless you are just looking to laugh :confused59:

Keep at it, WOW no work from August that would drive me nuts. I had eye surgery and was out for 12 days and I was going nuts. Then this Dec my company decided they didn't need tech reps anymore. Luckily I start my new job next Monday!!!

You'll get it done, one step at a time!! :)

clay69camaro

01-12-2015, 01:12 PM

i kind of keep asking myself why I'm stripping it down so much. I'm hoping the body shop I end up taking it to will see it all down to metal and not have to wonder what kind of condition it's all in and give me a more realistic quote on price/time. Hopefully that will save me some money because they won't have to waste time removing the body filler to replace panels? and if it's not really going to save me any money ohh well, atleast I'm staying more motivated than I have in the past.

I think i've had the car for 14 years now and it's still in this condition. I'm hoping this is finally the turning point.

clay69camaro

02-10-2015, 05:03 PM

Small update, very small actually. Sold a motorcycle which will help with funding, and the Dr said I do not need surgery at least not yet. Getting a steroid injection in my wrist and going back to work :G-Dub: finally

clay69camaro

11-29-2021, 07:33 PM

My brother in law convinced me to start cutting out the bad. A lot of the new sheet metal seems to be fitting fairly well, should have it all installed in… who knows I work extremely slow on the car. Taking my time with all the metal though making sure the last piece fits well before the first piece is made permanent.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211130/923c7232c15e44f1ef56e2ee6916b197.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk