68 Camaro "Viscosity"

[Vicinity]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TZOA05zZ32I/AAAAAAAAANU/Qr3egvwSCj4/2011-03-18_12-02-07_496.jpg
^About two months ago.

Since all the cool kids seem to be posting their builds on PT and here, I'll do that too!

Picked this car up almost a year ago, April 15th, shortly after my 20th birthday. It was supposed to be done with quick and made a daily driver, but, uh, yeah that didn't go over so well. :seizure:

Anyway, the day I bought this car, it was bare metal with a small block and muncie dropped in. Everything else was done by me, and I honestly love cars, but have done nothing except change the air box and put new speakers in my old 2001 Camaro, so this all was pretty new to me. Building a car while working 2 jobs and going to school has been quite the pain in the ass, but I'm pretty sure it will be worth it, one day! I know no one is going to read this, so I better get some pics up here.

Specs of the car:
400 Small Block (What I was told, no way to verify)
Muncie M21
Stock Suspension
Odometer states 66k miles
Most of the sheetmetal was replaced, surface rust in random places on the underside floor board, nothing major
LS1 Brakes already installed by me
ZR1 Wheels already installed by me

Plans:
Arctic White Paint (2000~ Camaro White)
LS and a T56 (T56 first)
Speed Tech Upper Control Arms with Gmod
Hotchkis Springs and Bilstein Shocks for a front drop
Hotchkis Drop Leafs
Fiske or Forgeline Wheels
Iroc Box and Power Steering (In Progress)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVZdDYe0I/AAAAAAAAAJw/_-VtwsEfO6w/SDC10630.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVV-Z6OuI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/TLCh88ZpRDM/SDC10631.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVZjRnu5I/AAAAAAAAAJ4/OeUXVwlfiE0/SDC10632.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVbpDk-KI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/-hI4yRwNhnQ/SDC10633.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVd75FD3I/AAAAAAAAAKA/ZLDyI-f9TPY/SDC10635.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVf2tFGJI/AAAAAAAAAKE/c4whQ6avA6k/SDC10634.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXbVkDJAvBI/AAAAAAAAAKI/XqnBuZAETuE/SDC10637.JPG

Over a year, and I still haven't washed the car!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TNycBsALadI/AAAAAAAAAF4/UiMQQPVYsBk/2010-11-11_16-51-02_192.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TXLeEmPlNFI/AAAAAAAAAKM/bQB5FbtEoho/2011-03-03_17-13-11_491.jpg

About 2 weeks ago, the wind was pretty bad, something scuffed against the car, might have been the car cover straps, and messed the paint up pretty bad.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TWMZyOSR0eI/AAAAAAAAAHI/yHfKLNOW3x0/2011-02-20_15-51-52_71.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TWMW8p0ZVwI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/GUEylImsfzk/2011-02-20_15-52-10_531.jpg

Thank God for insurance.

At one point, I would have to assume the car was painted lime green...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TWbUnVXizpI/AAAAAAAAAH0/lPYx8p92BAs/2011-02-24_16-58-40_498.jpg

No fear, getting a Covan dash with Autometer gauges!

As you saw above, the car has OEM ZR1's, I found the set on Craigs for $400 with tires. I had to get larger wheels because I would not run drum brakes! Period! So I searched ebay and got a complete LS1 brake set (plus master and booster) for some $500. Everything except front rotors, which I got from Tobin @ Kore3, who is EXTREMELY helpful.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TNyfMEyaonI/AAAAAAAAAGE/fyqST2F1js0/2010-11-09_18-13-34_208.jpg

[Vicinity]

Here's how I installed my LS1 booster to the 68 without cutting the car.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TX6tQ6_af_I/AAAAAAAAAMw/L8tJgtq-Lps/2011-03-14_18-13-52_313.jpg

Trunk mount Optima for better weight distribution.. and because Optima's are awesome.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TX6tiZ9EyAI/AAAAAAAAAM0/t9QYaS_vtGM/2011-03-14_18-15-51_832.jpg

I bought an HEI Dizzy because the stock one wouldn't fire for some reason, got it from Eastwood, and it fit perfectly.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TZYDYsjUsZI/AAAAAAAAAOM/UdtQlYTRjLc/2011-04-01_12-43-42_689.jpg

Friend let me work in his shop... so I took advantage of it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TZ-Hfrs1kYI/AAAAAAAAAPE/NJmW92K6paY/2011-04-08_17-21-59_643.jpg

Due to some complications with an Oil leak and an awful looking engine, I yanked it out.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TcszblqBMJI/AAAAAAAAAQo/e9ZdNVJpmes/2011-05-11_15-33-53_140.jpg

Sand blaster wasn't working, so I hand sanded it with a wire tooth brush (not fun, by the way).

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/Tc7gLWL7j-I/AAAAAAAAASE/bdUXJmmqx08/2011-05-14_15-24-44_532.jpg

So I built a fort in the shop and painted the motor...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TdFL2ojWzLI/AAAAAAAAASg/ALD3I6cpZ0o/2011-05-16_11-07-04_381.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TdHIXVPaCKI/AAAAAAAAAS8/49C95qkCP9o/2011-05-16_18-45-50_118.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TdHIeLB4l5I/AAAAAAAAATA/1Oa1JPcfmVY/2011-05-16_18-46-09_551.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TdRaNWuZDZI/AAAAAAAAATk/9_wWQO8R8UQ/2011-05-18_18-28-48_745.jpg

Now I popped the front clip off to hide all my wiring like Bad Penny. :) That's about how she sat last night as I walked out.

[waynieZ]

Welcome Plenty of good information here. Nice project it looks like you making great progress .

[Forgeline 1]

Nice looking 1st gen "Bumblebee"!

When your ready for wheels. let us know. We will be glad to assist you in building a custom set for your project.

[56pickup]

Great start! :thumbsup:

[Vicinity]

Great start! :thumbsup:

Nice looking 1st gen "Bumblebee"!

When your ready for wheels. let us know. We will be glad to assist you in building a custom set for your project.

Welcome Plenty of good information here. Nice project it looks like you making great progress .

Thanks guys!

Most recent update:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TdqdHRgDn8I/AAAAAAAAAUc/aU3Q0d9msPk/2011-05-22_15-25-09_31.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_qJeTd0etmrA/TdqdsEmf9GI/AAAAAAAAAUg/ZVqnyUYBfQc/2011-05-23_13-18-01_462.jpg

I put the engine back in and started a power steering swap. You know when you have the car apart and you think "hey, this is a good time to do xxx", well that's what the power steering ended up being. Too bad I didn't take the time to research how involved it really was. :P

Have a rag joint on order, still need a PS pitman arm, 74 Nova lines, Lee inserts, Saginaw pump, brackets, and to drill and tap the holes (because a 400 doesn't have the front driverside holes).

Here's to another week.

[coolwelder62]

Looking real good.:thumbsup:

[67rstbkt]

Looks good:thumbsup: Don't beat yourself up over time, it'll get done when it's done. The important thing is that you just keep at it. I've been working on my Firebird for 3 years now, but as long as I move forward on it, I'm happy.

[Vicinity]

Looks good:thumbsup: Don't beat yourself up over time, it'll get done when it's done. The important thing is that you just keep at it. I've been working on my Firebird for 3 years now, but as long as I move forward on it, I'm happy.

To be honest, I'm really bummed that I have nothing to do on it right now. Never thought I'd be waiting on parts. :D

I'm sure I'll get it all together and need to change something else. Might have to get some Aluminum bushings.