STZ 1968 Camaro True Passion

[settintrendz]

This is a pretty cool story. A story of True Passion.

The owner of this '68 bought the car when he was 12 years old in 1994. Yes 12 years old! Think about what you were doing when you were 12. I sure as hell wasn't buying cars yet. Rob saved every penny from a paper route, odd jobs, and scrapping aluminum. It was going to be the perfect father/ son project. Grinding, sanding, painting.... Bonding.

Rob and his dad, Scott got right to work tearing it down to bare bones. Over the next few years, they slowly, steadily made progress as time and money allowed. The budget of the average 12-15 year old kid is pretty moderate, but he put the little bit he had into buying parts and materials to complete the well laid-out plan of a complete budget friendly restoration. That along with the parts that trickled in from birthdays and Christmas presents, Rob and Scott were able to get a good jump on the project. Sandblasted,primed and painted the subframe and all the suspension components. Stripped and undercoated the underside. Replaced the subframe mounts. Replaced all bushings, ball joints, and tie rods. Replaced leaf springs. Blasted and painted the stock rearend. Started replacing the quarters. Etc.....

Well, high school studies, college, serving a church mission, and eventually beginning his profession as a CPA, moving half way across the country and getting married, all got in the way of completing the "camaro of his dreams". Life forced him to put it on hold, as it does for many of us. The difference between Rob and a lot of us is that he NEVER gave up on his first car. Dispite many people pushing him to "just get rid of the damned thing", he couldnt do it. He had True Passion for this car.

Fast forward about 16 years from the purchase date, Rob has now owned the car for more years than he hasn't. Kinda funny.:lol:

Realizing he probably wont be able to finish it on his own, he called us to see if we could help. His original plan (1994), was going to be a simple restoration-type build. Mostly stock with some 15" Torque Thrusts. After a few conversations to find some direction, we decided on a resto-mod with very few body mods, simple body and paint job, entry-level front disc brake kit, stockish interior, 17" Rocket wheels. Just a solid, clean, fun car.

Then..... We took him to SEMA. Needless to say, plans changed again. For the better. It's not going to compete with a lot of the builds on here due to budget, but should still be pretty nice nonetheless.

Here's the rendering I came up with.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/rend04.jpg

18x8 and 19x10 Raceline Static wheels that we decided on will be here next week.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/rl-static.jpg

[paulk68]

WOW that story stikes very close to my heart. I bought my 68 when I was 15. I was lucky enough to drive it through high school 6cyl 3 speed on the floor. Then I had the dreams of tearing it apart and building it the way i wanted. THEN life happend, finding a job getting married buying a house and 2 kids later i am now 31. Still not ready to work on it seriously but have been picking away here and there. Looking forward to watching this build

[z4me69]

i'm glad i'm not the only crazy one on here. i bought my 69 z when i was 15 47now it's not a car anymore it's family lol

[56pickup]

Looks like a cool build! Rendering and wheels look great! :thumbsup:

[settintrendz]

WOW that story stikes very close to my heart. I bought my 68 when I was 15. I was lucky enough to drive it through high school 6cyl 3 speed on the floor. Then I had the dreams of tearing it apart and building it the way i wanted. THEN life happend, finding a job getting married buying a house and 2 kids later i am now 31. Still not ready to work on it seriously but have been picking away here and there. Looking forward to watching this build

Thats sweet man. I look at you guys with envy that have stories like that. I wish I had a car since I was 15. I guess it wouldnt make too much difference though since I own, I dont even know how many cars, and they see very little action. :lol: Life of a shop owner, I guess. I'm sure I'm not alone.

[settintrendz]

i'm glad i'm not the only crazy one on here. i bought my 69 z when i was 15 47now it's not a car anymore it's family lol

Thats not crazy. It's awesome! But hey... family is a good trade off, right?:thumbsup:

[settintrendz]

Looks like a cool build! Rendering and wheels look great! :thumbsup:

Thanks Tyler. Working on a new rendering with a few changes including a different offset rear wheels, and wheel change in general. We were gonna run the Intro Retros (rendering), but ended up with the Racelines.

[settintrendz]

So, like I said, we originally planed on a really mild build, basically just pick up where he left off. Stock body, stock color, lowered stock suspension, 15" Torque Thrusts, etc... You know the look.

After taking him to SEMA this year, he caught the "bug".

New plan...

Chassis:

-DSE Minitubs
-DSE Quadralink
-Ford 9
-BellTech spindles
-BellTech front drop springs
-BellTech Swaybar
-BellTech front shocks
-Tube upper/lower arms
-18 & 19" Raceline Static wheels
-Wilwood brakes

Body/ paint:

Basiclly stock as far as mods go.
-Tucked bumpers
-Custom front valance
-Modified tail/ rollpan for exhaust
-Panel fitment/ gaps

Motor:

To fit with Robs budget, we're building a 350/350 combo. No fancy LS stuff on this one.

-Stainless headers
-Stainless custom exhaust

Interior/ Audio:

-Stock/mod interior
-Custom Sony/ JL audio system

So.... Here she is. Pulled her out of the hole she was living in for the last 15 years.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_7065.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_7070.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_7075.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_7085.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB008.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB009.jpg

In the shop

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB024.jpg

Out with the old

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB027.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB025.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB026.jpg

[settintrendz]

Start of the tubs

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB028.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB029.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB030.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB031.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB032.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB033.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB034.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB035.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB036.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB039.jpg

[z4me69]

good start i'm thinking about the raceline wheels for my 69ss are they good to work with

[settintrendz]

good start i'm thinking about the raceline wheels for my 69ss are they good to work with

We've used them before with little-to-no issues... Lets just say there's been a few hold-ups this time. Quality is good though:)

That being said, we'll be using someone else from here on out.

[settintrendz]

We were building a couple motors, so we thought we'd get this one together too. Figured it would be a good chance to show Rob the color.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB017.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB044.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB045.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB046.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB047.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB053.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB054.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB055.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/0RB056.jpg

Fitting headers...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_0837.jpg

[WSSix]

Nice blue. Do you guys just use regular paint with the engines or is it a high temp paint?

[settintrendz]

Nice blue. Do you guys just use regular paint with the engines or is it a high temp paint?

Regular paint. Same system we use on the body. There are some nay-sayers out there on this topic, but we (as well as many others) have done it like this for years and years without a problem.

[settintrendz]

We finished all of the metal work and got the body into round one of primer. Although I'm really tempted to make a rollpan for it. We'll see.....

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_0962.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_0964.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_0965.jpg

[waynieZ]

Very Nice! I love the color.

[KPC67]

Looks like it is going to be nice and straight. This is just my opinion but I say don't do the roll pan.

[settintrendz]

Looks like it is going to be nice and straight. This is just my opinion but I say don't do the roll pan.

Thanks Kevin. Thanks for the input. We just still havent made a decision yet. We've done them before, and I like it both ways for different reasons. If it was 100% stock, there'd be no question. But... its far from stock. We'll see.

[Swain]

Adam,
Have any pics of the roll pans you have done before?

[settintrendz]

Adam,
Have any pics of the roll pans you have done before?

I'll dig you up something. Let me see what I can find.

[settintrendz]

Got the wheels in. Gonna have to change out the rear tires for something a bit wider and taller profile.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1048.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1051.jpg

[settintrendz]

Shaving the trunk lock and swapping the gas filler...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1301.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1303.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1306.jpg

[settintrendz]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1308.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1309.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1313.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1343.jpg

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http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/IMG_1353.jpg

[cencalc6]

Nice Work Adam!:thumbsup:

[Jr]

Adam,
What did you use on the interior? Line-x, rhino lining, or lizard skin?

[settintrendz]

Nice Work Adam!:thumbsup:

Thanks Phillip. Your firewall looks awesome, btw.

[settintrendz]

Adam,
What did you use on the interior? Line-x, rhino lining, or lizard skin?

Raptor Liner. We been using it pretty exclusively for years, as do many others.

[settintrendz]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/settintrendz/Rob%2068%20Camaro/robdz.jpg