Well some four months has passed since my last post on here so time for another update and some pictures again. With all the hard work done in terms of cutting out the rusty old panels, roof, etc. on the rear end, the attention turned to the doors. As expected both were severely rotten in the lower corners with a huge amount of filler hiding all the problems..... Equally the bootlid, once the spoiler was removed showed extensive rust...... So, new door shells and new bootlid are on their way..... Decided to see if the wings were OK and started to rub down the nearside wing first. Using a nylon stripping wheel the first 'attack' revealed 15 layers of paint and primer.... and 8mm layer of filler..... no wonder the flipping wing was so damn heavy....
After the front wing was fully stripped it was clear it had suffered extensive damage. I think you could say whoever repaired it must have used a 4lb club hammer and about 5kilos of filler. So I have decided we now need a new pair of front wings.... I've also decided that the bodyshell will now go off to a mates bodyshop where they can do all the alignment of the new panels/roof etc and welding to the back end of the car - its just going to be so much quicker for a full time bodyman to nail it all back together rather than me spend the next 4 months trying to do it one day a week. They were always going to paint the car anyway so it makes sense they do the whole bodywork from the start.
So the work now concentrated on getting as much else stripped from the shell as possible and get the engine and gearbox out. Radiator panel was removed and that had been cut about so a new one of those is on order as well..... So the front end is now ready to pull the engine out, with the exhaust & gearbox x member removed.
The only thing remaining intact now is the bulkhead so I started stripping all the paint away back to bare metal...... I knew the screen / dash corners were a little rusty...
And the leading edge of the dash panel where it is welded to the rear of the bulkhead (and where the windscreen bonds) was quite rusty and badly pin holed in loads of places along its length. Due to the multiple layers of metal in this seam there is no point trying to patch it up, so the dash has now been cut out......and a new one is being ordered........ Here we are with the complete dash now removed. The remaining bulkhead panel whilst looking rusty is good enough to be patched up and new pieces will be welded in at each end.
The inner bulkhead panel which is behind the dash (see above photo) and the door pillars are all very sound and solid so this is where all the cutting out of rusty old stuff should end...... However it was a mystery as to how come a 1969 Camaro had a 1967 instrument panel in it. Well, with the complete dash out of the car and on the workbench the mystery is solved. You can clearly see the joggle joint and welding where a new 1967 instrument panel had been joined to the original dash top.
And with the centre console now stripped out I don't know if this looks like an original manual gearbox hole or not
So the only decision remaining now is what dash panel do I order for the car. A proper 1969 dash panel or a 1967 dash panel. The 69 panel will mean I need all the gauges and switches and maybe a new wiring loom to go with it as well.............And then that should be the end of the bodywork.........
_________________
See the sort of stuff we get up to here
https://www.facebook.com/colin.fox.359# ... tos_albums
Its only a hobby that keeps us off the street !!
Register
Login
FAQ
Search
I'm on hols at the mo with limited internet connection, so won't be able to replyfor a while
Scared the hell out of me when i first spotted it too, as I assumed the same... crash damage !! 
