The Camaro Club (UK)

Fixed all the leaks other than the door window seals where the upper and lowers meet. Will stand it out in the rain next week and see if it leaks then, or if it's just hosing it down that causes the leaks.

More sealer at the rear window fixed that one. And it turned out the leak at the heater box was around where one of the bolts goes through the firewall. Moulded some strip caulk around it, seems to have fixed it.

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My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

Been off gothing it up in Whitby all weekend, so got nothing done on the car But we got back this morning, so thought I better get on with it.

Cleaned up all of the dash parts and sprayed them with black vinyl dye. Great stuff and dries really quick, reassembled the dash and fitted new clips. Spent a while refitting all the brackets and the heater cables before refitting the dash and tidying up the wiring. Pleased with how it's all gone back together especially with the new cowl/dash panel I fitted last year.





After that I fitted the new headlights, and checked everything worked (which it does!) Tomorrow I'll be finishing off under the dash and reassembling. Then I am going to have a battle with getting the headliner in. Should be fun

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My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

Looking good...

The headliner should be easy if it's the board type, certainly easier than the dash going my my past trouble getting it apart..

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Thanks Stu. I went for a bow style headliner conversion as it was a lot cheaper option, although it was a lot more work. Fitted the 2 rails for the clips 15" apart on the roof about the centre line.



Then the sides were all pulled tight, cut and glued to the roof with high strenth spray adhesive. Not forgetting to pull the dome light wires through! Pleased with the result for a first attempt. It's far from perfect, but it'll do for me.



I also refitted the dash bezel and tested the rest of the electrical systems. All seems to function OK. Had to fit new warning lights to the bezel as I'd chopped the instrument pod up and done away with all of the original warning lights.



Today I spent most of the day spraying vinyl dye on all of the interior panels, seats etc and then refitting them all. Pleased with the results.

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My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

I like a small steering wheel, have a titchy Grant the same as you.
But I have to have the Grant anti theft system so´s I can swap in a larger Grant for my MOT,
they just won´t let me have a small wheel.
I tried to explain the power steering does all the hard work but he told me,
get a larger diameter to "make it easier for me".
Funny thing is they know what I do and go along with it.
I´ve also had to have it recovered, real bullhide.

Never heard that one before... find a different MOT tester! My old kit car had a 10" wheel and no power steering, went through SVA like it too.

Yesterday morning I set about covering the door cards I'd made. First I laid up some fiber glass on the platic top sections as they had become very brittle. Just a single layer of 250gsm mat was enough to make them nice and solid again. After that I had a late night having a battle with the seats. But I did get them done eventually. They came out ok, not perfect, but good enough for me.





This morning I checked over all of the suspension and fitted a few split pins I had forgotten about. Fitted and tested the windshield washers, they worked ok for a while (just long enough) but I am ultimately going to replace the mechanical pump with an electric one.

After that I thought I'd take it for an MOT.... and the result meant I could part with some money and get one of these!



Yes after 2 and a bit years its back on the road!

Done about 20 miles as an initial shake down and have a small list of things that I need to sort over winter:

Washer pump
Wipers need adjusting - drivers one runs just onto the screen trim.
Exhaust rattle - think it's the left hand rear tail pipe hitting the chassis rail
Brakes are terrible - though good enough to pass the MOT they have no initial bite at all. Will try some better pads first.
New door pulls are needed - I just put the broken old ones back on for the time being.
Intermittent communications issue with the laptop and ECU - a little annoying when trying to tune on the road
Apply some stone chip in the rear wheel wells
Transmission oil leak at the speedo drive/output.
Quite a few rattles to sort

But overall it's great to have it back up and running. The ride is firm but not harsh and it corners nice and flat with the suspension upgrades I did. The 3rd gen steering box has transformed it, steering is super quick now. It's quiet when crusing at steady throttle but howls when you open it up a bit. Lots of induction noise as well as exhaust.

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My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

Let me be the first to say well done and congrats on your roadworthyness.

Here in Spain it does´nt matter which test station I go to, it´s all written down or in the computer.......I´m screwed.

Huge congrats too

MOT and legal !! Excellent. !! Time to enjoy it and wring out out some of the issues ... (just in time for winter , but cold and dry days are still fun !)

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Good to see it finished and looking so good.
Lots of patience and dedication not only to do the restoration but also to take the pictures and write up this thread for people to share and enjoy.

Thank you gents!

Done about 100 miles over the weekend just to identify a few bugs to be working on. Got the ECU set up well enough to start easily and drive smoothly at all normal road speeds. Think I could do with adding some more timing in at cruising speeds which should let me lean it out some more.

Gave it a quick polish up and tidied a few loose ends today. Just thought I would post a couple of before and after shots....

Before:









During:















After:

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My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.