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PostPosted:Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:06 am 
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Small Block
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Joined:Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:22 am
Posts:6
Car Details:1965 Mustang, 1999 Silverado, '68 Camaro
I am new here today so suppose I better introduce myself. I am Tim an ageing (45) American car enthusiast who has owned a 65 Mustang since a teenager. Have had a few Chevs over the years and always wanted a 67-9 Camaro but for one reason or another never ended up getting one. Hopefully that is until now, as I had been trawling the net for the best part of a year looking for a car and finally one came up last month. It set sail in a container yesterday so barring pestilence storm disaster and Somalian pirates is set to be here at the end of the month. So here is my question. Its a racecar and has a perspex panel in place of the original grill. but the front fenders and body are all steel/original. The really helpful former owner tells me the fenders have mounting brackets for hidden headlamps so the car may originally have been an RS. Its badged as an SS. I would like to retrofit a standard grill and headlamps, so which one should I choose, as the RS ones seem to have cowlings that mount around the grill. Is there anyway the vin no can be decoded to tell what it was originally ? Thanks in advance for any help on the subject


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Hello everyone. Its stupid question time

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 Post subject: pics
PostPosted:Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:33 am 
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Small Block
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Joined:Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:22 am
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Car Details:1965 Mustang, 1999 Silverado, '68 Camaro
Never been too clever at loading pics


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PostPosted:Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:58 am 
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Site Admin
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Posts:694
Car Details:1983 Chevy G20 305 4bbl 700R4 - A-Team Van sucker!
Location:Isle of Man
Hi Tim and Welcome! I'm sure one of our 1st Gen boffins will chime in with an answer, and can I just say WOW to the car you are shipping in! I imagine you are VERY excited about seeing that roll off the ferry! Keep us informed and ask all the questions you like.

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83 Chevy G-20 A-Team Van 305/700R4


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PostPosted:Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:26 pm 
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Big Block
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Joined:Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:41 pm
Posts:2451
Hi Tim & welcome to the club, that's a sweet looking car you've got there :thumbup: . Is it going to be a strip only car or are you gonna put it back on the street?? By far the easiest way of fitting a grille is to put the SS standard grille back on. It's just a matter of screwing it in place. The headlight bezels screw on seperately. The RS grille is a lot more complex in as much as from the factory they were vacuum operated, which entailed a shed load of pipes, mechanisms etc. It's possible to buy all of the parts to fit the RS grille as per the factory from the likes of NPD in the US. You can now also buy electric motors from Detroit Speed Equipment in the US that replaces all of the vacuum assembly & whilst costly, this is probably the better approach.
Unfortunately the VIN doesn't give any options other than paint & trim details, so unless the car comes with an original build sheet from the factory, there's no way in knowing what it was originally. As it's been converted to a race car, I guess that a lot of the original equipment is long gone. I'd treat it for what it is & drive the wheels off it, it's not as if you're gonna restore it back to stock ;) . At the end of the day, so long as it makes you smile everytime you get in it, then it's doing its job :thumbup: What are your plans for it in the future?? By the way, we love photos here :lol: , cheers.....Nige

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PostPosted:Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:03 pm 
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Small Block
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Joined:Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:22 am
Posts:6
Car Details:1965 Mustang, 1999 Silverado, '68 Camaro
thanks for the warm welcome and the info. sounds like an SS grill for me then ! Funny really, I originally wanted a street legal car and then as I got more and more into it decided a race car would be fine so long as it still had the potential to return to the road one day maybe. This car ticked all the boxes that way as its completely steel apart from the hood and still has the original dash in it. And the owner in the states couldnt be a nicer guy was so helpful getting it all done on that side. Basically I am hoping, if it gets here in one bit and passes tech, to run it in pro-et next year. Its a huge step up for me as I havent driven anything quicker than 11.2 in the quarter, so a few practice days are required in order to minimise the brown trouser effect ! Anyway I am being a bit previous as this has all been far too easy so far so bound to be a major glitch in the pipeline
thanks again guys
Tim


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PostPosted:Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:48 am 
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Big Block
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Joined:Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:41 pm
Posts:2451
So what's the spec on the car?? What plans for the future?? The club can now boast 2 drag Camaros (Joyrider is the other one). Don't forget to post up on here & join in :thumbup: :lol: , cheers.....Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!


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PostPosted:Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:26 pm 
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Big Block

Joined:Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:37 am
Posts:52
Car Details:'68 Camaro, 350-350 (originally a 327) B+M 144 blower.
Welcome Tim, nice car :thumbup:

My advice on the standard/SS grille, be patient and try and pick up an original and original bezels and trim and refurb them

I'm in the process of fitting a new repro grille set to my '68 at the moment and its not even close to being a nice fit :evil:
Can't put my finger on exactly what the problem is as I've got repro fenders, repro grille/bezels/trim and also flipping the headlight brackets to improve adjustment for MOT
What I find very frustating is the approx 3/4" difference in the top and bottom trim and the bezel lining up correctly with all parts made by the same manufacturer,
I think it will eventually fit with a lot of manipulation and adjusting, wish I'd done a search for it on team camaro before I bought though :roll:

Rant over
ps. could tell exactly the same story with the rear window trim, I must be stupid or a slow learner :lol:


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 Post subject: Thanks
PostPosted:Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:41 am 
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Small Block
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Joined:Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:22 am
Posts:6
Car Details:1965 Mustang, 1999 Silverado, '68 Camaro
for the original grill tip. I will start looking. Thats a real shame that the repro stuff doesnt fit right. America has had about a 20 year lead having stuff made in China and obviously things still arent right, what a shame our country only woke up to this 'progress' a year or two back lol.
Anyway, thanks. Spec-wise, car has a normally aspirated 555ci big block with Lunati crank and Dart heads. It makes 875hp on the dyno with a fairly stout solid roller cam and runs a single 1050 Demon. It has an 8-inch converter and 2-speed powerglide with a transbrake. The car came out of Idaho so has been run consistently at about 3500 feet and ran consistent mid 9's. Previous owner only went sea level once and ran a 9.21 @147. He was a consistent member of team Firebird - Firebird Raceway in Boise Idaho. its all a big learning curve for me, I built a supergas car back in 1990 but never ran it competitively so only had it running low 11's before I sold it on. Fortunately the previous owner of the Camaro has been a huge help already as have a couple of individuals in the UK Pro-ET field, so I am feeling reasonably comfortable about it all, so far (well cant wait actually but like I said in an earlier post cant help worrying something disastrous will happen between now and arrival so am not going to count all those chickens just yet)
Will have a go at uploading a few more pics
Thanks again guys. Anyone got a standard SS genuine grill for sale ?
Tim


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PostPosted:Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:14 pm 
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Big Block
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Joined:Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:41 pm
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Any more news on your car?? cheers....Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!


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PostPosted:Tue Jan 12, 2010 1:17 pm 
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Big Block
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Joined:Thu Jul 10, 2008 10:41 am
Posts:827
Car Details:1968 Camaro Racing Car "Butch"
1968 Camaro Convertible 327"Camilla"
1979 AMC CJ7 Jeep 360V8
1980 BMW E21 Alpina B6 2.8
1991 BMW E30 HartgeH26
1958 as yet unrevealed sportsracer with chevV8
Location:Isle of Man and Inverness
Hi Tim
Looks like a really good car this!
I am pretty sure that your car is not an RS as the taillamps are for an ss or non RS- no backup lenses
I agree that the best way fwd is to go get an SS 68 grill

Much of the stuff comes in varying qualities from US- goodmark and Year One have good names
Classic Industries are OK too
I had trouble with a front wing- which always rubbed the tyre - we set it up on a computer it was all square -until I looked closely at the wing. The wing had a slightly different curve than the standard one.
Then I remembered changing it after a "smudge " at Brands Hatch in 1991- when the tooling was not as good.
Problem solved wth a Goodmark front wing fitted Summer 2008

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Classic Camaro Club
Member of The Association of American Car Clubs UK
Email :tboles@strathnoon.co.uk Websites: http://www.classiccamaroclubuk.com and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhLJtR_ZY4


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