The Camaro Club (UK)

Sounds like it's pot luck if they decide that your vehicle is allowed under those circumtances, but hopefully your purchase will qualify under a few of those stipulations.

Personally I'd go for the 'significant step in the evolution of human achievements or a period of that evolution.'.. just cos it'd be great to own a car that had that label.

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

Is this you talkin to My Friend Pete in the vid? If so, looks like a very nice car!

I'm sure you'll be fine imprting it:
That car is original - get my friend pete to fix the quarter, get the engine in, running, stopping etc and it will arrive all ready for you to MOT and tax and enjoy. He'll do it at a lower cost than over here (cheaper labour and parts, helped by a good exchange rate in our favour) and you know he'll do a good job. So long as the engine isn't an LS from a 2010 Camaro say, you will be absolutely fine importing that one under the exemptions. Ask Pete to keep it within era - not concours, just roughly the right year and it'll be spot on. Get err done

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Hey "78", yeah busted. It's me . It's all very surreal at the moment, and the money has not been transferred yet, although it's left my account, so it's somewhere in the ether. I wasn't going to post the link until James actually has the cash as I'm still a little anxious that it won't go through for whatever reason, but you beat me to it, no worries .

It's one of those things that I've been looking for on and off for the last 6-7yrs, and on a couple of occasions I've been very close to going through with but this has just happened per chance and having Pete there is a huge huge benefit. Yes I get to hear myself on his videos which is bizarre, I sound so squeaky but exhausted as it's been past midnight when I've phoned him. I was pretty nervous speaking to him for the first time as I've been following his videos for the last 5yrs so I wasn't sure what he'd be like. He's certainly a character but a nice guy and I don't think I can do much better than him so quality of work.

As for the car, yes it looks pretty mint and rust free. Once it's at Pete's shop I'll try and make a decision as to what extent to restore it. By the looks of it underneath it doesn't need a frame off resto job. Maybe just a clean up, rust proof, paint and weather proof. I believe the rear subframe is welded in going by some of the videos I've seen on V8TV so thats probably a little excessive, but I'm not sure about the front. It'd be nice to get treated, but whether that needs to come off entirely for that?? Not sure?

So the plan so far is to leave the interior exactly as is, with maybe some new covers for the seats, and I think there's a new headliner, front dash cover and rear parcel shelf in the deal. Exterior - yes fix the dings etc, rear qtr panel, and respray with the original colour which I think was Balero Red? Well according to the charts that's what it was? Correct me if I'm wrong?? Once that's done then the engine decision. All the LS stuff is just too much money so that's out the door, and tbh I think it wouldn't suit the car. Yes, if was going to be a pro street with loads of cash thrown at it, but I have budget and well, there's also the import mine field to contend with. Pete has a 427 at the moment that's sitting in another customers Chevelle which I believe he is removing to put an LS* in, so there's the possibility of having that. I know it'll be thirsty and, for fuel economy, a 350 maybe a wiser decision but it's going to be driven and enjoyed, and a little more power and a bit more grin factor cancels out the mpg.

There's a tonne of other parts with the car, all bright work and badges and James has more stuff on order which he said he'd be willing to sell on. I'm quite tempted to convert it to an RS, as I love the look but we'll see. Maybe that's something I can do down the line.

It's certainly going to be great fun to watch the whole thing evolve and I hope it gives Pete more exposure out there and worldwide. I'm just hoping there are no hiccups. Once its at Pete's workshop then I'll relax.

Ah, i seem to have spoiled the surprise, sorry about that! I was watching the vid thinking that it sounded familiar lol. I like that you have a very London accent and he thought you were Australian, then you were polite enough to agree that Aussies and us sound similar lol.

I think you're in good hands with it, with the car belonging to a good friend of Mike who is a good friend of Pete. Only 2 owners as well, you've scored pretty damn well there! The cash sounds like it's in limbo which i imagine would take about a week or so to clear (not counting weekends), so you should be ok. I know what you mean about feeling more at ease once it's at Pete's shop, then you know for sure it's all ok!
Yes that's correct - it's a unibody with a removal front subframe. There are only 4 bolts holding on the subframe to the body. Scary in a way lol. With the engine being out, the brakes being off (and the suspension being off too?) I would say that it's a good opportunity to remove the subframe and get it cleaned and powder coated to help cope with the UK weather. I'm sure it won't cost too much, considering most parts are off of the front anyway (i.e engine), so it'll the best time to get it done. You could also ask Pete to put new springs and shocks in then, which will cost you a lot less to buy over there, seeing as to get them sent here, would mean a decent shipping charge, plus import taxes and duties. If the front subframe will be off, then you could get the front suspension sorted at the same time. New bushings and ball joints while you're there, will be quicker and easier again getting that sorted while it's all off the car.

As for the rear subframe, you're correct again - it's spot welded in. If it's in good condition, which i beleive it was, then you're good to go ahead with leaving it on. They usually rust out around the hinge areas, where the leaf spring eyes are, and also at the bottom, where moisture can collect and sit. From the vid, it looked ok.

Maybe worth getting the underside raptor / truck bed sprayed, again to help keep it intact from the UK weather, whilst it's easily accessible, as most of the parts are off. It's easy enough to remove the rear axle / springs, just 6 bolts to remove the whole rear suspension from the car (2 for the shocks, 4 for the springs). Whilst there, it's only 2 bolts to remove the gas tank straps to see if there's a build sheet there

Good thing you brought up the pro street thing... if you were having it modded to be a pro tourer / pro street, then you would have interesting conversations with importing it. That's a good example of it being modified outside of originality. With what you'll be doing, it will be pretty damn original so nothing to worry about, you're effectively just having it cleaned up to look new again

Here's a link for the colours, most likely it's Bolero red as you say, if not, then it will be Madeira red. http://www.camaros.net/years/67/colors.html Do you have a pic of the VIN / Cowl tag? It will be possible to decode it and find out how it rolled out the factory.

All in all, sounds like you've got a good situation going on there, looking forward to seeing / hearing more about it

Cheers for now,

Ray

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Hey Ray,

Thanks for the info on the front/rear end. I think you're right about getting the front frame powder coated whilst all the bits are off and getting the suspension done too. What's the best thing to change to improve the handling? Anti-roll bars? Stiffer springs? I've seen some kits on Detroit Speed and also Classic Industries catalog, but I don't know to what extent it all would be needed. I know I'm not going to get Classic Mini handing from this old girl but I don't want it handling like a boat either.

Don't worry about posting the link. I'm surprised to find fellow Pete viewers tbh It was a nice surprise. My misses told me to keep my mouth shut until I know I actually have it, but I got a little carried away Well I needed to find out about the shipping and import. I was going to phone them today but left it too late. They're only open 13:30-17:00 mon-thurs!

At least I know I can get some help from this forum re. build/resto etc.

Many thanks,
Otto

I'm not the best person to advise on handling, so anything i say is just a suggestion What you mentioned there is the right kind of thing - stiffer springs and decent shocks. Yanks tend to have quite soft springs, so some food for thought... Curb weight should be circa 3,210 pounds. Assuming a weight distribution of 60 front /40 rear, it would be approx 1,926 pounds at the front. Each side would therefore be approx 963 pounds. The stock springs are usually about 300 pounds per inch, maybe even as low as 250? i think that detroit speed performance ones are 600 pounds, so that would be a good bet. If you really want to push the boat out, you could even go for something like 800 ppi, if you were going to do some competion stuff. Probably not going to be the comfiest ride at that point Couple that with decent shocks and a moderately sized front antirollbar, should make it a lot tighter. There are some people on here that are better experienced and knowledged than me, so i'm sure they can offer better advise. Things like roll bar size come down to tuning, but having one over not having one will make a noticable difference. Less so on the back.

Of course - what you go for depends on what you want to do with the car. I guess that you would like to keep it driveable and more usable on the twisty turnies? When it comes to bushings, contrary to advertising, poly bushings for the control arms aren't really advised. It's either a case of go solid bushings (aluminium for example), or new rubber. I am guilty of polybushings in the control arms, i didn't know any better at the time. Either way, the bushings in there will have dried and rotted out so new ones will make a good difference as is. Same with the body mounts - they are rubber bushings and are probably fallen apart. You can replace with rubber, poly or solid. Poly is a good option here as it's not a moving part. I replaced the front radiator bushings with rubber on mine and they were really soft - getting the bolts up to torque spec squashed them about 50% and it just looked like a squashed marshmallow. So i replaced the body bushings with poly, the rear 2 with solid, as it has subframe connectors. That's probably one other thing you could do, is to get sub frame connectors on there. It will stiffen up the body structurally. Maybe worth getting that done over here though, to avoid any modification issues with importing. It's a bolt / weld in job so can be done whilst the car is on the road. In regards to control arms, it may be tempting to get tubular ones, but the stock ones are pretty damn good and again will help you in the whole not modified import situation.

In summary - Higher rated front springs, decent shocks all round, front antirollbar, new bushings and sub frame connectors are going to make a good amount difference and not feel like a boat.

note on the springs - if you are going with a big block engine, you will need to make sure you get springs designed for a big block. Also, as the big block is heavier, this can contribute to a more 'boat like' feel, if you enjoy the twisty roads. Big blocks sound awesome and are great for drag / straight line speed, small blocks lend themselves better towards handling based set up

Again - i'm sure some of the more knowledgable guys will chip in, that should give you something to mill over for the meantime at least.

Cheers,

Ray

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Hi OB1,

I'm not experienced on 1st gens but the suspension and body design is virtually the same as the 2nd gen, which do know about regarding handling set up.

Camaro78 - Ray is pretty much bang on regarding suggestions, but I would stress the importance of subframe connectors at the minimum, These cars unibodies flex so much anything to help is good.
Also, deciding on type of useage is pretty important too before buying springs, shocks and sway bars, as they will be different depending if it's just a cruiser, or a track day monster...
Quite a good compromise is actually thick anti roll bars but with higher than stock spring rates but not too much (500lb front, 150lb rear for example).. Lots of companies will offer a full package.
Other things will help driving feel such as more neg castor on front, by either modified or replacement A arms.

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

Hey Chevy-Stu,

Hmm guess I need to make that decision down the line. I cant see me taking it on the track without crapping myself lol, but would be fun. I guess id be looking at a compromise between the two. Interesting what Ray said about the weight of the big block to take into account as well. Will have to do some research.

Well she arrived at SWRNC yesterday with all the extra parts that James had. Itll be a while before the work starts as Pete has a mustang and truck to do and probably a load of other bits and bobs too.

http://www.swrnc.com/latest.asp

Thanks,Otto.

Most people will want just an improvement over standard for the handing, as so many improvements have been made since these were designed in 1966 or whenever. Go too hard on the springs and you won't enjoy driving it and you'll be forever chasing rattle, but it's not too hard to make them alot better than standard. Tightening the car up will make the best improvement which means keeping body and frame from twisting.

I'd go:
Subframe connectors, solid subframe bushes, solid bushes in standard lower A arm, upgrade to Upper tubular A arms with added castor, rear shock tower brace.
A full matching kit for springs, sway bars, and shocks from a good supplier

Hotchkis make good stuff, their TVS system is well thought of:
http://www.hotchkis.net/search.html?Mak ... orm=Search

The stage 2 kits come with almost everything you'll need.

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

Ooo that Hotchkis stuff looks nice. I think thatll work nice on the rear.

Current thinking is Detroit Speed Speed 3 setup on front and the Hitchkis rear.

Engine trans still to be decided. I've seen the stuff on Classic Industries and some eBay bit but is there anywhere else to try? Maybe get a recon rather than spending thousands on new.