The Camaro Club (UK)

I can safely say that isn't mine

I do have a horrible feeling that the front end alignment is going to really test my patience. Trying to avoid just throwing it together to get it done though. Passenger wing will be repaired by tomorrow lunch time, just got 3 patches to do and the prep is done. Having to replace the whole lower rear section though, which is a bit severe!

Mine isn't going to be done much before Christmas... Stuck with working outside again as well, means filler and paint is a lot more difficult.

One thing I do need to figure out is whether to give the car to the sprayer in pieces, or spray all the shuts etc myself and then just let them do the bits that are on show.

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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 didn't spot the metal front fenders..

(does that mean the fibreglass ones may be up for grabs... )

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

Got the other fender finished off today apart from cutting one of the lower mounting holes. Need to get some measurements off the car and its been raining hard all day. Have epoxied the inside of the fender so nothing more to do there. Just filler on the outside to make good. Should be able to get it on the car tomorrow and see how it fits.

This is what it looked like this morning before making a start this morning....! Didn't take a finished photo, more tomorrow....

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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.

one word on that fender - brave!

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Repaired worse, just don't like doing the work that's all

Fitted the RH fender this morning, fitted well, much better than I had expected given the amount of cutting and welding it needed. Just need to fit the reinforcing piece I made for the front lower corner next time I take it off. Just needs filler now to finish it off.

Then thought I'd throw the rest of the panels on just to see what it would look like and to get an idea of if the mismatch of panels have any chance of working together. Had to make up various brackets and reinforcements to fit the GRP nose panel. But it seems to fit reasonably well. Not quite the right shape around the lower extensions but it will blend in OK, have seen panels fit a lot worse in the past...





I need to remove the spats from the GRP wings to make it look right, but thought I would see how low the front sits with the splitter on. Low enough I reckon...





Hood needs a lot of work to make it fit properly. Too wide at the back and slightly too narrow at the front. Scoop is functional and the air cleaner sits right up inside it. Need to modify it slightly inside to clear the coils mounted on the bulkhead. The rad filler cap also touches at the front. Think thats more an issue with the rad than the hood though. It also needs quite a few repairs and some stiffening adding along the front edge as it's so light weight it doesn't hold its shape properly. Also going to add brackets to use the stock hood hinges, minus the springs. All doable though just need to get on with 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.

Well, a day of graft and the car looks the same as yesterday. Although the panels all fit a little better and are a bit straighter than they were yesterday!

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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.

It's little things like this that seem to take all the time. Spent all day today making the brackets to fit the headlights in the GRP bumper. It had all been previously fitted to a track car and the lights simply held in with seam sealer for aesthetics only.

Lot of measuring, grinding and cutting and this is what I came up with, a piece of 1/8" plate. Works just like stock and all hidden as it should be. Will eventually end up with the plates bonded in rather than just relying on the rivets.







Need to adjust the fit of the bezels, think the moulding is slightly off so may have to just make do...

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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.

Are you planning on retaining that spoiler ?

Yes, but I also plan on making it fit a damn sight better!

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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.

Put the fenders back on this weekend, and pulled the covers off the car to have a look. Still needs some work to get the body lines spot on, but that was to be expected with the amount of replacement metal. That's a job for this weekend if the fine weather holds.

Did notice however that the primer has cracked and peeled on the trunk lid. That's the only panel I didn't take down to bare metal It's actually peeled the paint that was previously on it too. Never mind, another couple of days to sort that out at some point!

Also ordered 0.5l of the colour to have a go with it on a few little bits. Was trying to decided whether to use straight colour or base and clear. Ordered 2k colour as it's only for a tester only to be told it's only available in basecoat. So that saved making that decision later down the line!

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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.