Black on Black 1967 Camaro L78 124377N212598

[jbtech]

I've discovered "1 02" also on the lower front valance!

[jbtech]

Here is a photo with all the numbers wet showing the white numbers more pronounced. Does anyone know what the other 2 numbers/characters mean?

[R68GTO]

Is the 102 the assembly sequence number?

[jbtech]

Originally Posted by R68GTO

Is the 102 the assembly sequence number?

That's what I've been told. And there is evidence that contributes to this. My car has orange stamps which indicates 1st shift and the 102nd car would certainly be built during first shift. There is another "survivor" car with a number over 500 in the lower valance and the PBT stamps are green, thus the car was completed during 2nd shift. I think it would be cool to gather enough data points regarding possible sequence number and color of PBT stamps to prove this theory once and for all.

[jbtech]

After more chipping I decided to give the gel evaporust a shot on the firewall. Still need to clean it up and hit it again.

I avoided the 102 mark and the center of the firewall as I still need to figure out the marks in that area behind the distributor.

I plan to use a multi color flashlight to help reveal what the markings are in the dark. Up close I see multiple X's but when the flashlight gets here I'll see if I can get those marks to reveal themselves.

In the meantime here is a progression shot. Still a ways to go.

[jbtech]

New control arm bushings, moog ball joints, moog coil spring, and amk hardware. I also installed factory disc brake spindles. This car will be driven often. I'll take better photos of the process when I do the other side.

As mentioned before, my immediate goal is to get the car safely on the road as soon as possible while preserving it's "as found" character. Parts for a correct restoration are being collected in the meantime and all take off parts including original hardware are being bagged and tagged for restoration.

I will admit I cheated in that I have some factory Kent Moore tools and a electric hydraulic shop press which made the job much easier. Having a factory service / overhaul manual makes it even easier.

Trick to install lower ball joint boot: I bought a 2" abs plastic pipe. And simply used a rubber mallet went on easy peazy.

If using the hook style coil spring compressor the trick to getting the hooks out is to remove through bottom shock mount hole. Let one side out, and the other side will be stuck between coils. Simply use a big pry bar, open up the spacing between said coils just enough to free up the other hook and push out the bottom.

I removed the factory riveted ball joint from the upper control arm by first drilling a small crater in the center of each end of the rivet followed by hitting each one with an air chisel. Once each head of the rivet was removed I swapped the chisel for a tapered punch and knocked them all out.

There was a small crack on the frame where the upper shock mount is but I simply drilled it and hit it with the mig and ground it down. It passed the strength test after using the coil spring compressor. No flex and no cracking.
The original ball joints were toast and the shock cushions were toast which is why I believe the frame cracked in that spot.

After the front suspension/brakes are done I'm going to remove the cracked windshield, install the headliner, reinstall new windshield. I figured its nice to stand between the frame rails to get the job done.