Day 2 67 Camaro restoration

[Chuck_Burg]

The passenger door had a pretty gnarly dent stuffed with bondo. If you look at the picture of the car on the flat bed you can see it. Someone, probably in the 70s" stuffed it with bondo and tried to spot in part of the door. Of course the paint is 2 tone. You can see the original black etching primer, the red primer, the original gold paint, then the gray primer, then the newer gold paint.

Unfortunately I'm not the person responsible for the metal finishing in the pictures. I'm lucky enough to have a coworker who knows how.

[Chuck_Burg]

NO matter how solid and rust free your Camaro is, there is always the Achilles heel, or the rear window area. This car probably had a rust hole for some time as I noticed water stains on the package tray. What did the original owner do to solve the problem? Add some silicone, some more silicone, and some more silicone. That will surely stop the water! The rear window was never removed from the car. They just siliconed everywhere between the sail panels and the glass. Needless to say water still came in near the roof and dripped down which made matters worse because the water couldn't evaporate. After some welding and a few patch panels it's back to being rust free

[jbtech]

Originally Posted by Chuck_Burg

Unfortunately I'm not the person responsible for the metal finishing in the pictures. I'm lucky enough to have a coworker who knows how.

Nice! Can they be my friend too?

[Chuck_Burg]

For the heart of the beast I visited Jim VanGordon of VanGordon Racing Engines in Upland, CA. We discussed various ideas but ultimately decided on a pump gas 496. Started with a solid 512 block and good pair of 781 oval ports. Jim assured me the 781s would be the way to go after his partner and legendary Blown Fuel Altered pilot, Mikio Yoshioka, did his magic to them. He drove the Stone T altered back in the 60s. NEAT STUFF!

Eagle rotating assembly and Mahle pistons make up the rotating assembly. The squeeze came out to 9.8:1. Valve timing is controlled with a Comp roller with .615" lift on intake and exhaust 240*@.050 intake and 250* @.050 exhaust on 112LSA. The old school Torker was a nice eBay find and was ported and port matched to the 781 heads. MSD dizzy and coil for the ignition and an 850 DP Holley tops it off.

Engine was ran on a stand but not dynoed. We will strap it to the chassis dyno at a later date.

[Xplantdad]

Originally Posted by Chuck_Burg

For the heart of the beast I visited Jim VanGordon of VanGordon Racing Engines in Upland, CA. We discussed various ideas but ultimately decided on a pump gas 496. Started with a solid 512 block and good pair of 781 oval ports. Jim assured me the 781s would be the way to go after his partner and legendary Blown Fuel Altered pilot, Mikio Yoshioka, did his magic to them. He drove the Stone T altered back in the 60s. NEAT STUFF!

Eagle rotating assembly and Mahle pistons make up the rotating assembly. The squeeze came out to 9.8:1. Valve timing is controlled with a Comp roller with .615" lift on intake and exhaust 240*@.050 intake and 250* @.050 exhaust on 112LSA. The old school Torker was a nice eBay find and was ported and port matched to the 781 heads. MSD dizzy and coil for the ignition and an 850 DP Holley tops it off.

Engine was ran on a stand but not dynoed. We will strap it to the chassis dyno at a later date.

Very nice! I loved my Torker 2-0 on my Nova back in the day...1971 402 9.8:1, Crane Fireball cam, 3310-2 Holley

[Xplantdad]

Originally Posted by Chuck_Burg

We left off with the car on the way to the shop. I work at Toyota dealer in the L.A. area and the car will be painted there. People often laugh when I tell them my cars get painted at a Toyota dealer... If you have connection in the paint business you may as well capitalize.

Absolutely, my Nova shown above was painted at Hardin Oldsmobile/Honda when I worked there. The gold Nova shown below....was painted at Santa Ana Nissan!


Both paint jobs came out awesome-and were super cheap(and involved buying a few cases of beer!) . The body and paint guys loved both cars...as they were something different and cool!


Going to enjoy following along on this build. I believe I've seen and taken pics of your blue Camaro at the Sunday show on Seventeeth in Santa Ana?


I would go with Dave Lindsley (I sure do miss him)...

[big gear head]

I've had one of those torkers sitting on a shelf for about 35 years. I need to let it go. I've got too many intakes sitting around that I'm never going to use.

[Chuck_Burg]

Originally Posted by Xplantdad

Absolutely, my Nova shown above was painted at Hardin Oldsmobile/Honda when I worked there. The gold Nova shown below....was painted at Santa Ana Nissan!


Both paint jobs came out awesome-and were super cheap(and involved buying a few cases of beer!) . The body and paint guys loved both cars...as they were something different and cool!


Going to enjoy following along on this build. I believe I've seen and taken pics of your blue Camaro at the Sunday show on Seventeeth in Santa Ana?


I would go with Dave Lindsley (I sure do miss him)...



Attachment 168092

My body guy enjoys the car too, like you said it’s different! I met Dave there a few years back, wish I could’ve spent more time with him. He was a real gem and will never be forgotten. His black L78 Nova is truly amazing. I understand his wife still has it. Loved his stories about his brand new 70 L78 Nova. I really wish he was here to see this one come together. I know he’s watching from a better place. Thanks!

[Chuck_Burg]

Originally Posted by big gear head

I've had one of those torkers sitting on a shelf for about 35 years. I need to let it go. I've got too many intakes sitting around that I'm never going to use.

I’ve hear mixed things about them. I don’t have any experience with them. I know it’ll be a choking point for this big inch motor but it screams the ‘70s and looks so cool. My builder told me they were the hot setup back then and were pretty normal to see at street races and cruises. If it worked then I’m sure it’ll still work good today.

[jbtech]

Cool Engine!