Looking really good, I haven't seen finned drums like that in a long time.

No, the front springs are factory original to the car.

OK, so instead of giving the rear end of the car a quick cleanup and fresh coat of paint, I decided to take everything apart. Hey, why not, right?

I had installed the wrong replacement style U-bolts and the e-brake cables weren't correct anyway. Luckily, all rubber bushings & spring pads were replaced with GM parts 20 years back when they were still available, and everything was still like new.

Here is an original T-bolt (right) next to an AMK repro. I'm going to stick with the originals on these to retain the correct "M" head marking. I'll use new correct U-bolts & nuts all around at final assembly.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psc0f150e3.jpg

Springs were cleaned up and given a fresh coat of satin black:
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps98060b24.jpg

3M Body Shutz was used at the body shop to duplicate the undercoating in the rear wheel wells. Mike test-sprayed some samples to get the right texture, but the final texture came out too much like sandpaper - imagine like a 20 grit paper, very rough. So, I used a very stiff bristled scrub brush (plastic bristles) to knock down the peaks, which really smoothed it out. However, it still wasn't the exact texture I was looking for. So, I topcoated it with 3M 08883 undercoating and it came out perfect. A nice heavy texture, but not 'scratchy'. I wanted to be able to clean the undercoating with a damp towel, and this finish is perfect. I'll also give the rear subframe rails a fresh coat of satin black - just haven't gotten there yet.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps9fbff4db.jpg

Next up is cleaning & painting the rear end.

Nice!!! It's looking great Jeff.

For the undercoating, did you look at original cars to determine the texture?

A friend of mine in North Granby has an original 67 396 SS and I took a few pictures of his wheel wells about 6 months ago but I have to find the pics. In front there was nothing for undercoating, but quite a bit in the back.

Looks great. The car is going to be to nice to drive lol.

Yes, my car actually had the original undercoating in the rear wheel wells. Very thick, with heavy texture, drips, and 'striping' where passes overlapped. Only some of the u-coat was stripped in the rear when the quarter work was done. So, the plan was to keep the original stuff and build up new u-coat in the stripped areas, then blend with the original. However, after Mike sprayed & blended the new u-coat, things went bad quickly. The new u-coat started to lift the existing stuff around the edges. When Mike started scraping with a plastic scraper, the original u-coat came off in big sheets. You could see the original Ash Gold paint underneath! So, everything got stripped, epoxy primed, then undercoated.

I'm actually glad it went down this way. I feel a lot better knowing that there is nothing hiding in the rear wheel wells.

For the front, I still have the original inner fenders off the car. They have heavy u-coat, mainly in the area behind the tire - just like the AIM shows. I tried all sorts of things to duplicate it, but I eventually just ended up spraying the entire inside of the new inner fenders with many coats of 3M 08883 undercoating.

Drive it? Are you kidding? It might get dirty. Hehehe.

How's the car comming?

Slow ... and frustrating...

The rear end is finally back together. New brake shoes & hardware along with new e-brake cables.

Now, I wanted to make sure that the pinion flange nut was properly torqued - good idea I figured. So I removed the driveshaft and cleaned & repainted it. Then I pulled the pinion nut, inspected & cleaned the threads. For re-assembly, I figured I would simply apply the brake by jamming a 2x4 between the brake pedal and one of the floor reinforcements, allowing me to torque the nut. But the brake pedal went almost to the floor - and I could still turn the rear drums by hand. WTF? No fluid in the master cylinder for the rear circuit! Argh! I had the shop install my original (rebuilt) brake master cylinder and all new stainless brake lines, so I was a little upset about finding this. I found a slow leak at one of the fittings, so I tightened it, added fluid, and bled the brakes. I kept hard pressure on the pedal for about 12 hours, and all looks good. Still not sure what really happened there. Anyhow, I finally got the pinion flange back on & the nut properly torqued.

I also took a little detour on the shifter. Figured I should remove the shifter and clean off all the body shop dust & grime. It is the original Muncie shifter that came on the original M20 Saginaw transmission. The thing is super sloppy, and it would leave the trans stuck in gear at times. So I talked to my dad, and he cursed the shifter as well, saying it left him stuck in 2nd gear more than once. So, I located an older (read as "made in USA") Hurst Competition Plus shifter. My dad said that's what he wanted to install 'back in the day', so that's what I did. Just finished installing it last night and I can't believe I put up with the original shifter for so long. Night & day difference. I have the chrome ball for it, so with the exception of the HURST logo on the stick, it looks fairly stock. Sorry I didn't take any pictures, but it sure looks pretty!

Then I went to hook up the backup light switch, only to find that the switch doesn't work. Oh well...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...pscf69c261.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps359ffbd3.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps64cd288a.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps078e6b44.jpg

Wow looking good. The shifter problem I think they were build that way I had a same problems with 79 z28 with the Saginaw I had lol.

nothing like a clean undercarriage!

is it done yet!?!?!?!

After installing the new backup light switch, the shifter installation is finally complete! I was concerned about fit-up with the console, but the shift lever is right where it is supposed to be. Imagine that. I also decided to ditch the nylon shift rod bushings and install the hardened steel ones.

Got the driveshaft installed as well.

Slow but sure progress.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps98d1f36b.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps6871ac34.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psa42098f4.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps75f93284.jpg

so clean looks awesome!!!

Following installed:
Gardner exhaust
Fuel tank
Delco air shocks
Wheel opening moldings
Rally wheels w/ polyglas tires

It's getting there...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psa204d9bf.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps318bb683.jpg

Very nice Jeff!!!

I bet it's so close you can count the hours until completion.

Wow really nice

Are you driving the camaro yet?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is yes, but I only got around the neighborhood. I got the carb tuned and the timing map set, then I noticed that only one front brake was working. Leaky front wheel cylinder. Fixed that, but the clutch chatters like crazy. Really bad. So bad that I won't drive it.

I replaced the clutch, flywheel, & TO bearing back in the day, about 20 years ago. I have a feeling that I didn't get the TO bearing on the clutch fork correctly. So, now I have to pull the transmission. This time, I'm not messing around. I'm going to:
1) Have the new GM flywheel resurfaced (just to be sure)
2) Put in a new Luk clutch disc & pressure plate
3) Install new bronze pilot bushing
4) Install new GM clutch fork
5) Install a new US-made TO bearing.
6) Install new GM pivot ball stud
7) Install a NOS GM transmission input bearing retainer (the 'tube' that the TO bearing slides on).

Hopefully that will do it. I have all the parts. I just need to do the job, which I'm not looking forward to.

I'm in the middle of some house projects, so the clutch job is being delayed a little.

Good to here its mobile but sux that you have to tare into the clutch. Those dam house projects always get in the way of the real work lol.

Done!!
 

OK, it's (basically) done. Clutch works great - nice & smooth. The bad news is I found that the front brakes didn't work well after fixing the leaky wheel cylinder and installing a new set of NAPA organic shoes. I had bought NOS front & rear Delco shoes (boxes dated 1971), but one side of the front got ruined from the leaky cylinder. Luckily, the guy I bought them from had another front set. I installed them, adjusted the brakes and everything is back to normal.

All I can say about the car is WOW! It seems way faster than I remember - and it makes all those sweet small block sounds. I'm having a hard time keeping my foot out of it. The Polyglas tires actually ride quite nicely and hook up well in a straight line. But if I get on it pulling out of the neighborhood, the back end comes out fairly easy. It's a little weird - no tire noise, no smoke, just spinning tires.

The car still needs to go back to LaBrecque Autocraft for the final paint buff-out, but it looks pretty good after a clean-up with the Griot's Speed-Shine kit that the family got me for Father's day.

Anyhow, I'm a happy camper. My dad will be visiting at the end of October and he can't wait to go for a ride. At 86, he doesn't want to drive it, but I'll make sure we put the 'ol girl through her paces.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psfe89f3be.jpg

Sweet!!!! The car looks fantastic!

Awesome! Enjoy it now!

Came out really great. Its so different seeing a car that color,it came awesome.

Thanks everyone!

It's been a long road with this car, and I'm ready to enjoy it. I really like working on cars when I want to, but when I have to, it's not much fun. The clutch job wasn't fun at all, and I didn't enjoy working on the front brakes one bit.

But, that's all behind me now, and cruising down the road with the top down is just plain awesome. I have tomorrow off, and I'm planning on putting some open-air miles on the car - the weather is perfect.

Hey David - maybe I'll swing by and we can go cruising tomorrow - but you need to take the Z out !!!

The Z is still in Mike's shop. He still had to tune the carb and a few other small jobs. I told him I was in no rush since I was between houses. I'll probably get it back in a few weeks.

If you want to stop by, I'll only be here in until 9 am since I have to go finish pressure washing the old house.

This weekend, I might go to the tiny car show at Celebrate Granby on Saturday. On Sunday there is Cartoberfest in New Hartford. If you want to go to one of the shows, let me know and I'll find the center caps, for the 2nd time since I am very disorganized lately. LOL. There are no trophies at either show which is A-OK with me.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about the caps. I probably won't go to the shows, but I'll try to get together with you some time to get the caps. Thanks.

Also, a big THANKS for the Echoes of Norwood book. I'm about 1/2 way through it. Very interesting read. I hope to finish it by the end of the month so I can pass it along to my Dad on his way to Florida for the winter.

You're welcome! I haven't even started reading mine yet. It would probably take 2 weeks to find it right now anyway. It's amazing how much "stuff" you can accumulate after living in the same place for 14 years. I didn't sort anything out and just "displaced the junk" from the old place to the new place. I figure sorting everything out can be my winter project. HA! HA!

car looks great!

Thanks Dawg!

Next order of business is the wheels. I love the Polyglas tires, but I'm still not sure about the rally wheels. It just seems that everyone has them, and I want to be a bit different.

My choices are:
1) Original P01 wheel covers that came on the car (I have a NOS set)
2) N96 "simulated mag" wheel covers (have access to a NOS set, but big $$$)
3) Dog dish caps (I have a NOS set) with trim rings on original wheels

Not sure what to do, but I'm leaning toward the dog dish & trim rings. That way I could still run the 'born with' wheels on the car.

P01 wheel covers:
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...0M207-6-68.jpg

Dog dish & trim rings (trial fit):
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...pse31bc24b.jpg

N96 wheel covers:
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psf9a1370c.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psa321465e.jpg

I'm voting for #3, dog dish & trim rings.

Out of those three, dog dishes all the way.

But if you want to get a pic of your car with my deep dog dishes, let me know. You can have the ones I've got (I'm pretty sure I can still find them) as long as they're going on your car. I think you should consider those as option #4.

Here is a pic of my 68 with deep dog dishes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/Camaro/1.jpg

You might want to have something different.....but I think they look great.

It does look good congrats.

I think I'll pop the NOS P01 wheel covers over the existing rally wheels and run it like that for a little bit. Then I can blast & paint the original wheels so I can run the dog dish & trim rings if I want.

My Dad always ran the original P01 wheel covers, and with Goodyear Polyglas F70-14 white letter tires for most of its life. It's kind of a sleeper look, and certainly different. I don't think I've ever seen those wheel covers on a restored car in person.

My Dad said that back in the day people would look at the car and wonder what those 'high performance' tires were doing on that "plain jane" car. Then he'd hit the go pedal and let the L30 327 and F41 suspension show them.

It's definitely different. I've looked at a lot of wheels and haven't seen them at any shows.

Make the car how you want it. You have really been through the wringer (times 10) with your car and you should go with what seems right!

Yeah, but I really don't know what I want to do. I know I want to be different. I actually really like the N96 wheel covers. My Dad isn't too keen on them, and I want to make him happy too.

Now, my Dad & I discussed getting a set of old school 14"x6" 5-spoke Hurst wheels. I know repros are available, but we'll keep our eyes out for a set of real ones to restore

I'm really bummed out right now, though. I went to put on the P01 wheel covers (onto the rally wheels). I guess the rally wheels are just a little different, because I can't get the wheel covers to go on. They fit fine (although a little tight) on the original wheels.

So, it looks like the original wheels will need to be refinished no matter what. I can go all black and use the P01 wheel covers or N96 covers, or paint the faces silver and install the dog dish caps & trim rings.

I'll head down to The Wheel Shop in Windsor Locks to see what they get for refinishing a set of steelies. I just can't pay for 3 hours each in labor (at $70/hr) plus materials.

I dropped the original steel wheels off at The Wheel Shop in Windsor Locks today. $80 each to blast them to bare metal and refinish in semi-gloss single stage urethane paint. A very fair price I think. I'll report back on how they turn out.

I got the steel wheels back from The Wheel Shop. I'm not very impressed. They didn't sandblast (or even clean up) the inside of the lips or the bead seating areas - almost like they blasted the wheels with the tires still on them. The paint coverage is decent on the outside, but they failed to get any paint down in the corners. Paint coverage on the inside is very thin.

So, I've been cleaning up the lip & bead areas by hand, and I'll re-shoot them with satin black myself.

I wouldn't be too happy if I had paid more than $80 each. However, I think I got what I paid for.