Category Archives: Camaro

Applying POR-15 to the drivers side toe-board area

A before shot of the pitted metal in the driver’s side toe area. I didn’t want to patch this, so I decided to use POR-15 on it. (Paint Over Rust – POR is a rock hard coating to prevent further rust.  I used POR-15 Silver along with some mesh from the kit for a small portion by the patched panel to help strengthen the area. Before:
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First coat:
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First coat dried:
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Second coat 4-5 hours later:
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Second Coat dried:
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Third coat (within 24 hours):
IMG_1631I still need to scuff this once it is dried then prime over it.

 

Patch Panel Re-weld

Only took me a half day to re-weld the patch panel from the bottom while on the rotisserie.  I must be getting better at welding.

Before pics:

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Starting with a few tack welds:IMG_1583

After pics:IMG_1584 IMG_1585 IMG_1586 IMG_1587

There were a couple of holes that needed to be closed.  Using this tool from Eastwood to use as a backing while welding them shut:IMG_1588Next, I will be tackling the drivers side toe area with POR-15.

 

Patch Panel

Wrapped up my cleaning and organizing of the garage, shed, and 2nd floor of garage.  Now focusing on re-welding a few sections of my prior floor patch work.  Before I welded from the inside of the car, and now I plan on going from the outside (bottom) of the floor while it is on the rotisserie.  Today was cleaning and grinding the welded sections both on the inside and inside, then cleaned.  Taking next Thu & Fri off, so hope to be done with my re-welding by the end of next weekend.  The side close to the trans hump area was difficult to get the welding nozzle at, going from the bottom, should provide me with easier access to the areas I want to re-weld.

Inside shot:

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Bottom of floor shot:IMG_1569

Sanding Shell – 7/4/2015

Took the last week off from work to work on the Camaro. Some things took longer than I had thought and I found some more work to do before priming.  I was able to access the roof and inside by rotating the car on the rotisserie without having to get in the car to access.  Everything has been manually sanded or scuffed and wiped clean with wax & grease remover:
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I do want to touch-up the patch panel from the bottom of the car (re-welding) before priming.  Welding from the inside was difficult accessing with the welder at the right angles and will be easier from the bottom.  Plus there is already some existing welding to add on to.
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The drivers side toe-board I want to hit with some POR-15 floor & trunk restoration kit before priming to fix some pin holes and pitting:
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IMG_1559The window channels took longer than I had hoped to clean due to the material used to hold the windows in place.  I used lacquer thinner and the air ventilator to exhaust the fumes out of the garage as a trial run for priming.

Right now I am cleaning and organizing the garage for the next weekend or two before getting back to work on the car.

Ventilator – 6/26/2015

This is what I am thinking on how to set up the ventilator…  I will have a filter at each end of the hose and support the host after it leaves the garage.  I will also divide the garage in half and place a plastic sheet down the middle of the garage to try to keep fumes in the back half and let the ventilator handle the fumes.
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Ventilator – 6/23/2015

Bought a used Harbor Freight Ventilator from e-bay and also a couple of ducts.  I plan on taking next week off from work to try to get the car primed on the 5th.  Will use this to remove the fumes from the garage adding some filters to both ends.  Getting the ducts stretched out before setting it up.  I will place a duct at each end of the ventilator and place the duct out of a window with a cardboard frame.

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Northern Tool Crank Rotisserie and 73 Camaro

Documenting the process of mounting my 73 Camaro on my Northern Tool Crank Rotisserie.  I am doing something different this time in trying to better adjust the center of gravity.  There were several rotisseries to choose from, but Northern Tool gave me free shipping and the rotisserie was already painted, so I went with that unit.  When I had it balanced at first, then the cranking got harder as the car turned sideways, so this is my attempt to improve that.

The front jack stands are placed under the firewall on both sides.  The height is dictated by the height of the jack and jack stands to the highest possible position:IMG_1452

The rear jack stands are under the rear frame rails on both sides:

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All four jack stands: IMG_1454

The rotisserie arms are bolted to the sub frame mounts using the bolts from the sub frame:IMG_1455

There is a cage nut inside that the bolts are fastened to:IMG_1457

Rear shackle brackets are from accessible systems and there is a bushing inside the rear leaf spring mounting point:IMG_1459

Pic of rear end:IMG_1461

I also tried to center the mounting ends so the car is centered to the rotisserie:IMG_1462

Same with the front:IMG_1463

Now to adjust the mounting points on the side closest to the car which adjusts the center of gravity:IMG_1464

and the back:IMG_1465

I jacked the car up using the rotisserie, added some bricks and boards under the jack stands and lowered the car on the higher jack stands to release the weight on the rotisserie.  Now this requires a second pair of hands as I held the arm attached to the car while my buddy adjusted the rotisserie jack to the next set of holes which improved the center of gravity:IMG_1466

Rotation is much easier now:IMG_1467

For reference for the better center of gravity:IMG_1468

Back:IMG_1469