supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Well, I guess seeing the threads of others on this site, I have decided to start a thread about my journey into the t-top repair on my camaro that turned into so much more.

I figured I would give a little history of the car. I actually drove this car in high school about 15 years ago. It belonged to my Aunt who has owned it as long as I can remember. It has been in AZ and TX most of its life. It was a sharp car when I drove it around. It is an 83 Z-28 305 (used to be) cross-fire car. Back then it has some sweet 15" deep lip gold crosslace wheels on it that looked bad a$$. I wish I could find them again! Well fast forward, I head off to the Marine Corps where I have been for 14 years and the car stayed there. She gave it to her son who trashed it and threw a 350 in it he could never get running right. Then they had a falling out and she took the car back and parked it in the back yard. It sat there for over a year and they built a fence around it (seriously!). I went home to visit about a year ago and was talking to my uncle in the garage. My aunt came out with the title in hand signed and told me to take care of it. I have been trying to talk them into selling it to me since high school so I was stoked. I am the mechanic of the family and have been building cars forever. (I am a jeep guy now with two of them) So the next day I bought a battery and we tossed it in there and after a few revolutions it fired right up! So now we had to tear a 10 foot section out of the fence including one post. I almost made it home driving it (I live 5 hours from there) before I lost a tire and found I had no spare. I came back and picked it up with my car trailer that night.

Ok now I will toss up some picks of where I started, to where I am now.


The t-tops had been leaking for a while and there was some bubbling in the paint where the center support bar was. Things got ugly from there.




So I found a mostly rust free t-top 90 formula in the local pick-a-part and killed it with my trusty sawsall. I used the panels to replace my rusty ones.

GM Man

Nice, keep up the good work..

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I didnt want to put everything in the same post so here is the rest of the work I have done. Here I tacked everything together and did the finish welding and grinding. I only had a very small amount of warping. Hind site I would have cut it down sail panel instead.




I also replaced some rust patches in the rear deck area.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Along the way I have been snapping up stuff cheap from pick-a-part. I am on a first name basis with them down there and get hooked up on prices all the time. So far here is all I have done mechanically:
-Installed UMI subframe connectors
-Picked up some 350 TBI injectors
-Rebuilt the throttle bodies and had them reshafted
-Balanced the TBs
-Put a dual elec fan setup from a 97 V6 4th gen
-Found a 91 Transam and picked up a 36mm hollow sway bar, 24mm solid rear sway bar, alum driveshaft, new A/C lines and compressor, fuel pick up with pump, and rear posi axle (pick-a-part)
-Scrounged a set of serp belt brackets, pulley, and acc from an S-10 (has a brace that goes to the WP instead of intake) with new water pump, belt, and alt (pick-a-part)
-Found it was a 2 series carrier so I found a 3.23 with 3 series posi in a 96 camaro (pick-a-part)
-Snagged a set of LS1 front calipers and carriers (pick-a-part)
-Just got a new vortec sbc starter and a complete rear brake setup from a 01 4x4 jimmy
-Now I am waiting for a reply from a guy that is selling a 91 V-8 WC T-5 complete with crossmember, bellhousing, slave cylinder, and a B&M shifter for $300

Mark in Maine

Great story - it's always nice to re-connect with an old friend of the four-wheeled variety. I wish I had access to a local junkyard with the kinds of parts that you're finding. Good luck with your car, looks like it is coming together well - keep us posted on your progress!

Tobias05

good luck! You going to keep the early style GFX?

jharrison5

Every time I read on of these types of posts it gets me going. Now it's time for bed and I want to work on my Camaro! Well Supr_fly good luck with the car and keep up the good work.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I debated a long time on this, but I do believe I am going to keep the early style GFX. I had a 92 RS I loved for the body kit. The one thing I have debated the most is if I am going to keep the car white for ease, or spray it in semi-gloss black.

This weekend I am heading back to pick-a-part to scrounge a pass side rear floor pan and a few more interior bits. I will be taking the dash out of it so I can clean up the inside firewall. Then I am going to paint it with Eastwood's rust converter, then encapsulator, then either paint it or rattle can it, then toss some bed liner or undercoating over it. That should get me through the next 20 years.

I saw in another thread on here someone got some insulation but it aint factory or dynomat. Anyone got any ideas? I dont want to just toss my new-to-me black carpet in there and I dont know if I want to put the jute back in it.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I hear ya, this thing sat in my garage for a year with the t-top stuff tore off of it before I got the motivation to start working on it again. Now I am making some pretty quick progress. I want to get the t-tops squared away so I can get the new-to-me rear axle put together and finally get this thing on the road.

talover111

when i did the interior in my 85 ta i went to lowes andgott house carpet padding 3 .5 feet by 6 feet

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Ok, so I got some updates from the weekend. I started out with working the floor boards. I have only really got started on the drivers side, but I put some eastwood's rust converter on the rust spots and am waiting 48 hours before I top it with something else in prep for some bed liner.


I also picked up my W/C T-5 today for $300 with a B&M shifter.


I am also spraying my taillights with some lens tint I got from autozone cause they look like crap so this will cover up some of that. I am also painting the rest of the housings. I will post up what they look like when done.



And here is the dash/console assy I got out of an 84 V-6 manual car for my 5spd conversion and to replace my cracked dash. The center console also had a working clock in it.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Here is how my taillights turned out.

GTA50

I'm doing a ground-up on my '88 GTA and these kind of threads really keep me going. Thanks.

ericjon262

glad to see the car in good hands, keep the old style GFX though. I'm actually going to use the '85-90 style on my '91, fake scoops suck, might as well put a pony in the grill!

RussM

Awesome! Rock on! I wish I had back every car I ever had...

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

There are a lot of cars I wish I would have never gotten rid of like my 455 powered 71 Cutlass convertable.

The camaro has turned out to be more work then I thought it would be, but I also keep picking up side projects like the rear axle, 5spd, front and rear disk brake conversions, serp belt conversion, elec fan conversion, ect, ect... which only a few have been completed so all this junk is laying around in an already small garage.

AmorgetRS

iTrader: (6)

Great project!

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Ok, a big update. I havent been sitting on my rear, just havent posted up my progress. Good thing is that the body work is done and it is in primer. Rain is due in tomorrow so I dont know if I will be able to paint. If you are wondering why I am only painting part of the body, it is because I dont have space to do that. I am working in a small single car garage so I am just doing what I need to get the t-top repair done and new weather stripping in it.
First coat of rage gold:

after blocking with 220 and dolphin glaze:


After the epoxy coat:


After the the 2k primer:

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Ok, I got the color on it today which is good. Made a few adjustments to my harbor freight gun but I still got a spot with orange peel and a few runs (all were my fault with gun control). This was the first time I ever tried to paint anything. 95% of the paint is super smooth with no defects. I have a few places with crap in it but I am going to wet sand it sometime this week. I also found that this white is much brighter then the paint that is on the car. It dont bug me because I am eventually going to paint the whole car and will be repairing it a panel at a time until it is all done. I am just happy that I can finally put the t-tops back in it!

jharrison5

Looks good to me! I also know where you're coming from with the single car garage situation. I'm in the same situation and it is a pain in the butt. I guess we make due with what we have to work with though.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

It wouldnt be as bad if I didnt have so many things going on with the car at the same time. I will get the floors finished this week and get the tranny back into it and build my rear axle. That will clear most of it up. Then I can back it out of the garage and put the t-top and door weatherstripping in it. Now I just have to save up for a windshield!

1Aauto

looks pretty good. nice job on fixing that T-Top support

onthedownlow

iTrader: (4)

hey supr fly, first off great thread, glad to see you taking the time to fix that camaro up....she deserves to be redone after sitting all those years! Also I`d like to add you really do have some talent my friend, the car looks good so far, keep us posted and up to date on this build.

onthedownlow

gsmarcano

nice, great work so far.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Congrats on the resto! Lookin good so far can't wait to see the finished product!

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the kind comments, like most of you I enjoy doing the work myself and I can also say "I did that". There has been some steep learning curves, but I have found some great resources on the net including this site all of which have guided this build. Like my jeep I dont think this will ever be done as most all of you fellow third gen owners can attest to. We must be crazy for thinking there will ever be an end. I will be throwing down a few coats of eastwood's rust encapsulator tomorrow. I will post up picks when I am done. Thanks for reading and I will continue to post up as I get stuff done.

If you guys are interested I can make a post on setting up gears in the drive train section when I get around to putting together the rear. This axle will be easy compared to the axles I usually build for friends. (dana 60's and 14 bolts suck to move around by yourself!)

mightymaro94

great story keep up the good work and keep your fellow third genners up to date. marine

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Here is stage one of floor board finishing. Two coats of Eastwood's rust encapsulator covered everything quite well. Tomorrow I will fill the seams I cleaned out with some 3M seam sealer. Dont flame me, but I got lazy with the last few pin holes and I drilled them out so I can toss a rivet with a backup washer coated with seam sealer to fix those. I dont have the cash to replace the floor pans and they are really too rusty to slap patch panels in there so this will do fine. I am going to find the rivets on the bottom and scrape the under coating off around them and seal the back side and re-apply the undercoating. I am slathering bed liner over all of this and that should get this car along for quite a few more years. If the floor boards rust out the bed liner will buy me more time and I am good with that.

86 Money Pit

Looks really good for first time work. I find a lot of this stuff is just doing some research and then getting up the nerve to get started. I guaranty it would have taken some time before I would have had the guts to cut into that roof rust, that looked pretty intimidating (although part of the issue is I am a lousy welder).

I sure wish I had a couple of my high schools cars back (70 Chevelle SS, 396/4 speed and a 72 GTO, 455/automatic), lot of good times. Reading this thread I am growing a little concerned that my son will want my Camaro back some day, it was his high school car. He better pack a lunch because I am not giving it up without a fight!

Mark in Maine

This is some really nice work - enjoying looking in on your progress.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I am actually not a bad welder (just not a good one), but the Lincoln welder I was using I couldnt get it set right (only had four power settings and not linear) and my power in my garage is not real good and affects the weld quality. So it was either too hot and burning through or too cold and sitting on top of the panel.

1Aauto

floors are looking awesome.your gonna have a blast in that thing when it's done.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Is there any prep work when using Eastwood's rust encapsulator? Or do you just spray it on?

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Well, I dont know if I was using it correctly because I am not sure if I am supposed to use it over paint. The prep work is not bad, did just like I would for any rusty panel to be prepped. I used a scrapper to knock off the loose paint and rust, then I hit the rust lightly with a wire wheel on my drill, followed by a combination of red 3M scuff pads and 80 grit sand paper on the painted surfaces. Once all of that was done I cleaned the floor pans with a strong household cleaner, rinsed, dried, vaccumed the floors, and just before paint I wiped them all down with Eastwood's "Pre" cleaner. It covered good and I thinned it with quality paint thinner at about 10% to make sure it went through the gun well (HF HVLP gun, 2.5 turns out, 48psi at the gun). Took about 3/4 of a quart (all I had left) to do two coats of the forward floor pans (rear axle hump forward).

bradley23150

iTrader: (10)

Subscribing.

Sweet project, can't wait to see more!

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

No updates today, found that the 3M seam sealer I got is not compatable with my Eastwood Rust Encapsulator and it literally takes the paint right off. I had some Eastwood seam sealer that did work with their paint, but I did not have enough to finish my floors so now I am in a holding pattern until I can get some more. I guess I will stab the tranny and start on the rear axle.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

What is a "seam sealer" and how does it affect the car?

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Well, if you pull up the carpet and look along the joints in the sheet metal, you will notice that they are covered with seam sealer. It looks like someone brushed on silicone or something. Seam sealer is a joint sealing compound that keeps out moisture (seals) and reduces creaks in the sheet metal. Most older camaro's like mine the factory seam sealer has gotten hard and cracked allowing moisture to contaminate the joint where rust forms. You can't see it till you dont have any floor board seams left. So I scrapped all my old stuff out so I can re-apply and seal the seams like factory again.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

that makes sense.. When I put all hushmat under the carpet/panels i'll look into this product.. Can you get this stuff at say Wal Mart?

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

You wont find this at walmart. You can find it at a local automotive paint supply store. I picked up my 3M stuff with a discount for $35. If you dont have that kind of hook up I am sure it will be over $40. If you want some I will sell mine to you cause I am not going to use it. Eastwood told me I had not let my paint cure long enough and the 3M stuff lifted the paint off. I already ordered a quart of the Eastwood stuff which I know is compatable with my rust encapsulator.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

I think im gonna use POR15 for the interior floorboard of the car and then seam seal it after that.. and then after all that use hushmat to make the car quiet and comfortable to drive again (after putting 3" catback, headers and gutted cat the car is really loud!)

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Didnt really get anything done to the interior or floor boards like I wanted. Still waiting for my eastwood seam sealer. I did get my transmission done and installed. I also finished mounting my rear disk conversion, installing my posi and setting up the gears. I will be making a step-by-step thread about how to do 10 bolt gears in the drivetrain section probably tonight.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I got the axle done this weekend and finally finished it yesterday. I made a large post about it to share my knowlege about gear installs. Hopefuly my seam sealer will show up today so I can get the interior put back together.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...axle-gear.html

haps

iTrader: (4)

I am surprised to see that the 3M sealer lifted the Eastwood Encapsulator. That's good to know. Also, it's ok to use the encapsulator over paint, it just doesn't do what it's "supposed" to do, which is stop rust....it won't hurt anything, I've done it alot and it's good insurance. Rust repair looks very well done.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

When I ordered the can of seam sealer from Eastwood, they said 24 hours was not enough dry time for the encapsulator and the 3M stuff has pretty aggressive chemicals in it. I just slapped the Eastwood seam sealer on it last night and it was super smooth and easy to spread compared to the 3M stuff. No issues with their paint either. The good news is the bed liner is going on tonight! I will finally get this thing back together this weekend.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Are you going to further insulate it with Dynamat/hushmat/fatmat stuff?

CamaroBeau

Remarkable story!!! it moves me... You did great job!!! Good luck

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Well yes, but because I am cheap, I got some heater ducting insulation from Lowes. I paid like $35 for two rolls of it. It has closed cell foam and an R value of 3 with an aluminum backing and sticky stuff on the other side (installation should be a breeze). I think between this and the bedliner that should be good for the floors. I have used bed liner as an effective insulator in my old truck floorboards and the floorboards in my wife's old jeep.

CamaroBeau, thanks for the comment. I am just happy to finally be getting to this point. Once the floor boards are done the end is in sight.

One more stumbling block is one of the rear calipers for my rear disk conversion I got from the yard has a broke off bleeder on it. What sucks is I cant extract it and I also have a bad abudment bracket. So I have to go back to the yard to exchange them and hope they have replacements.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Ok, well here are the floor boards with seam sealer and scuffed and ready to put bed liner on them.


And here is what I get for my labor.


I am fed up with compatability issues with the eastwood rust encapsulator. The bed liner liquified the rust encapsulator and peeled bad. I had to scrape the whole driver side front floor board. I give up! I put some bed liner back down after wiping off the last of the rust encapusulator and am only going to have bed liner on this part of the floor board.

Tomorrow I am going to throw down my insulation from Lowes and put it back together. I put down two coats of the rust encapsulator and from what I have read that is all it needs. I should have left well enough alone.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

It's not perfect but It never will be. I wasn't happy with my POR15 job because I missed spots and couldn't get everywhere I wanted to. But, the point is, from what it looks like, your floors will forever be protected against rust (from the inside atleast) and are all sealed up nicely. Put the insulation over it, then the carpet and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Heck, it's a ton times better than it was before, don't beat urself up over it man, good job!