This has to be the exciting part, of course I think the entire process is exciting no mater what stage I'm at. Something new every day. To be able to check off items a little faster as the assembly moves along. Congrats on your milestones. Also, what brand (type) of dash pad are you installing. Do you still have the original or are you installing a new one. I'm curious since I may need to replace mine.

 

I'll have to ask. I know it's being replaced, as my original pad was split in two from too many years in the sun. I'll let you know. The man is off today as he works Tu-Sat.

 

Finally made it down to see my car becoming a car. I asked one of the owners, Bryson who made my replacement dash and he said they use OER repro parts whenever possible, and have not been burned to date. He might have said they buy from Summit but not sure, as I was flooded with information during my visit, and not all of it stuck. I do know my new fuel tank is also OER brand.

 

I somehow survived my 180 mile drive to Centralia, which includes the life-threatening section between Everett and Tacoma. I showed up to review Ricky’s current state, and sit for a talk with one of the owners. As I mentioned, the shop performing this work performs routine automotive work on one side, and restoration work on the other. The restoration work is divided between two facilities, one performing traditional body work and painting, and the other performing the mechanic-side of restoration. One of the two owners (Riley) runs the automotive repair shop, focused on modern cars and their problems and maintenance, and the other (Bryson) runs the restoration half of the business. Both of these owners are working foremen, in effect, and the entire operation is grounded in expertise and a commitment to going the extra mile. This has probably been apparent in my narrative to date. Over the course of Ricky’s restoration, they have been confronted by a multitude of issues, such as Covid and a 3rd party body shop that disintegrated chaotically, but the result of this voyage has been to create a small restoration enterprise that has extraordinary commitment to excellence, coupled with four people on the restoration side that have literally years of practice and expertise. So, that's my plug for B&R Auto! They are the real deal. My situation has been ideal for their situation, as they worked to refine their operation and employee base. My retirement status has allowed me to live a life where, for me, every day is Saturday, in a Monday-through-Friday world. That provided them with the freedom to perform in what I call "Porcupine Mode": take it slow and easy, and love will find a way.

So, I viewed Ricky Camaro and I am amazed! Bryson presented me with a detailed list of items that have been purchased new: EVERYTHING in the front sub-frame (including the sub-frame), except the tie-rods and some other minor pieces of the steering gear (except all ends replaced) and even those were all powder-coated, new brakes and lines on all four wheels, new master cylinder and power booster, all wiring, LED lights everywhere, fully rebuilt-to-new steering column, new front bumper and mounts, new rear tail-light assemblies, new fuel tank and lines, new springs front and rear, new shocks front and rear, sub-frame connectors tying front sub-frame to rear sub-frame, and so creating a complete frame to handle big-block stresses, basically a new interior: all seats fully rebuilt, new seatbelts, new rugs, door panels, sail boards with LED lights, new dashboard, new glovebox, new ashtray & lighter, new console, new heater and controls, new windshield, new radiator, new front and rear hood hinges, new windshield wiper motor and mechanism, new exhaust with 3” tubes, Hooker Headers, and (at this point) Flowmaster Series 40 mufflers, fully re-polished wheels with new Goodrich TA Radials, and at least 100 other items I’ve missed… Wow. And lets not forget the drive train, including engine, new clutch/pressure plate, fully reconditioned Muncie M20 with new Hurst shifter, new ring and pinion and Detroit Trutrack differential. And the paint is SUPERB.

I’m a happy dude. Hire these guys…

I was introduced to "Driven Motor Oil", specially formulated for older hot rod engines.




Visiting Driven’s website (www.drivenracingoil.com), I was informed that modern motor oils are formulated to protect catalytic converters, while they say their oil is formulated to protect flat tappet camshafts. Also to maintain oil-film protection for cold engine starts on cars that are at rest for long periods between runs. In any event, I am apparently a captive audience as I was told that Britco, the local engine builder ONLY warrants their engine if ‘Driven’ Break-in oil is used initially, and then Driven HR1 is used throughout the warranty period. After 5K miles, the engine is considered broken in (surfaces honed) and I can switch to their synthetic oil and extend from 3K oil changes to 5K miles, but still, I must use Driven oil.

I was treated to the view of the brand new Tik-Tok-Tach. My old one’s tach worked fine, but the clock was broken. 6K RPM is properly red, with orange coming first at 5700.

Dash is mostly done, with steering column COMPLETELY rebuilt with all new parts internally. Also, new ignition switch, and the fuse block is still old-time glass fuses. Wonderful news for me, as it justifies my huge collection of fuses I’ve been lugging around for all these years.



I asked if the sub-frame connector has been welded to the sub-frame, and he said "sort of". He elaborated that the fish-plate tabs were tacked in but they were advised to leave it for awhile to let the body "settle into place" before doing the finish weld, so it came out looking like this for now:



You will note from this view of the paint that Ricky has not yet been wet-sanded or buffed. That will happen when he returns to the body shop to gain front outer fenders, hood, doors and trunk lid. They will also finish-weld and re-coat the frame connectors once the car is at full weight, to match the rest of the pan underneath.

I had a question about the flex fan proposed for the engine, worried that it might come apart at 6K RPM. I was told that Flex-a-Lite rates them for 8K RPM, so my only concern is whether the nylon blades age and weaken. Since the company has been around awhile, probably not. It’s just that this is the original 396 hood, and while replaceable, I would rather not.

We discussed AM/FM antennas, and decided to go with an in-the-windshield version. I will be using a cover on the car when in my garage as we have cats, and cats cannot help themselves when it comes to getting up on a car… I know you can grommet a hole in the cover to fit down over an antenna, but as I grow older, I vote more and more for “easy”. And let’s face it, I didn’t spend $5K on a car stereo to listen to AM radio.

Bryson believes we are about 2 weeks from engine start, and also for headliner, sailboard and vinyl roof install. Things really accelerate then. I’ll probably drive down for the event, with noise-cancelling headphones, as it will be 2˝ hours of open header, varying RPMs, exquisite torture. A working definition of the finest car stereo ever made.

I took a number of pictures to augment my memory, and I especially like this one, taken through the radiator air inlet area:



It appears I like these shots that can only be taken during construction.

I have to say, "396" is such a cool number!

 

Ricky is really moving along. Looks like it was worth the drive.

 

Definitely worth the drive! Just gazing into the paint was worth the drive! And worth the money! The project area of this 1st-Gen forum is a chance to see how some honored old cars receive new life. Ricky Camaro is becoming a complete car, and already, many of the building blocks are in place. A quick reminder of his worst-case condition:




And what that meant to get to here, just in body work: new rear quarter panels; new inner fender on passenger rear; new front inner and outer fenders, new floor-pan from front of trunk to bottom of firewall, along with new seat foundations, new front sub-frame with new control arms and ball joints top and bottom, both sides; and extensive repairs to firewall, and to windshield mounting surfaces front and rear.

And the list goes on and on. Here, for instance is a really nice power plant, designed to help your heart beat from chest vibrations:






And, from straight on (note the hood lock receptacles, for the round-key hood locks):



Here is a nice shot of the rear section of the car. You can see the holes that anchor the transition from vinyl roof to natural paint that takes place via a chrome strip:




For review, see the final picture in entry #90: a side shot where that transition is clear to see.



Here is a nice shot of the rear interior, where someday, that center area will be occupied by a 10” sub-woofer, firing into the seat back from the trunk, and mounted to a layer of ľ” high-density particle board, covered by ľ” maple boards, the whole isolating the trunk area from the cabin sonically. That same combination of boards will extend across the top around the two 6X9 speakers. Opening the trunk lid will reveal, mounted on the maple, the sub’s power amp, the main speaker’s power amp, and out on the floor of the trunk, a second battery to power them. As I have said before, and quoting the Firesign Theater, “Fully equipped with a complete line of extras, designed with your mind in mind”. And all helping to add a little weight to the rear for ‘good grip’.


And so, here is a good overview shot of the package as it awaits front fenders, front grill-work, hood, rear deck lid, and doors. Plus other stuff.



Because of the various issues with painting in the winter, and oily hands, here you can see roughly 12 layers of base coat, 12 layers of clear coat, with clear coat thickness diminished by sanding between each of the 4-layer applications over time. And it hasn’t even been wet-sanded or buffed yet. Oh man…





And the passenger-side:



And, a fitting wrap to this latest trip:





Ahh, 396. What a great number! And kudos to the marketeer who thought up “Turbo-Jet”.

I was told that if the headers over-heat the plug wire ends, they have ceramic ends in stock to replace these high-heat versions. However, these Hooker Headers are ceramic-coated and run fairly cool, so they don’t anticipate a problem.

I’m getting some tiny-bit excited… can you tell???

 

Being judgmental is not one of my better qualities, I will admit. So, feel free to judge me:

Those of us who are regular members of this set of forums are, at one level or another, focused on Chevy Camaros. If we own one or more, there are reasons that range from love to utility to profitability. For my disjointed rambling at this late hour, I’m going to disregard any reason other than love, or at least, appreciation.

Wandering around the forums lately, I’ve been contemplating ‘hangar queens’, trying to understand why I might want to own a 1st Gen Camaro only because it’s ‘perfect’ and can’t be driven as then it wouldn’t be ‘perfect’. I do get it a bit, since several of my guns are purely ornamental and will never be fired again for any reason. For instance, there’s a Colt 10 Gauge hammerless double barrel shotgun, model 1883, manufactured in 1885, with Damascus wire-twist barrels, fragile now, made for black powder. When I hold it, I feel a degree of reverence, and I can imagine a guard on a stagecoach in the Wild West using it as a mighty tool of defense! Or, OMG, in the hands of a bartender in an old-time saloon! I think back to the stories it might tell if it wasn’t mute. But NO WAY will I fire it! So, I’m not immune to the thought that a hangar queen might be a good thing. Still, there’s room for those particular guns in my collection only because of the other ones that I can use to punch holes in paper, seeking shrinking group sizes. I don’t kill with them, as I don’t consider dealing death to defenseless animals to be a sport in any true sense (they don’t shoot back!), but shooting at targets as a meditation and breathing exercise is reason enough for me to own the group. Along with the concept my 30-year Naval Officer father used to phrase as “stand by to repel boarders”!

But when I contemplate owning a 1st Gen Camaro as a hangar queen, I’m a bit stumped. Perhaps that is because of my income level and the choices my wife and I make to use our relatively limited income for a variety of needs and pleasures. In my garage, there is just enough room for one 1968 Camaro. I cannot imagine not putting 100,000 miles on it with a righteous grin on my face every one of those miles! The thought of keeping it “original” and un-marred, but unused just leaves me unsettled. After driving Ricky Camaro for five or six years in the early 1980’s, as my ‘every-day’ car, I am so very aware of how much fun it is to drive!!! Getting in, slamming the door, welcoming Targus into the passenger seat, starting it up (ROAR!), and driving down the road… Oh man, that was very close to Heaven on Earth. The thought of just owning it to set it on a pedestal and ‘admire’ it and show it off to any and all seems to me to be minimal joy, compared to the feeling of shifting through 4 gears of a Muncie, transferring the animal power of a big block Chevy motor to both rear tires, and surging forward with substantial authority, sound and thunder. Even Targus the Wolf-dog would lay his ears back and howl. (Well, not really, but he did love to ride in Ricky, and I could get him to howl along with me on moonlight nights).

A very small fraction of Camaro owners do find it enough to just look at their Classic Camaro, all authentic and perfect, maybe show it off to friends and visitors or at shows, and I don’t begrudge them the right to do so. These cars look WONDERFUL!!! Perhaps they have a LOT more money than me, and a lot more room for storage (a la Jay Leno), and so, more power to them! And maybe, like me with my firearms, they own ‘user Camaros’ as well. Maybe.

Having said that, I do have a 1928 Chevy 3-window coupe needing restoration, and that isn’t going to happen from me. Not exactly a hangar queen, but mostly there, and it needs a better home than I can provide.

Just sayin’…

We all have our inconsistencies. And meanwhile, the restoration progresses.

 

Myself I don't give a hoot one way or the other what someone else does with their money or their car.
My only complaint is that the car collector hobby has become so big with the rich and famous that the price of a nice first gen has become out of my reach.
I'd really like to have another '69,preferably a big block SS but that's not likely to ever happen.
I don't have the money to buy one or the time and money to restore one that I might be able to get for what I could sell my 4th gen car for.
I'll just have to enjoy seeing yours and a few others around as eye candy and enjoy my old ****box 4th gen for the fun of driving.

 

Yeah, part of the dark side of growing older is thinking back on 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' items we had but don't have. I was just lucky to have a place to stash Ricky, and no need for the relatively small amount he would have paid in the intermediate years. I could never shake the memory of how much fun it was to drive, and that kept me motivated even if I was not getting it done. Still, there are other items I really wish I had kept, so I can relate. And as for this collector thing inflating prices, what can I say? I guess, just that mine is NOT FOR SALE.

Anyway, here's a small update on Ricky Camaro:While most of the shop's attention is focused on wrapping up the '70 Chevelle and getting it out the door, Ricky has had some degree of progress, as follows: Electricity now flows throughout the car, by virtue of the battery installed, and some systems are proven fully functional. These include the clock in the brand new Tik-Tok-Tach, all lights, including headlights, tail-lights, marker lights, dome lights, dash lights, and reverse lights (with EVERY light being an LED), wiper motor, heater blower motor and controls, master cylinder and brake booster installed and fluids filled, horn installed and functional, starter wired in and able to turn engine over via dash ignition switch, and distributor is now timed for initial start. It appears the only things preventing engine start/break-in are radiator install, fuel tank installed and connected, and console/gauge install, with all gauges there installed and tested. The good news is that the radiator (& supplies) fuel tank and console are all new and in house, just waiting to go onto the car.


Like we hear (almost) in the Pink Panther classics, “every day, in every way, it’s getting better and better.”

 

Looking awesome.... I also enjoy your rants, the good and the bad. Glad to see that most of the work is being done before the fenders and other panels get put on. Having a professional do the work that has all the tools and knowledge is best. Don't want to scratch the new paint. Very excited to see progress in the car. Keep posting updates.