Another step closer!
Got bored with the nasty weather, so decided to go back and redo the console filler panel I built previously. I didn't need all the height that the round hump gave, so I tore it out and built a flat raised insert to replace it. Started out by making a template out of cardboard and installing it first.

Once I had the cardboard template in I made adjustments and taped on extra pieces where I needed them to get it right. After that I removed it and laid it out flat on my donor aluminum sheet. Traced the metal and cut it with my tin snips. Then I bent it to match the pattern in my wood vise, and drilled the mounting holes. Covered it with self adhesive black vinyl and checked the fit. I cut down the left filler piece from the first design and recovered it as it was worth saving.

After checking the fit and fine tuning it I reinstalled the nuts on the back, and put it back in the car to final test the travel and clearances. All worked well, so screwed it back in place and was done!
Before:

After:


Once I had the cardboard template in I made adjustments and taped on extra pieces where I needed them to get it right. After that I removed it and laid it out flat on my donor aluminum sheet. Traced the metal and cut it with my tin snips. Then I bent it to match the pattern in my wood vise, and drilled the mounting holes. Covered it with self adhesive black vinyl and checked the fit. I cut down the left filler piece from the first design and recovered it as it was worth saving.

After checking the fit and fine tuning it I reinstalled the nuts on the back, and put it back in the car to final test the travel and clearances. All worked well, so screwed it back in place and was done!
Before:

After:

love all the finishing touches
joe
Thanks Joe!
Started on my poly bushings yesterday. Removed the front swaybar and replaced all the bushings. Had to do a lot of work on the frame brackets for those bushings as someone in the first two years before I bought the car had used the brackets to jack the car up, or support the car on jack stands! The brackets were smashed flat on the bottom and were square instead of rounded! Not sure why I never noticed them before, but it was a major task to put them in the vise and use a ballpeen hammer to reshape them to their original form and then get the holes back to correct spacing. Came out great, after an hour of forming them.
If the weather holds up for my driveway rebuild I'll start the control arms and ball joints in the next couple weekends. I plan to do one side at a time so I can get it back in the garage at night. I've got a 12 ton hydraulic press, so I should be able to press out the ball joints and bushings without having to take them to a shop, and that will save time. Hopefully I can get one side per day on a Sat./Sun. schedule! Then I'll take it back to the lineup shop to dial in the alignment.
Started on my poly bushings yesterday. Removed the front swaybar and replaced all the bushings. Had to do a lot of work on the frame brackets for those bushings as someone in the first two years before I bought the car had used the brackets to jack the car up, or support the car on jack stands! The brackets were smashed flat on the bottom and were square instead of rounded! Not sure why I never noticed them before, but it was a major task to put them in the vise and use a ballpeen hammer to reshape them to their original form and then get the holes back to correct spacing. Came out great, after an hour of forming them.
If the weather holds up for my driveway rebuild I'll start the control arms and ball joints in the next couple weekends. I plan to do one side at a time so I can get it back in the garage at night. I've got a 12 ton hydraulic press, so I should be able to press out the ball joints and bushings without having to take them to a shop, and that will save time. Hopefully I can get one side per day on a Sat./Sun. schedule! Then I'll take it back to the lineup shop to dial in the alignment.
Me too Joe! Can't leave her out overnight, as someone will surely strip something off it! Left it out once when we first moved into our home 21 yrs. ago and in the morning the tach and radio were gone! That's the only time in the last 31 yrs she was out overnight and I learned my lesson. No more nights out alone.
No, but a night out with a Louisville Slugger in hand would be more fun!!!
And the console looks good, especially without the rivet dimple.
And the console looks good, especially without the rivet dimple.
I was thinking something more persuasive than a Louisville slugger!

I'm hoping to take a trip overnight one of these days this summer, and still haven't figured out how I'll manage overnight in a motel with the Camaro in the lot? Hopefully I can find a motel that will have a 24 hr. office staff, park it in front of the office, and pay someone to keep an eye on it.
hey, everyone i have 95 ss needed second advice hears my problem car was starting with no problems. Went in to start it now it won't start...... checked power to all my fuses all were good turn key and nothing happens no dash lights or any what so ever on dash. i believe it is the ignition lock switch, open 4 other suggestions.......Thanks 4 all ur time..... 4 got too mention i have power every were else ....
hey, everyone i have 95 ss needed second advice hears my problem car was starting with no problems. Went in to start it now it won't start...... checked power to all my fuses all were good turn key and nothing happens no dash lights or any what so ever on dash. i believe it is the ignition lock switch, open 4 other suggestions.......Thanks 4 all ur time..... 4 got too mention i have power every were else ....
Went to the biggest auto swap meet on the West Coast today! Got through maybe 1/3 of it starting at 7:00 am and left at 3:30 pm! Way too much to try and see it all, and never enough funds to buy all the great bargains I wish I could have purchased!
I did pick up a few items for the Camaro, and at really bargain prices! Been wanting to change the old Edelbrock finned aluminum valve covers on my 427 engine, but didn't have enough room because of the huge brake booster. Well I ran into a friend there who was selling old parts off his Chevelle project and had a nearly new booster that's 2" smaller than mine. He told me to take it and if it fits give him $20 for it!
Then I stumbled across a pair of tall chrome valve covers for a BBC, and asked the price. Seller wanted $15 for the pair, and they're in great shape, so they came home too! A couple aisles down I found a guy selling brand new sets of Accel 8.5mm silicone spark plug wire sets. These are the ones that have the plug end made up, and two sets of ends for the distributor to work with std. or HEI caps. He wanted $10 for any set! Didn't care for the yellow for a driver as they get dirty pretty quick, so bought a red set for $10!
Then I began searching for a power steering bracket to get my power steering reworked in a better fashion. Found a guy who had tables full, and bought an old Chevy big block bracket for $5!
So now I've got my work cut out for me this weekend! The local Camaro club is having a little get together at one of the Chevy dealers to celebrate the 2010 Camaros, so I'll run over there for a bit, then come home and begin installing the new parts and pieces!
I did pick up a few items for the Camaro, and at really bargain prices! Been wanting to change the old Edelbrock finned aluminum valve covers on my 427 engine, but didn't have enough room because of the huge brake booster. Well I ran into a friend there who was selling old parts off his Chevelle project and had a nearly new booster that's 2" smaller than mine. He told me to take it and if it fits give him $20 for it!
Then I stumbled across a pair of tall chrome valve covers for a BBC, and asked the price. Seller wanted $15 for the pair, and they're in great shape, so they came home too! A couple aisles down I found a guy selling brand new sets of Accel 8.5mm silicone spark plug wire sets. These are the ones that have the plug end made up, and two sets of ends for the distributor to work with std. or HEI caps. He wanted $10 for any set! Didn't care for the yellow for a driver as they get dirty pretty quick, so bought a red set for $10!
Then I began searching for a power steering bracket to get my power steering reworked in a better fashion. Found a guy who had tables full, and bought an old Chevy big block bracket for $5!
So now I've got my work cut out for me this weekend! The local Camaro club is having a little get together at one of the Chevy dealers to celebrate the 2010 Camaros, so I'll run over there for a bit, then come home and begin installing the new parts and pieces!


