My 67 convertible is in a million pieces for restoration now (body and front clip are still all together) and I'm almost at the point of taking the frame components (unit body) to blasting and was thinking of powdercoating them. The other option I considered was POR painting them, but I like the idea of powdercoating. Down the road I am going to restore the engine or improve upon it (not numbers matching 327) to get some HP out of it compared to what it can do today. Here's the thing...timeline wise...I wanted to put subframe connectors from Hotchkis (front are bolt on, rear is weld on) on the ole girl to stiffen up the frame for increased torque and HP, but didn't know when the right time to do that was. Should I weld them on before disassembly for an exact fit and then send the whole frame, front and back together off to blasting and powdercoating or should I send the rear to be blasted and powdercoated and when I reassemble the frame components, grind down that section that is powdercoated on the frame and the connectors, weld them and then paint over that section to match? I don't like the idea of grinding on the powdercoat, but it might be the best way to do everything. Any thoughts? FYI...this is the first car I have restored so I might be missing something critical in what I'm asking here. I'm not sure if anyone has done this yet but I wanted to do it "right " the first time.

Thanks all!

Dan



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I hope you've priced the powdercoating. I'm a cheap *** and would never pay that amount. Sure it's nice and pretty solid, but when you're done with the car, what do you plan on doing with it? I highly doubt you'll need that kind of protection. Personally, I would paint it. Get it looking nice by sanding it down and such, and then put some primer on it. Then you can get some undercoating in a can and spray it on yourself. With a little patience and common sense, you can have a top quality job for a fraction of the price. And if the need arises, you can spot repair any scratches or chips yourself. The frame doesn't need to be 100% perfect. Most of the time no one sees it.

However, if you were to go with the powder coating, I would take the completed/welded frame down there and have it sprayed all at once. No sense in wasting time.

 

She's a 67 327...not numbers matching...origianlly Triple black. I plan on using is as a every other daily driver on sunny days but it's a short trip to the office and home and office are garaged. I have some work to do on the D-side rear frame rail first and will need to weld in some patches once the body is off or fabricate a whole new section. After talking to the media blaster getting some price quotes, I decided to mount the subframe connectors (which I bought today) as a test fit on the car as she sits now. The front is bolt on to the front frame and the rear is weld on. The car is new to me for about 2 years now with little idea about history, so I am going to see if the sub frames are racked at all from any accidents before I do anything. If it's straight and true, I'll notch/mark the rear frame where the welds should go. Then remove the body and take the two frames to blasting. Once I get them back I'll weld any patches and fixes and fill any major pitting with the new metallic body filler that you can powdercoat over ( I think I found the right stuff for that) and weld on the subframe connectors to the rear of the frame. From what I know about powdercoiating though, if the pitting isn't that bad then the PC should flow into the small areas a fill them up pretty well....I think. After that I'll take the two pieces back to the shop for powdercoating at that point. The body I plan on having blasted at a separate time (couldn't find anywhere near Norther Virginia to do a chemical dip). I have already removed the carpet and as I expected the floor is shot to h*ll so I plan on getting the one piece replacement, but will do that after I take the whole thing (with the original floor still in it to the blasting shop and have them prime it since it will be a while before I will go to paint. As far as the underside of the body, I'm not sure if I'll powdercoat it or not. I was almost considering that option or even Rhino Lining the underside! I want to DRIVE this car and have it around as long as possible. I have no plans to sell it ever.....so I want her to be tough enough to stand the test of time...but yes, it will be expensive (time and money) but I think totally worth it!

For the most part the rust on the body with the exception of the floor is minimal. I already bought replacement fenders for the front.

As far as my skills go, I am taking a night class on welding this fall. Covers MIG, TIG and Oxy welding. I have a nice MIG welder I bought and the little welding I've done I should be in great shape to do the heavy frame fixes and a few other things. Depending on how bad the rear quarters are when I get the 1/4 inch 40 year old paint off of there, I might have to have some one come in to weld in some panels with a TIG. It's a real art form and I just don't have the time to learn right now. I'm too anxious to get this ole girl back on the road!!!


This has truly been a lesson in project management to this point! It's almost my second job! Hahah keep in mind, I'm an IT guy. I was working as a Civil Engineer for a while, but I grew up mowing lawns, sawing wood and hammering nails over the summer, not rebuilding cars but I really have caught the bug! The Million pictures of the breakdown to this point should really come in handy when I get to the point where I'm putting everything together.


Ohh here is the quote I got from the blaster/powdercoater the other day as an FYI...good thing I have been saving up!!

Blasting:
Front and rear subframe: $500
Both doors: $300
Body: $950
Trunk lid: $100
(Hood is toast and I am buying a OEM SS Hood to make her and RS/SS exterior)

Priming after blasting:
Both doors: $75
Body: $250
Trunk lid: $50

Powdercoating both frame sections including the subframe
connectors...$400

 

I have a freind that had is Altered's frame poweredcoated and I dont like it. it will chip and it will loose its gloss.
the Camaro is a unibody so you cant remove the rear frame rails with out cutting them out.
I would use POR or an epoxy paint, like what was said eariler its easier to repair
Make sure the frame conectors will work on the vert as I have heard nobody made any for them (not sure, just what I have read)

 

Thanks!

I think I should probably buy a test kit of POR-15 to try out on some scrap metal and see if I like the finish. I have a Harbor Freight cheapo powdercoater and an old oven and like the results on small stuff. Probably be a smart idea to put them side by side and see the diffrence.

As far as the Subframe connectors. I found them for the 67 convertible through Hotchkis (www.hotchkis.net) The fron can be bolted or welded in and the rear are a straight weld on using plug welds. I should get them at my house on Monday and I'm going to test fit them before I do anything else.

Dan

 

I just took a wire brush on a grinder and went to work on mine. I got them nice and painted them, not sure what I am doing next but they look real nice how they are.

I hope you let us know what you choose.

 

If you are looking to replace the carpet. We offer aftermarket carpet for the 67 Camaro for $117.81. Trunk mats, door panels, sound deadeners and floor mats also available.

Tim
www.autotrimsupply.com