well i drove my camaro for the first time in almost 3 months. im fianally making a step to getting all the body work done. i took it over to my body guy and he gave me a price estimate which was higher than expected but i know he does a great job. hes replacing both rocker panels, lower tail panel, and putting on the fender i got then a lot of little rust spots on the bottom of the doors, the other fender and replacing my inner fender wells. im also eliminating all the trim on the car and shaving the emblems.it will also get new weather stripping which it definitly needs.

 

Got home from work today and trailered the Austin to DMV. Got the new VIN number and title, so it's officially mine now!
Came home and took the entire front end off, then cut the frame open and readied it for the new tube axle. Got the springs hung from the rear shackles and mocked up the front perch locations. Need to box in the frame and perches, then hang the axle and steering box.
Friend came by tonight and said his son had a balanced and blueprinted 327 he wants to sell, so maybe I've found an engine! Have to go take a look at it, and see the parts list he has of what went into the rebuild.
Getting ready for winter, and space is a premium at our little home, so set up a temporary shelter over the car. Wired it for plugs and lights, so I can continue the build this winter. Excavated the ground under the car and laid down gravel, then sheets of plywood screwed together to maintain a flat surface that will hopefully be dryer. I'll use my salamander for heat and keep it cozy when the temps drop.

 

patted her as i walked by, thinking its only a matter of time =]

 

Is that whole Austin a unibody? And where did you get that tent from? I sure could use one.

 

nice set up ya got there vall. looks pretty cool! oh that would be sweet if that 327 was a good one

 

I had the same plan with the tent, but the city made my father in law take his down so I'm leary on buying my own.

As far a the 327, I couldn't think of a better motor for a tunnel ram. You may need a tach that goes to 10grand lol.

The Austin is coming along nice. Nice to see something different and something that can't be built with off the shelf parts.

 

No, the Austin is not a unibody. It has a frame that runs down the side and the body bolts to the side and top of the frame, unlike modern cars that have body mounting points. It's actually very solid, but no cushion points to absorb road noise, etc.
The canopy came from Costco. It's 10'x20' with 4 windows, a side door, and both ends open for driving through. One end has three zippers to allow it to either roll up, or split up the middle. It was only $189 on sale, and $198 regular price. Extremely heavy! Took three of us to load it in the truck and get the box into the backyard!

 

I was planning a smallblock Chevy, and had that complete car lined up from my wife's brother, but couldn't bring myself to buy a 305 Chev engine.
Tonight my neighbor's son came over and brought the 327 to show me. It's bored .040" over, with the old 1.94" fueler heads, balanced, blueprinted, new crank, with 4 bolt mains, new rods, and pistons. It's got a Edelbrock performer intake and carb, with new HEI distributor in it, and a "Stage 3 cam" whatever that is. Supposed to be somewhere around 425 HP. Anyway, I bought it and it will be going in sometime soon.
Got the frame boxed and the Speedway gasser axle installed this afternoon. Need to still find a steering box, and install that, plus get the old 4 banger out too. But at least it's a rolling chassis now!

 

Yep! Those old 327's do wind! This one came from a '67 Chevelle SS, and the guy threw in two flex plates for either TH400, or TH350. The 350 flex plate is a TCI unit and he had the center machined for the large journal 327 crank.

 

Got my suspension components today for the rearend! A set of Comp Engineering weld-on adjustable ladder bars, a panhard bar, and some bracket pieces! Also got my Patriot fenderwell headers, so I'm ready to rip the old stuff out and get going on the new rear suspension and engine install! Still need to find some reasonably priced coil over shocks. Might try to score a pair of used Jag. coilovers if I can locate them at the wrecking yard.