Hi guys I've been doing odds and ends to this project on and off in between training and what not but I've decided to finally get serious about it. I'm not going for a perfect vehicle, but that's the best part beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

How it got started.. well this car came to me as a standard poorly painted 1975 Camaro from a backyard rodder who gave me a decently built 283 to go with it because he had stolen the 350 for another project



Well after getting a little more familiar with the car we decided to lay hands on a running 350sbc (that we'll be getting a rebuild later on in this project)

As we nosed around we soon discovered "issues" the car had CLEARLY been in a valley flood while residing in WV.. to the point where everything including the instrument cluster was covered in river silt (I do mean everything.. river water poured out of the tranny)

On top of that the wiring harness came looking like this:




We realized this project was going to get really involved really fast since the frame itself is packed with river silt, the tranny is probably toast, wiring harness was chopped, burned, and all around pig ******, with this in mind I decided I was going to do what any good ol' American would do in this situation.. make the car uniquely mine. I have an extreme distaste for the 75 body style and LOVE old firebirds so I found a race shop that makes custom one piece fiberglass front ends for 1973 Firebirds that will meet my requirements and decided to go from there.

Here is a lot of the work I got done with today.. removed front fenders, the bumper that is ungodly heavy, removed the heating/air system, and the remained of the interior. (The seats are in there because we were cleaning the garage up and needed somewhere to stuff them)

 

Will you be reworking the rear wheelwells to the same as Firebird wheelwells? I've always loved the more rounded wheelwells on 2nd gen Birds!

 

You know the body lines are different? The Camaro door has a hard line down the center. Birds do not. So the doors wont match the fenders. put Firebird doors on it and the door wont match the quarter. The bottom style line is also different.

I too like the Firebird wheelwells. They allow for more rubber. There are also subtle differences. If I were to guess there are probably 10 parts that are exactly the same between the two cars. The glass and rear end being on that list.

 

Thanks for all the input guys! I have not considered the wheel well I'll have to look into that. Right now we are getting ready to cut out the old floor pan that is coated in layers of tar on the bottom so we can put in the new one. We're also freshening up the suspension because I don't really trust it after being clearly underwater.

Nomad, are you referring to the hard body lines that run horizontally across the body? If so I've seen them on all the 73 Camaro's I've looked at.. unless your referring to something else then Im clueless?

 

You'll find that hard body line on all 2nd gen Camaros 1970-81, but not on Firebirds from the same era. Mating the rounded Firebird frontend to the peaked Camaro door will be interesting to see. Not sure how to make the transition look correct myself.

Camaro:


Firebird:

 

Yeah thats what I was talking about. Also notice the small recess at the bottom. The rocker blends here and I would bet the bird front sticks out on the bottom edge. Seems like it would be easier to put camaro tail lights in a bird. Like I said there aren't many parts exactly the same. The console is even slightly different.

I had a 79 T/A and a 80 Camaro at the same time so I am pretty familiar with both. The door hinges are the same. Woo hoo. The door handles too. The skin not so much. I'm not even convinced the radius of the fender gap is the same between the two.

 

Thanks guys! I see EXACTLY what your talking about with the door line now, the Camaro one is a lot more pronounced than the firebird one. On the minor (less noticeable stuff) I'm not trying to make an exact copy of the Firebird it's mainly for changing up the front end to the style I prefer since the Camaro's front end had some real cancer going on and A LOT of "Jim Bob's Bondo" Do either of you know of anyone who has taken on a project similar to this?

 

Never heard of anyone doing this change to a 2nd gen, but I've seen it done both ways on a first gen Camaro.
You may be able to do some work with glass to build up a body line on the frontend to make it blend with the Camaro's sharper ridge. And you may also be able to build up the leading edge of the Camaro's door to blend in the flat lower fender into the recessed lower door panel line. Not sure how it would all really blend and look, so I guess you need to decide if you want to tackle it, and maybe not have a great outcome. Might be much cheaper and easier to just put an early 2nd gen '70-'73 Camaro frontend on your car if you don't like the later frontend. That swap is a easy one, and often done.

 

My father wants to get in on the project and he spent years running a hot rod and body shop so it should add some much needed experience to my side. Any suggestions from you guys on suspension parts or other drivetrain recommendations? Actually I also meant to ask whats the easiest way to check to see if the brake lines/master cylinder are still good since the car currently doesn't run?

Thanks

 

Your front sheet metal gives your subframe some rigidity to fight against upward flex (wanting to fold at the body).
Since you're going with a glass front end, you're going to need some braces like these: Handle Bars
I've seen cheaper, simpler single hoop style bars, but you get the idea.
You could also make your own if you have the skills and equipment.