I'm in process of removing the trunk pan (75% complete) from my 1980 z28.

I noticed between the bumper and trunk pan theirs a metal shield (not sure if heat shield or what, but is located between rear bumper and trunk pan - Can someone tell me the name of this part so I can order a new one? This ones a little crusty so figured while replacing trunk pan - will also replace this part name?

Pics for reference




Any help on what this is called and where I can locate is appreciated

Thanks in Advance!
1980 Z28

 

The frame section that keeps your frame rails at the correct distance from each other? If it the part I think it is, it is kind of an important structural part of the Unibody. What is keep the frame rails straight besides the floor?

 

What if I welded a piece that went across the width of bumper to support the frame? Is that a feasible option?

 

Absolutely, fame work is not an issue as long as you know how to weld and you have good metal to weld to. Just make sure the car is sitting square when you weld it up. If things are not sitting right you may not know it until you get it aligned and the tech sys he can not make the wheels straight with each other and get the car to track correctly. I don't know how much you are into welding. Normally with body work you worry mostly about warping sheet metal but with structural it is all about penetration and NOT stich welding. I like to use mig on sheet metal but I switch to Arc welding for structural, It just that arc is what I was using long before I had access to Mig so for me its a personal preference.

A lot of racers rip out all the sheet metal and box in a frame that is way stronger then the factory unibody setup. You won't win any shows in the all original class

 

Do you think I have enough of the meatal left in pics that the piece that looks 50% gone will still do what its intended for?
I'm actually trying to keep all original (not for show, but more for nostalgia), its a rough looking car but Im ONLY changing out absolute necessaries....Has a few spots of patina that I plan to keep

 

I am not sure I understand what your are asking? If you are asking if having 50% of your rear cross support will do what a whole support will do the answer is no. Those support are to reduce flexing, flexing will happen either way but engineer have calculated how much is "OK" . If you remove 50% of the strength I am sure any engineer would tell you you are not in the "OK" range any longer. How much will depend on your motor and and how you drive. It will flex the most from a dead stop or going hard around a corner. This flexing will effect how well the car performs in stressful situations. You may end up breaking the rear window and tearing the trunk pan. Here in PA it would not pass safety inspection.

How are the bumper mounts where they hook to the frame rails. If they are solid then the bumper may help but since the bumper is not welded solid it will not stop twisting but it might stop tearing of the trunk pan. If I am seeing that right the bumper mount/frame rail area is rusted bad then then the car is really not safe on the road. The rear would just crumble if you got rear ended and could very well split the gas tank wide open. Not a great way to go.

I don't know the history of that car or what options it has but I am sorry to say that for most 1978 camaros it would not be worth saving one in that condition unless you where just using the shell for a race car. Putting that back to stock correctly would be pricey just in parts.

 

Completely understand. Just looking to make it safe as a sunny day driver, not a daily driver. Does this appear to be correct part if I look to replace?

 

Edit: Keep in mind I am only a hobbyist when it comes to metal fabrication and this is just one opinion.

Sorry I don’t see anything I would consider salvageable. I believe once you cut away the metal that cannot be welded there will be very little left Anything can be fixed but you must draw the line somewhere. I assume that with the back of the car looking so bad the front is not pristine.

If I was to take on a project like that, I would start by building a jig to mount the car on. Right now the car has no structure, so the position of just about everything important is wrong. A jig will hold the important parts where they are supposed to be. Even if the critical points where in the right position once you start heating and cooling metal it will move unless something strong is keeping it from moving.

Reality is when your done you will not have a car worth anything near they money you have in it. If you have the tools and the fabrication skills go buy a project that will be worth 30-40K when your done. You do not want to put that much effort and end up with 8-10k car. Look for a first gen or 70-72 second gen. Even not number matching or high end options they can cost 20-30K.

This is the type of job that a seasoned metal working professional would not want to take on unless they were a camaro focus guy, meaning you hand him a pile of parts he could setup his jig and assemble the car. The most important part of the car he could save, the title. That is about it.

Search Chris Birdsong on you tube. Look at some of his videos where he works on customers cars. They are not camaros but you will get an idea what you are getting into. He does only older Dodges but each uni-body he does is worth 20k just for the body when he is done. I recommend his videos because they are real work not just what producers want you to see.

You could build something like this. At least then you would have a starting place and most additional work would just be comedic.
https://roadstershop.com/chassis-and...amaro-chassis/