Roadkill's 1983 Chevy Z28 - (Work Starts on Page 5)

[Andy]

Were they available in RHD? I thought the Camaro was only ever available as LHD?

[Incursus]

Quoting: Andy

Were they available in RHD? I thought the Camaro was only ever available as LHD?

Probably did an Aussie version?

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Roadkill

Carpet is ordered - am impressed so far as they've contacted me within an hour and asked what side the heel pad should be on.

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Roadkill

have done the initial DXF take off for the door cards but they need some tweeking before I can offer it up to the doors themselves but is better than I expected for a first attempt.

DXF has been tweeked.  Looks good against the door cards but ultimately it needs to look good against the doors themselves so I've printed it out in two halves (it's too big for our A0 printer !!) and carefully stuck them together.

Proper Blue Peter job - even used Pritt Stick !!

Ta-dah !



EDIT - The slots shown on the print-out won't actually end up on the final piece . . . I think I'll go for 2.5mm/3mm EDIT - 1mm Ally and will put some small holes in place of the slots to take plastic rivets or similar.

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Andy

Were they available in RHD? I thought the Camaro was only ever available as LHD?

I've seen a "Euro-spec" one before (different lights and mirrors) . . . but can't remember what hand-drive it was.



Not sure, now . . . .

[Roadkill]

Started rebuilding the doors at the weekend to clear some space - pics to follow.
Been cleaning the lock mechanisms (exciting stuff) and re-oiling them prior to re-fitting.
Next job is to re-fit runners and door glass including the new mirrors.

Then the doors can go back on . . . .

The new carpet is made and probably on the plane as we speak.

[Andy]

RK - do you plan on entering a drag racing series with this or is it just going to be a rwyb sort of thing?

Just asking as I'm looking at entering something next year.

[Roadkill]

No plans as yet . . . If you'd have asked me 3 years ago before the little'un was an issue I would've said probably.

At the moment I'll just be happy to get her finished !!!

[Roadkill]

Some progress . . . not ground breaking but thesedays any progress is exciting !  

Some clean stuff (it's handy having a big bath) :



Some dirty stuff (that'll be bathed tonight) :



The rear latch, lock and mechanism re-fitted (number plate will not be re-fitted as I'm hoping to buy a new reg. number and loose the $hitty Irish "ALZ" one it has now) :



Doors - Mirrors back on, new mirror glass fitted :



Doors - Sitting on the (slightly modified) stand built for painting (I recycle, me) :



Doors - New door rubbers fitted, latches cleaned, greased and re-fitted, too :



Need to get the runners and glass in before they're ready to go back on . . . . probably about 6 months at this rate !!!

[Roadkill]

Been working out wheel / tyre sizes and combo's . . . tough stuff.

Think I'm set for :

15x8" A.R.E Outlaw I's on the rear with 255/60 R15's B.F.G's and
15x7" A.R.E Outlaw I's on the front with 225/60 R15's B.F.G's (although that will lower the front of the Camaro a further 6mm !!! so may have to stick with 235/60's)

About £1100 in wheels and tyres (depending on the choice of front tyres)

[Roadkill]

Just brought a glass scratch repair kit off the 'net.

Am dubious, but after fitting all new seals (and sweeps) it seems daft not to try and improve the glass a little . . . ?

[Roadkill]

Cleaned the last of the plastic panels last night . . . will give them a wipe over with "flash dash" before they go back in (after the carpet).



Have now revised the door card drawing a fourth time after offering the print-out up to the doors themselves.  
The new design incorporates a slot for the stock door release handle and all slots and holes have been replaced with 2mm dia "pilot" holes so I can re pilot them close-by if they're a little off, yet it still be tidy.

That said I'm confident that the whole panel is within 1mm tolerance.  



Not thought about a pull handle yet but that'll come after . . . .

I'll also need to form a hole in the drivers side panel to mount the door mirror joystick on.



Have now put them into production so should see them in plenty of time for my "big push" over the Christmas period . . . .

Also finally called Bauer Millet and ordered the bulbs I needed as they stopped replying to my emails !



A weekend of little jobs await . . . . . . !

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Roadkill

Just brought a glass scratch repair kit off the 'net.

Am dubious, but after fitting all new seals (and sweeps) it seems daft not to try and improve the glass a little . . . ?

This showed up less than 24 hours later . . . . So I thought it's worth a go.

Now it's hard to take a picture of glass but this was one of the worse areas, after a thorough clean but obviously very scratched . . . (those while bits are paint on the rag below the glass)



This was the same window after about 30 minutes - the whole panel was done as it'd collected tree sap while being stored outside for a few months.
The compound cleaned the glass like nothing else, removed 90% of the light-to-medium scratches and buffed the heavier ones so - at least - they're a lot less noticeable.



The kit was £21.50 +P&P and I'd say that, after doing both side windows, that there was enough to give the front and rear glass a good going over, too, before running out of powder (which you can buy separately).

RK's DIY score : 8.5 / 10

It would've got more but the amount of powder you get did seem a little stingey and although fast to arrive the P&P was quite high.

[Cunning Plan]

You did well there dude, the last glass repair kit I tried, I made more of a mess and added scratches! I ended up buying a new window.

[Roadkill]

Update (I'll add pictures later) :

Doors are now 98% complete . . they're re-assembled, glass in, runners in, motors in and fixed, front nosings and rubbers in and fixed ready to go back on the car but just need the rubbers re-gluing in a couple of places, first.  The door cards will be left off to allow final adjustment to the window guide and nosings.



Both heavy duty solenoids and brackets have been fitted to the doors for the door poppers and aligned with the lock mechanisms.  Just need to fit the cables and run the wires . . .



I took the plungers apart that they supply with the kit as they snagged quiet badly . . . I replaced the screws with shouldered bolts, de-burred the ram holes, linished the top (rear) surface and linished the sharp, cut ends of the springs.  They were re-assembled with a generous amount of grease and now operate nice and smooooth.



Titsy popped over and fitted the last relay and confirmed that the wiring is now complete - albeit I just need to tidy a few bits under the dash and do the wiring later for the poppers.

The new trunk rubber was fitted and the latched adjusted, fixed and gaps checked.
The new latch struts were fitted at one end only (not got the clearance to lift the latch fully and connect the other end yet).



Last night I removed the seats and cleared up any rubbish too big to be sucked up by the hoover.



I also measured up for the new mini-centre console which will go into production later today.
The handbrake was also removed and stripped down and I pondered its new position and required modifications and bracketry . . . etc.

The carpet is still going through customs so my next jobs are to re-position the handbrake and get the holes in the transmission tunnel sorted.
Then address any protrusions in the floor, tape over boltheads and hoover and wipe down before the carpet can be fitted . . . . I also need to sort the headliner AGAIN !!!



Good progress, considering the utter lack of free time at the moment.

Thanks to Titsy for popping over and to Ian for assistance and Vicky for Jensen-sitting duties on Saturday and Sunday.

[Roadkill]

Just ordered a sheet of rubber for below the mini centre console and some high temp, spray contact adhesive for the headliner . . . third time lucky.

[ianjpage]

fingers crossed it sorts the bloody headlining, if it does i may need some for vicky's camaro as that's really dropping the headlining now!

[Roadkill]

POST ABOVE NOW HAS PICTURES !!!

UPDATE . . .

Mini Project 1 - Relocate Handbrake.

Looks like a happy knob in its original position without the bulky old centre console . . .



Enter some pondering . . . a marker pen and a spare handbrake lever I brought ages ago . . .



My lever with the bracketry cut off and holes added and the second-hand lever cut off to leave the cable stay.  Painted, of course.



Re-positioned 270mm further forward, lowered and angled down  . . . .

Upper, max position :



Down position . . . hugs the trans tunnel nice :



Took some dimensions (for Andy) to make up some spacers and a connecting rod to join the existing cable to the re-positioned lever.

Mini Project 2 - Rocker cover panels.

The old plastic panels looked crap once the old belt reel cover went so I had some ally panels made up . . . .



Then drilled some holes, broke out the wrinkle paint and fitted them
They stand out from the dark grey but I like that . . . a gentle nod towards a subtle bit of modifying . . .



Mini Project 3 - New Centre Console . . . .

A massive hole to fill around the old shifter location . . . made bigger when I cut a further 1" out to fit the T56 in.

So, make a sketch, take some measurements, create a drawing and send to production (who f*ck it up) . . . .

We start with some neoprene sheet, the Hurst shifter boot and the incorrect panel that needs a little more "caressing" than first anticipated . . . (NOTE marker-pen lines on panel)



Test fit 1 - After much finessing :



Test fit 2 - Some further linishing and an unwanted "Angle grinder / Leg" union . . .



The centre console was then drilled and was taken inside to receive some wrinkle paint . . . attention turned back to the gaping hole which needed to be filled to stop fumes coming into the car and stop damp ruining the new carpet . . .

Viola.  Should do the job and seals the gap lovely . . . although I attend to put some more rivets in tomorrow.



Started hoovering the car before remembering there's another biggish hole to fill before fitting the carpet . . . .

Gave up for the night.  

[Andy]

Woohoo! Awesome stuff! Looks ace, the carpets will finish it off a treat.

I've been indulging in youtube viewing, getting ideas.

[ianjpage]

cool looks like a very productive day then!

hows the leg?

[Roadkill]

Leg's good.  Was bloody sore at the time but it's not even left a noticeable mark.

Feels fine now.  

[Cunning Plan]

Loving this build

Keep the pictures coming, makes a good read

How come the number plate flips down? Is that the location of the fuel filler?

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Roadkill

Leg's good. Was bloody sore at the time but it's not even left a noticeable mark.

Feels fine now.  

Cool lucky then!!

Quoting: Cunning Plan

How come the number plate flips down? Is that the location of the fuel filler?

The key lock to open the boot is behind the plate

[Andy]

Quoting: ianjpage

The key lock to open the boot is behind the plate

Already realised how handy it is to 'forget' to flip it back up once finished in the boot

[Roadkill]

Andy - Have a look at this (sorry, bit rushed and not my best work ) :



Does that make sense ?

"Female" end on the left with a slot (for the existing cable male end to fit in)
"Male" end on the right with a flat (to slide into the handbrake lever slot).

Don't worry about the accuracy of the taper(s) - It's just to slimline it a bit as it'll be close to the carpet and I don't want it snagging.

Hole centres are the most critical.  Drill them if you can, tap them if you want (I can do this np).

Slots and the flat I can do carefully with the grinder if you haven't got access to a mill/VMC.

Do-able ?