'79 Camaro - Major surgery

[Jamieg285]

As posted in a separate thread, my Camaro failed it's MOT this year, and requires some major surgery to the spring mount areas under the floor and outer sill area.  As I've been looking at it more, there are more things that need sorting out, and this is the best time to do it.

For the MOT pass, I will need to replace the Outer Sill panel and the 'torque boxes' into which the front of the rear leaf springs attach.

I know from basic examination so far that I will also need to do some remedial work on the inner rear wheel arches and the passenger foot well.

I've got some pictures of the affected areas, which I've got to upload, and will link in here soon.

[Jamieg285]

I'll start with the Outer Sill. Here you can see the rusted patch I'd put on, and the holes made in the paper thin metal (maybe just a layer of paint) by the MOT tester, and the same a bit closer.






This shows the torque box and how it fits together:


And here's how mine looks, fore and aft of the passenger side spring:






The sub-frame connectors could be the biggest problem, shown here at the front, middle and end








Spent some time today pulling out the interior in preparation for the coming work. I'm well practiced at this now, so it didn't take long:



Overall, the floor pans look good, but the passenger footwell needs replacing. Lots of rust and some holes:








More woes at the back, where the sills join the rear arch.  The water and cancer that has destroyed the sill has also attacked the arch:








Plenty to think about there.  First thing I need to do is work out a plan of attack, work out the order to do things.  

I already have the sill panel, but it I will need at least the 2 torque boxes and 1 front floor pan, but as I work through things I may find I need more, and want to avoid having to order more than once.   I've also got to work out the best source for the panels.  Surprisingly, the best price for the sill was from one of the Bedford parts dealers. I'm hoping that will be the same this time.

More updates to follow, but don't expect as much movement as you get on Roadkill's projects.

[FUBAR]

wow that's a lot to fix.  reminds me a bit of my old red Camaro

[Titsy]

wow, that's a lot of tin worm you've got going on...

[Rob]

Pretty much the same areas I am currently dealing with on my 77

Got most of my panels from here.....:

http://www.amesperf.com/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.amesperf.com/index.html

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Rob

Got most of my panels from here.....:

Any tips on getting them over here as cheap as possible?  I'm shopping around for quotes at the moment and the shipping costs are astronomical.

[Jamieg285]

A day of research today, and things aren't looking any better yet.

Of the panels I think I need, USAuto's cannot get any of them (not listed). I will try JWR to see if they have any more luck, but from experience they will ask me for the VIN number. I need to look that one up.

Found the perfect panel to do the front and rear bits inside, but it's the big complete floor panel. Good value at £140, but I draw the line at £400 postage.

I've found a place in the US that can do the 3 other main ones for about $320 shipped, but there'll be import charges on top of that (unless I get lucky)

Also found a guy that mis-ordered and has one of the torque boxes available just over half the price. Waiting to hear what he wants for postage.

Now the bad news - to do the rocker panel I need to remove the front fender. That means removing the hood too. I've only got one pair of hands, and no-where to store them.  Looks like it's going to be fun. Not.

[F Body]

Quoting: Jamieg285

Now the bad news - to do the rocker panel I need to remove the front fender. That means removing the hood too. I've only got one pair of hands, and no-where to store them. Looks like it's going to be fun. Not.

I enjoyed taking your bonnet off last time, so I don't see that I can't muck in again

[Jamieg285]

Thank you.  I will probably take you up on that offer. I'll get in contact when I know when it needs doing.

[FUBAR]

Quoting: Jamieg285

no-where to store them

In the Living room... right in front of the telly

[Andy]

Where abouts are you Jamie?

[Rob]

Quoting: Jamieg285

Any tips on getting them over here as cheap as possible?  I'm shopping around for quotes at the moment and the shipping costs are astronomical.

For bigger items like my cowl panel I used this guy....

Ron Fenton
STS Imports
Unit 5,  Chase Side Nurseries
School Lane, Great Leighs
Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 1NL
Tel: 01245 363800
Mob: 07850 268914
Fax: 01245 550479
email:  ron@stsimports.co.uk

They bring a container in every four to six weeks so you have to plan quite a way in advance.

Saved a bit, but not huge amounts.

[F Body]

Quoting: Andy

Where abouts are you Jamie?

About two miles from me

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Andy

Where abouts are you Jamie?

I'm currently lowering the tone of the neighbourhood in Luton

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Rob

For bigger items like my cowl panel I used this guy....

Thanks, I've send an email. Hopefully they can do a lot better than the £500 to import a floor pan.

[Rob]

Quoting: Jamieg285

Thanks, I've send an email. Hopefully they can do a lot better than the £500 to import a floor pan.

His next shipping date is 20th March according to his post on POC forum,

He recommended NPD as they have a store close to where he ships from in Florida.

http://www.npdlink.com/store/catalog/1967_1981_Camaro-7-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.npdlink.com/store/catalog/1967_1981_Camaro-7-1.html

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Rob

Saved a bit, but not huge amounts.

You're obviously not buying the right things!

Although I've yet to commit to a full floor pan (one side), it was $500 for shipping, not including import taxes.

STS - £90 + import

[Rob]

Quoting: Jamieg285

You're obviously not buying the right things!

I only used him for the bigger bits.  Got my cowl panel through them for about the same price.  

[Andy]

I think I'll be using him for my cowl hood I want to get.

How does the import duty get divided out?

[Jamieg285]

The quote they gave me was their shipping cost, +3.5% of the value (which I take to be the invoiced value of the part + the shipping cost), + VAT.

[Andy]

Hmmm! I'll look into it. Sounds like it could be a cheaper way of getting parts over.

[Jamieg285]

FYI, Summit are offering free shipping (apart from the oversized fee) at the moment, so it's cheap to get it to STS's US base too.

[Andy]

Cheers buddy! Jegs are over doing their FREE GROUND SHIPPING advertising, to the point that Jeg Coughlin's Pro Stock car is covered with decals.

I'll stop derailing this thread now.

Best of luck with it buddy, if you find yourself doing a job that requires a bunch of help, give me a shout and I'll see if I can help out

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Andy

Jegs are over doing their FREE GROUND SHIPPING

Good shout, I hadn't considered them.  

I couldn't find what I needed on there when searching by description (or at Summit)
I was looking around the specialist suppliers, who charge more, especially for the shipping.  What that did do though was get me the suppliers part numbers. Do a direct search in Summit/JEGS with the part numbers and found that both of them do supply the bits I needed after all.


Anyway, after tons of reading on my favourite 2nd gen website, and having another closer look at the current damage, I've worked out exactly what panels I need.

The rust in the passenger footwell extends up the toe boards, and there are only 3 panels which cover that piece:

1. Replacement Firewall (to match original panels) - Not going to do that
2. Half pan with toe board - strong possiblity
3. Full length pan with toe board - possible, but expensive. The middle section of the floor is actually good, so I don't actually need the full panel.

The deciding factor though, was the holes at the back corner, behind the rear seats. Turns out there is only 1 panel available that includes that bit - the full panel (#3 above), so that was decided.  This also means that I have a full length outer seam to match up with the rockers

I'd read that the inner rocker is a fairly basic piece and could probably be repaired. However, looking through the holes in the worst section of the outer rocker, I'm not sure there's much of it there to repair.  The sensible option had to be to get the replacement panel.  As above, this means that the floor/inner/outer seams that join will be all new metal.

It goes without saying that the torque boxes will also need to be replaced, but there are only a couple of places selling these at the moment and I've not been able to identify the make or part numbers, so wasn't able to find them at Jegs or Summit.  Plus, with one already sourced at half price, I only need one more and the shipping is pretty low for that.

So, the order has been placed with JEGS for the floor pan and inner rocker.

Where's the welding smiley?

[Andy]

If you want a warning on what the duty will be, Google 'duty calculator' then follow through the boxes and describe the item as close as possible. It asks you for the item value, the shipping cost and insurance cost. Even if not insured you still have to enter '00' in that box.

I just did it for a diff I want. Hauser quoted me £900+ Vat fitted. All the parts, diff, ring and pinion and master seal and bearing set from Jegs comes in at $1001 > final landed prices after duties and VAT £745. Only problem I have is I'm clueless on how to set a diff up!