1970 Camaro RS/SS Restomod

[linenoise]

Got the antifreeze in. all good now. put in a 160 thermostat. sits at 180 idling in garage. took it to temp a couple times.
Bolted the fenders on real fast just to hold on the rad support. went for it.
Now I know trans and clutch are all good. rear end etc. The LS is fast to accel when you hit the throttle. I never went over 1/4. My exhaust is louder than I thought it would be. Spin tech quiet mufflers are pretty loud. Its all welded up too. Gearing is good. I could easily spin tires in this. but I am going slow. Did not have power brake booster line hooked up but brakes worked fine. Emergency brake works.
Pretty cool, first time this car has been under its own power in like 12 years ish.

 

[linenoise]

First video showing more before run down block...
pls understand my young 20 year old nephew was filming. He has put a ton of hours into this helping me.
Also ignore little mess in front of car in beginning. I was washing stuff off earlier and this was some run off.
Also I got some slight waves in the radiator. I got a comb coming. Its not bad but it looks it here.

 

[linenoise]

Man I am to body now, got everything pretty nailed down. Sent away for a jegs AMD fender. See if I could get one that was decent to use. Came in and the fender was not protected at all in box and front got smooshed(Pic is blurry but you get idea, it got dropped) and the door to fender gap is horrible. I mean like over a inch gap at bottom. like 1.5 inches. really bad. Ended up returning it. The one I got is way better then that.
Another part was a Optima battery which I thought was good quality but it flat died one day. Still well in warranty. Called it in and they had me take it to a autozone and get it tested. which i did and the autozone guy was like you know how many people we got coming in here for this. He said we will not even let customers buy those batteries they are so prone to returns and fails. Ended up Optima said I did not buy a optima charger and have it on that every night so warranty denied do to bad maint.
I am running the carbon inners from anvil. So I got a nos battery tray, and made a new aluminum bracket to better support battery and hold my fuses/fan controller. Heres how its coming out so far, finishing up wiring this weekend on that part. Got a cover for top of battery that makes it look like the original ones. Not going to trust anymore of the Optima batteries.

 

[scrap--metal]

Another part was a Optima battery which I thought was good quality but it flat died one day. Still well in warranty. Called it in and they had me take it to a autozone and get it tested. which i did and the autozone guy was like you know how many people we got coming in here for this. He said we will not even let customers buy those batteries they are so prone to returns and fails. Ended up Optima said I did not buy a optima charger and have it on that every night so warranty denied do to bad maint.
Not going to trust anymore of the Optima batteries.

Your not the first person I've heard that from recently. Battery failure and no support when it's needed.

Good luck finding a solid battery. I don't think Interstate batteries are worth their inflated price tag anymore either.

 

[linenoise]

I was surprised too. Thought I had a one off fail but hearing the parts guy say he had so many come in and lack of support made me bail on Optima. I went with a normal lead acid and its working great. way cheaper too.

 

[linenoise]

Getting all my power and lines run for front Fans. I bought a combo radiator on ebay. Real nice alum radiator that fit real well. but the fans I was not sure of. there is a manifold made from aluminum on it and two 13" fans. I got it wired and tested it on amp meter. Its pulling 8A at speed, 12 on start up. I do not want to run into issue with this later. I had already put minor work into a PWM controller, mount and resettable fuse @30A. well I look stuff up. a 8A fan is the lowest perf fan it looks like. So I am going to swap the one on the right(Where the AC radiator is) with a bigger one to be sure.
SPAL 1777 CFM 13" High Performance Electric Fan Puller is on the way. This thing draws 19A at speed. probably around 28.5ish on start for a few seconds. So I am working on redoing my power. Gonna run 8AWG good quality high temp wires now(can handle 55Aish), Deutsch DTHD 75A connectors instead of the 25W dual connector I was gonna use (Use old one for something else). And switch to a 40A breaker I think. I got a spare 40 and 60 so I will measure amps once in and figure out what I need. Do not want to run a 60A fuse on 55A wire so I will probably get a 50 if its using 40+). I want to do this once while its all apart and make sure its bullet proof. The fan is same size and mounts so that part is easy. PWM should only spin it hard as it needs to be run. And the PWM uses temp input to balance total power out so both fans even though they are diff Amperage will still be same % based on fast switched power output.

 

[linenoise]

Wanted to throw up a update. I have had a hell of a time getting a AMD pass fender to fit right. I found a NOS driver by luck and it fits like perfect. Curves and all hug door. The AMD is just soo bad. I put in filler rod into the gap. got it closed. But the top curve from door through fender into hood just is off like a +-1/4 and that part to fix with welding is major major work. This AMD panel after atleast 10 hours of welding work is very close now. Gap is 3/16 all the way up and down. But after looking at the NOS one, damn. This one is flexible and metal is thinner. Its not as good by a long shot and this is a very exp build, I want it to be national level and AMD panel is not passing the level I want to be at. I found this guy in NM. He has a 1973 he is parting out. its panels look real good. I live in Colorado. I ended up, after picture proof driving 12 hours yesterday to some BFE desert barn. I pulled a 73 fender off a green car that had parts already sold. Non-RS car. but I got a pristine 1973 original pass fender for 300 bucks. Old guy wanted 200 I was like here man take a extra 100. It fits like a glove. I mean all the issues I was having trying to get corners and curves to match are gone. this thing is perfect. So happy I found this odd NM desert garage on facebook marketplace. My family thought I would be taken out by someone out in the middle of nowhere, I made it back. And I got my good pass fender now. It was worth the drive. hes got great doors at 400 each but mine are good. Hood sold day before I got there for alot of cash I think (500).

Shawn

 

[giggity]

Wanted to throw up a update. I have had a hell of a time getting a AMD pass fender to fit right. I found a NOS driver by luck and it fits like perfect. Curves and all hug door. The AMD is just soo bad. I put in filler rod into the gap. got it closed. But the top curve from door through fender into hood just is off like a +-1/4 and that part to fix with welding is major major work. This AMD panel after atleast 10 hours of welding work is very close now. Gap is 3/16 all the way up and down. But after looking at the NOS one, damn. This one is flexible and metal is thinner. Its not as good by a long shot and this is a very exp build, I want it to be national level and AMD panel is not passing the level I want to be at. I found this guy in NM. He has a 1973 he is parting out. its panels look real good. I live in Colorado. I ended up, after picture proof driving 12 hours yesterday to some BFE desert barn. I pulled a 73 fender off a green car that had parts already sold. Non-RS car. but I got a pristine 1973 original pass fender for 300 bucks. Old guy wanted 200 I was like here man take a extra 100. It fits like a glove. I mean all the issues I was having trying to get corners and curves to match are gone. this thing is perfect. So happy I found this odd NM desert garage on facebook marketplace. My family thought I would be taken out by someone out in the middle of nowhere, I made it back. And I got my good pass fender now. It was worth the drive. hes got great doors at 400 each but mine are good. Hood sold day before I got there for alot of cash I think (500).

Shawn

I have exact same issue with my passenger side fender. Its crazy how expensive these things are and how crappy they fit. I had sold my original 70 fenders because the bottoms were rotted out, I should have kept them and cut bottoms off new AMD fenders, and welded on. Had I known the AMD fenders would not fit right, I would have figured it out.

 

[linenoise]

I have exact same issue with my passenger side fender. Its crazy how expensive these things are and how crappy they fit. I had sold my original 70 fenders because the bottoms were rotted out, I should have kept them and cut bottoms off new AMD fenders, and welded on. Had I known the AMD fenders would not fit right, I would have figured it out.

Giggity we are very alike man. I been reading your stuff for a long time. I did the same thing. I had my original 1970 fenders but both had bottoms eaten out bad. And driver had a mud filled dent in front too. After welding up on the AMD new one I knew I had made a mistake, I should have kept the 70 fenders cause it would have been less work even with that much to redo on the bottom. The curves atleast were right. I was SOO reassured that the 1973 fender just fit perfect. I got a AMD pass side now that is very close if anyone wants it. gap is right on 3/16. but the curve at top is wrong (Low) by a 1/8 or more and some of the top half is gonna need leveling to door(edge on door side is not pressed tight, dips at edge atleast 1/4 and thats when the mid line is straight all the way door to wheel and top is flat/level after curve. I feel very lucky I got good originals now on both sides. Trunk and door and hood are oem. RS Header and valance are amd and seem to fit well so far. I told people at work about my trip they thought I was crazy driving 12 hours for a car part. Told them, you have no idea how rare these things are to find in great shape.
Soon as I get these new hinges all setup I will do pics of final mock up where I am going into high build primer.
I ran into issues also getting paint or primer. Finally found a shop in Denver that can get good paint. Things are finally getting to where you can get supplies again. I am going with Mini Cooper Thunder Blue Metallic A64 for the color. Hoping to spray in March ish. Getting me a spray blow up air dome. 1000 bucks but it will make sure I do not get bugs or other stuff in my paint. thing is 30 feet long and 20 wide.

 

[giggity]

Giggity we are very alike man. I been reading your stuff for a long time. I did the same thing. I had my original 1970 fenders but both had bottoms eaten out bad. And driver had a mud filled dent in front too. After welding up on the AMD new one I knew I had made a mistake, I should have kept the 70 fenders cause it would have been less work even with that much to redo on the bottom. The curves atleast were right. I was SOO reassured that the 1973 fender just fit perfect. I got a AMD pass side now that is very close if anyone wants it. gap is right on 3/16. but the curve at top is wrong (Low) by a 1/8 or more and some of the top half is gonna need leveling to door(edge on door side is not pressed tight, dips at edge atleast 1/4 and thats when the mid line is straight all the way door to wheel and top is flat/level after curve. I feel very lucky I got good originals now on both sides. Trunk and door and hood are oem. RS Header and valance are amd and seem to fit well so far. I told people at work about my trip they thought I was crazy driving 12 hours for a car part. Told them, you have no idea how rare these things are to find in great shape.
Soon as I get these new hinges all setup I will do pics of final mock up where I am going into high build primer.
I ran into issues also getting paint or primer. Finally found a shop in Denver that can get good paint. Things are finally getting to where you can get supplies again. I am going with Mini Cooper Thunder Blue Metallic A64 for the color. Hoping to spray in March ish. Getting me a spray blow up air dome. 1000 bucks but it will make sure I do not get bugs or other stuff in my paint. thing is 30 feet long and 20 wide.

sweet! I cant wait to see your results!!