1980 Z28 Complete Overhaul

[AvengerMedic]

Alright so it’s my first time posting here and hopefully not the last I just wanted someplace to share my project.

I bought this car with my Dad when I was 10 years old and it sat in a garage until I was 16 when I decided to get it road worthy. I rode it as it was until the wheels about fell off. Then as they say “life happened” I joined the military and had no where to safely store a project that I knew I wasn’t going to sell and make a profit on. I decided to start back on it last year and when I removed it from storage it had massive amounts of interior and electrical damage due to rats making multiple nests inside the car while it was parked. So I took the time to remove the carpet and any nests they had and assess the damage. My verdict was it needs a complete interior and a complete wiring harness. Well again “life happens” so after a quick vacation to Afghanistan I’m back again and I’ve decided to tear her down and rebuild. My plans for this car are to replace the SBC with a 6.0 LS, pro touring suspension front and rear, rear disk brakes, new interior (haven’t settled on a brand), and I plan on completing the bodywork and paint myself (probably going with the Eastwood tropical sunset orange pearl and black accents i.e. wheels door handles trim). I have a decent amount of experience in renovations as I usually do small renovations to flip for a dollar or two, but this will be my first time posting progress on any project. I chose to share this because it’s a special project to me having been the very first car I ever bought. I look forward to learning from everyone here and if anyone has any suggests for parts or deals or parts you know I’ll need let me know!

 

[1972_Z-28]

Sounds great, welcome aboard and everyone here likes lots of pictures.
Tons of info here and knowledgeable people.
Thanks for your service!!!!

 

[earnhardtgm3]

Keep us informed on your build. Nice car to start with and nice story to go along with it.

 

[chuck13]

A quick vacation to Afghanistan lol!As a military brat I want to thank you for your service;I know first hand the trouble and terror of military life.

Good luck with your project,sounds like it's gonna be a fun ride!

 

[CDesperado]

Welcome to NastyZ28! That definitely looks like a great project car to start off with. Im curious to see the state of the engine bay, interior, and trunk.

Take some pics of the interior if you can - and think about a budget. Without seeing the interior, it's hard to know what can be repaired vs what has to be replaced, but you can expect to spend a lot of money buying reproduction (repop) parts.

The best advice I can give you is to begin making a list of the parts you need to replace. (The small costs add up quickly). Save your money and wait for sales from sites like Classic Industries, Rick's, or FBodyWarehouse. (I stopping using Camaro Central when I realized they were negative reviews on some of their products.) Classic Industries actually owns OER, which is the largest manufacturer of reproduction parts for cars like ours. By placing large orders at once, you can save a considerable amount of money on shipping costs.

I did get some great deals on Ebay over the last 20 years, but those are harder to find now. There is a Swap Meet on this site which can help you find affordable replacement items as well.

 

[AvengerMedic]

I’ll post some pictures as soon as I get back home as I’m away for a week for all the fun of post deployment or I’ll have the wife send to me. And thank you everyone for the support and input. I’ll post a picture of the engine bay as well when I get one! I think my first monster I’m gunna tackle when I get home is stripping it down to see what sheet metal needs to be repaired. When I look closely now that I have more experience vs 16 year old me it looks like the drivers side was repainted. I have about a month of leave when I get home so I can’t wait to see what I can get done!

 

[AvengerMedic]

Ok been a while took me longer to get the shop organized than I thought. So I took the rear seat out today and with the exception of the floor pan under the seat it’s in decent shape. I hit most of the rust spot with a wire wheel. That being said I’m looking for a replacement floor pan. The problem I’m having is I can’t figure out if I’ll have to buy the sheet metal for the back just to get the mounting bracket for the back of the seat?

 

[AvengerMedic]

Also I went 5.3 with it for price and because I’m fairly confident I’m gunna be feeding it some boost. Here’s some before and after pictures on the block.

 

[pitt16]

First thank you for your service. We couldn’t do this if not for men like you. Now to the car,looks good I started with a 1980 and I had to put complete pans and trunk pan in mine yours doesn’t look to terrible. You will have to install the seat back panel to get the rear seat mount brkt. Unless you can fab a panel to replace the bad stuff and reuse the original brkt. I used the panel that AMD offers its a nice piece. My advise is keep as much of the original metal in place as you can and use the new stuff to tie back into the good original metal. This does mean you will be hacking new panels to fit. But once you do it a few times the pain stops. Good luck!

 

[AvengerMedic]

Thanks Pitt that’s unfortunately what I thought. The bracket is no good and if it was it’s kind of an awkward spot to fab so it may just be easier to replace the panel.