The official swap thread of my Camaro.56k ,RUN!
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The garage has become a living thing here. I couldn't get all the new parts in one photo of my camera so I had to take 2 pics. The Jeg's box at the top of the pile can be used for a reference point:
Here's what's taking so long, I'm stripping the entire bottom of the car for the POR-15 finally down to just getting into the cracks and crevices. I'm very picky and won't be happy until the whole thing is bare:
Here's what's taking so long, I'm stripping the entire bottom of the car for the POR-15 finally down to just getting into the cracks and crevices. I'm very picky and won't be happy until the whole thing is bare:
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I stripped the floorpans using various wire wheels , cordless drill , and sandpaper. After doing this in my spare time for what seemed like FOREVER, I finally got it all bare , clean and ready for our next step.Here's the ingredients for the paintwork:
First, I blew off the floorpans with an air nozzle , vacuumed the nooks & crannies, then I wiped every square inch down with wax/grease remover, followed up with the lacquer thinner to remove any leftover residue. I used shop towels because they work well, are disposable , and I had plenty of them in a roll. Fold your towel into 4 or so section and always wipe off with a clean towel area. You need to constantly work with a clean towel area or you're just smearing the dust you picked up (and you will pick up more dust) in the next area. After a couple of hours and the shop towels coming off clean after wiping , it was time for the Metal Ready.
The Metal Ready is an etching solution and it is quite nasty! Cover as much of your face and body as possible and use protective eyewear. (Trust me, after what I saw it do to the bare metal , you DON'T want it on your skin or eyes!). The directions then stated to rinse it off with water after 15 minutes but that wasn't going to work in my case , so I wiped it off with wet shop towels.
After that , paint time! This stuff is a polyurethane paint and most car guys swear by it. I painted my rear axle with it previously so I knew what the end result would be.
The result:
What do you folks think? I'm happy with it and it will last for a long time!
First, I blew off the floorpans with an air nozzle , vacuumed the nooks & crannies, then I wiped every square inch down with wax/grease remover, followed up with the lacquer thinner to remove any leftover residue. I used shop towels because they work well, are disposable , and I had plenty of them in a roll. Fold your towel into 4 or so section and always wipe off with a clean towel area. You need to constantly work with a clean towel area or you're just smearing the dust you picked up (and you will pick up more dust) in the next area. After a couple of hours and the shop towels coming off clean after wiping , it was time for the Metal Ready.
The Metal Ready is an etching solution and it is quite nasty! Cover as much of your face and body as possible and use protective eyewear. (Trust me, after what I saw it do to the bare metal , you DON'T want it on your skin or eyes!). The directions then stated to rinse it off with water after 15 minutes but that wasn't going to work in my case , so I wiped it off with wet shop towels.
After that , paint time! This stuff is a polyurethane paint and most car guys swear by it. I painted my rear axle with it previously so I knew what the end result would be.
The result:
What do you folks think? I'm happy with it and it will last for a long time!
Last edited by badjuju342; Aug 29, 2006 at 06:06 AM.
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Deranged Rat Fink
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Also , with this done , I can start to ressamble. Conveniently , I'll be on vacation from work next week so should have LOTS o' pics for ya.I want a rolling chassis with an engine , trans , and suspension by the time I'm off vacation......
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Looks great! I hope to do a LS1 (or LS2) swap one day to my car. I plan to get her repainted again when that swap does happen since the car will be gutted anyway I can get it done the right way and get a metallic color and not have it be noticeable that I changed the color.
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Did a super fast cleanup of the engine bay( I'll detail it later) and installed the Hawk's tubular K-member:
Just for giggles , I also set the Spohn billet strut towers in:
And installed the Spohn tubular A-arms:
Just for giggles , I also set the Spohn billet strut towers in:
And installed the Spohn tubular A-arms:
Did you get the rack and pinnion to go with that k-member? I'll definately be buying that k-member when I do the swap in my car since I don't even want to try getting the engine mounts setup right since I'll be starting with a V6. Plus all those nice red parts will match the paint. 
You're doing a fantastic job, that's gonna be one fine ride when you're done.
You're doing a fantastic job, that's gonna be one fine ride when you're done.
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Originally Posted by 91RS
Did you get the rack and pinnion to go with that k-member? I'll definately be buying that k-member when I do the swap in my car since I don't even want to try getting the engine mounts setup right since I'll be starting with a V6. Plus all those nice red parts will match the paint.
You're doing a fantastic job, that's gonna be one fine ride when you're done.
You're doing a fantastic job, that's gonna be one fine ride when you're done.
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More progress today:
Got the front spindles/brakes/Eibach springs installed. This was a royal PIA and if you don't have access to a spring compressor and a port-o-power , not gonna happen. Anyways ,the finished product:
Also installed the Koni adjustable struts plus I painted and installed the IROC quick ratio steering box . A big thanks to my friend Paul as this whole ordeal was definitely a two man job!:
Got the front spindles/brakes/Eibach springs installed. This was a royal PIA and if you don't have access to a spring compressor and a port-o-power , not gonna happen. Anyways ,the finished product:
Also installed the Koni adjustable struts plus I painted and installed the IROC quick ratio steering box . A big thanks to my friend Paul as this whole ordeal was definitely a two man job!:
what kindof wheels are you going with again? 
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Yep , the Billet Specialties GTA 45 . 18x 8" up front , 18 x 9.5 in rear I bent 2 of the 17'' wheels due to a slight misunderstanding with some potholes on I-440