06camarodude IS BACK!

[JoeliusZ28]

all in the suspension. my car wont spin stock f1's

suspension is on its way eventually, but it isn't going to be a drag setup either.

[1BADAIR]

my car was originally set up for road coarse. after a few years i got too scared of crashing it so i changed.
some day i will be like quasar and get another just for the track

[93formulalt1]

Uh-Oh. . . I noticed a possible trans issue. . . I was backing out of my driveway, and didn't come to a complete stop before putting it in 1st and starting to let out the clutch, and I noticed it made a grinding noise after the clutch was released, for about a second (sounded like gears grinding), then the car started moving. It didn't do this at all when I test drove the car, and doesn't any other time, or so I thought. It happened once while I was accelerating from a stop in 1st gear, and once again when I shifted from 1st to 2nd.

The pilot bearing is bad as well, the clutch doesn't engage as smoothly as it should, and the car shudders a bit when accelerating from a stop. I'm planning on replacing the clutch after I get the money saved up, but I'd REALLY like to be able to fix the grinding noise, or at least know that it's not a major issue. PLEASE tell me it's something minor. . .

[1BADAIR]

symtoms of the pilot?
shudder as in clutched engaged? if so u -joint or pinion angle

[93formulalt1]

symtoms of the pilot?
shudder as in clutched engaged? if so u -joint or pinion angle

No, shudder while engaging clutch. Only occurs when taking off from a stop. There are no symptoms of bad u-joints or incorrect pinion angle, just the slight clutch shudder, same as what my old '94 V6 Camaro did when the pilot bearing failed.

Still holding off on tackling the misfire issue, I need to get under the car and make some repairs to the exhaust system before I can accurately determine the source of the issue. I think it could be a multitude of things, but I'll figure it out at some point.

[93formulalt1]

Anybody have a keyless entry remote lying around for 94-95 F-Bodies? I have the one from my Formula, but it doesn't work. lol Was hoping to get an actual GM remote, I've had bad luck in the past with the "made in china" replacements you find on EBay.

[93formulalt1]

Upon further investigation, the "grinding gears" noise was actually just clutch chatter. Only happens when the clutch is partially disengaged. I'm looking into possible upgrades later on, it's not a major issue yet, but I'd like to get something decent swapped in before summer hits.

We're going to start tearing into the finish later today, I'm going to grind down the areas that need attention, particularly the right rear quarter panel, and we're going to see what we can do as far as pulling the dents and straightening the panel out. The car isn't going to look pretty, but it will be straight by spring. My biggest concern is getting the gaps lined up around the driver's door, I need to pull out the bottom of the a-pillar a bit so the door will close properly, but the rocker panel is also going to need some massaging to get it in the right position. We're planning on doing the fiberglass work on the door in a couple weeks, I need to get some fiberglass cloth and hardener before we can think of repairing it, but I will have to get some panel-bond to re-attach the bottom of the door skin to the door frame. I don't want to completely repaint the car, but at this point, I'm almost considering it, since I have the knowledge and equipment to do so, I would only be out the cost of materials, and the car would be worth that much more (at least) after the body and paint work is completed anyway.

I'm still rather motivated on this project, I look forward to getting a chance to spend time making improvements to the car, and even though I may not have the money to invest into the project, I have the time and energy to devote to it, and for this kind of work, that's an even better thing to have.

I got an estimate for the rocker panel repair (pull the a-pillar back out at the bottom, R&I the outer rocker panel, straighten the inner rocker panel, parts, labor, and taxes), they want $1,000 without painting it. That's just them doing the work to replace the rocker panel, priming it, and giving it back to me. Honestly, as far as body work goes, that's a modest price, but I'm doing it for a total cost of less than $200 ($55 for the outer rocker, plus a tank of argon for the welder, studs for the stud gun so I can pull the inner rocker back where it needs to be, and priming and painting the panel)

I stand to save a TON of money doing the work myself, and while I'm not shooting for perfection with the project, I would like to get the biggest things right, so the average person can't simply look at it and be able to tell that it's been in a wreck. I'm taking pictures as I go, I want to document this, since it's all about the Journey, not the Destination.

I have an RS spoiler lip and RS side skirts I'm going to install, and I plan to find either a wings west or RS front bumper valance, as well as something cool for the rear bumper. I was thinking about an SS hood, but the more I see it, the more I like the idea of a simple cowl induction hood. I love the idea of functional ram air, but I'll probably end up going the same route Joel did with the LS1 lid instead.

[meissen]

Well if you're taking pics as you go, post some damnit! All I see is text text text and no pics.

[JoeliusZ28]

I'd just like to say that i made it through that post without my ADD kicking in!

[bri2203]

Well if you're taking pics as you go, post some damnit! All I see is text text text and no pics.

Yea if you worked on it as much as your posted in this thread the car could have been done!

Looking foward to seeing pictures.

[93formulalt1]

Yea if you worked on it as much as your posted in this thread the car could have been done!

Looking foward to seeing pictures.

I didn't realize my last pics were down. . . Here they are again. I cleaned up the car a little bit yesterday, got most of the salt residue off, and found the bulk of the body damage I'm going to fix. I'll get more pictures of it today to show how clean the rest of the car is. I still can't believe I got the car for as little as I did.

[SoulTerror]

Don't look that bad from those pictures.

[93formulalt1]

Don't look that bad from those pictures.

It looks like shit in those pictures. lol It was dirty as hell, and I wiped it down with a damp cloth in my buddy's garage to get the salt and dirt off the paint so I could find all the damage that needed attention. It shined up like you wouldn't believe just by doing that, and the body damage is not as bad as I originally thought. So far, I'm looking at a bit of fiberglass work on the driver's door, new outer rocker and some pulling on the inner rocker (driver's side), and welding studs to the passenger side quarter panel so I can get it pulled out enough to minimize the amount of filler in the panel. Then I'll be getting the materials in the spring to paint it.

[bri2203]

look in my project thread, you might be able to fix your rocker similar to how I did mine.

[93formulalt1]

look in my project thread, you might be able to fix your rocker similar to how I did mine.

My outer rocker is smashed, no way to save it. The inner rocker can be saved, but I'm going to have to pull the outer rocker to get to it. No biggie, a new outer rocker is only $55.