Re-bodying a 1969 Camaro is no easy task, and this time, we're replacing and installing a whole bunch of panels that most people never even see!
At this point, all the new the floor section pieces have been fitted and tacked together to form a good foundation for our Camaro's body. Each of these pieces are aftermarket parts from Year One save for the rear seat brace. Once the floor sections were fitted on the jig, body man John Blandford fitted and welded in the rear seat brace and then the rear inner wheelhouses. You have to build from the inside-out, and this requires installing and removing panels over and over again to make sure they fit right.
The floor spot welds were then dressed with a grinder and some 3M Rolloc and Scotchbrite wheels to replicate the factory spot weld appearance.
With the floor sections together, John concentrated on the dash and cowl area of the car. Earlier, the cowl and dash were separated from the original Camaro body structure. John elected to keep these parts welded together to retain the original fit and alignment. The plan was to replace the panels one-by-one as necessary to completely reconstruct the dash and cowl section of the car.
The dash panel was removed and replaced, and then it was time to attack the rusty cowl sides. John moved the entire cowl / windshield frame assembly to the floor to make it easier to work on. He then used a Blair Rotabroach spot weld drill do drill out all the spot welds holding the cowl sides to the original structure. Once the welds were drilled, an air hammer with a chisel tip separated the metal. He started with the passenger side with the intention of replacing one side at a time.
The replacement cowl sides came from Classic Industries as a pre-welded assembly. These panel assemblies were attached to the original structure with dozens of Vice-Grips locking pliers to hold them in place while they were test-fitted. The original sheet metal needed to be trimmed and cleaned repeatedly until the new panels fit perfectly.
Once John was happy with the fit of the panels, he began welding them to the original structure with the HTP MIG 200 welder. The trick is to weld the seams in spot weld fashion just like the factory did for strength and minimal panel distortion. These seams will all be dressed and seam-sealed later when the car is ready for paint.
After John finished attaching both cowl box assemblies, the remnants of the original rocker panels were cut off and the cowl assembly was carried off for more detail grinding.
Back on the chassis jig, the new rocker panels from Classic Industries were test fit to the floor panels and drilled for spot welds. Convertible rocker panels are heavy structural pieces that comprise the backbone of the body shell, so the condition and placement of these is critical. These panels also comprise the edge just below the door, so they have to be perfectly placed for the car to fit right.
The next sequence of photos shows Kevin and John installing the newly assembled cowl section on the jig and lining it up with the new floors and rocker panels. The whole assembly must be lined up perfectly before any welds can happen, so the front section was screwed and clamped to the rockers so the dimensions could be checked. If this is incorrectly installed, none of the sheet metal from the doors back will fit.
The doors were test-hung to see how they fit, and then work began fitting the steel panels comprising the rear of the car’s body. The Camaro convertible has several inner structure pieces inside the rear quarter-panel area which provide support. These pieces are not available as reproductions, so if yours are damaged or rusty, you have to get creative. Ours were shot.
Fabricator John Ahne spent some time fabricating patches for the rusty spots, and John Blandford clamped and welded the pieces together to reconstruct the inner structures.
Now it was time to test fit the inner structures to the floor section on the car. The structures were clamped and screwed to the inner and outer wheelhouses and areas where they were to be welded in place. In some cases, a nylon tie-strap was used to help pull the structure together.
Things seemed to fit OK, but nothing could be welded until the outer skin was checked for fit. Next, John clamped one of the outer wheelhouses to the structure, followed by the quarter panel itself.
The quarter panel fit was checked in the door opening area, and then the rear taillight panel was tested. This panel meets the quarter panel, the trunk floor, and the weather strip edge in the trunk. It’s alignment is critical for rear bumper location and rear deck lid placement as well. It required some “massaging” to fit properly in the form of repeated checking, trimming, and hammer and dolly work.
John found Vise-Grips to be essential tools for holding theses panels in place, as the reprinted factory Fisher Body Manual obtained from Year One specified a 3/16” gap between the panels for proper fit. Another valuable tool: Headache medicine!
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