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 There are many steps to reconstructing an entire car. So far, we've built the foundation - welded up the floors, set the cowl, and test-fitted the quarter panels on the Royal Sport 1969 Camaro project. Although the structure was beginning to take shape, we have a long way to go.
At the same time, we have some fabrication work to do on the Schwartz Precision Chassis. The chassis we slipped under the Camaro was the first of its kind, requiring more attention than the actual production versions.
Our buddy Nevin Hallow helped us fabricate some frame “horns” to hold the radiator core support. Nevin designed the pieces using cardboard, then cut them out of 1/8” sheet steel. These horns will determine the placement of the core support, which will also determine the height and location of the front sheet metal, so they had to be right. Nevin used the original GM subframe as a guide, and transferred the measurements over to the new frame. The nice thing about the HTP Microcut 400 Plasma cutter is that you can use your cardboard templates as a straight edge to make your final pieces. Next, Nevin TIG welded the parts together with an HTP Invertig 200. He chose the TIG for its ability to weld thin steel with a small heat affected zone. He then TIG welded the pieces to the chassis. When finished, body technician John Blandford prepped the chassis for a protective layer of PPG primer. He first applied an adhesion promoter followed by a coat of PPG DP series epoxy primer. Of course, sometimes you find out you need to make modifications after paintwork. We test fitted the Appleton steering rack after the chassis was primed, and we learned that two lower support bars on the chassis needed to be moved to gain better clearance for the steering rack. Nevin handled the job by cutting out the existing supports and TIG welding in two new bars bent to have better clearance. Back on the body jig, John was busy fitting and welding the Camaro’s body panels. The quarter panels were test fitted, but the original inner quarter panel supports still needed some tweaking to make them fit properly. John used an Eastwood shrinker / stretcher tool combination to remake the arched piece over the driver rear wheelhouse. The shrinker and stretcher tools allow you to make complex bends and curves in sheet metal. These pieces needed to be repaired, as reproductions are not made. In fact, these two inner quarter panel braces and the windshield frame are the only original pieces of GM steel on this car! Once the pieces were acceptable, John clamped all the panels together to check for fit. When things looked good, John welded the inner structures to the wheelhouses and the floors with an HTP MIG 200 welder. Now the quarter panels, tail panel, trunk filler panel, doors, and rear deck lid could all be fitted. Once the inner structures were in place, The YearOne quarter panels could be fitted to the car. Typically, a quarter panel is installed in place of a damaged or rusted original. In this case, all the surrounding panels were new as well, so fitment was more challenging, because there were no factory panels to use as guides. This required John to install, and remove, and reinstall the panels many times to check the fit. Only when all the panels fit properly would they be welded solid. John spent extra time making sure the tail panel fit properly in the rear quarter panel area. The tail panel slips inside the quarters in the back, and this fit can be tricky. Time was spent forming the ends of the tail panel with a hammer and dolley, and the bottom edges required some minor trimming. He also checked to see that the taillight openings remained true, as the new billet taillight lenses made by Marquez Design required a perfect fit to look their best. John noticed that the trunk lid didn’t fit as well as possible, so he loosened the bolts and began to move it around on its hinges to fit. He then noticed that the small spot welds holding the outer skin to the deck lid frame had not held, and the outer skin was free to slide on the deck lid frame. The fix was to center the deck lid outer panel on the frame and re-weld the panel to the frame. Once this was secured, fitting the trunk lid became much easier. This is another area where extreme caution must be used when welding to prevent warping the sheet metal. Finally, John had all the panels clamped, Vice-Gripped, and sheet-metal screwed in place and the body structure fit like it should. Now it was time to weld. The next several days were spend spot welding all the panels together, being cautious not to warp anything with too much heat. HTP sells a helpful tool to help prevent warpage, a water-based putty called Heat Sponge. Heat Sponge is reusable putty that is placed around the area to be welded and it absorbs heat and prevents it from spreading throughout the panel. John used the Heat Sponge on the critical area where the trunk filler panel meets the tops of the quarter panels, both are thin pieces of sheet metal which could easily warp. The HTP heat sponge and careful welding technique effectively helped keep the heat and warpage to a minimum. It was a satisfying moment to step away from the newly completed body structure, but it wasn’t a long break. Next, the crew wheeled the jig onto the Eagle lift to remove the body in preparation for the first mating of the body to the chassis. The body lifted easily on the pinch-welds at the bottom of the rocker panels, and everyone was concerned about the convertible structure flexing on the lift. However, this car has been treated to extra welds in all the structural areas, and without the front sheet metal and engine, the car didn’t flex at all. Mating the body to the chassis required aligning the two. John and metal fabricator John Ahne used the traditional string, tape measure, and tram gauges to center the chassis front-to-back and laterally on the chassis. When they got it right, they realized that some subtle modifications were needed to properly align the body mounts. Once these were made, the chassis was bolted to the body using new Year One hardware and Prothane polyurethane body mounts. The car was brought back to ground level, and John installed the front sheetmetal to the body and core support. Now it’s really starting to look like a Camaro! Overall, the fit looked pretty good – some tweaking was in order to get the nose to fit, but there was finally light at the end of the tunnel.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
SOURCES
 YearOne
 HTP America, Inc.
 PPG
 Schwartz Extreme Performance
Eagle Equipment  Eastwood
DISCLAIMER: Demonstrations and procedures contained in the V8TV show or website may not provide all necessary or relevant information. Applicable local laws and regulations may vary and should be checked before any project is commenced. Be sure to follow all applicable safety procedures. The Men's Channel and V8TV Productions, Inc. make no warranties, expressed or implied, as to the completeness, accuracy, or practicality of any such demonstration or procedure or any information with respect thereto contained in the preceding program. © 2006 V8TV Productions, Inc.
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