sixty8poncho

Mr. D, did you ever get the Doug Thorley headers? any news on those?

Thanks,

MisterD

Not yet. They have been delaying production for some unknown reason. However, I spoke with Jaime last week and they are moving forward with production sometime in August we hope. They are all great guys to work with so I'm confident these headers will be a great option for us swappers.

MisterD

All, my father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last week and it has hit our family very hard, he is only 62. What really bothers me is that we had a deal that he would be able to drive this car over a weekend period by himself once it was done. Based on my stage in the project and his prognosis, I'm not certain that will happen. I am also going to save any funds I have for my father's care. We are still trying to get a rhythm/groove going as it relates to treatment and care for my dad. In the mean time, it might be a while before I get back to the project and this thread. I am still subscribed to others threads so I will use that progress as motivation to discuss with my dad during this difficult time.

Toddoky

Very sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis MisterD...your priorities are in order, so the reduced frequency of your postings will be fully understood. Good luck and prayers to you and your family.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I will keep you and your family in my prayers. It changes everything to face a diagnosis like that. If there's anything I can do to help, anything at all, please let me know. I can't imagine what you're going through, but I have heard the awful words "you have cancer" and I remember how low my heart sank in that moment. I hope you have good options for treatment. Let us know how things are going.

kirk69nova

iTrader: (9)

You and your family are in my prayers.

1961ba427

iTrader: (26)

My family and I will all be praying for your dad and your whole family. Drop in here when you have time and keep us updated on him even if nothing is going on with the car.

MisterD

Thank you to everyone for your positive thoughts and prayers. Thank you Clint for sharing your story, you are truly an inspiration/motivation for us to remain optimistic with my father's recovery. My dad begins chemo/radiation this week. Currently they can not operate because the mass is rather large (10cm) and located near his adam's apple/trachea area which makes it more difficult. Hopefully the mass reduces in size with radiation so they can operate. Luckily the cancer is localized and has not spread. We continue to take this one day at a time so as not to get ahead of ourselves. I appreciate everyone's support on this forum, it does help to hear the words of encouragement.

RUST ISSUE:
My dad and I are trying to remain occupied so we picked up a couple patch panels for the rear shock towers to see if they would be sufficient for the rust we found while attempting to install the rear leafs. Good news is it should work. Not so good news is I am not comfortable doing the cutting/grinding/welding for this area of the trunk. I probably will leave this to a professional and hope that they don't charge an arm and a leg for this. After considering everything from a full trunk replacement to going with quadralink or similar set up that does not use those shock towers, I still feel the most economical and efficient fix is to patch the shock towers. Here are some pics to show the rust and patch panels since I could not find any like this online.

Rust:









Passenger Side:


Driver Side:


Both:


Random Shots of full trunk:














Now all I need to do is order the rear shock tower support panels, they sandwich between the trunk sheet metal and the frame, and send it to a body shop for an estimate on the installation. From there my dad and I can finish wiring, paint trunk, install rear end/leafs, gas tank, engine management harness etc. That will surely keep us occupied :-)

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

So glad to hear it is localized. That is a huge relief and by most standards means a better prognosis. When they radiate that area be sure to ask about nearby affected areas like the thyroid. Mine was destroyed during radiation treatment and I now have to take daily thyroid hormone pills. It took a while to diagnose because they originally weren't checking for thyroid during my routine blood work.

Working on cars is a great way to keep your mind occupied. Some days I could barely get ten minutes in the garage before I couldn't do any more, but for those ten minutes I didn't do any worrying.

For chemo see if you can get samples of Zofran to try for extreme nausea. It helped me a ton when things got really bad. The only thing I could eat was Strawberry Surfrider smoothie from Jamba Juice. Everybodys experience is different though so try some things and Sr what works.

Keeping you guys in my thoughts. Best of luck with the first round of treatment. Glad he has your support.

sako

Hey man so sorry to hear about your dad. Just hang in there and be strong for him and your family. First thing is to take care of your dad and family first and everything will fall in place God willing. Me and my family will keep you in our prayers.
I remember a couple of years ago when my wife was diagnosed with MS (Mulipl e Sclerosis) and hit home really hard for me and my family. I was ready to sell my car and everything that I had just to take care of her. God has blessed us with everything and he provides when you give it all to him.
Let me know if you need any help with the car. I will do what I can.

Sako

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

MisterD I owe you an apology! I knew for sure I was subscribed to your thread and unfortunately I was not! I am now!!! I am so sorry to hear about your Dad's illness. I can only pray for you guys and hope for a complete healing. Your Dad appears to be a tough guy that doesn't give up easy so I am sure he will power on through. I have no doubt your father will get his weekend to rip through some gears in the Camaro. Take care and God bless you and your family.

MisterD

Thank you Tony, Sako, Clint and everyone else for the kind words and support with my father's diagnosis. A quick update regarding my father. He finished 5 weeks of chemo/radiation a couple weeks ago (radiation 5 days a week and chemo every Friday). The first week or so after treatment was actually the worst for him. He could not swallow or eat because of the blisters/burns in his esophagus. He was able to get past that phase and is now back to eating better than before he was diagnosed, radiation shrunk the tumor just enough for that. We had a follow up visit with surgeons who told us the tumor is not operable and it looks like their might be spreading to the lower abdomen area but that is VERY slightly noticeable on a PET scan. For now, and probably the near future, surgery is too risky because of the tumor location and it is involved with important arteries etc. However, we are hopeful that he will receive quality palliative care at this point and possibly receive chemo that will kill the cancer cells completely and stop the tumor from spreading and growing. Currently he has pain in his back which is possibly a reaction from the chemo drugs. All in all, my father has been extremely STRONG and rarely/never complains about the pain. I have seen the pain firsthand when he tries to swallow his own saliva and it is tough to watch. I maintain peace by being there with him and offering help in any way he is willing to accept it. He is in great spirits and he enjoys everyday with us and our children. Surprisingly, some people who know him well are surprised to see him walking, driving, and talking so well given the fact that chemo/radiation kicked his butt! That is just how strong he is and we thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and kind words. Oh, and yes we still plan to get the Camaro running soon so he can slam some gears! Thanks again everyone...

sick_tight

this initially reminded me of "better off dead"

love 1st gens like crazy! i love your car, youve got a lot of work but im sure it will turn out great. glad youre building your dream car!

1961ba427

iTrader: (26)

Thanks for the update on your dad. We'll continue to pray for him and your family.

bmf5150

Prayers for your dad!

Leadfoot85

iTrader: (3)

Builds like this make me want to build an LS1 swapped 1st gen camaro soooo bad! It's going to be killer when your done!

MisterD

Updates on pops:
Well news for my father were not good on our last doc visit. The cancer has spread to distant lymph nodes near his abdomen. We knew there might have been something going on there when he first started radiation/chemo back in August but hoped that it was not cancer. It looks like those nodes are now darker in CT scans so the doctor has recommended palliative chemo therapy from here forward. He had his first round of chemo (4 hours per bag) this past Monday, it was a LONG day for all of us. He is now dealing with chemo sickness. I am happy that we will not have to return for another 4 weeks though. This will allow him to feel better and eat again. Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts, this has been helping our family remain strong.

Camaro Updates:
Prior to starting his new round of chemo, my dad suggested that we tear into the 10 bolt we pulled from the 2002 donor camaro. We decided to pull the backing plates and calipers and prep them for the Moser 12 bolt we have sitting in my garage. I also made progress cutting out rust near the rear shock towers so I can replace them. I have been practicing mig welding at my cousin's shop since June so this will be my first attempt. I can not even tell you how tempted I was to minitub this area! But the minitub would then require a 4 link of some sort, which might be great except I am not interested in blowing any extra funds given my dad's situation at the moment. So, I will patch the shock towers and move ahead with my hotchkis 3" drop springs/bilstein shocks as planned. Here are some pictures...

Before (drivers side)


First cuts (sorry cell phone pics):


Final cuts (cell phone pic w/flashlight;-):


Stock 10 Bolt posi from 2002 SS Camaro:


Removing retaining bolt:


Removed backing plates/rotors/calipers:


Caliper bracket:


I did clean and paint the brackets/backing plates but forgot to take pics. I will get those up soon. This was my first time removing the axles from a rear end and everything was amazingly easy, aside from the c-clip that I had to fish out of course:-) Also, laying in the fetal position in the trunk of my car with sparks flying in my face while I cut out rust was surprisingly therapeutic This is the progress we have made so far. I am really gunning to get this running and forego the ridetech 4 link, paint/body, and other mods I was hoping for. I really want to see my dad smile while rowing through the gears of the camaro that has more miles on a flatbed than on the car (as he always says). I will keep you all posted. Thanks...

MisterD

Couple quick updates:
Made some progress on cutting/fitting the patch panel on the drivers side. Measure 3-4 times then cut once. I was mentored by my father-in-law who has experience with metal work. Here are a few pictures.

Measuring:


From inside car:


Patch Cut and fit:


From inside trunk:


Grinding:

kirk69nova

iTrader: (9)

Looking good there MisterD. Keep it up and your dad will be driving the Camaro soon enough. Prayers out to you, your dad and your family.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Did they biopsy the darkening nodes? Did they change in size over time? CT and PET/CT are great tools for finding questionable stuff, but I would question treating right away with chemo unless you have good reason to believe they are cancerous and can show a trend over multiple scans. I have had regular scans for a few years now and several times things have popped up, even on more than one scan, which looked like they could be cancerous, but ended up disappearing. I'm sure your doctors know what they are doing, just want to make sure you are asking questions. I hope your dad is doing well. My thoughts are with you guys!

Also I have some rusty sheet metal you can work on too if you guys need more to keep you busy