You'll most likly have to reskin that 1/4. If you're doing that, doing a set of tubs is a no brainer you're already in there for teh 1/4 replacement.

That is hit prety good.. I'd start with the back of the car, see if there's anything bent with the frame rails... if there is, you're in trouble.

At that point, the car is going to need alot of work to straiten it out, if it's even possible. Or, just back 1/2 it, which in that case it won't matter, the back of the car will be all tubular at that point. And, it's just the reskinning that will be needed As everything else gets cut out.

 

Well I'm here at the races, and there's only one f-body (basically stock street camaro).........

 

click the link to my build thread in my sig, lt1 style 4th gen camaro with basically what your doing. Good luck!

 

lol, you sure change your mind a lot, and I haven't even gotten halfway! Haha

 

Well I just talked to my dad about the chassis, and fortunately he said the only thing bent is behind the rear-end, which doesn't affect how the car drives, so we'll try and straighten that out near the end so the panels and bumper don't look so messed up. He also said he wants to keep the stock look, so I'll be keeping the headliner, door panels (it's manual locks, windows, etc.) and dash in. I will be taking out the cluster, gauges, and whatever else I don't need though.

I'll need to get some wheels and slicks in the near future so I know what I will need to do with the rear-end. I'll probably get 10" slicks in the rear, so would 15x9" pro stars be good? Also, I'm seeing people ask about backspacing. What exactly is it, and should I be looking for anything in particular?

 

With a stock rearend you will need 15x10 with 7.5 back spacing.

Coach

 

I'll be fabbing a 9".

 

Got a little progress... After taking out the dash, we are considering making our own just to make it easier and lighter... Almost done with the interior (will take out insulation and front seat belts when we do the cage. Now I have to go get a couple pieces of plate to weld onto my engine stand so we can get the bigger casters on and start tearing the 6.0 apart.




Now I have a mess of parts to get rid of.

 

I have a 98 SS body here with less damage to the RH 1/4 than that, but very similar looking hit. It's frame is definately bent and there is a bend in the floor under the rear seat bottom. Somehow it wasn't totaled and the damage was listed as light so the guy drove it another 2 thousand miles after the accident. He did have to replace the rearend, phr, and rear shocks. It drove very straight and seemed to be in perfect alignment, but I helped the guy part it out. Shops wanted about 3,000 to repair it. Someone's mention above to back half has me thinking though. It's only a 52k mile car.

 

Well, I'm pretty much done stripping stuff out. Just have to figure out how to take out the rest of the heater core. I just got some metal plate to weld onto the engine stand for the new casters to bolt on, as well as some aluminum plate for water pump mounts (will use a remote pump) and anything else we can use it for.

 

Hey tom looks good so far. I still have those gears if you want them. Also What are your plans for the lt1?

 

Yes I am. In fact, rear wheels and the rear end is next on the list. I have the complete lt1 engine and 4l60e for sale, ready to bolt in.

 

ok, I'll get pics for you this week. Sorry I keep forgetting about them.

 

looks like a fun project, hopefully the frame and all that is good. But to be honest, I wouldve had that checked out before doing anything because if the frame is too bad, there would be no since in building it up unless you do what JL said and backhalf it (which is an awesome idea since you got the car stripped now)

GL and I look forward to seeing some more progress pics!

 

Yeah, my dad said it's bent behind the rear-end, which only makes it look messed up from behind and won't affect driving. We'll try to bend back what we can before taking it to the track so the car doesn't look goofy. Thanks

 

Not much to do now, as I need some wheels before I start a rear-end. Finally off the jacks and pushed it out of the garage. Figured I'd might as well snap a few pics. There's not much else to take out other than some wiring and ABS.

 

Looks like your making some progress

 

Yeah, I think we're going to put the headers and a glide case on the engine with the mounts, then put it in to see what's all in the way. It's pretty much for sure that I'll need a different steering rack, but I may be able to use the stock k-member.

 

I wanted to fabricate my own dash (probably sheet metal) or thought about an aftermarket one, but after some research I just decided to use the stock one since this is a budget build. So I gutted it and lost a good 50 lbs.

 

Well I'm stuck trying to find a rear-end and wheels (been looking on racing junk for weld pro stars). Everyone seems to think their old 9" ford's are worth 300+ for some reason. Doesn't look too promising to get this all done by October... Although, I did just get a job at an off-road performance shop with even more fabbing equipment!

While waiting, I figured out that I want to get an ls3 top-end in the near future after I get this running for a little bit.