marred

Hi All :
During the past year I have purchased three 4th gen f-bodies . The first was a year ago , a 2002 CETA with 9000 miles . I enjoyed the car a lot and loved the way it looked so decided to get two more . The first was a 2002 Camaro SS convert 6 sp with 63 miles and the second was a 1999 Firehawk auto t-tops with 300 miles . The two Pontiac have had all maintenance done on them and the Camaro is waiting for service ( not sure when that will be done ) . The CETA I'm going to drive and enjoy the other two I want to keep in great condition with minimal use .

The SS and Firehawk are in great condition except for the undercarriages . The floors and other painted areas are good ,but the axel , subframes and front suspension parts are rusted . I've looked at a lot of these cars while searching to buy and almost all look pretty bad , even very low mileage cars . The only nice one I ever saw was Jay Leno's ( low mileage , garage kept in LA , extremely low humidity ) .

I decided to have the undercarriages restored . I contacted the place where I purchased the CETA . A very well known high end collector car dealership and restoration facility . He said no problem . I asked for a very rough estimate ( in no way a quote ) . He refused and told me send 10k and he will bill monthly after that . I asked again for a very rough range , explaining I understand that unforeseen things could turn up . He cut off contact ( I really don't get it , but OK ) .

So the questions
1) Is it worth doing an undercarriage restoration ? I really like the cars and would like to preserve them. I realize that the restoration will be a money loser .
2) what would be a reasonable estimate for the work ( I was thinking 25k max ).
3) Can anyone recommend a good restoration shop in the New York City area ? Even nationwide , I can transport them .
4) How bad will the rust get if left alone ? Cars are in climate controlled facility .

Thank you

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

It is not worth doing this type of restoration unless you intend to be highly competitive in national level, concourse-type judged events and never drive the vehicle more than just on and off a trailer at the show venue. As far as simple preservation, there is no serious concern here.

The rust you are seeing is just a surface dusting that has eaten away at the light coating which was applied by the factory to the front suspension (K-member, control arms, etc.) If the cars are never exposed to anything more than ambient humidity inside a dry, cement floor garage in a temperate climate, it would likely take several hundred years for those components to become structurally compromised by rust. If they are now stored in a fully climate controlled facility, then the condition will never worsen, unless you wash the car with water on rare occasion (which I wouldn't expect you'd be doing anyway), in which case the rust might become a problem somewhere in the 500-600 year range.

When I bought my current '98 Z28 in 2004, it had 11k miles and had been kept in a heated garage. At that point, it already had the minor dusting of surface rust on those same components of which you speak. 17 years later, now at 18k miles, that "rust" has not worsened at all. I have only washed the car once in all those years, and have never driven it in rain. It's always been kept in a dry garage with rubber lined carpet underneath, but not with heat or A/C during the 17 years of my ownership.

$25k would be an outrageous amount of money to clean and repaint these items. None of them require replacement, as the rust is nothing more than superficial in these cases. FWIW, the axle was not painted from the factory, so those were often already rusted while sitting on the dealer lots. If you want to maintain a factory bare finish (sans rust) on the axle, there is a product called PreLube 6 which can be used once the rust has been scuffed away.

NC01TA

I agree with RPM WS6 completely. Undercarriage restoration for that kind of money is just unnecessary. If the cars were worth 6 figures, maybe, and that's only if they are bad. I can't imagine that being the situation.
Please post some photos if you feel like it. Those are amazing purchases.

383z

iTrader: (2)

I'm about to start a similar process, but maybe not as extreme as you. I'm thinking about using Lizard Skin on the bottom of the undercarriage which will probably cost me $2000-$2500. I have a ton of new aftermarket parts that will look new under the car and the rest I will powder coat and add new bolts, nuts, washers, etc. $25,000 is too much. You can buy a perfect fbody for that. Down here in Houston I bet I could powder coat ever part under the car for less than $4k. That's me taking off the parts and reinstalling them, but having a company blast and coat them.

383z

iTrader: (2)

This is a place down here where I'm at, but it will probably cost you $25k to send it there. They are top notch. SEMA quality builds come out of there.
https://www.painthousetx.com/

marred

Hi All
Thank you very much for the info . Thinking twice about doing anything with them now .

I'm not great with the computer but I can tell you how to get to some pictures of the cars
firehawk- google Ray Hott car collection. go to first listing mecum Kissimmee 2018
scroll down 8 rows ( middle picture) lot G189. 1999 firehawk NHRA
click the picture and the slide show will start.
I realize it's not an NHRA ed . Best I can make out it was an event car at Rt 66 dragway
This car was sold at Barrett Jackson in March 2021 to a chevy dealer in Nebraska and I bought it from him.
Camaro SS anniversary ed
google -Jerry's of Alabama car collection
click first listing -car collection for sale Jerry's etc
start the slide show it's the 3rd car (red) OR best pics as follows
google -champion motors international (syosset ny)
click first listing-champion motors internation
on the web site click-buy a vehicle/motorcycle
go to the sold inventory ( drop down box )
scroll to the chevy section ( its alphabetical )
on the right side click for a nice slide show
I purchased the car from them in Feb 2021.
Sorry for the stupid directions , hope you find them

NC01TA

^^ Thank you for taking the time to write all that. I'll check them out. Enjoy your rides!!

lees02WS6

iTrader: (5)

I powder coated every single suspension item and support on my car and painted the underside. I didn't spend 25k, not anywhere close. The whole front suspension I got done for $400, by a local powder coater, the rear suspension was similar. I replaced all the bushings and ball joints. Tedious and time consuming, but I'm super ****.

I wouldn't pay someone else to do the work, then you are looking at more money. 25k would be excessive even then though, it's really not hard to disassemble and reassemble. Maybe 5-8k. As others said though, it may not be worth the effort, it's cosmetic, and if it doesn't bother you leave it alone.

wretched73

https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0118-32...-nhra-edition/

https://www.championmotorsinternatio...t&model=Camaro Not sure if this is the right one

383z

iTrader: (2)

Do you have pictures?
I would love to see how your undercarriage looks with all the power coated parts. I'll probably go the same route and paint the undercarriage with Lizard Skin and a top coat of paint.

lees02WS6

iTrader: (5)

[

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

When I first read the OP's 1st post, I thought the mileage must have been typos - like missing the "k" after 63 and 300. For any noticeable rust to have occurred at that low mileage, the cars would have to have been stored in leaky barns with dirt floors.

A year or so ago, I had my 175k (then) daily driver Firebird on a lift where I could inspect and correct any undercarriage corrosion. After 17 years of daily driving in Kansas (snow with treated roads, torrential rains, summer humidity) the body and suspension components barely showed any of even the surface dust-rusting RPM mentions above. The only noticeable rust was on the front Koni shocks (Bilsteins in the rear were perfectly rust free) and the aftermarket subframe connectors.

Unless the OP is insanely hyper-observant, I find it bizarre that cars that have barely been driven have noticeable rust - unless they had been sitting in mudholes all that time.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I think "hyper-observant" is probably the case, as the dusting of rust I was referring to above is extremely minimal on those coated components. It's more of a film or slight powdering in my case, and it doesn't cover the entire piece in question by any means, just some edges and spots where the factory coating was a little thin or rough. This is a super minor condition, something that would only be "significant" at a concourse-level event where cars are examined with a microscope and white gloves, the sort of event where even dirt in the tire treads is problematic. With that said, mine also has the above described condition and I still manage to score 19 of 20 points on undercarriage at local level events so, again, we're talking about something very minor except at the highest levels of competition.

I looked through the pictures linked above and they don't seem to show the undercarriage for either car. But I assume what the OP is seeing is no different than mine unless, like you said, the storage conditions were horrible.

With that said, regardless of mileage, I don't know how anyone's rear axle could be free from some amount of rust film unless it's been painted (or someone has scuffed it clean and kept it treated with PreLube 6, etc.). When I bought my '00 WS6 it had 3 miles on the odometer, I bought it on 7/11/2000 (haha...21 years ago today!) and it had been ASC converted on 5/23/00. So the car was less than two months old, single digit mileage, and the axle already had the earliest signs of rust powdering/dusting in several spots.

marred

Hi All
Thanks again for the good info and thoughts . wretched73 thank you for making it easy for people to see the cars and yes those are them . Lees02ws6 the parts and the underside of the car look car look great ( I'm jealous ) . This web site has great people with a lot of knowledge .

NC01TA

marred, they are beautiful cars!! I saw that Firehawk before and the price is certainly right to me. A new Firehawk saved all these years just for you.

lees02WS6

iTrader: (5)

Given what those cars are, especially the Firehawk, I wouldn't do anything to them.