Welcome!
This is a web-diary of my '68 Camaro restoration project.
I call her Sam, which of course is short for Samantha.
(Samantha Stevens drove a '68 Camaro convertible on the show Bewitched). This story starts with a vision, of a modernized 1968 Camaro convertible. After a long search, I found a plain jane dying of cancer in central Minnesota. She was British Racing Green with a white top / interior. I wanted to upgrade several items, and also pay tribute to the car that saved the Z/28 from extinction in 1968. The Pete Estes 1968 Camaro Z/28.
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Wild West Auto Fest
Annual SummerSet Festival at Clement Park |
Annual car calendar selection & bikini contest
Platte River Bar and Grill |
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The condensed version...
I brought Samantha home from Minnesota in Oct 2004 and spent the next 4 years restoring her better than new. I say better, because of several modern enhancements. I started with a new full frame (bumper-to-bumper), Z/28 suspension, all new steering, and dual piston power disk brakes, on 11" rotors. The fuel system, cooling system, electrical system and exhaust system are all new. After sand blasting the body, I was able to salvage the firewall and rear shell, then added a new floor, rocker panels, fenders and rebuilt the windshield frame.
Since she came with all the correct documentation, I decided to crate and store the original 327ci engine, 2-speed powerglide transmission and 2:73 rear axle. The old drivetrain has been replaced with a new 383ci/420hp crate engine, 700R4 overdrive transmission and a 12-bolt posi with 4:11 gears.
I wanted to keep her original look and style, so the paint is British Racing Green with white strips, and the interior is white with a white vinyl top. The carpet and dash are black with chrome and walnut trim. The rear seats were from a 1968 Camaro, and the front bucket seats were donated from a 1987 Camaro. The original '68 short back bucket seats were very uncomfortable, and had no headrest.
I learned a great deal on this project and really had a lot of fun. I did most of the work in my small two car attached garage. The first thing I bought her was some red roller skates that made it possible to easily slide her around the garage. The rotisserie and body cart I built, made working on her alone much easier and safe. None of this would have been possible without the support of a wonderful wife. I promised Janet that her car would be parked inside every night, (I did pretty good), and became very good at what my friends call "Garage Tetris".
...check back for more on this story
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