Resurrection: 1996 Camaro RS Convertable

[sandrock]

Those that followed along in the lounge know I was looking at it. Well, I officially bought it today, but I won't bring it here until Tuesday or Wednesday since this is Labor Day weekend and towing companies are...busy.

So anyway...it's in sad shape. The woman was just selling it for the chassis only, which when looking at it that way, 300 bucks is reasonable. It's a shell, and it's missing all kinds of stuff...passenger door, most of the interior, steering column, header panel, tails, and exhaust is all gone. BUT...the Y87 performance package was still there, complete with the DeCarbon shocks and rear disks. Trans is still there, engine is there too but blown.















As yall can see, her husband cut a huge hole in the rear area, to get to the fuel tank and pump assembly. Not a bad idea, but now I have to build a door to cover it. Lots of wire cutting too, so I will have to take out the entire harness and see what's good and what isn't.

The plan is to fully disassemble it and start from scratch. Once it's tore down I'll do the bodywork and send it off for paint (Karen wants a cranberry metallic). Once that's done, then the major work will begin. AFTER I am done with the Bonneville....

[Sadden]

Oh dear god.
Its in worse shape than i could see even in the lounge.

Glad you found a project vehicle to keep you busy for the next 30 odd years.

[clm2112]

O.M.G...you are going to try rebuilding that?

And you though the Galaxie was bad, that is going to be far worse. What you need to finish one that far gone is another one, like a cheap 93-96 base model in better shape for the doors, hood, interior, and other parts.

If you want the FSM, give me a hollar (I've got it on CD from the days when I had a '94 )

[sandrock]

I've got the hood and bumper cover, but I'll need the header panel and door. Karen's been wanting a convertable F-body for a while now, and she wanted to get it. If I can find a parts car, that's the route I'll go. I'm already piecing together what I need through ebay (window shopping) and so far the major parts won't be too bad. It'll be the interior that will kill me.

Curt, I'll definately be needing that FSM. Won't do me much good electrically, but bodywise will prove useful.

[Sadden]

O.M.G...you are going to try rebuilding that?

I'm confident he will.

Looks like you got the "project" car you wanted lol.
That outta keep you busy for awhile anyways

[sandrock]

I've located a few complete parts cars through CL....one is a '93 Z28 that's missing just the engine and trans...interior is in beautiful shape, and it's all black as well. He didn't say how much he wanted for it, but here's the link to it....

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/1938829783.html

Overall, it's in MUCH better shape than the convertible...but I WANT the convertible. Aside from the engine/trans, it wouldn't take much to bring it back to life. Just a lot of time and patience.

Speaking of engines...unless I do end up getting the Z28, I'll stick with the 3800 (I'd have to swap subframes in order to get a V8 in there). I did find a 99 V8 subframe in Miami for 100 bucks, which would allow me to run an LS-based engine (probably a truck 4.8 or 5.3 as those are plentiful here). Though budget may just have me stick with an L26 and upgraded PCM.

[PRD2BDF]

You should swap over the wheels as well, I like them a lot better than what's on there now.

EDIT: you probably could swap the whole panels forward of the B-pillar for a straighter body.

If Karen wants cranberry metallic, I bet an tan interior would look stunning with it.

[sandrock]

That was the plan for the interior, but that color will be hard to come by. So everything will have to be SEM painted once I get all the pieces to the puzzle. Either that, or just put the tan carpet in and do the lower half in tan, and the rest in black/graphite, like the Malibu Maxx LTZ I had.Then somewhere in the budget, find some Katskinz covers for the seats in tan.

Oh yeah...this accelerates my paint job on the Bonneville substantially. Karen wants this thing in the garage when it comes home Tuesday evening. Which means tomorrow, the Bonneville has to be prepped enough to go outside under a tarp for a few days until I can get it to the paint shop. I'm almost done doing all I can do to it, and more than likely I'll go buy a hood and have it stock instead of the air vents. I can work on that hood at my leisure if I do that, and not be rushed.

[clm2112]

Thought Brad.... that Z28 in Deltona is a much better starting point, even being an engine-less coupe.

Good news is the 4th Gen F-Body chassis in sorta modular in it's construction, even more so than the 3rd gen F's. You can take the '93 Coupe and alter it to be a convertible for a lot less work than trying to rebuild the convertible...and you would have a much more desirable car to resell later (in that it is a Z28 on the VIN code.) Think of your RS as just a parts donor for the convertible top and anything else you might want out of the chassis.

You would have to drill out the spot welds on the convertible specific steel body panels then have them welded into the coupe's body... but they will fit, GM did the 4th gen convertible from scratch instead of doing what they did on the 3rd gen (which started out as an aftermarket dealer-installed kit.)

[2000Silverbullet]

Wow, now there's a project that'll keep you busy and poor for a while. Keep is posted on the progress.

[sandrock]

Well, the guy wrote me back and said I can have whats left (aside from what the ad said, the wheels were also gone) for 500 bucks. Getting that just might be my best bet.

[99bonnieSE]

Looks like you have some work ahead of yourself. but, it looks like it shouldn't be too bad.


I'll be followin'!

[lowrider0308]

Everybody chant with me...LSx...LSx...LSx...or even a Vortec since they are about the same except for the block material.

[sandrock]

Yup. I was thinking the 4.8 or the 5.3 and swapping over manifolds. Gotta swap subframes first though...and find F-body oil pan and pickup.

[Jrs3800]

Brad if you are going to do this..... Steer clear of the 4.8 and just get the 5.3...

[*B2*]

I would try to find something in better shape. I don't mean this as a jackass comment. I just think you'd be much happier and have more money left down the road.

[sandrock]

I will probably end up doing what Curt suggested, though with it being a Z28 it will *need* the V8 to be correct. And I might be stuck with the Gen II block, which isn't a bad thing, though the LS series engines are lighter and more fuel friendly.

Curt, how would I go about modifying the windshield frame of the Z28? Is the upper edge formed to where it would work either way, or would I have to graft the frame from the bottom?

[Mopar Man]

That hole in the floorpan over the fuel tank...I'd have walked away.

[sandrock]

Still can. I'm liking that Z28 idea more, and I'll just end up taking what's good on the convertible left (posi rear w/discs namely, all the convertible hardware, etc.), tear down the Z28 and build up from that.

[harofreak00]

Walk.