tomsti’s 1972 Chevrolet Camaro

Stripping paint was fun with some aircraft paint remover. Bad stuff! I did find out that putting a sheet of plastic over the stripper would let it do its job without drying too fast. It also helped keep the fumes down a little. I have a couple of rust problems on the back quarters. Probably not surprising for Camaro's! A couple of pics of the front fender. Removed the side marker light. I am planning on removing all marker lights. The yellow color is just primer. I have some ideas on what color to paint the car but still need some time to nail it. I did get the HOK and PPG books and there are so many possibilities.

A phone pic of the front end stance I'm looking for with the weight of the engine. I still seem to have some decent ground clearance but the car hasn't moved so not 100% sure if it is enough. I need to raise the front just a bit, the new suspension settled after a couple of drives and now I have 1/4 inch clearance. May be a bit close for public bumpy pot hole filled roads. Adjustment is easy however with coilovers.

BodyworkI stripped 95% of the car down to bare metal using aircraft stripper. It was a slow process! It helped to put some plastic over the spot you were working on. That slowed the drying of the stripper and let it work.So after quite a while trying to decide if I should replace all the back panels or let it be done by a pro... I chickened out.. The backend is 100% done now, sitting in primer. Now I will start working forward into the doors and fenders.

Welcome to my page where I will try to follow the destruction and rebuilding of a 72 Camaro. I need to learn to use the camera more as I'm working on the project I know there are some holes in the process already.Page 2 Start of Project Page 3 Beginning photos and starting general teardown and chaos.Page 4 Some paint stripping and fender back on car with marker lights removed.Page 5 Rear disk brake setup, Pro-Systems carb, Dominator Hood arrived! Page 6 Bodywork

Upper and lower a-arms taken off the car. If you jumped up and down on the front and you could see and feel the play in the old bushings! Looking pretty bare right now. The more layers you strip the more you want to fix, it's kind of an endless loop. I am realizing how so many people start this process but end up quitting. Black paint test area for the firewall. I have not made up my mind if this should be painted the future color of the car or just leave it black. Rust Dirt and grime... A pile of rusted worn out parts. Doesn't look like too much as I tossed most of the other parts already. If you are thinking that those brakes look horrible, well they were. Didn't work at all, made stopping a pain. Needed a shot of the transmission linkage, so I can figure out how to put it back together! Received and put together some new parts. These are from Performance Suspension and will replace my other components. These have been cleaned up again since this picture. Still black but much nicer looking. QA1 (Formerly Carrera) coilovers installed, won't know if the height is correct until wheels get put on and the engine is in. My dad and I taking out the engine.. Why? Well you know, it was there so why not mess with it. Engine out and all of the grinder cleanup on parts done. My boy Devin with my first set of rims that didn't work out because of how the manufacture calculated backspacing. They went back.. Billet Specialties SLC62 - Chicayne I am ordering these in 17x8 and 17x10, the outside demensions of the 17x10 are 11"

Welcome to my page where I will try to follow the destruction and rebuilding of a 72 Camaro. I need to learn to use the camera more as I'm working on the project I know there are some holes in the process already.Page 2 Start of Project Page 3 Beginning photos and starting general teardown and chaos.Page 4 Some paint stripping and fender back on car with marker lights removed.Page 5 Rear disk brake setup, Pro-Systems carb, Dominator Hood arrived! Page 6 Bodywork

New rear wheels, picture turned out really dark but I will have more to come soon. Just put the Pro-Systems Carb on top of the engine. Fired it up and WOW, I think I'm really going to like it :) Just blipping the throttle its like the whole engine woke up, it's amazing what can happen when you get a good product. I recommend Pro-Systems for any Holley based carb work.

Purchased my 72 Camaro SS summer 03. I owned a 71 years earlier but it had some electrical problems and caught on fire. I actually didn't do any of the wiring :-P Rear view showing some really good rust. Funny thing is the front half of the car is fine. Must have been leaking around the rear window like most Camaro's of this era. Paint on the car is about as bad as paint can get. It is cracked and will have to be removed prior to any paint being applied. Another pic of the rear. Standard SS interior with a 4 speed. There will be lots of work in this area but mostly putting it back into a great condition with stock parts. Engine compartment is about as plain as you can get. The bad thing is this wasn't a #'s matching car as the engine was a crate from a later year. Oh well I purchased the car to have fun and learn. Hoods off, the start of a very long process has begun! The hood will probably never make it back on this car as a cowl hood will replace it. How could I start anything without my little helper? We dig into the front section of the car and have it apart in no time. Look all off, we're so quick! I am using baggies and a digital camera to remember where all the little parts go. An assembly manual is also on the way. Fenders are off leaving easy access to all of the other components. Maybe I should just stop here? I wasn't sure what kind of mud and dirt were all over everything but it probably helped keep the rust out. All the front end bushings will be replaced and coilover suspension will be added. Ready... Set... Go!!!>

I also had my Dominator hood delivered! It's in its raw state but it has very good lines in my opinion over most other cowl hoods. This is what I was waiting for to finish up the lines and I am very happy with the results. Nothing like ordering a very $$ part based on some internet picures and hoping its what you want.