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| This is my favorite
part of the restoration. This is where a little bit of time
spent goes a long way. I tried to detail my car in as many ways as
possible. Some areas of detailing will require a great deal of research
and other ones like stickers could only take minutes. Research includes
reading books, looking at pictures of original or accurately restored Camaros.
talking to other Camaro owners, and most of all viewing Camaro's in person.
While most of these details will be useless unless you plan on showing
or getting the car judged, they can add value to your car if they
are done correctly.
Things like the PTB (Paint/Trim/Body) markings found on the firewall or inspection markings found on the car will help make the car stand out from others. Inspection marks were simply markings on the car to specify that a certain part and/or bolt was torqued on to spec. Once the line worker had tightened the part, they would put a dab of paint on it to signify it was 'on for good'. I tried to replicate any marking that I found during the restoration.
Other things such as spring tags, brake booster tags, and differential tags (red posi tag) will make a big difference. I tried to paint everything the correct colors to the best of my knowledge. I painted most things according to what color they were when I took them off - that is if they appeared to originally be that way. This is quite easy to do as you go along as you put the pieces together, but would be rather difficult if your car was already together. The easiest way to add detail your car by far is by adding stickers and things like that. These include emissions decals, embossed GM door decals, jacking instructions, limited slip warning, anti-freeze decal (For Canadian cars), tire pressure decals, air cleaner decals, etc. Almost any sticker you will need is easily acquired at any Camaro parts place, and they are very inexpensive. Also staying away from stickers that were not originally there ie: 'Caution Fan' stickers also keeps the other Camaro enthusiasts happy as well. I chose to leave some details out because they were just too impractical. These are things like leaving parts that were originally unpainted untouched. This is things like machined surfaces and the like. While the part will look nice for a while, exposed it to any moisture and it will rust almost instantly. I just painted them a 'machined' look color instead. Also it must be noted that to restore a car to 'factory original' you must duplicate what the practiced on the assembly line - including flaws that they made. This requires a lot of research and you pretty much have to know what they were doing at the plant and who was working at the facility (Norwood in my case) the week the car was produced. This is really only worthwhile on an ultra-rare low production vehicles. Most restorers are not interested in duplicating flaws, and I definitely know I am not. |
First Generation Camaro © 2001 Craig Wood
