Gen2 Camaro Resurrection

The "Dawg" was sidelined for a while. I'll admit that I had created some "self-designed" gremlins in the build process. Handled! And . . . the beast is back on the streets! Again, ya' can't embarrass me . . . I know she's not "SHOW!" But . . . I've got the keys!!!!

Merry Christmas to all from the "Junk Yard Dawg" Camaro nest!

I went up to northern California [Berkeley] for my 60th high school reunion this past weekend. Early Saturday morning, I'm sittin' in my hotel room gettin' ready for the day and I can hear "zoomies" outside my window - thunderous! Had to go down, grab a cup of coffee and make the walk to the parking lot across from the Holiday Inn/Suisun. What I thought might be a "cars n' coffee" turned out to be a pre-stage area for the 3rd Annual Suisun Eccentric Car Show. Damn . . . some really cool stuff, all generations, cars-trucks-vans. Made the hike south of the hotel to the Suisun yacht basin and "wa-la" . . . way too many cool cars n' stuff being displayed right through the center of old town. The Gen2 Camaros were out in force, far more than visible at most southern Cal venues. Here's a few for your enjoyment.

Decades in a pasture . . . and another couple of years in the yard with a tarp over it . . . the interior, like everything else, was a blank slate. I could do whatever I wanted to. And . . . I did. I went back to the Firebird for a dash, console, rear seats, and interior kick n’ side panels. Had to patch up the Pontiac dash and basically reconstruct the console . . . but they worked out fine. I went through what seemed like “thousands” of abrasive media, rust eater, and good ol’ wire brushes. Laid carpet padding for sound deadening, installed the carpet, installed the headliner, and recovered the rear seats. Wiring is thoroughly buried and channeled. Changed out the dash hardware and fitted for 2” gauges – one for each, no doubled original Chevy stuff. Console gets refitted and installed. Gave up on using the Pontiac buckets when all of the upholsterers tried rippin’ me. Nearly gave up . . . ‘til I was shopping Speedway Motors for something else and the ProCar seats popped up on sale! Stolen!!! Went with a Grant 338 Classic wheel from O’Riley’s and started installing everything else. Not bad for an amateur hack. The real test of Camaro aficionados at the shows? “That’s not a Camaro dash board!” Bugs in the grille!