Pictures 1 and 2 show the night I 'yanked' the subframe out from under the shell. This was in August 2002. The body bushings had been replaced in the past and a previous owner SORT OF bolted the thing back together. It took me longer to build the stand to roll it around on than it did to unbolt it from the body! You can see that the body mounts on the frame have been replaced with some THICK steel plate. I was going to leave it that way but they're 5/16" thick and I'm using Comp. Engineering Solid Body Mounts, so I'm cutting them off and using REAL plates. Picture 3 shows it on the bench. OH MY!!
For some strange reason I decided I wanted it to shine.... so I bought Gloss-Black POR-15, instead of a semi-gloss. Now I have to finish the subframe/suspension in gloss. Oh well...
The next series of pictures shows how I did the Guldstrand Modification to both upper Control Arm shaft towers. I decided since the car will be modified anyway and isn't a Z28 or SS, go ahead and drill instead of removing the entire tower and re-welding them on. This modification improves the front suspension geometry for more negative camber adjustment and improved bumpsteer. You can read a lot more about this mod at Mr. David Pozzi's First Gen Suspension web site.
I did some research and listened to past experiences from people who own First Generation Camaros (and peered into my wallet) and came up with a plan for the rest of the front suspension. I've purchased HSS-1907F lowering springs from Hotchkis, a 1" front sway bar from Addco, solid body mounts and frame connectors from Competition Engineering, and polyurethane front suspension bushings from Prothane. I believe I'm going to have a very enjoyable car to drive when I'm finished.
Next 3 shots show the subframe after I painted it with 1 coat of gloss-black POR-15. Love it... hate it. It's too late to turn back now. Just tell me you LOVE it.
To the right are some shots of myself and my buddy Rob making new subframe mount repair plates. I hadn't touched a tool to work on the car for 3 long Winter months and this was the first time out! I felt like a pig in sh*t!
The Camaro came to me with repaired mounts already. Someone had used a torch to hack out 4 square pieces of 5/16" plate, then torched holes in the centers for the stock bushings to sit in. Welded them on real nice. GONE!
I bought some cold-rolled stock that's 1/8th" thick and using templates I drilled the 1-1/2" mount holes to fit the Competition Engineering solid body bushings. Picture 4 shows the perfect fit they have to the new repair pieces.
I shouldn't have to worry about anything moving around once it's all bolted back together with subframe connectors.
