Bitchin’ Bowtie
1967 Chevrolet Camaro (Part 2)
It says a lot about the quality of the paintwork that was applied
at the time of the restoration in 1986 that it has survived extremely well and
still looks great almost 30 years later, though Rick’s beady eye spotted some
later ‘refurbishment’ to the offside front wing. It took a huge amount of work
to rejuvenate the paintwork and bring it back to life, after such long term
storage. It has been compounded and T-Cut, followed by the application of
around five or six different kinds of polish and wax to make it gleam once
again. The engine bay inner wings should be finished in satin black, but
presumably they were painted with the red body color back in 1986. The satin
black stripes on the bonnet and boot lid help to tone down and break up the
bright red paintwork, which also go nicely with the black vinyl roof, which
incidentally was so filthy dirty when purchased that it looked grey! After
extensive washing, it then took hours with a vinyl cleaner to make it look like
new again. “I wish now that I’d taken a few photographs of before and after I’d
got the vinyl roof and paintwork to shine again, you would have been amazed to
see the difference!” laughs Rick. The engine bay also sported a full chrome
dress-up kit, which although may have looked great at one time, Rick decided
all needed to be removed. He has spent a huge amount of time generally tiding
up the engine bay, and re-routing the plug leads, resulting in a much more
aesthetically pleasing effect. It took a few attempts, as first time around the
leads got badly burnt as they were a tad too close to the stainless steel
headers, but second time around using heat shield wrap got the job sorted.
Indeed, Rick has taken apart as much of the car as possible (engine/transmission/
axle excepting) in the quest of deep cleaning and detailing. Countless hours
were spent on the front grille alone, with a toothbrush and cotton buds.
Rick has taken apart as
much of the car as possible (engine/transmission/ axle excepting) in the quest
of deep cleaning and detailing
He says there aren’t too many nuts and bolts that haven’t been
removed, and the underside of the car is also very clean and detailed. Every
piece of bright work also came off for cleaning, along with the lights etc.
Pleasingly a previous owner fitted a full stainless steel exhaust system, so
there’s no rusty pipework to deal with. “I think the greatest transformation
when cleaning the car has been the engine bay –it looked so bad, yet now it
looks really very presentable,” says Rick with pride. Rick describes the red
vinyl interior as being a bit grubby and very sticky when he acquired the car,
so that also has received the full deep cleansing treatment and now looks
resplendent once again. “The clock wasn’t working, so I sourced a replacement
in the US and fitted it into the center console,” he points out. “Being
originally sold in Belgium the car’s speedometer was calibrated in kilometres,
which was never changed by previous owners, and preferring knowing my exact speed
in mph, I changed the speedometer to one that’s calibrated to miles. I also
believe that the car’s mileage is genuine, and it that it has only clocked up
61,000 miles from new.”
Being originally sold in
Belgium the car’s speedometer was calibrated in kilometres
Returning the Camaro back to the road again after long term
storage has been a most enjoyable experience for Rick, and a mammoth amount of
work has been completed in just two months. But it wasn’t all plain sailing,
and apart from the brake calipers needing attention, the core plug behind the
starter motor decided to burst, and so was replaced, along with the fuel pump
that played up on the way back from a show. “I’d like to thank that master of
automotive detailing Steve Dodd (the owner of American Heartbeat drag race
Mustang) for his continued support and advice: “He was ‘on my case’ most of the
time, which in the end did pay dividends,” jokes Rick. “For him to say that I’d
made a great job, was really very satisfying. I’ve attended a few shows in the
spring of 2014, and the car has attracted plenty of interest, I guess because
it’s the first of the breed and there aren’t too many about, plus it looks
extremely stock from the outside. Future plans include a little more detailing
and some new bits and bobs, but overall, I’m very happy with my Camaro.”
I’m very happy with my Camaro
