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2001 Chevy Camaro Project Car Paint Job - The Sti KillerA Meet And Greet With Our Newest Project Car And An Insiders' Look At Paint And Body From the January, 2010 issue of GM High-Tech Performance By Justin Cesler
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There is nothing quite like... There is nothing quite like embarking on a new project. You feel the excitement of starting something new, the rush of building your own dream car, with fresh paint and killer parts, the thrill of stepping on the throttle for the first time. As you scour the internet and local trader magazines, you begin to feel like you already own your dream ride. Stories of "how cool would it be" become statements of "you just wait 'till" and your once-sought-after parts start to seem like they may not be enough after all. You start thinking about upgrading the motor a little more, maybe adding a new rear gear, and stepping up to some sticky tires. Oh, but that means an upgraded transmission, which isn't so bad because you saw some real good deals online last night. Maybe you could get your buddy to paint it, some really cool color like a new Z06, that would be awesome. And then, like a shining star, you find the right car. You can't sleep the night before, as you can already picture getting started on the build. Inevitably, about 30 minutes before putting the car on the trailer to take it home, you realize that you don't actually have 50K in the bank. In fact, you barely even have 50 cents. And with the current economy, you surely can't bet on anything these days, let alone a raise (although, I was promised "magazine riches" when I took this job. I guess they come later?). So, what's a guy to do? Pack up and forget about the dream? No. That would be a terrible choice. You have to do what any (ir)responsible adult would do; barter, beg, borrow, and steal. You have to make this work on a budget, because in the words of Stuart Smalley "I'm good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." Plus, in this particular case, I literally have to do it, since we already allotted edit room for it! This is, admittedly, the best... This is, admittedly, the best angle of our sorry-looking '01 SS. We managed to pick it up off the internet for under $1,500, which was a fair deal for a roller in this condition. The rear had been hit and repaired, but other than that, the body was pretty straight. That is a real SS hood, which we ended up selling to help fund our paint project. So, like those before us, we ended up buying the best car we could afford, which happened to be an '01 SS with a salvaged title, no drivetrain, no interior, and three different color body panels. Perfect. Of course, when you buy something like this, you can't really complain and luckily, it was exactly what the seller said it was going to be. We loaded it up (in the pouring rain) and headed home; ready to see where we really stood and start building something special. The question now, with our smaller and more realistic budget was what do we build? We could do another drag build, maybe a budget 10-second street car that could stomp on the local Mustangs as well as drive to work. While certainly affordable and awesome, I needed to go down a different road with this particular SS. Then, one night while browsing the internet I ran across an all too familiar thread involving import car owners bashing on "dumbestics" for having terrible handling and basically being "old piles of junk that still ride like they are on wooden wagon wheels." And with that, its fate was sealed. Over the course of the next several issues, we will be turning our SS into a total road course domination machine. Our sights are set on a particular Subaru STi, which has been quietly dominating the other office-based domestics at the local autocross. The STi is a fair competitor, as it ships from Japan with a 2.5L turbo boxer motor, variable all-wheel drive, big Brembo brakes, sticky tires, and a nice, driver-friendly cockpit. With it in our sights, we set some goals. The STi Killer, as it is now known, will have to be faster on an autocross course, a road course, and a dragstrip. We will have to get better gas mileage, out brake, and out accelerate it. The STi Killer has to be better in every way, for less than the price of a used 2006 Subaru STi, which as of this writing is $24,690. Not stopping there, we want to lop off the heads of every C5 and C6 Corvette we can find and take all of the BMW M3s and Porsche Turbos with them. It may sound crazy, but we have a solid game plan and one of GM's finest platforms to build from. So, tell your import buddies we're coming for them and they better be ready. On most 4th-generation F-bodies,... On most 4th-generation F-bodies, this is a common occurrence. Looking at the front fender from behind the door, you can see a large gap and an awkward, outward bulge. This is caused by incorrect jack/lift placement on the undercarriage, which bends the mounting tab and ruins the lines of the front end. The image on the left is what we started with and on the right is our fixed positioning. With the clock ticking and our SS finally in the shop, it was time to start tearing it down and get it ready for the track. We decided our first step would be to get our SS looking good, since a multi-colored F-body with no hood and salad shooters doesn't exactly carry the same clout as a freshly painted German sports car. I know what you're thinking, if this a budget car, why not paint it yourself? Well, the answer is simple: we would completely ruin it. I am, what some may call, challenged, when it comes to painting anything. Sure, I went to art school and that should help but, truth be told, I am not capable of spray-painting an emblem, let alone an entire car. Plus, after adding up the costs involved in buying a compressor, paint gun, suit, and mask, then figuring out where to paint it and constructing a somewhat safe spray booth with fans, we would basically break even on cost. Of course, we still needed to do this job under budget and that meant doing the bulk of the prep by ourselves and buying quality supplies at a low price. That last part used to be difficult to do. Luckily for us enthusiasts, Summit Racing saw the need for an affordable paint system and, in working with quality suppliers, is now able to offer a ton of great choices and accessories. We gave them a call and ordered a ton of product, the crowning jewel of which is an acrylic urethane paint called "Gray Metallic." Summit tells us that the acrylic urethane paints are much more advanced than regular enamel-based paints and offer exceptional durability. These paints are designed to be used as a single stage, but allow the use of a matching urethane clear that will really enhance both the gloss and durability of the basecoat. It didn't take much time on the phone with Summit Racing to convince us and we ended up ordering almost everything we needed right from one place, which saved both time and money. From underneath, you can see... From underneath, you can see the result of an improperly jacked Camaro. The tab is the primary mounting location for the lower part of the front fender and when bent, pushes it outward. We were able to grab it with a channel lock and pull it back to roughly the right position. This immediately improved the look of our body and helped keep us motivated. Supplies in hand, we decided a road-racer needs to have some aggressive looks, so we called up VFN Fiberglass and ordered one of its gorgeous Sunoco hoods, sans bodyline. This hood, which is offered in both pin-on and bolt-on styles, not only looks phenomenal, but it offers a substantial weight savings over our old SS hood. Our next call was to Mark DeLisle of 6 LiterEater Designs, to order one of his slick front splitters and, brand new, dual exhaust rear valance covers. With the splitter, we are hoping to see an increase in front end stabilization, but even if it does nothing, it looks way too awesome not to have. His rear valance will really help set off the rear and provide a nice home for whatever exhaust tips we end up with. To finish off the rear, we called up Steven Woods at Hawks Third Generation, to order a replica SS spoiler and a couple of used mirrors. Finding an OEM spoiler was almost impossible and carried a four-digit price tag, so the sub-$300 SS replica was a no-brainer. With those cosmetics on order, we were ready to get started, until we saw the new tubular front bumper supports offered by Burkhart Chassis. A quick call to Steve Burger was all it took and we had a support on the way. Besides the obvious weight savings over the stock crash bar and foam, this new piece will also serve as a mounting point for future oil coolers and accessories, which would not be possible using the stock piece. Since we plan on racing this... Since we plan on racing this car quite extensively, we decided to ditch a lot of the extra weight that a normal Camaro carries around. To do this, we started by removing the front bumper to gain access to all of the "extra accessories." The bumper is held on by three bolts on the underside (seen on the left), and one bolt up in the engine bay (on the right). Once these were removed, we unclipped the top of the bumper from the support and pulled it out of the way. A couple of days later, we had all of our parts in house and it was time to get going. We immediately bolted up the VFN hood and Hawks SS spoiler and we were impressed. The fit and finish was exceptional and the added style really put our SS on the next level. Amazingly, they needed almost no bodywork to fit properly, which is rare for any aftermarket body parts. Our 6LE splitter and DE valance were both excellent and our Burkhart tubular support looked all business. But, we still needed a quality bodyman to help us paint the car and fix some little issues it had. As luck would have it, we happened to meet one when we first bought the car. After a little convincing, Robby Novak of North Deland Auto Body set up a delivery date and gave us an amazing estimate. After seeing some of his past work, we knew he was perfect for the job and we told him we would be there. Follow along with us as we go from a complete mess to a gorgeous Camaro in just a couple of week's worth of work.  Here you can see what the...  Here you can see what the front bumper hid beneath it. That giant crash bar (foam piece) weighs a ton and takes up a lot of valuable space, so it had to go. The big leaf collector didn't weigh much, but we wouldn't need it either, so it was removed. Notice the lack of foglights and horns, as those were also deemed unnecessary. As you disassemble everything, try to label what went where. We used labeled Ziploc bags (OK, fine, they were borrowed UPS shipping envelopes from the mail room) to hold the bolts and borrowed shipping tape to wrap around the wiring harness labels.  Burkhart Chassis has developed...  Burkhart Chassis has developed this tubular front bumper support, which is a bolt-on piece to replace all of that junk in the nose of our Camaro. This piece is all TIG welded chrome-moly, which is NHRA-certified to hold a front-mount fuel cell and shipped to us for under $250. Not only does this take a ton of weight off the nose of our car, but it freed up room for a couple of new accessories, which you will see in a later installment.  With the front bumper removed,...  With the front bumper removed, we made our way to the back and pulled the rear off. This is held on by a couple of pushpins and some sneaky underside pins. Take your time and make sure you get all of them off before pulling too hard on the back bumper.  With it removed, we could...  With it removed, we could see exactly what we were working with. The rear "eggshell" support looked heavy and useless for our application, so it was later removed.  With the body completely stripped,...  With the body completely stripped, we pushed it outside to begin cleaning it. Our car had sat for a while and had collected quite the impressive leaf collection. It is important to get everything out of the little cracks and crevices, as to not ruin your paintjob in mid-application. This is also a good time to make any final changes to your bodywork plan.  Not 5 minutes after arriving...  Not 5 minutes after arriving at North Deland Auto Body, Robby Novak had already started spraying down our car with Purple Power, to prep it for pressure washing. Even though we had cleaned it at the shop, it needed to be resprayed and thoroughly checked before he began working on it. Having removed all of the trim pieces and weatherstripping ourselves helped save us money (and Robby time), which is always a good thing.  Clean and ready for bodywork,...  Clean and ready for bodywork, Robby first assessed our current condition and checked for any major dents. Those little black "X's" all represent a high or low spot in the rear quarter panel and would need to be addressed before going any further. When looking for dents, sometimes it is best to just rub your hand over the panel, instead of just looking for them. You can feel them a bit easier than you can see them, which will pay off later.  To remove the door moldings...  To remove the door moldings or not, that is the question. We decided it would clean up the lines of our car, so we did pull them off. It is easy, just take your time and use some heat to get the glue a bit less sticky. If you are doing this at home, a hair dryer and some dental floss will go a long way.  Since our car had been hit...  Since our car had been hit in the passenger quarter panel, it required the most attention. Robby decided to refinish a lot of the previous bodywork, including fixing some careless blocking and repairing the keyhole smoothing. Summit Racing sent us some amazing Rage body filler (PN FGE-100106, $51.69/gallon), which made quick work of filling in the holes and dips in our quarter panel.  Somehow our SS didn't have...  Somehow our SS didn't have an SS spoiler, so we gave a call to the master of F-body restoration parts, Hawks Third Generation, and ordered one of its reproduction SS Spoilers. You can see that the fit and finish, even of the raw fiberglass piece is very nice. Ours shipped with the matching LED light cost less than $300, which made it a no-brainer.  Once Robby finished roughing...  Once Robby finished roughing in the bodywork, he sprayed the car with a coat of Summit Racing's Gray Primer (PN SUM-UP220, $39.95/Gallon) and checked everything over for any imperfections. He didn't bother to prime the engine bay, as it was going to be a semi-gloss black and didn't require the extra labor. Remember, time is money and if you want to stay on budget, you have to make some compromises.  Robby had some extensive work...  Robby had some extensive work to do on our rear hatch, so he removed it from the car to allow for much easier access. You can't tell now, but at some point our poor Camaro was moved around by a forklift, which had done some major damage to the weak SMC hatch. We could have replaced the entire piece, but it was more affordable to fix what we had and it came out just as good as new.  The primer really gives you...  The primer really gives you a good view of the Camaro's lines. This step helped Robby see some little imperfections like door dings and alignment problems before we went any further.  Using the Summit Racing supplied...  Using the Summit Racing supplied DuraBond block kit (PN ARD-TAI-AF44L, $59.95) and a Chicago Pneumatic 6-inch Dual Action pneumatic sander (PN CGP-T023990, $59.95) Robby did the final prep work to our Camaro before hitting the paint booth. They say that a quality paintjob is 90% preparation and 10% actual paint, so don't ever skimp in getting everything perfect before you lay down the good stuff. You may notice the keyhole on the driver's door, we did this to avoid having to use an electric popper, which saves both weight and the hassle of installing one.  Before painting, Robby made...  Before painting, Robby made sure to mask off any remaining pieces, including the dash and steering wheel. Overspray can make a good paintjob look sloppy, which is not something we wanted. Most body shops have this kind of paper, but if you are masking by yourself, order some stick-on plastic sheets (PN CDM-70528, $15.95) and premium masking tape (PN CDM-70407, $2.49) from Summit Racing.  The star of the show: Summit...  The star of the show: Summit Racing's new paint lineup. Included in our order was a gallon of 2K urethane primer, a gallon of Gray Metallic acrylic urethane paint, a gallon of H/S urethane clearcoat, a gallon of Surface Wash, and all of the necessary reducers and activators for our project. It really only took one phone call to get everything we needed, which included choosing a color from over 40 nice options.  It was almost 100 degrees...  It was almost 100 degrees in the booth, which meant Robby was going to have to use the slow reducer and activator from Summit. When you order, make sure to plan ahead and order the correct range reducers. We originally ordered Medium, which was only rated to 85 degrees.  The entire paint system is...  The entire paint system is set up to be mixed at a 4:1 ratio, which takes a lot of the normal science out of readying it. Here, Robby is preparing our Gray Metallic to be sprayed.  In the booth for paint, Robby...  In the booth for paint, Robby began by doing the jambs. He started with the doorsills and then moved to the doors, hatch, and the T-Top center bar. This was our first time seeing the color on the car and we were ecstatic!  Some careful masking allowed...  Some careful masking allowed Robby to paint the door, while keeping the factory VIN tags and information stickers.  While doing the jamb work,...  While doing the jamb work, Robby sprayed the bottom of our VFN Sunoco hood. You can see just how nice the VFN quality is, with an OEM-style finish on the underside and a nice rear vent on the back of the cowl.  Robby let the paint dry in...  Robby let the paint dry in the jambs before moving forward to painting the outside of our Camaro. At this step, it is crucial to mask off everything you don't want to be shiny Gray Metallic (or your color of choice), so take your time and do it right. Robby is so meticulous; he even taped off the 93-octane sticker under the gas door! When you do mask, try to tape any open creases or folds, as they may trap dirt and release it at the worst time.  We were now at the moment...  We were now at the moment of truth. Check out how smooth and flawless the entire body of our Camaro is, thanks to our quality bodyman. Off to the side is our VFN hood and Hawks Third Generation SS-style spoiler, ready to be sealed and painted.  When we first bought our SS,...  When we first bought our SS, it had no mirrors so we ordered a used set from Hawks Third Generation. Since they were in excellent shape when they arrived, we didn't have to do anything but tape up the mirrored surface and sand off the existing clearcoat.  At this point, the anticipation...  At this point, the anticipation was killing me, but Robby insisted on wiping down the entire car with Summit Racing Surface Wash before painting it. This is a crucial step, as it will be your last chance to eliminate any type of foreign object that may have taken to your smooth bodywork.  Robby prefers to first spray...  Robby prefers to first spray cars with a primer sealer, which locks in the primer and ensures a smooth, glossy finish once the urethane paint and clear are applied.  We gave our sealer ample time...  We gave our sealer ample time to dry and took some time to double check the surface of the entire car. Thanks to all of our previous steps, the car looked great and was ready for the urethane Gray Metallic paint.  As Robby was applying the...  As Robby was applying the first coat, it almost looked like some sort of Gray tiger. The metallic was a bit tricky to apply and Robby had to make some on-the-fly adjustments. It seems that this particular color liked to go on in fine low-build steps, as opposed to heavy, wet applications.  After a couple more coats,...  After a couple more coats, the tiger-look began to fade and you could really see just how nice this color was. Our hood here has five layers of color and two layers of clear, which gave us a deep, glossy coat with a subtle hint of metallic.  All done! After completing...  All done! After completing a total of one primer coat, one sealer coat, five color coats, and two clear coats, Robby was finally able to put down the gun and admire his work. The color turned out amazing and the bodywork was dead straight. Of course, Robby still had to spend time color-sanding and buffing the paint, but it already looked great. We loaded it up the next day (in the pouring rain) and took it back home.  Remember our Burkhart Chassis...  Remember our Burkhart Chassis tubular bumper support? You can see what it looks like installed and exactly why it is so functional. Not only does it hug the bumper to keep it from bending at speed, it also provides a killer set of mounting tabs for the top and gives us a ton of room for future accessories.  Re-assembly of the body is...  Re-assembly of the body is the opposite of taking it apart, just a little more nerve-wracking. Once everything was in place, our last step was to clean up our old, crusty taillights with Meguiar's Headlight restoration kit. This is a simple, two-step process, which made our lights look brand new, saving us a couple hundred dollars in the process.  After a quick detail using...  After a quick detail using Meguiar's products, we pushed our roller into the studio and took its first painted pictures. Try your best to ignore the hideous salad shooters and the 4x4 stance and look at the good stuff. The rear shot shows off the Hawks SS spoiler, the gloss-black "Berger panel" and the 6LE Designs dual exhaust valance. This valance is a rendition of the famous CME, but looks awesome with the traditional dual/dual openings.  The VFN hood really makes...  The VFN hood really makes our SS stand out with its aggressive styling and factory fit and finish. Missing from this picture is our 6LE Designs front splitter (with the beveled lip), which we will be installing at a later date. We are still undecided on our headlight and front grille choice, so if you have any ideas, shoot me an email (justin.cesler@sorc.com) and give us your opinion.
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