1969 Camaro “Carbon Flash” Restoration in the V8 Speed and Resto Shop

So nice when pulling apart a car like this and finding little to no surprises. Keeps the costs down for the owner as well.

We did find a little rust around the rear window area, which is common with these cars. We suspect this one had a vinyl top at one point, and those were notorious for holding moisture and rusting around the trim mounting studs.



One of the first tasks was to replace the transmission tunnel with new steel because the original was pretty rough.



Adam fabricated a new tunnel.



A new reproduction console was purchased from Classic Industries, and was used to help fit the new transmission tunnel.





Once the tunnel was welded in, it was ground flush on the top and bottom of the car.

This car would eventually receive a Vintage Air a/c unit, so the firewall was closed off with a smooth panel.

We found that the tail panel had been bumped at one point and was hiding some body filler. The trunk floor had a small buckle, and the deck lid also sustained some damage.





Stripping the paint revealed the secrets. Unfortunately, these kind of repairs are all too common hiding under body filler and shiny paint on old cars. The good thing is that this was not a very complex repair to perform.



A new deck lid from Classic Industries was chosen because it was more cost-effective to replace this one then to reskin and repair the old one.

The paint was stripped off the trunk lid filler panel, which revealed many rust pinholes and evidence of the vinyl top. The decision was made to replace this panel as well.







There was some rust around the rear window channel which would need repair.



The paint was removed all around the window to expose any rust damage. Again, this is typical on a vinyl top car.



Here, Dylan makes repair sections for the window opening.

The new window channel was tack welded in place, along with the new trunk filler panel from Classic Industries.





The seams were TIG welded with the HTP Invertig welder for a cleaner job.