Aaron's 76 Type LT Project

9 minute(s) of a 383 minute read

Sorry for the lack of updates but unfortunately there isn't much to update, lol. Harvey turned our world upside-down and I feel like we only recently got our home back to normal after over a year since flooding (August 28, 2017). My garage still hasn't been totally redone, but that is no matter. I took the chance to improve the storage in my garage and am happy with the setup now. We are actually still dealing with odds and ends from the rebuild but nothing that is urgent.

I got all the crap we were storing under my Camaro moved into the house last month. Since I had it jacked way up it presented a good place to store items out of the way. I am taking a few days off here and there and will clean the dirt off and review where I left off and tackle things in 2019. I think she's 90% done so I was hitting my stride when the flood water hit the fan. To make it DRIVEABLE won't take all that much (fix small steering hose leak, bleed brakes and clutch MC, install steering wheel, etc), which I feel like I should focus on and then finish any aesthetics issues.

Hope everyone is doing well and making good progress on their projects!

12-29-2020

I wanted to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope everyone here is doing well!

What's the saying? Life comes at you fast? That describes the last three years ever since our house flooded from Harvey. I completely shelved the 76 project, which I estimate is 90% done. It's such a shame because up until Harvey I had great momentum. But I know it will get done. Kids, family, etc all became more important priorities. I'm preaching to the choir though.

9-14-2022

It's been awhile since I posted. Firstly I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their 2nd gens! Time continues to fly by, especially with two young children who are active in just about everything. My son is almost 7 and my daughter is 5. The wife and I focus tons of time on the family, which is a great thing. We love being involved parents and love watching our kids grow. But it means no real quality time for the 76. With that said, I am setting my pride aside and talking to a restoration shop about finishing up my 76 project. I have let pride keep me from doing this but reality finally set in that time is only going to be in shorter supply, so I need to consider farming out the remainder of the project or just hang it up. And I don't want to really hang it up. What's left isn't really the most fulfilling work but also something I cannot do an hour here or there. Nothing is final because this shop might come back with an unreasonable quote. Anyway, I wanted to provide an update. I'll admit, I am a little excited thinking about the idea of the 76 possibly being done (or drivable). Reviewing my "done" list and my "wish" list has given me a renewed sense of interest that I have not had in quite some time.

9-15-2022

I made my to-do wish list to give the guy tomorrow. It's almost all labor, for whatever that is worth. They could hit me with a huge price and the idea falls apart. I honestly have no idea what to expect from a price perspective. There isn't any body work involved, it's all mechanical, and fairly basic at that (no fabrication, for instance). From a psychological perspective, I am trying to prep myself for a $10k number (which is arbitrary). I am not telling them what my budget is because I really don't have one (I know what my limits are, I am not going to pay whatever they hit me with). I need to see a number and then process it as a function of the time it would require for me to do all the work I am requesting.

Re: the idea of time - that is exactly where I am coming from. I'd have to take off multiple weeks with ZERO distractions to get the 76 finished, which is possible but very difficult given all the other commitments we have to our family, church, work, etc. I have a 9-5 job + a side hustle (which is my choice), mainly because the wife and I have some pretty aggressive "retirement" goals. I know one thing for sure - I have dumped more money into this car than it's worth! And to be clear, me not working on my Camaro is 100% on me, nobody else.

9-19-2022

I met the owner of the car shop last Friday and we talked for a solid hour. We talked about stuff other than my 76 project, which was good. This goes without saying, but this guy loves cars. I don't really consider myself a "car guy" like a lot of the great people on this site. I am just a dude with a 76 Camaro that wanted to do something cool. But that chat with the owner really reinvigorated me to get back after it, regardless of whether or not I hire them to finish my project. So that was a positive to come out of it. I taped my updated to-do list on my tool cabinet doors so I can start knocking out a few items. It's depressing because there isn't THAT much left to do relative to what HAS been done. But I can only look forward.

He'll get back to me in a week or two with a "soft" bid on the work I am requesting.

10-26-2022

So I stopped by the shop a few weeks ago to ask the owner if he took a look at my "wish list" and he said he hadn't (he was out of town ). I still haven't heard from him. So I called another shop that I have driven by a 1,000 times that is actually closer to me. I always assumed it was just a paint & body shop (they have awesome classic cars parked out front) but it turns out they are a full service shop. I spoke to the owner and he seemed willing to take a look at my wish list and submit a bid. He is familiar with the first shop and said they usually send LS resto-mods like my 76 to his shop, so maybe this will be a better fit. In the meantime I have been doing work on the 76, mainly getting the door and trunk seals finished. I had a trunk seal dry fitted that was too stiff (trunk lid would not close) so I swapped it with a super soft Metro seal, which is much better. I am finding that more work is done than what my last "to do" list indicated, which is nice. So I will keep knocking items off the list as time allows.

2-26-2023

After getting ghosted by the first rod shop, I finally scheduled a time to visit another restoration/speed shop in my area. It’s actually about 1 minute from my kid’s’ school. The owner and I had a great conversation about what needs to be done. The owner brought his lead body man the next day to look at my 76. After seeing the vehicle (they wanted to make sure the car matched the photos) they agreed to complete my 76. While this wasn’t how I ever intended my project to go, I truly feel like my 76 is going to the right place to bring it across the finish line. Assuming no “surprises” they think they can complete work in 90-120 days. They understand what I want and that’s to drive and enjoy the car. I plan on having it towed to their shop this Friday.

God has blessed me with several different opportunities to serve my church and my son’s scouting troop which are how I focus my time now. So it’s time to acknowledge my limitations (mainly time) and let this shop complete the project. I hope to have updates soon.

3-4-2023

And away she goes! The owner said I should be able to come by next Friday and look at the body work, which is mostly sanding and buffing. I hope to have some photos to share.

3-10-2023

I stopped by the shop to check out the “cut & buff” job. The attached photos don’t do the work proper justice. They were able to finish the paint job in a way I was not. The owner commended me on the paint and body work, which was nice to hear. I don’t think I ever want to do that again though, lol.

I’ll share more updates as they are available. I hope everyone is doing well!