'02 35th Anniversary Camaro convertible detail

gkerr4 said:
I don't want to get flamed for this (please not) - but do the camaros have a bed rep for build quality?



reason I ask - I rented a camaro convertible a couple of years back - september 2001 to be exact, for a touring vacation of New England. It was so cool - such a good car for a touring holiday. But over bumps and stuff, the chassis flexed so much - I could see the screen warp!!!



was still a cool car though
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Flame??? Are you kidding me??? Squeaks, rattles and cowl shake (particularly on the convertible models) are quite normal for a 4th generation f-body. Ask any owner about them and they will gladly tell you it is an intrinsic character trait of these cars. If those noises weren't there I would indeed think something was wrong!! My Trans Am, a t-top model, even with added full length subframe connectors, tubular bracing throughout and polyurethane bushings galore will flat out jar your fillings loose on a rough road all the while playing the "squeak symphony" for your acoustical enjoyment. Bavarian Motor Works they are not...BUT...point the nose in a straight line and put your throttle foot to the floor...in a stock car versus stock car race there is not much that would keep up with them in their $30K price range. That fact makes us owners look past the rather "sketchy" build quality. :cool:
 
DCopp said:
My buddies dad has that same car....6spd convert (rarest of the anniv camaros) but it has a eaton supercharger on it along with a cam and some other goodies and it runs a 10 something 1/4 mile. It is a trailer queen with looow miles...he is thinking of putting in a new vette motor with some lingenfelter upgrades!
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:bow
 
1 Clean WS6 said:
Reid...damn the "big 3"!!! :mad: The last time the General did anything worth while for a "special" edition was in 1989 when they stuck a Buick Grand National motor in a 3rd generation Trans Am to commemorate the cars pacing of the Indy 500.
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yup, they always like to tease the public with powerful and awesome "concept" or "test" vehicles, only to release a pretty commerative package that's only for looks!



like i heard for the mustang's 25th, ford asked roush to put something together, and when he came back with a wicked twin-turbo'd 5.0, the bean counters rejected that idea due to cost and liability. :mad: well, i guess that's why their tuners like saleen, roush, and steeda who do their own commermative packages that not only look good, but can kick butt too!
 
Nice job mike.Im going with the same process on my car right now. I hope it rains like hell tomorro cause its beer drinking raging redneck style at yo place peace

Jerry aka (raging redneck)
 
1 Clean WS6 said:
Flame??? Are you kidding me??? Squeaks, rattles and cowl shake (particularly on the convertible models) are quite normal for a 4th generation f-body. Ask any owner about them and they will gladly tell you it is an intrinsic character trait of these cars. If those noises weren't there I would indeed think something was wrong!! My Trans Am, a t-top model, even with added full length subframe connectors, tubular bracing throughout and polyurethane bushings galore will flat out jar your fillings loose on a rough road all the while playing the "squeak symphony" for your acoustical enjoyment. Bavarian Motor Works they are not...BUT...point the nose in a straight line and put your throttle foot to the floor...in a stock car versus stock car race there is not much that would keep up with them in their $30K price range. That fact makes us owners look past the rather "sketchy" build quality. :cool:
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Your SS looks absolutely amazing!!!! Beautiful just beautiful!!!!



Odd thing is I hear about this poor build quality and alot of squeaks and what not. I have yet to experiance this in either of my 4th gens Fbodys. I had a 97 trans am with t-tops and it was quiet as a mouse and never gave me a minutes problem other than the famous window motor burning out problem. My 99 SS is a hard top, M6 with out leather, in NBM hue (very very rare combo) and it doesnt rattle or squeak at all. The SS ride rougher than the T/A did but thats due to the stiffer bilstein shocks.



Myss.jpg
 
Thanks for the compliment!! :xyxthumbs It's not my SS though...it's a client's. I own a 2000 WS6 pictured here... http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=46773/



The fixed roof cars are indeed MUCH more quiet than the t-top and vert's. If your LT1 car was rattle free than more power to you my friend!! :up That must have been a car built on a Friday or something. :D



Your SS is beautiful man!! Unless the SS was optioned with the Bilstein suspension option from SLP they rode on the same DeCarbon shocks as the WS6 cars.



If you can make it there is a HUGE f-body show here in Atlanta every year. www.fbodygathering.com
 
Very nice looking too!



I don't have subframes, but in general I think my fbody is pretty tight. It does produce rattles and squeaks (even when it was new), but it does handle and maneuver well (better than most american makes save of course from brother vette). We all know how poorly it does in straight line acceleration (with a less than straight faced expression!).



I miss them, and the camaro legacy!
 
Outstanding work like always, Mike. :up



#80 + glaze + Souveran is a dripping wet combo on red. Looks like the car just rolled out of the paint booth. :)



BTW, are you positive the passenger door hasn't been repainted? In the first two pics, it clearly doesn't match with the front fender and rear quarter. Maybe the dealer reshot it due to paint damage prior to delivery?
 
Our passenger doors will have a different texture (rougher) than the rest of the car. It was very apparent when these cars were new off of the truck. I think it has to do with the compound material that the skin is made out of. The front clip and doors are composite, but the doors texture is more coarse than the front fenders. The rear quarters will have a smoother look to the paint. When its prepped well and when you also add an excellent wax, the textures will even themselves out better.



As far as the paint, I didn't notice a color difference...let me look at it again though.



Edit: Picture #2 I can see what Scottwax was referring to. Look at the top front of the fender though. The color matches closer to the door than the rear of the fender. I believe it was a trick with the shade somehow.



You can see clearly what I was trying to describe with the door texture on pict. #8 and #9. The material of the door's texture differs with the rear fender skin, thus (I think) it contributes to the more orange peel look on the doors than on the rest of the car.



Wow!
 
THANK YOU again all for the kind words. :xyxthumbs



Scott I did not notice the color difference in person and I spent about 5 hours on that car. Now...the more I look at the first two pics I posted I can really see what everyone is talking about. I am still inclined to think that it is my camera and photo angle playing tricks. The reason I say that is because my silver truck and trailer are right next to the SS in a perpendicular fashion...the bright sun is directly behind me...when I clayed the car it has no overspray at all...and the white balance is set in "auto" mode on my camera. Also...the car has 6K on it and is a one owner. He never said anything about bodywork to me. :nixweiss



That said, sometimes there is no telling what a dealer does to a vehicle on their lot and conveniently forgets to tell the buyer. I clearly remember the owner stating that this particular car had set on the dealer lot for some time because they were asking MSRP+ for it.
 
Awesome Job! Ive got a car I think youll be interested in seeing since you own a ws6, Ill have it on the forums as soon as the rain moves away!
 
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