1970 RS - A British Resto

Cowman · 07-18-2010, 09:20:08 AM

So I've been lurking on here since I bought my 70 RS last November.

I've been accumulating photos from my project since starting the tear down in March this year and thought I'd knock up my own thread.

So here she is, 1970 RS, the day it was dropped off from the previous owner. I love my Camaro's and was planning to get one shipped back from AZ to the UK, sure enough the day before I flew out to the US this came up for sale less than 15 minutes away from where I was staying. The deal was done there and then! Must have been fate.

The car is complete and mostly original, but has suffered in the British climate, I'm guessing she's been over here for a while, there's plenty of rot.

Importantly the main of the car is solid, all the essential pieces are there, it's not going to be a quick or easy restoration, but I'm a sucker for a challenge.

So greetings from across the pond, it's great to be part of the Nasty crew! More photos of the teardown to follow...

jasong · 07-18-2010, 09:32:45 AM

Def. has potential. Hopefully there is no huger surprises under the paint

High Country Z · 07-18-2010, 09:37:46 AM

What's the purpose of the additional tail lights?

jr2226nhra · 07-18-2010, 09:42:34 AM

looks better than the on i had to have lol.do u know any history on the car ?when it was shipped over there and where it came from? have fun

clay taylor · 07-18-2010, 10:24:37 AM

Welcome to the site. Great people here. Be careful, this site is very addicting!

Done Yet? · 07-18-2010, 06:21:12 PM

Looks to be a solid start to a great project, Keep sending the pics as you progress. Good luck on the build. Rob

GOLF72 · 07-18-2010, 07:23:55 PM

Welcome and I am very happy for your find. It is also interesting to see pics from across the pond.

FlaJunkie · 07-18-2010, 10:00:48 PM

The steering wheel is on the wrong side!

Hope it's automatic so shifting isn't awkward.

Welcome!

Where are you in the UK? My daughter's father-in-law lives near Birmingham.

5spd540 · 07-19-2010, 03:25:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowman

So I've been lurking on here since I bought my 70 RS last November.

I've been accumulating photos from my project since starting the tear down in March this year and thought I'd knock up my own thread.

So here she is, 1970 RS, the day it was dropped off from the previous owner. I love my Camaro's and was planning to get one shipped back from AZ to the UK, sure enough the day before I flew out to the US this came up for sale less than 15 minutes away from where I was staying. The deal was done there and then! Must have been fate.

The car is complete and mostly original, but has suffered in the British climate, I'm guessing she's been over here for a while, there's plenty of rot.

Importantly the main of the car is solid, all the essential pieces are there, it's not going to be a quick or easy restoration, but I'm a sucker for a challenge.

So greetings from across the pond, it's great to be part of the Nasty crew! More photos of the teardown to follow...

Welcome to the site and car looks like a good start

Cowman · 03-09-2011, 12:51:03 PM

Thanks for the great reception here on the forum, and sorry for the enormous delay in posting!

It's been a hectic time for me here in the UK but have no fear - progress has been made and I'll be posting the updates - Hooray!

To answer some of the initial questions...

1. The additional amber tail lights were added at some point to comply with our legislation for indicators, these were poorly fitted and I intend to find a better solution.

2. The vehicle was initially registered overseas, but the log book states it was first registered here 06/07/72. Its registered on a 72 plate but VIN tags clearly show it as a 70. I have some old tax discs which show it's travelled since arriving in Britain, and it's been owned by 8 people along the way. I'm hoping to trace some more of the history along the way...

3. Yes this site is addictive!

4. The steering wheel is on the wrong side (a minor detail!) and it has a TH350 Auto Trans so that's one less complication when driving! I live on the South Coast of the UK near Southampton, perfect for summer cruising!

As for the rest I'll try and get up to date with posts over the next month or so as I sort through the photos! So Thanks for a great warm welcome and I look forward to sharing my project with you!

2nd gen man · 03-09-2011, 01:28:23 PM

very awesome project to start with.....
hope all goes well in your build.....
welcome

1971zed · 03-09-2011, 01:29:32 PM

Welcome aboard!
Nice find.
What colour are you thinking?

Visited Southampton back in the 80's...nice place.

My parents were living in Cheltenham at the time.

My dad and I went to Thruxton a couple of times to watch both open wheel and sedan racing. What a great track!

My younger brother who also lived there and was into cars almost as much as me was building a Ford Pop(48 Anglia)
and we used to drive up to London for a Saturday night cruise that was held in some well known park.
There were always lots of Pop's and other British cars but there would always be a few American Muscle cars
that would show up.

My brother would get his fix of drag racing at Santa Pod(sp).
He actually had his first run in his Pop at Sana Pod.

Good luck with the build.

PS...By the way what's the price for gas...er...petrol over there now?
I cringe at the thought. My dad had a late 70's Jaguar XJ 4.2.
It would cost a fortune to fill the dual tanks back then.
But what a blast it was cruising the countryside in.

73Camaro383 · 03-09-2011, 01:49:24 PM

Welcome to the site! Look forward to seeing your progress.

Cowman · 03-09-2011, 05:52:16 PM

So every project needs a home and this is where mine will live for the duration of the project, an old fruit packhouse - Perfect!

First job then was to see what surprises were lurking under that dreaded vinyl, I knew it was 'soft' so was braced for plenty of rot...

No surprises here then, plenty of rot round the rear window and the same on the front pillars, also the first clue as to the orginal factory colour - Green. So at some point the car has been resprayed red. What I didn't anticipate was the following little gem...

At some point one of the previous owners had installed an aftermarket sunroof, and at some point after that (probably when it was resprayed) someone had the bright idea to make a bodge repair, fill it, sand it and vinyl over the top!

Fortunately the repairer gave some thought to structural rigidity and installed this patented stiffening device on the inner skin...

That my friends is just about the best bodge I've ever come across and I laughed so hard I fell over. It's a chock of wood which has been beaten into place between the skins and then neatly hidden away under the headliner - pure genious.

P.S. 1971zed - Thanks for the comments, I went to University in Southampton and am living about an hour from there now. I love the old Ford Pop's and was in the market for one until I bought this! Santa Pod is still going strong and I hope to get down there with this when its done! On the fuel front we are now paying on average £1.38 a litre - or at current UK£ to US$ exchange rates - around $10.00 a gallon!

Prototype4342 · 03-09-2011, 06:18:23 PM

i'd cut the hole back out and put a sunroof back in! haha. even though everyone on this site would castrate me for such a thing. if the hole was already there, i'd cut it back out and use it.

cool project man, i'll have a 70-73 'maro one day, for now i just have to deal with the '81