1969 Chevy Camaro - Auto Body Repair - Tech - Chevy High Performance Magazine

How far is too far gone? From what we can tell, there's no such thing when it comes to first-gen Camaros. Put bluntly, there's literally nothing on an early F-body that can't be repaired or replaced. Once upon atime, body maladies, whether traumatic (think impact damage) or chronic (rust and other body rot), were major impediments to restoring a classic musclecar, especially those of the unibody variety. These days, if there's enough metal present to support a VIN tag, then there's enough car left to resurrect. We saw this firsthand during our visit to C. Hopkins Rod & Custom in Cleveland, Georgia, and recorded the process as proprietor Craig Hopkins and crew refreshed the cancer-ridden floorpan in a '68 big-block Camaro with a Goodmark Industries one-piece replacement panel.

To reiterate, there's almost no piece found within the confines of a '67-69 Camaro body shell that isn't being reproduced. Accordingly, there's almost no body piece C. Hopkins Rod & Custom can't-or won't-replace. For that matter, if you send the shop your derelict first-gen and $15,500, the whole thing will be rebuilt, "from rockers to roof & firewall to tail panel," as it says on the Web site. Our subject matter for this report is considerably less ambitious than a full rebuild, but replacing an F-body floorpan is a job unto itself-and a critical one at that.

As most of you know, Camaros are unibody cars. There's no ladder-type frame running from one end of the car to the other, such as what you'd find under a Chevelle. Rather, Camaros consist of a multilayered body shell-the unibody-which acts as the chassis. In this particular unibody configuration, called semi-unitized, a front subframe is employed to attach the front suspension and steering to the unibody. The bottom line, however, is that whatever structural strength the car has is provided by that body shell, of which the floorpan is a crucial part.

"The floorpan of a unibody car ties its structure together," says Hopkins. "Replacing a rotting floorpan returns integrity to the car." Do we even have to tell you why a Camaro unibody lacking structural integrity is a bad thing? At the risk of beating a dead horse, we'll make the point again: In a unibody car, the floorpan is actually part of the chassis. If the floorpan is compromised-and after 40 years use and exposure to the elements, many of them are-so is chassis strength. Truth be told, we can't think of any type of early Camaro build, wild or mild, in which this type of deficiency is acceptable.

This gaping hole is only the most obvious symptom that body rot, aka "cancer," has taken hold in this first-gen Camaro's floorpan. Note the surrounding metal, which looks like Swiss cheese and is probably about as strong-a potentially serious problem in a unibody car.

This gaping hole is only the most obvious symptom that body rot, aka "cancer," has taken h
This '68 had an undercoating applied at some point in its life, probably by the dealer that originally sold it some 40 years ago. Despite this attempt at extra protection, rust has had its way with the bottom of this Camaro.

This '68 had an undercoating applied at some point in its life, probably by the dealer tha

Given the structural importance of the floorpan in a Camaro unibody setup, choosing the proper replacement part is critical. Hopkins' new panel of choice is Goodmark Industries' one-piece replacement floorpan. This relatively new stamping includes both the center and rear seat braces, and comes electrodeposit-primer coated for rust protection. Welding in a single-piece pan also maintains a factory appearance, but remember, we're going for more than looks here. "The greatest benefit to installing a one-piece floor," Hopkins tells us, "is that it duplicates the factory build." This means it also duplicates the factory structure, thereby maintaining-or restoring-chassis strength and integrity.

As you might suspect, this is not a job for the inexperienced-or the ill-equipped. On the first count, Hopkins brings 35-plus-year experience to the table, and he and his crew do nothing but install new body panels. Hopkins actually designed and built the Camaro jigs used during panel replacement, allowing every car to be registered to factory specs each time. In fact, Hopkins has upgraded his jigs since our visit, developing a more precise version that also allows vertical measurements, useful for tasks such as firewall replacement.

If you think the whole deal sounds very involved and complicated, well, you're right. But given that the job involves actually taking structure out of a Camaro unibody and then replacing that structure without sacrificing chassis strength or alignment, this is one you don't want to get wrong. Follow along as we show you the highlights of this first-gen floorpan R&R.

The area of the floorpan located directly above the rear torque box is reinforced by an extra layer of steel. As you can see, however, one layer has been virtually eaten away by the elements, weakening a highly stressed area of this Camaro.

The area of the floorpan located directly above the rear torque box is reinforced by an ex
Our subject '68 Camaro was stripped down to a rolling shell for its trip to rehab at C. Hopkins Rod & Custom, then media-blasted. Before the rotting factory floorpan can be excised, the front subframe, as well as the rearend and leaf springs, must be removed.

Our subject '68 Camaro was stripped down to a rolling shell for its trip to rehab at C. Ho
It's critical that body alignment be checked, corrected if necessary, then maintained while cutting out and replacing a major structural component such as floorpan. Proper alignment is ensured by mounting the body shell on a jig built according to the original factory underbody datum line. The body is located on the jig via the master pin holes. "It eliminates the guesswork, aligning the car back to GM specs every time," says Hopkins.

It's critical that body alignment be checked, corrected if necessary, then maintained whil

Up front, the body shell is aligned on the jig and bolted into place using the original subframe mounting bolts.

Up front, the body shell is aligned on the jig and bolted into place using the original su
At the rear, locating dowels on the jig are rotated up and into the other pair of master pin holes, found in the rear framerails.

At the rear, locating dowels on the jig are rotated up and into the other pair of master p
With the body shell securely in place and held in proper alignment, Hopkins began cutting out the original floorpan with a plasma cutter, starting from the center of the transmission tunnel. Note that he cut clear of the spot-welded overlap area at the front of the footwell; this area was dealt with later.

With the body shell securely in place and held in proper alignment, Hopkins began cutting

Before cutting alongside the inner rocker panels, it's important to scrape out as much seam sealer as possible. This substance impedes the plasma cutter's progress, and may even ignite. Here, Hopkins has cut a section of the front seat platform away from the inner rocker panel to get at the floorpan. Again, note that he is cutting clear of the spot-welded overlap area.

Before cutting alongside the inner rocker panels, it's important to scrape out as much sea
Once past the front seat platforms, Hopkins switched to an air chisel, which does a better job of cutting through the thicker seam sealer found in this area. With the air chisel, he can also cut through the spot welds, removing this section of the floorpan from the inner rocker panels.

Once past the front seat platforms, Hopkins switched to an air chisel, which does a better
Remember, the rear section of the floorpan consists of two layers of metal, with the rear torque box residing just below. Using an air chisel rather than a plasma cutter allows Hopkins to avoid damaging the framerails by removing the top layer of metal only.

Remember, the rear section of the floorpan consists of two layers of metal, with the rear

After working his way across the back of our subject Camaro with the air chisel, Hopkins resumed his work with the plasma cutter, slicing up the center of the transmission tunnel and back to his starting point. With this section of the floorpan out of the way, he repeated the process on the driver side.

After working his way across the back of our subject Camaro with the air chisel, Hopkins r
With the driver-side floor removed, Hopkins was able to stand inside the Camaro body shell and go to work on the rear section of the floorpan. Using the plasma cutter, he cut most of the floor away, but left the sections covering the rear framerails and torque box intact.

With the driver-side floor removed, Hopkins was able to stand inside the Camaro body shell
At this point, the air chisel was again the tool of choice. Hopkins worked carefully here, peeling back the top layer of metal.

At this point, the air chisel was again the tool of choice. Hopkins worked carefully here,

Once the top layer of the Camaro's original floorpan was removed from the torque box area, Hopkins ground down the spot welds that attached the second layer of metal to the framerail. Being careful not to damage the rails themselves, this underlying metal was then pried free.

Once the top layer of the Camaro's original floorpan was removed from the torque box area,
The idea is to end up with a fully exposed and undamaged framerail, and that's exactly what we got. All that remained here was to grind off the remainder of the factory spot welds.

The idea is to end up with a fully exposed and undamaged framerail, and that's exactly wha
Hopkins then turned his attention to the inner rocker panels. Using an air chisel, he carefully peeled away the spot-welded remnants of the '68's original floorpan.

Hopkins then turned his attention to the inner rocker panels. Using an air chisel, he care

The original floor sheetmetal was history, but a host of spot welds remained. Each one was ground flat before the new metal was installed.

The original floor sheetmetal was history, but a host of spot welds remained. Each one was
Once our subject was totally floorless, Hopkins went over the inner rocker panels with a hammer and dolly, ensuring these surfaces were straight.

Once our subject was totally floorless, Hopkins went over the inner rocker panels with a h
The Camaro's skeletal chassis shell was checked for alignment before the new metal was installed. Here, the crew is checking to make sure the rocker panels line up side-to-side; they were also checked with a level for front-to-back alignment.

The Camaro's skeletal chassis shell was checked for alignment before the new metal was ins

Speaking of new metal, Goodmark's one-piece stamped-steel replacement floor for Camaros comes complete with the factory center brace found on all cars, as well as the rear brace found on convertibles-a structural bonus for coupes, so to speak. The biggest benefit, however, is the fact this single-piece design replicates the factory construction-and matches its strength.

Speaking of new metal, Goodmark's one-piece stamped-steel replacement floor for Camaros co
Setting the floor in place within the Camaro body shell was a three-man job. Once in place, Hopkins had to do some minor pushing and pulling to get the fit just right, but in short order we were ready to make this fix permanent.

Setting the floor in place within the Camaro body shell was a three-man job. Once in place
With the floorpan securely clamped to the rocker panels, Hopkins spot-welded the new piece into place. Spot welding is cost-effective, maintains a factory appearance, and is plenty strong for this application.

With the floorpan securely clamped to the rocker panels, Hopkins spot-welded the new piece

The tabs found on either end of the floor braces, on the other hand, are MIG-welded to the inner rocker panel.

The tabs found on either end of the floor braces, on the other hand, are MIG-welded to the
These extra-long clamps were used to secure the front section of the new floorpan to the bottom edge of the firewall for welding. Hopkins uses a single-sided spot welder in this area. The rear of the floorpan is attached in a similar manner.

These extra-long clamps were used to secure the front section of the new floorpan to the b
The final step is to weld in a new set of seat platforms. They do more than just support a set of buckets; according to Hopkins, they tie the floorpan braces and rocker panels together on each side of the car. This entire exercise has been about structural integrity, and these pieces help provide it.

The final step is to weld in a new set of seat platforms. They do more than just support a