1967 Yutivo Camaro Frame Off 'Rotisserie' Restoration

1967 Yutivo Camaro

Frame Off 'rotisserie' Restoration

69 Pace

Philippines

The Cars

1967 Yutivo RS

As Found

Drivetrain

Interior

Org. Paint

Frame Off Restoration

Yutivo Camaros

1967 - 1969 factory paint

First arrival in the bodyshop August 2007.

		July 2007 When visiting my friends body and repairshop in July I noticeda rather "kawawa" (thats poor, for you non-filipino speaking guys) 67 Camaro RS. I immediately inquired about the car, YES it was a real RS, YES it was running condition, YES it was a Yutivo, YES it had the original engine, tranny and rear, and YES it was for sale. We negotiated a price and the car changed hands. Clearly the car was in need of some major body work and basically needed a full frame off restoration. It was driven to the shop and the former owner planned to make a resale resto - so he started by dropping in a 350 cui V8 and a Th350 transmission, did some paint in the engine compartment and was about to move on to the body. The interior needs a complete redo, the parchment (white w/black stripe) deluxe interior is almost completely gone, except for the door panels which were in the trunk - and they were no longer Parchment - they had been painted black. I agreed with shopowner and long time friend Bong to due a 'barbeque' restoration, in other places this form of restoration is also called a 'rotisserie' resto, which basically means the car will be taken apart completely and turned inside out and upside down - literally.

		August 2007 The restoration began in August and these are the first pictures from the shop. It is clear that parts of the body is in pretty bad shape, see the trunk opening lid where the weatherstrip is supposed to be - some of it is completely gone. The trunk floor is also in pretty bad shape and probably needs to be replaced. The f-body on the left in the picture below is a 69 Camaro from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, it was originally in the rare code 55 Azure Turquoise colour..

		September 2007 Here it is with all the front end sheet metal (hood, fenders, inner fenders etc.) removed, the subframe still in place. Reminants of the original Nantucket blue colour can be found on the firewall and the front valance as well as under the dashboard. Front fenders (which had no emblems mounted) clearly has the correct holes for the "RS", "Camaro" and "250" emblems, all emblems were included in a box. The body has been stripped down to bare metal already and a temporary green primer has been applied to conserve the metal in the humid tropical climate while restoration is ongoing.

November 2007
Here the car is turned on its side for a "barbeque" session at the shop, this is a home made 'rotisserie´' jig - its not pretty or fancy, but it does the job.
A new trunk floor has been installed, the frame rails were still in good condition.
As you can see from the pictures, the floor boards needed some extensive repair work, the old ones were just in too bad condition, remember the car is 40 years old.
The other 1st gen shown below is a 69 Yutivo, which is in much worse condition than my 67.
The cut out for the manual transmission in the trans tunnel is clearly shown in the pictures and I have included a close up of the reinforcement plate at the bottom.

January 2008
And we have colour, first pictures of the Nantucket blue paint - certainly looks promising. These photos are without the white bumble bee stripe and pinstipes, also without the clear topcoat which will make the colour really shine through. Since these pictures the stripes have already been added in the white colour.
Final paint of engine bay, interior and suspension parts will commence in the following weeks.
A rather large order for new parts has been placed at Ricks First Generation in USA, assembly of the car will start once the parts have arrived in the Philippines.

		March 2008 The Nantucket blue paint job is almost complete. White Bumblebee nose stripe and side pin stripes have been added. The original 250cui L90 Yutivo engine has also been reinstalled, I have decided to keep this special Camaro in stock condition, next in is the Saginaw 3 speed manual transmission and the 3.55 ratio rear end. The Yutivo Camaros came without seatbelts, but it is clear that the seatbelt attachment points are on the body, as seen in the two lower pictures below.


		July 2008 The RS front with the electrically operated headlight doors has been installed and tested, works perfectly. The Parchment Deluxe interior is also almost complete. Next up is re-chroming the original bumpers and manufacturing of a new exhaust to factory specifications. The exterior also sports new emblems, front and rear parking lights, rear tail lights, lower body moldings, gas cap etc etc. Gotta love the "Jeepney" wheels - lol. Of course this Yutivo Camaro will sport its original rims with the original 'magstyle' hubcaps.



		Dec 2008 Bumpers have been rechromed and the interior is done. Only outstanding item is now a set of Redline tyres from US. Update, tires finally arrived and has been fitted to the original steel rims. The Firestone Super Sports Wide Oval D70-14 redlines looks rather skinny, wondering why they were called *wide* ovals!!! I am also looking for a good set of Magstyle hubcaps for the 67 year, mine are a bit "worn" and has some scratches. I found a set of five Magstyle hubcaps on Ebay that I bought, it is getting hard to find a complete set that is in good condition.