Crash and mod

[V6Shooter]

hey everyone i dont post much, but i had to get some opinions on a possible apperance mod opportunity that has come up. i was involved in an accident on Monday in my '94 Camaro, and rear ended a Mercury Mountaineer. It wasnt my fault due to a third party in a Rav-4 making an illegal u-turn and a police officer (long story short insurance-wise it's not my fault). If i get paid any insurance money and decide to fix my front end, i'm thinking of changing the front end to a 98-02 firebird front. I've always been a fan of the pop up lights, and i think it would be something very different. Basically im looking for info if the panels should fit on the frame once its fixed, and opinions on the thought of a "Cam-Am", or "Fire-maro"
Thanx guys

[StrtRacer98]

I duno, that would be alot of work.
I dont think i have ever seen that done before,
but im sure it's possible.. i think it would look odd though
Maybe changing it to a 98-02 camaro front end would be cool though.

[StrtRacer98]

If you do it, you could call it a camobird or fiero.

[unvmyrs]

fiero is already taken by pontiac. [img]graemlins/naughty.gif[/img]

[Fbody3400]

Originally posted by StrtRacer98:
If you do it, you could call it a camobird or fiero.

already a car named a fiero.

This has been braught up several times recently. The fenders are different, headlights, mirrors, etc the list goes on and it is a very in-depth and custom project.

[BLLDOGG]

since you dont post much its understandable that you are unawaire that this has been discussed before with some pics i believe. if you search, you are only saving this board space(money) and yourself some time. i would try searching the word "conversion" first and going from there. that should get you were you need.

[V6Shooter]

oh i searched. i found one topic on this, and since i have to replace my fenders, bumper, hood and headlights anyway i figure why not change em to a firebird instead, as long as they fit on my frame without modification i see no more work than restoring the stock front or converting to a 98-02 camaro front end. believe me since i lurk the last thing i wanna do is clog up this board.

[Fbody3400]

It takes more than just fenders, the bumper, and the headlights. What about mirrors? The camaro's mirrors flow out from the fender for a real sleek look, but the firebirds do not do this. Also, the firebird fender is bulkier i believe, I don't think the door and fender would line up properly at all.

[BLLDOGG]

Fbody3400 is right. there is custom work that needs to be done to make thing line up properly.

[V6Shooter]

mirrors i knew about, 80 bucks each on ebay if i need to change em down the line. my f body is my second car so i wouldnt mind making it a long term project...as for doors and fender not lining up, thats the kind of stuff i was looking for, i saw the pic of the camaro front end and firebird rear, and i know it was odd in terms of lining up, i was hoping it wouldnt be so bad the otherway, but i dont have a firebird on hand to check out measurements or fitment against, just what i see in pics. ive had the idea for a long time, and i know it was left on the board as no one has a desire to do it just for fun. and since i have to restore anyway i figured it might be as good a time to enact my appearance change plan, but it probably is just more trouble than its worth, even if insurance pays all or most of it. thanx for the help though, and if anyone else has more info im still up for comments and opinions

[StrtRacer98]

I know theres such a car as a fiero! hello?!
I dont think the car would be a camobird or a fiero or a cam am or a fire maro i just threw it out.

[HokieBird]

I think if you like the firebird front end it would be a lot more cost effective to just buy one. If you are doing this just as something to kill time on and you are good at body work then go for it.

Just for anyone who hasn't seen the cam-am pics people were talking about here they are...
http://www.camaroz28.com/99fbody/index.html

[V6Shooter]

i apologize perhaps i wasnt clear:
if i decide to fix my crashed car, i have to restore my front end. as i understand it no one in their right mind would do this possible mod just for fun (because it is not cost effective and time consuming)but i need new headlights a header panel, fenders, a hood, bumper and reinforcements. aside from the difficulties of lining it all up properly with the lines of the car and the mirrors, i figure the cost is going to be the same to replace the panels, whether it is a camaro/firebird/Trans am front/93-97 or 88-02 style, so where-as a "why would you do that, just buy a firebird" may seem helpful thats not what i was asking for. the "Also, the firebird fender is bulkier i believe, I don't think the door and fender would line up properly at all." and "Fbody3400 is right. there is custom work that needs to be done to make thing line up properly" are the kind of informed opinions i was looking for and thanx blldogg and fbody3400, i really just wanted some common sense info that none of my friends can give cause they dont know much about fbodys. although if i were to do it and make it work it would just be called an F-body, and id get the camaro indents in the back filled in and replaced with "F-Body"

[vanbibber]

IIRC you'll need the doors off of a bird/trans am also because of the mirrors. the cost for all the custom work you'll need is way more than you will get back from the insurance company. dont forget this also, those headlight motors for the birds are not cheap, im not sure of the exact price but theyre somewhere around 150 to 200 bucks a peice i believe(maybe more i havent checked on them recently but either way they arent cheap) plus you'll need to rewire it all. my honest opinion is that its not worth all the work and money, for what it will cost you could do a 98+ camaro front end conversion,get a nice aftermarket hood, and gfx and have a really nice looking car.

[Loochy88]

it will fit and finish a lot worse than you might imagine. without tons of custom work it wont look right. cost will way exceed your insurance check. go with a 98.