Interior or exterior first?

Got me a '78 camaro a few days ago and am looking for some opinions on which to dolly up first. The outside is alright except for numerous rust spots that im gonna fix up and primer over as soon as I get a chance. As well as replacing the panels behind the rear wheels and a small hole in the front right corner beneath the battery.

The inside's problems are moldy(? they are black stains so im assuming its mold) rotting vinyl in the rear arm rests, badly faded/worn out carpet under the rear window, rusty strip of metal between said carpet and window, and misc other little things.

The mechanics are solid except for a hole in one of the headers that my buddy is gonna weld up and then help polish it up real nice like. That and making me a battery tray.

In short, should paint er up on the outside? Or fix her up on the inside. Any and all comments are welcome :biggrin:

im my opinion i would do the entire interior just rip it all out get new headliners carpet seats everything b/c no one wants to sit in a moldy nasty smelly car lol

definatly interior first but do try and fixt the rusted spots that way they dont get worse

how much does fixing rust run for?? big and small

how much does fixing rust run for?? big and small

some body shops were im from would charge about 500 more while getting one ready for paint.

30 bucks and as much time as it takes you heh. Thats what its gonna cost me to patch up the outside untill I get it painted.

I honestly don't know what it would cost for it to be done professionally. The surface rust is easy to do but the bigger stuff might be hard. A friend of mine works sheetmetal and welds. He said he will make me two rear panels to replace the rust holes there. More serious interior can be fixed by cleaning it out and welding a patch over it.

cool

500 eh? Might have to think about that when its painting time. Since they have to rip lots of stuff out anyway I suppose they could get the harder, but not necisarily serious, to do stuff I don't want to bother with now.

I want to get a 70 camaro Im sure rust would be a problem right??

Not necisarilly but I would be surprised if it didn't have anyrust. The rust is "so so" on mine because he left it outside under a tarp for 2 years.

Wish mine was a 70, z28's had 100 more torque than the 78 and the ls6 had !220! more torque :eek:

im a 70 guy the new ones are cool but i know emmisions in california will keep me from mods on the car ill get away with the 70 I dont even think I need a cat do I ???

interior and exterior doesnt matter in 150mph...

I'm glad I read before clicking. Usually I'd say performance, but don't torture yourself. Clean up the interior (get that header fixed tho), then id say just fix up that rust then performance but i dunno how bad the exterior is.

i mean its all your choice, you might be able to fix the mold problem w/out getting a complete new interior. but your options are really

1. look good as you drive past some1 but don't expect them to get in

2. look like crap on the outside but you don't have to try hard to get some1 to ride w/ u

3. screw what people think, get your need for speed on!!

i personally am a #3 person, that's why the engine and tranny go in before paint and rims