tskills10

I'm new to this website and to working on 3rd gen camaro's. I got a call the other night from my Uncle asking me if I would be interested in an 86 Camaro that he needs to get rid of. It is a V6 T-Top Camaro, NOT running. The engine needs installed, supposedly everything is there, that remains to be seen. I am planning on my twin 14 yr olds and I getting the car together and running to be their first car. They don't need a fast car, for that they ride in my 70 Camaro RS or my '87 383 S-10.

What I am looking for here is any info on what to look for problem wise with the car. As of now I haven't seen the car. I am going to get it next Saturday the 5th. Are there certain areas of the car that just rust out really bad, certain things with the V6 MFI that I need to know about as I reinstall the engine. The engine that is with the car is out of a Firebird, should be the same, RIGHT?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

affliction1

just check the sub frame for rust if its bubbleing rust,or hanging off its bad,take a small hammer and tap all over the under carrige an if any rust falls you can look and see how bad it is,depending on the year the engie is plug n play, you can also get jy engine for like 200 bucks with a little more dsplacement,like a 3.4 or 3.1 just have to switch wiring.and make ure the wiring isnt all hacked up and you should be alright

Drew

iTrader: (58)

You're right in the area where the 2.8 went from being a total POS to a decent small engine. Research a bit and find out exactly when they switched to being an internally balanced engine, make sure that the engine you install was after that change.

Thirdgens don't especially make good daily drivers. It gets worse when the environment you're in throws slippery roads at you. From the sound of it, you're not looking for a weekend and sunny day driver, but a 24-7 car. If that's the case I'd say look for something else. A well abused Thirdgen can be a major pain. They're not exactly easy to work on, and with high mileage they are constantly breaking.

I pulled a 91 Firebird 3.1L V6 out of a junkyard in 99 or 2000. It was a complete car, that would almost idle. 3 sets of fuel injectors later I was able to drive it far enough to figure out the transmission was bad. Then the fuel pump went out. I drove the car for 6 years, and at least every 6 months I had to take something apart and fix it. Water pump, alternator, starter, exhaust, heater core, heater fan, oil pressure sending unit, distributor gasket, fuel injectors, brakes, shocks, steering column... You get the idea. Fortunately I had tools, places to work on the car, and other cars to drive while the car was down. I've never been happier since I sold it.

They can be ok, but I think you'd be starting with a rough car right out of the gate. It took two years fighting my Firebird before it could even really be driven. I would think you'd want your kids to have a somewhat dependable car.

Aaron_SK

iTrader: (1)

I 'm with you on this one. Check the year of Firebird engine. '87 I think was the start of the good 2.8's.

BS on this. I daily drove my IROC for years. That car drove in two to three inches of snow. I think a factory V6 car would be great to teach a young kid how to drive correctly in a proper RWD car.

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

And now you want to go rescue that old pile from the boneyard again

This is true though, they aren't good daily drivers. The DO constantly break. My car is in excellent shape and I bought it from the original owner in '99 with 116k, but it took me until about 2004 until I had it completely sorted out. It now has 151k on it.

Did all the usual tune-up/fluid stuff after I bought it, but it was downhill from there for several years. Literally everything that could break, did--except the water pump, which to this day is the sole accessory/sensor that hasn't been replaced. Starter, alternator, radiator, fuel pump (would die everywhere I went, had to go into nine shops before they could catch it acting up), catalytic converter, all the ignition components, MAP, EGR valve, virtually every single sensor on the car and every accessory. For several years, the car was borderline drivable. The only things that held up were the motor/drivetrain and oddly enough, the suspension components. It was a fight for a long time though, where it wasn't even enjoyable to drive because I never knew where it would die, but it always would, usually in an intersection. I'd almost say that it was a nightmare of a car for a long time.

Of course some years went by and everything that broke did, so now the car is dead reliable and has been for several years; but it took a LONG time to get there, and a lot of money. In fact that's why the car is still stock, because for the first 4-5 years when I was a teen and wanted to mod it, I couldn't afford it because every dime I had went to fixing it.

Be wary of one that's free. It'll end up costing more than it's likely worth.

StevenB L98/LS1

On the contrary guys, since my trucks trans took a dumb, ive been daily driving my third gen for quite a while now without any issues. Of coarse everything on the car is brand new (almost) through 2 years of hell stuff breaking and replacing and working out the bugs since the first 2 owners didnt replace anything on the car had the original spark plug wires. But if you basically replace whats old and just do routine maintenance simple plugs, wires,oil change etc..... there reliable cars. but sometimes you actually just come across some third gens that are tough to kill. 84 2.8 carb camaro my friend still drives from high school that car wont die lol

BTW tskills 10 basically heater core, rust of coarse, u joints, rear axle seals, check for intake leaks, check compression pretty ideal normal stuff

tskills10

I thank everybody for their input. What i am looking for from this car is hopefully a project I can work on for my 2 boys who are a year away from starting to drive. I realize that the camaro is not an ideal car for winter driving. But as I taught my 2 older girls to drive ANYTHING they get into, I will do the same for my boys. My middle daughter was driving a 26' Uhaul truck with an 18' car hauler through the mountains of WV at the age of 16. And yes the truck had a manual trans. She was driving a 68 GMC 1500 with NO power anything and a 3 on the tree. I am looking to make the boys just as capable of drivers as my girls. The boys have an advantage they get to learn to drive in the snow covered parking lots of Northeast Ohio with a RWD car. I refuse to buy a car for my kids, they have to earn it. The boys will earn it buy working to build a car for them to drive. It should be some fun mixed with some pain and some garage education. I will be driving to go get the car next saturday the 5th. So at that point we'll see what we have to work with. I'll post some pics.

Aaron_SK

iTrader: (1)

I must say I admire your desire to teach your children how to drive properly. My Dad took the time to teach me how to drive many different vehicles and perform a wide variety of maneuvers. I remember distinctly learning how to drive a '62 Dodge truck with no power assist and a three-speed column shift, and also learning how to initiate and recover from a slide in an old Impala (the kids nowadays would call it 'drifting').

Seems like this skill is lost on most people who view driving as a chore, or they are like my younger sisters who do not drive at all.

Best of luck with your project.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

I think I'd take a free thirdgen any day if someone offered it to me....

Anyway speaking of daily driver thirdgens, I've been driving my 91 Trans Am A LOT since I bought it back in the summer of '09. It even got to the point where I've been driving it daily since I put it on the road for good this year back in April (sold my truck, gonna buy another DD soon... I hope). After I spent my first winter with the car fixing it up to make it presentable/driveable, it's been very good to me considering the mileage I've racked up on it being a 20 year old American car. I've only had 3 "major" issues with it:

1. When I just got the car, it's fuel injectors were so shot that it would barely run. Then again, it's been sitting for years before I got it.

2. Fuel pump died last November as I was pulling into my school parking lot. It was time to park it for the winter anyway so I had it towed home and didn't touch it until March when I replaced the pump. Replaced the raggy old top too so it didn't see the road until late April.

3. Back in July, the 700r4 got stuck in "park" for some odd reason. Simply flushing the trans fluid solved the problem.

But in the 2 years and 3 months I've owned it, I've put about 17,000 miles on it, and that's with it being stored during the winter. Since April this year alone I've put about 11,000 miles on it with the only hiccup being that transmission issue. It's not unusual for me to drive well over 100 miles in one weekend. And I do NOT baby the thing; I maintain it well, but I drive it like a Trans Am was meant to be driven It does see rain too being a DD, and with the right tires and throttle input the thing is planted just fine in the slicker stuff. However I've never driven mine in the snow so I can't tell you what that's like.

I have had to get my hands dirty with my car, but it's not like I'm breaking down left and right. I guess it's hit or miss whether you get a reliable car or not. But just for peace of mind, AAA is a must. Good luck with the project and keep us updated!

evilemokid94

iTrader: (6)

Well here we go again lol, I love threads like this because you get to see alot Of stories. Well here's mine. I got my 86 camaro back when I was 15, the car was being parted out, I bought it for a parts car for the 90 I had and if I didn't buy it, it was off to the crusher. Well my car sat for 3 years in a parking lot. Didn't run, interior was trashed, literally, but for $250 I couldn't pass it up. Well I got it home, jacked up the car and noticed the rust pans were clean, worst rust was the passenger quarter panel was eaten up and some of the spare tire area is gone. Well I got the interior pulled out, put my 90s in cause it was black, then started the yearly process of trying to get it to run, the fuel pump was shot an so was the vacuum lines. After I replaced those she started right up and was drivable. Now since I was younger and didn't have my license yet I pretty much replaced everything just so I had a good reliable car. Only problem I had were my alternator and starter dying on me while I was out of town. They are fun little cars and great memory builders, I built my car along side my step dad and my grandpa up until he took his last breath. Iv been daily driving mine for a year now. Snow, rain, and shine. Snow is a bit tricky!!

SKELITOR117

iTrader: (3)

These cars are light in the rear so they can slip about in the wet. But shouldn't have too much of the problem with the V6 (less power plus less weight in the front). These cars are Easy to work on and make excellent daily drivers (no matter what anyone else says) , plus they're cool. Everything a teenager needs. Good luck mate, and welcome to TGO.

tskills10

http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/...=IMAG0114.jpg][/URL]

First time trying to attach a picture. But this should be the FREE 86 Camaro. Will get more pictures as the boys get into the project.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

On the photobucket page, click where it says IMG code and paste that code into the message.

Jason E

What is it about base Sport Coupe bodies that has grown on me so much over the years? I don't think I'd buy one, but Formulas are looking better to me all the time. If I could find a nice '89 or '91-92 Formula 350 t-top car? I think my 88 TA might take a hike!!

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Can you imagine that Camaro with a nasty 350 TPI, 6spd manual, dual cats, and a 3.42 or better rear end. That'd be a riot to drive. Keep the stock flat hood, 14x7 steel wheels, stock look paint...

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

That's always been a dream project sitting in the back of my mind, get an old thirdgen without ground effects and swap in a nasty power plant like you mentioned. I was also thinking LS2 with a full tubular suspension and the 5th gen V6 steel wheels to still give it that sleeper look

DiabolicalRS

arentyour boys gonna be fighting on who gets to drive? lol just a thought
btw looks to be a nice project

SKELITOR117

iTrader: (3)

I don't think he'll be letting his boys drive anything like that. haha.

tskills10

Ya got that right. They need a simple car with a small V6 that won't get them into too much while they are being stupid. If I wanted to really test them I'd put my 385 cid 600hp engine in the car and let them have at it. But that ain't happening, LOL. That engine is for my S-10. I'm sure they will get in enough trouble with this car as it is.

grasshoppertym

GET THE CAR AND DO IT UP RIGHT WITH THE KIDS, I DID IT WITH MY DAD AND HE DID IT WITH HIS DAD, AND MY 11 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WANTS TO START DOING IT WITH ME ON MY 87 IROC NOW AND WANTS HER OWN TO DO WHEN MINE IS DONE. THOSE 2.8'S WERE ALOT OF FUN BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL, MY BUDDIE AND I KILLED ALOT OF TIRES IN THE PARKING LOTS, AND ON THE REAL TWISTY ROADS WE WEREN'T FAR BEHIND ARE OTHER BUDDIE IN MUSTANG 5.0 CONVERT, CAUSE THE CAMARO NEVER SLOWED FOR THE CORNERS AND THE MUSTANG WAS IN THE BRAKES MORE THAN THE THROTTLE....GOOD TIMES HAD BY ALL

StevenB L98/LS1

The body looks good, just tranny and powerplant and clean it up should be a fun project, let them learn a thing or two on working on these older GM cars. So that way they wont be saying daddy fix my car when i do something stupid hell that's what my dad taught me.