What do you guys do for rear high visibility fog lights (the legal requirement for our cars) I want to try and avoid putting those bolt on ones beneath my rear valance if I can help it.

Also where do you guys buy your parts over here?

Cheers

 

Hey man, good to see another British Chevy-head on the board!

I've not actually DONE this, but for a fog lamp I'm planning to tint either one, or both reverse lights red and re-wire them for fog lamps. Reverse bulbs are 21w, the same as fog lamps, so I won't need to buy any! You can get red tint (a bit like that Turbo Tint darkening stuff) from Les Smith for about a tenner.

Who needs reverse lamps anyway? Contrary to popular belief, they're NOT an MOT requirement, whether your car should have them or not, they are not checked.

Other than that, I toyed with the idea of cutting the rear bumper and fitting a nice flush one....no thanks.

Hope this helps. Why not pop along to My Yahoo Club and post your car pics? Also, I'm working on a website, www.camaro.batcave.net but it's not finished yet!

Hope this helps
Si

 

Hi,
Unfortunately I have a sh*ite halfords job, which I'm looking to change. (I thought a red neon rice tube under the rear valance would do the trick... ).
BTW there are at least two other regular UK guys on these boards, so hopefully they'll chip in. (UK IROC z, and Andy Fanshawe).

look at this lovely fog lamp. (Think I'll stick it up the zorst, there's enough room!)

 

Forgot about "erictheviking".

Sorry eric.

 

I've got one of those ****e hang down from the rear bumper things too.In the long term I'm thinking of totally re-modeling the rear light setup completely.It will involve using using 4 or 6 round lights aka.corvette,skyline etc.It will involve making a fibreglass bulkhead and using the lights from of all things a bus or lorry,and having the fog and reverse lights on the inside.This is a big fabrication job and difficult to get looking right, but worth a go.This has probably not helped you one bit but has been a good chance to communicate with a fellow UK owner.
Ps.any of you UK blokes into drag racing?

 

Why would they make you do that? What is there alot of fog there where you are?

 

Ps. I get most of my parts from LA racing,real steel,rodley motors and a gimp legged hippy up the road from me who owns a scrapyard(really)(sorry Tim ha ha).I would strongly advise though to ring around as prices can vary enormously,for example new set of door seals(around door itself) LA racing £160/pair, others ranged from £300/pair to £170 each!! New windscreen £210 from Peter Jones, a.n.other over £300!! All of the above numbers in street machine,custom car etc.
pps.Do any of you guys read carcraft,hotrod,super chevy and chevy high performance(usa mags)?Absolutely top car mags and far more relevant for Camaros than UK mags.

 

redbird,
I assume that was a j/k in respect of the fog

"Eric"

I went to see my first ever drag races at Stratford a few weeks ago, and will be going to a few more..e.g. Santa Pod. Don't have the money to do it myself, but the local club I belong to are thinking about buying a "leg" of a street Camaro, (from bog standard), so I think I'll be copying your sig. for the spec.

I read Chevy High Performance, and dream. Am pretty pis*sed at the low level of cost and availability of parts in the US. I recently had to replace a cracked head, and had to put on a standard head, because I didn't have the dough (or time) to buy in a set of Vortec (or similar) heads. I didn't even de-smog the damn thing, and no I didn't do the headers either. Ran out of cash. it ended up costing me nigh on a grand for just to replace the top end gaskets, an old head, valve stem seals, and a starter motor. Should have just bought a junker 350!!

Regards,
Paul

 

I would definately consider putting in a 350ci if you had the chance,because whatever money you spend on performance on the 305 you'll get more "bang for your buck" if you had spent it on the 350.Don't get me wrong 305's can put out a good amount of power with simple upgrades cam,manifold,headers etc and can give reasonable fuel economy.Just be wary though,a good 350 in this country is getting hard to find.Another good alternative is a 400ci small block.These are quite rare in this country and fairly expensive to build but you can build an absolute screamer out of one.There is also the tried and tested 383ci which involves a 350ci block with a 400ci crank for another screamer of a motor.Putting a big block in a Camaro would in my opinion make it way too heavy for anything other than straight line (unless it was a Donovan aluminium block or something-but who the hell's got that sort of money?)Also (This is a very contraversial opinion in the USA) I have slung all the fuel injection gear and have a 790cfm rochester carb (may change to a Holley or BG).Fuel injection works very well when new,and you can't deny it's (slightly)better fuel economy and ease of starting, but when some of those sensors start playing up the expense can be enormous.The carb is a much simpler and cheaper proposition(around £160 for a holley-some of the sensors cost more,not to mention ideally needing a laptop to set it up or a big garage bill).
Imagine all that wiring loom,ecm etc you can junk eh.Besides the injection fitted to my '82 z28 was notoriously feeble and totally uncapable of supporting big hp.
I've gone on a bit there haven't I.Cheers for now

 

I agree with alll of that, just haven't got the wedge at the mo'.

Talking of engine weight, the stock heads and intake manifold on the 305 weigh around 120lbs on their own. I find that incredible, about 8.5 stones just for those items!!!!

 

Hi guys.

I lived in Sheffield for 2 years. Never saw a 3rd gen in the UK (I saw/heard a 2nd gen in my neighbo(u)rhood from time-to-time). It must be a sight! Actually, I was suppose to move back to Sheffield in April, but my wife backed out and said she wanted to stay here. (new baby)

Should you find yourselves in a situation where you need parts and can get them cheaper/more easily from a US source, contact me. I'd be glad to help out with any reasonable request.

I still have some friends in Sheffield and Chesterfield...

 

KeithO,

Hi. You're an ex-pat? My company does a lot of business in the states, and I'm thinking of taking a short job change over there to see if I could do it longer term. (columbus OH).

There's no 3rd gen register in the UK that I know of, but there is a Pontiac owners club (mainly 70's or 90's). I'm guessing here, but at the summer shows there's probably around 20+ 3rd gens on the field. There must be a couple of hundred in the UK.

Thanks for the parts offer, I've been stung badly on shipping and customs charges, so I use my sister in FL for a lot of smaller shipments.

Cheers,
Paul

 

Oh, I'm not tring to disrespect anybody here I just dont know that much about the weather there. Wish there was more fog here, fog rocks man. :rockon:

 

Redbird,

Hey, 'twas but a jest. I just assumed that anyone in the US still thought the streets of London were fogbound, and had Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper still creeping around the back alleys!
:sillylol:

 

Hey don't knock it. Robin Hood lives down the bottom of my road!

Actually I've seen no fog round here for an age, really makes me want to p!$$ around with fog lights!
You can get small halogen fogs (about the size of those oval indicators from halfords and mail order places), really quite blindingly bright actually. Maybe you could drill a couple of holes in the black applique "fake lights" on the inner ends of the light clusters (man are they ever hard to describe! You know, where the licence plate lights sit) and fit them in there?

The only other alternative I can honestly think of is a pair of (or single) high level brake lights at the top of the rear window. As long as they're centralized or offset to the offside, you can have them wherever you like for the MOT. They are the same wattage as fogs too, 21w.

Other than that, it's a nasty droopy thing hanging from the bumper I'm afraid!

Si

 

You mean you dont? LOL just ing with ya.

 

Hey Guys,

Lucky I have a friendly M.O.T. man.I'm still running on original USA lights

·



Below are a list of the modifications carried out over the 12 years of ownership.

Engine Mods
========
Dart Sportsman Heads
Comp Cams cam and roller rockers
Cloyes true roller timing chain
Headman headers
SLP Cold Air Induction kit
SLP T.P.I. throttle body airfoil
Accel Fuel pressure regulator
Hypertech Chip
SLP 3” Stainless Steel Exhaust system(no cat)

Transmission
========
B&M 700R4 and Convertor
B&M Megashifter
Aluminium Propshaft
New Crown wheel and Pinion
New Half Shafts

Brakes
====
Baer Racing Corvette ZR1 brake kit modified for T/A
13”Discs with Z rated pads

Suspension
=======
Koni Adjustable all round
Hotchkiss Panhard Rod,Trailing Arms and Strut Brace
Edelbrock Lowering Spring Kit
PST Polygraphite suspension bushes throughout
South Side Eng.Subframe Connectors


Wheels
======

Image Wheels 10”x18” Rears,9”x18” fronts with 265/40 x18” Bridgestone

Interior
=====

Cobra UK Seats with rears,door panels,centre console and dash pad covered in grey leather and alcantara to match

 

Hi Powermite,

Great car! (Could you do the same stuff to mine please!)

Where are you in the UK. I'd like some more pix, if you have them.

Cheers,
Paul

 

uk89camaro -

I move so much, I don't know where I am an ex-pat from! Actually, I'm a US citizen and have worked extensively with our British and French (yeah, I know) offices. I often referreed the British/French thing. As a third party, it's just humo(u)rous to me.

I'd recommend you give the transfer to Columbus a go. It's a nice change (in either direction) and gives you a chance to sample some cars. I bought a Mini Park Lane (top of the line!) when I was over there. The US gov't shafted me and I had to leave it. This time - I'd bring it back at all costs.

Anyway, I am serious that if you guys need assistance, drop me an e-mail and I'll help out.

 

KeithO,

Might well take you up on the offer, thanks again.

BTW, you don't have a sig. What 3rd gen are you driving at the moment?

Regards, Paul

 

Paul,

Here;s a couple more pics

John

 

And finally Paul,by the way I live near to Cardiff

John

 

John,

Like the pictures, you must be well proud of it!

Have you been up to Billing?

My old girl lives down in Barry, was thinking of driving down during the summer. Do you meet up with any Cardiff 3rd gen clubs, or general yanks meets in the area.

 

Paul,
I have been to a few Rod runs in Billing but the big American Show is always the same weekend as the LeMans 24 Hour Race and i'm an avid fan,so i'm afraid i'm always in France for the week.
The only cruise nearby is in Weston super Mare which is on the last tuesday of the month,so i'll be there this coming tuesday.Other than that there is an American car show in Abergavenny in the middle of July

cheers

John

 

John,
What's the Weston cruise like?
How many cars get to the Abergavenny show?

Just planning ahead.

Regards,
Paul

 

uk89camaro -

I have an 88 IROC 5.7 TPI. It's primarily for autocross and track days (went to Watkins Glen in May Woohoo!!!). I broke the tranny at event last Sunday, so she's down for repairs.

I love this car. Here's an "action" pic:

 

KeithO,

Have you done much on the handling/suspension?

Looks like good fun to me. I don't think mine would stand up to that sort of rigour in stock trim!

Regards,
Paul

 

You have to drive on the left side of the street dont you?

 

uk89camaro getting back to an earlier post,how the hell did the bill come to a grand for those bits,did you have a garage do the work or something.Not being rude just interested.Incidentally there are a few breakers around for bits.Also Chevy interchangability works wonders.My last starter motor was from (I think a chevy caprice-£25) and the windscreen wiper motor from a '70s camaro-£20.It's well worth investigating this interchangability as it can save a mint.Bye for now
ps.make sure the starter has been shimmed correctly or it will let go again.

 

"eric",

Yes I was a ***** and farmed the work out. (I don't have a garage, otherwise I would have semi-Ok to have a go myself).

Here's a breakdown.

Labour £400 (I thought that was OK)
Starter motor (Usautomotive re-con) £98
Top end gasket set (Usautomotive) £123
Single cylinder head (Autopontiac) £230
Various crap like plugs/leads/caps..etc £50
Fluids £50


All that to get it back to stock! Don't even begin to tell me I could have transplanted a 350 for that money

 

Top end gasket set from real steel £71(£18 for 350?)
complete gasket set £95.
NEW starter from real steel £91
Incidentally I bought an engine rebuild kit from LA racing for £350,this included;
Hypereutectic pistons
piston rings
all bearings
oil pump
complete gasket and seal set
freeze plugs
etc etc
I really don't want to upset the applecart here but just let my fellow UK 3rdgen owners know that there are definately ***** out there who will try and shaft you and people who care about your business.
By the way I don't own a garage yet and I'm doing my rebuild in a TENT!!!
I suppose I'm lucky though in that a mate has years of experience in building cars,engines etc and advise is not far away.
Cheers for now

 

uk89camaro -

The car is pretty much stock (hence the "FS" on the car - F-stock - Camaros, Firebirds and Mustangs in my class).

Mods within the rules:
K&N Air Filters
Dynomax Cat-Back (3")
Koni Yellows (adjustable)
Maximum Negative Camber
Maximum Caster
1/32" toe out

Mods not allowed but done anyway (hope the stewards aren't reading):
Random Technology's Catalytic Converter
Gutted Air intake (took out the baffles)

She hauls even this at this minor modification level.

 

"eric",

Having a friendly neighbour as a mechanic makes a huge difference chap!


KeithO,

I am a little curious as to what a "gutted air intake" is, please explain.

Cheers,
Paul

 

Yup.

Don't know about anyone else but I find it easier driving a left-hooker on the left hand side.

LOL I remember once I had to deliver a 5 foot high teddy bear to my brother in law, so I strapped him in the passenger side (the driver side in British cars) and stuck his hands to the dash, and then I tilted the wheel as low as it would go so it was out of site. You should have seen the faces of the people driving the other way.....especially when I lifted one of his hands to thank them for giving way!!!

 

uk89camaro -

Gutted air intake -

One the front of the engine bay, there is a big, black rectangular airbox. This airbox goes to the throttle body on the engine side. Inside this air bax are your two air filters (if you have a TPI). underneath the air filters (you have to remove them), you'll see two curved plastic pieces (baffles - under each filter) that are held in by two bolts each. Pull these bolts and the curved plastic pieces (baffles), drop the air filters back in place and you have just allowed the engine to breather easier on the intake side.

Chevy's story is that this reduces the noise of the air flowing into the intake. I think it is probably more accurate to say that they choked off the intake a little to make sure that the L98 Camaro wasn't quite as fast as the L98 Vette... Just my opinion. At least they made it easy to fix.

 

I also prefer driving on the left,took a wee bit of practise with a passenger telling me whether I was over the line or not.The most bizzare thing is being a passenger as you'll swear that oncoming cars are going to hit you.

 

What do you guys do about the headlights? Are there any other cars with lights that are the same size that are an easy swop? I have adjusted the existing ones but I seem to have the choice of not being able to see where I'm going or blinding cars coming the other way depending how I set them.


Regarding the fog light I have noticed that when you lightly press the brake pedal that the 2 main brake lights come on. Press a little further and the high level/spoiler brake light comes on. Maybe there are 2 switches/circuits and you could rig up a switch that would turn on only that light, which I think is bright enough for a fog light.

I'm like John I know a guy who does MOTs and turns a blind eye to the US/UK differences.

US Automotive is my prefered UK supplier especially with the 25% AAC discount. Customs charges are a gamble when ordering from the US but I often do it. I've got a few things off EBay.

I might try guttting the airbox. Is there any noticeable power gain? Dont those baffles stop you sucking in water if you hit a large puddle? I'll do a search and see what others say

Simon

88 350 IROC LPG powered

 

Simon -

I suppose that water could conceivably get in there, but I never was concerned. My car has (had - I sold it) been driven in driving rain, through deep puddles and deep snow with no problem. Then again, the air filter would also reduce any volume of water to a mist before it hit the intake anyway...

As far as hp increase is concerned, I would estimate 2-3hp. It's so easy to do, I recommend you try it and see what you think. 8 bolts and you can undo it anyway...

 

Simon,any chances of giving me a few examples of things you've imported and their prices duty,postage paid etc.I've not yet had the ***** to import anything myself as the customs charges seem very high.Like I've said before the best advice I can give on parts is to ring around as many companies as you can.There seems to be absolutely no pattern in what companies charge.Prices for parts can vary enormously.Example:I've just purchased a set of Eibach pro-kit springs from Motorsportworld for £159.La racing(where I've spent a lot and some of their prices are very good) were £259!!! The other alternative is to be a cheapskate like me and make your own gear.I'm currently working on a 4-pot aluminium caliper front brake set up for a fraction of what Baer charge.

 

Eric,

Ive imported loads of stuff.
Suspension bushes.subframe connectors,tpi airfoil and fuel pressure regulator,headliner,sun visors,crown wheel and pinion etc etc.Just give them your credit card number and they do the rest.You can pay COD for the Vat and Duty.
no problem

John
PS Baers are well cool and work great too.I got the PBR set up front and rear but i have also aquired a set of 6 pot Alcon calipers which Baer sell at about $2000 eacc caliper.Lovely!!

 

Eric,

Here are some examples.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a set of 1.6 ratio roller rockers for $114 the charges on this were £7 for post office handling fee £2 duty and £13 VAT ie £22 in total

various parts costing $130

£35 total charges

thermostat housing $16

no charges

Suspension parts $400

£80 charges

I have found that UPS and Fedex always charge duty charges which tend to be more than Royal mail. In the past Royal Mail often did not charge at all but recently they have not been so generous. BTW to receive goods by Royal mail they must be sent by USPS. You can use their postal calculator at www.usps.com to give you an idea of charges.
I'd recommend you go to www.summitracing.com and www.jegs.com and they will post you a catalogue for free.
I'm waiting for some SLP headers and y-pipe which summit has charged me £295 for including postage (just checked the charge with my card company online) which seems very cheap for stainless headers but they were the last few that were on offer. I'll let you know the duty charge when they arrive which should be next week.
You get a good exchange rate when you use your credit card compared to buying currency at a bank. Not surprising really as it is all done electronically.
I have tried carparts.com and they were hopeless.

You guys are spending a lot of money on brakes! Mind the standard brakes are no more than adequate if that.

One final mote I got my insurance renewal the other month from Stevenage insurance services it was £600+ for fully comp (the only cover they would do) with a 5000 mile limit. I was paying £260 last year TPFT. After ringing around I got it for £250 fully comp with MCE again with a 5000 mile limit!

Cheers

Simon

 

Keith,

I removed those flaps from the airbox and while I was at it cut the bottom off the airbox. On further investigation there is another plastic panel below the filters so I'm not worried about water getting in. I think some guys gut through this panel and connect to the fog light tubes to give a ram effect but I wont be doing that.
I could tell a slight difference, not one I'd be happy with if I'd paid money for but satisfied never the less.
The standard airbox looked very restrictive. I'd never given it close inspection before but having cut the bottoms off it looked more like how it should have come from the factory.

Thanks

Simon

 

Haven't done much since my last post, apart from order shed loads of gear and pay more shed loads of import tax.

Replaced my headliner a couple of months ago, and have received a rear end Hotchkiss set (panhard and LCA's), and am waiting for my front end roll bar, bushings, and brake disk set.

What are you chaps up to over the winter?

Regards,
Paul

 

Thanks for the info Simon.I'm interested in what brand type of rockers you purchased and was the postage included in that price in dollars?I'ts just that I did a couple of price comparisons between buying here and importing and it worked out a lot cheaper to buy here,the other downside is faulty goods return.I really would like to buy from Summit etc.it's just that my sums didn't add up.You're right about Summit and Jegs,they're the only ones who sent me a catalogue,the others ignore your applications.Perhaps all the UK owners could post the place that does the best price on a particular item.I'll ring possibly 5 or more companies and the price changes hugely.Sharing this info could do us all a favour and save us a lot of money(See Eibach price above to get an idea of what I mean).Bye for now.


Ps.Paul, winter will consist of work on car,work on car,work on car.

 

Hey guys, im obviously not from the UK, but i do have an idea for you. I dont know what the size of this fog light has to be, but you could cut out a small section of the black part next to the lights (that big plastic piece that does nothing), and put one in there on each side, or possibly re-wire the reverse lights to make them fog lights? Just an idea.

As you guys like to say;

"Cheers"

Tom

 

Put me a chrome fog lamp on to replace the plastic POS. and m ixed it with some blue neons. I think people should see that through the fog!

 

My headers came today. They cost $400 ex postage ($190 postage)and I was charged no duty on them at all! Summit however screwed up on my postal cost charging me $60 more than they said and they also charged me $23.95 as it was an overseas order. As if we dont have enough expense without them comeing up with some bulls**t charge.

The roller rockers I got were made by CAT engine parts inc (do a search) which I got new of EBay for $114 ex postage. I think if you buy direct they are about $90 but this may be a trade price. I'm not sure if I would recommend them though as they are self aligning and the edges touched the spring retainer before the valve stem! I ground the edges down to fix this. I think if you value your engine the best set would be comp cams magnum roller tip which are about $200. I noticed quite a difference in performance despite what most people say. A cam swop would be better but is a bit beyond me.

Simon

 

Simon,
What stuff do you have to ditch to fit the headers? (I reallllly want a set), and because I am dumb what do the roller rockers do?

Had a package from my sister (FL) delivered today, contains poly bushings and stuff...no tax!!!! yesssss.

Regards,
Paul

p.s. Maybe the MOD's will set up a UK forum for us?

 

You dont really need to ditch any thing to fit headers. Although removing all those air pipes will make it easier (do a search on fitting headers). The SLP headers I have have the air pipes on the top but I plan to cut them off and weld up the holes.
Just to make you want a set even more...

 

gimme the part number right now pal!

Seriously though, I had my heads off early this year and should have fitted headers then, but I ran out of dough. Are they short/long, etc. Part number would be good.
Regards,
Paul