So, Last night, I went and picked up an '83 z/28 Camaro. It is the regular 305 not the HO. And it has the 5spd. Car only has 89k original miles, the body has been re-sprayed with a cheap single stage pain, still looks ok, just not great. And there is a little dent in the fender. The interior is perfect, except for the usual cracked dash and ripped headliner. Under the hood is IMMACULATE! It still has ALL the original belts and hoses and clamps in PERFECT condition.

So, my question is. Since the body has been re-sprayed and isn't perfect. Should I worry about leaving this car bone stock? I want to do some engine work and make it scream. The car is freaking slow right now. Yes it runs perfect nothing wrong, it just only has like 140hp. Would I hurt the value by Putting headers on with full exhaust, taking the EGR or whatever stuff out, and doing a intake and carb? Would that hurt the value of this car?

This is my 5th f-body and it feels good to get back into it. I was originally looking for a Iroc car 'cause I wanted the TPI, but found this instead.

 

if you are going to drive it then mod it how you want to so you don`t hate driving it and maybe keep the original parts on a shelf so you or the next owner can put it back to stock if needed.
if you are going to park it for car shows only (after new paint) then leave it stock

my $0.02 worth

 

I'd do mods that nobody would see. There wasn't much difference between the LG4 and L69, camshaft, the air cleaner, exhaust, and gearing were the big differences. The L69 got flat top pistons too, but it wouldn't be worth the trouble to change the pistons on an LG4. Any mods will hurt the value to a collector, but its not like there are a lot of collectors looking for LG4s. Do what you want.

 

Awesome, that's kinda what I was thinking. I'm just having a hard time ripping into an engine that is absolutely perfect and original.

So, the only difference between the lg4 and l69 is Flat top pistons for the higher comp ratio? Or are the heads different also?

 

The heads are the same.

 

As long as the work was done properly i would assume they are upgrades, which would add value to your car. And who would complain if there car was a bit faster. The cars intention was for speed, it just didnt reach the goal with 140 hp

 

The manifolds and Y pipe are different. You could add them to that engine and it would make a big difference and you wouldn't even have to tear into the engine.

 

I would do basic things. Do the bigger L69 OEM-style manifolds and a y pipe...dual snorkel air cleaner...add 3.73 gears. Throw an L69 cam in it for good measure, and you're a compression ratio short of an L69.

L69s are fun cars that run much harder than an LG4. 89k isn't exactly low mileage, but at the same point it sounds like a car worth saving and not cutting up, for sure. Enjoy it...not a common sight anymore, sadly...

 

^^^I like this.

If I were you OP, I would just do a few bolt-ons and enjoy, keeping a pretty stock appearance. Put on a nice exhaust, lower it a bit, get some white letter tires, clean it up, maybe gears and an L69 cam/intake as mentioned, and enjoy it.

 

Here's some info that the OP may find interesting:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/faq-...5-engines.html

JamesC