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I just bought my first Third Gen F Body, and it's one that people either love or hate. The infamous Contempo Cantara Camaro.
I first spotted this same car back in 2012 at a local swap meet in Portland. I had never seen one, and thought it was fascinating. But they were asking $5k for it and it wasn't running, so that was a hard pass.
I have been keeping an eye on the local market looking for a good $5k car, when the Contempo popped up again. I did a little research on it and it turns out it's the same on that was featured on Bangshift a few years ago. ( https://bangshift.com/general-news/e...eve-ever-seen/)
Based on what I could find online, it sounded like the transmission was missing a few gears, and I wasn't in the mood to replace a transmission since I just put a clutch in my Alfa Romeo. But I figured what the heck, so I went to look at it.
Unfortunately the exhaust was disconnected under the car, and the current owner claimed the cooling fan didn't work, so I couldn't drive it. But he showed me the title, and I was able to get the name of the last owner. So I tracked him down.
He told me that he had put a new Z28 style dual exhaust on it, as well as a new starter, new shocks, an alternator, shift boot, better console, and a few other small items. When I asked about the possible bad transmission he said he had swapped it, and put in a new clutch. Score! He was driving it when he sold it as he didn't want to deal with painting it.
So two weeks later I called the seller back and he said he would connect the exhaust so I could drive it. When I showed up with a trailer he knew I was serious and finally connected it so I could drive it. It definitely needs help, but it runs and drives and all gears work.
So I bought it.
I got it home and started a list of issues I need to address. The plan is to get it running reasonably well, then get a decent paint job for it. So far the list of items to fix is long and growing, but other than paint and tires nothing is expensive, it all just needs a little TLC.
The first thing I tested is the cooling fan, and it works fine if you jump the relay. So either the temp switch is bad, or it just never got hot enough to come on. I'll figure out how to test the switch at some point, but with the cool weather I'm not that worried about it.
The next priority is getting the gauges working. Right now I have a speedo, voltmeter and oil pressure. Fuel gauge, tach and water temp are all bad. The car came with two extra gauge clusters so I will try those and see if one works. If not I will order a repair kit.
I found some used tires I plan to buy this week, so I can feel safer driving it. The current tires are probably 20 years old and seriously dry rotted, they are also not the right size. The PO put fancy chrome rims on it which he sold seperately.
I also need to track down and fix the vacuum leaks as the engine idles way too high. I plugged 6! vacuum leaks because someone ripped off all the emissions parts and didn't bother plugging the holes. Ugh.
I will get some more photos of it this weekend and post them up. If anybody knows of any other Cantaras let me know, I doubt there are many left.
And for those that are thinking "why the hell did you buy that thing" I like the strange and unusual. The white Alfa Romeo Berlina with flames is my daily driver. Plus this one has a V8, t-tops, a 5-speed and 3.23 gears so it should be fun if not fast. Plus nobody knows what it is, that's always hilarious. Love that crazy hatch! Loaded up! Ugh what a mess, I have some serious vacuum line sorting to do.
Not my thing, but hey, just enjoy it! And am i the only one thinking yikes about having a 3400 pound car on a single axle trailer, lol!
I borrowed the trailer from a friend who uses it to haul cars all the time. It has proper load rated tires to handle about 5000 lbs. It's also much easier to deal with than the overbuilt Uhaul trailers. Those things are beasts. I only had to go a few miles, and this worked fine.
I just bought my first Third Gen F Body, and it's one that people either love or hate. The infamous Contempo Cantara Camaro.
I first spotted this same car back in 2012 at a local swap meet in Portland. I had never seen one, and thought it was fascinating. But they were asking $5k for it and it wasn't running, so that was a hard pass.
I have been keeping an eye on the local market looking for a good $5k car, when the Contempo popped up again. I did a little research on it and it turns out it's the same on that was featured on Bangshift a few years ago. ( https://bangshift.com/general-news/e...eve-ever-seen/)
Based on what I could find online, it sounded like the transmission was missing a few gears, and I wasn't in the mood to replace a transmission since I just put a clutch in my Alfa Romeo. But I figured what the heck, so I went to look at it.
Unfortunately the exhaust was disconnected under the car, and the current owner claimed the cooling fan didn't work, so I couldn't drive it. But he showed me the title, and I was able to get the name of the last owner. So I tracked him down.
He told me that he had put a new Z28 style dual exhaust on it, as well as a new starter, new shocks, an alternator, shift boot, better console, and a few other small items. When I asked about the possible bad transmission he said he had swapped it, and put in a new clutch. Score! He was driving it when he sold it as he didn't want to deal with painting it.
So two weeks later I called the seller back and he said he would connect the exhaust so I could drive it. When I showed up with a trailer he knew I was serious and finally connected it so I could drive it. It definitely needs help, but it runs and drives and all gears work.
So I bought it.
I got it home and started a list of issues I need to address. The plan is to get it running reasonably well, then get a decent paint job for it. So far the list of items to fix is long and growing, but other than paint and tires nothing is expensive, it all just needs a little TLC.
The first thing I tested is the cooling fan, and it works fine if you jump the relay. So either the temp switch is bad, or it just never got hot enough to come on. I'll figure out how to test the switch at some point, but with the cool weather I'm not that worried about it.
The next priority is getting the gauges working. Right now I have a speedo, voltmeter and oil pressure. Fuel gauge, tach and water temp are all bad. The car came with two extra gauge clusters so I will try those and see if one works. If not I will order a repair kit.
I found some used tires I plan to buy this week, so I can feel safer driving it. The current tires are probably 20 years old and seriously dry rotted, they are also not the right size. The PO put fancy chrome rims on it which he sold seperately.
I also need to track down and fix the vacuum leaks as the engine idles way too high. I plugged 6! vacuum leaks because someone ripped off all the emissions parts and didn't bother plugging the holes. Ugh.
I will get some more photos of it this weekend and post them up. If anybody knows of any other Cantaras let me know, I doubt there are many left.
And for those that are thinking "why the hell did you buy that thing" I like the strange and unusual. The white Alfa Romeo Berlina with flames is my daily driver. Plus this one has a V8, t-tops, a 5-speed and 3.23 gears so it should be fun if not fast. Plus nobody knows what it is, that's always hilarious. Love that crazy hatch! Loaded up! Ugh what a mess, I have some serious vacuum line sorting to do.
I think I saw this recently on Clist, the seller never responded to my text messages, anyways, congratulations and enjoy it!
God I want to get my hands on one of those rear decks. Are they fiberglass?
Mine will be for sale this spring, I'm debating whether I paint it first before selling it or just let it go as is. The good news is that the car is running much better as I'm cleaned up the mess left by previous owners. The bad news is that you have to buy the whole car to get the kit!
Mine will be for sale this spring, I'm debating whether I paint it first before selling it or just let it go as is. The good news is that the car is running much better as I'm cleaned up the mess left by previous owners. The bad news is that you have to buy the whole car to get the kit!
Well if you decide to paint it and go back to original colors, the silver is standard GM, the lower gray is an AMC color if I remember correctly. My first Contempo looked just like yours.
I have a soft spot for the odd ball models because you just don't see them and they're just too 80's! Bring it back to life and just enjoy the hell out of it.
11-10-2018, 06:12 PM
