Just wanted to tell the story of my car now that i finally have it to a point where i can just start it and drive. when i was 15 i was already in love with the 3rd generation camaro, the angles, the t-tops, everything. but i then realized "if i work a ton and make the money i can buy one". so i started looking, found some that were way out of my range but were very nice. but nothing that really seemed right for me, i wanted a 82-85 or 87-92 V8, 5-Speed, T-top car. kept looking for this entire year while working, id get online and search when i came home and still. nothing. i started to just save my money and look later on cause all i've seen that interest me are $10,000 or $15,000 cars that are perfect. one day i got an itch to look after about 3 months of not and BAM, 1982 Camaro Z28, T-tops, 305, AuTo, $1,500. after seeing this post i drove over as fast as i could and looked, gave him $500 that same time and went to withdraw more. (i had the title, keys, and bill of sale at this point.) and when i came back he just looked at me and said "son i haven't been able to get this car to run in years. keep that extra $500 for parts" i started wrenching on it in his drive way. i ended up just towing it to my house so it was out of his way. didn't get this car to idle for a single second. for months i tried getting this 38yr old 305 to start or even just fire once. finally got it. sounded beautiful (305 is one of my favorite sounding SBC) and i drove it around the block. ONCE. pull into my driveway happy as i could ever be. and car just kills itself. so im thinking oh it stalled out crank it over it will be fine. nope. pop the hood, pull out the dipstick that was not popped off and up against the hood. Coolant isn't supposed to be in your oil. so thats when i shut down shop. pushed it into the garage and called it.

 

A disappointing end to the original engine. Fortunately there is nothing more common than a small block Chevy, so replacements are plentiful, and not always expensive (assuming that one cannot be saved).

 

After a few months went by i saved up every dollar i made to build a 327 for it but was always an expensive option, i was 16 i didnt have $10,000 to drop on a motor. i basically gave up again on looking because i was set i was just gonna save and save for the 327 i had priced out. got the urge just like always and found a built 350 for $800, i wanted a 327 but hey its not a 305. i went out and bought heads, different cam, intake, carb, everything outside of the crank and rods. and i got ready to slap this engine in, my car had sat with this blown motor for about 3 months, everything was disconnected, ready to be pulled. the day comes i pull the motor and trans together (i was doing a shift kit anyways) and i get to work, swapping the TH-350 off the table back to the 350, and bolting them back together, all with a single friend there to help. Both 16 years old. so we hoist it back in to the car. we were not expecting this car to run same day but rather soon. start hooking everything up, its going great im learning and fixing this car. then we start wiring, not too hard (so i thought) ground here hook up the distributor. and i thought we had it. got in hit the key....nothing.i just kept trying things until i realized the starter has different studs. swapped them around. cranked first try, messed with the carb got it running and blew the transmission up ( i guess 550hp is too much for a stock Th-350) and it sat for another 3 months saving for that. now today almost daily drive this car while still saving for body work. at 18 years old i didn't think i would ever own my dream car and have it built by me

 

Pulling the 305 in my driveway.

 

Oh, I was thinking it was still apart. Glad you got it all back together and running. Good job jumping in and getting it done. It's the best way to learn.