My '83 Camaro
 

My growing passion/borderline obsession with these cars really began 2 years ago however they have been embroided in me for a very long time...

My father saved his very first car, a 1983 Camaro Sports Coupe, for me. He got it back in highschool. It was brown in and out and he loved it. There are plenty stories that he told me and plenty, im sure, that he didn't about him and this car. He completely redid the exterior to exectly what it looks like today. He also swapped in a grey interior. Other than that this car was unmolested when he put it in our garage over 15 years ago.

The day I got my license I was 16 years of age and after all that time only the thermostat needed to be replaced.


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I took this my maiden voyage lol

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

that was cool your ole'man kept it for you.....

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I am now 18 and about to swap in a 385 inch stoker that I built my self. I have done a lot already but still have much more planned for this car.

I am going to catch you guys up with "the story so far"

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I know I am veryyyyyy lucky. It's much more than your average heirloom...

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

The first thing I did besides give it a bath was your basic tune up.

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The car performed well. I really started to fall for it. It was a little sketchy around the corners though however that problem will surface months later....

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I really loved it however I felt like I was just riding around in my DADs camaro and not mine... I needed something to make it my OWN.


I had a lot of mechanical experience from working on ATVs and the 3 years in the making frame off restoration I did on a rotted out 80's K-20 I bought with the money from said quad repairs.

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I knew what it was like to get my hands dirty.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Since the exterior was already done, the drivetrain was easily the best way of achieving this. The time I realized this is actually when I first joined TGO.org. Both my car and I owe A LOT of credit to this board.

As I started reading through fourms, I was confronted with my first and only setback (knock on wood haha) with this car.

That unsetteling feeling when hitting corners... Oh yeah that's just your front subframe cracking apart...

At least for a day I thought the car was going to end up in a bone yard. I wish I had a picture of the acual crack however I know now that it is not too uncommon. Right under my steering box, the factory rivets were splitting apart.

Here is the car on the lift when we discovered the crack.

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Luckily I know a very clever fabricator. I bought a subrame from the junk yard and cut it/drilled it so that it was a "perfect brace" to fix mine. I had that welded over the frame.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

After that mishap, I focused and set my goals for my car.

I wanted a real fun street car that was just a tad bit aggressive for a clean cut daily driver, yet still retained it manners . I wanted to be able to get into the 12s in the quarter. I wanted 350-400 horses at the tires.

As many before me have decided, I chose a carbeurated 383 stroker to get me there based on its great potential for power and affordability that a part time budget could satisfy.

I picked this beauty up for $200 dollars. Its a 350 4 bolt main 010 motor of the late 70's eara. It was soposedly a running truck motor that was swapped out for a big block (kind of like what was going to happen to my 305 lol).

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I tore her open to find A LOT of rust. Cylinder #1 was pitted so bad that I thought I just bought an expensive boat anchor...

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I do believe that this was a running engine when it was put into the cargo conatiner the guy pulled it out of though. Water absolutely can do some damage over time.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I dropped it off at my local machine shop. .040 in over did the trick. 385 stroker was now happening. I got all the usual work done, bore line hone, hot-tank, cam bearings, freeze plugs, galley plug etc. I had him order a 383 stoker eagle rotating assembly. I purchased it un balanced and had him balance it. I just felt this was the better way. (Just a note here is that at this point I was unsure of what cylinder heads I was going with. I had in mind though that they would be at about 64-65cc combustion chamber. I wanted to get a scat assembly but at least at this time they offered none for my .040 overbore.

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I started clearencing the block. I used a dremel with a stone tool.

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The block didnt need too much cutting out. I ended up doing this twice though. It scared me a little grinding into what would be my heart of my car.

I then cleaned it and of course made it pretty ; )

some rustoleum engine primer and enamel dressed it up nice.

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Next came the first issue with the motor build. That eagle crankshaft was FAT I was getting very tight clearences on both my main and rod bearings. I eventualy went with undersized performance coated bearings to fix this.

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With those on the journals I was getting in between .002-.003 on all my bearings... a nice fit

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Okay so now I was ready to finally get the crank in. ( this is where I should have put the rear main seal in but like the noob I was I forgot). I tourqued all the main bolts to 75ft/lbs and was done with that. I then opened my set of Hasting rings and went to town staggering them on my pistons.

I used one of the ratchet-universal type piston compressor tool. I ADVISE ANYONE TO NOT USE THEM. They make it real hard to get them in without injuring the rings. On my 7th piston A ring slipped out of the bottom and I bent it. I had to buy a WHOLE new set for this one ring. (appearnetly hasting doesnt sell singles)

After the new set came in, I finaly was done with the bottom end :D

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2d5f9dfe.jpg

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I... Need... mooooore! :P Nice topic! Waiting for next part!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

As I was looking into putting together a list of parts I realized I had forgotten the rear seal. I took of the rearest main cap and slid the seal in. It really wasn't too bad. However, If I didn't realize my ommission I could just see my face on judgement day as I go to fire her up for the first time and oil is flooding from behind the motor as soon as she starts spinnning. LOL

So with the the bottom buttoned up it was camshaft time. Knowing next to nothing about cams I did a lot of reading, again much of it on here. When I had an idea of what I wanted I talked to my "engine advisor". We picked out this bad boy:

Comp XR282HR
Cam specs:
Basic Operating RPM Range:2,200-5,800
Duration at 050 inch Lift:230 int./236 exh.
Advertised Duration:282 int./288 exh.
Valve Lift:0.510 int./0.520 exh.
Lobe Separation (degrees):110

From my research I can't see why anybody would still go flat tappet with these retro fit hydraulic rollers available.

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PLEASE disreguard my formal mechanic attire and hair haha

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Haha. Thanks!

I have still have a good amount of "catch up" still. I have literally a year and a half worth of pictures saved up. I've been wanting to do this for a while now.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I have a good relationship with my machinist. He is a real good guy. He let me borrow his dial indicator & apparatus as well as his degree wheel to, you guessed it, degree my cam.

MAKE SURE YOU DEGREE YOUR CAMSHAFT! If I had just timed my motor "dot to dot" I would have been off. I cannot remember the specifics or the severity however I do know that it would have surely hurt performance. Retarding the cam put me right on the money.

(For whatever strange reason this was my favorite part of my engine build so far. I suspect it is because this was my aha! moment. I now understood how the relationship of the bottom end to valve-train and vice versa.)

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Right about here It was mid December and I got myself these goodies from Summit!

** I have wanted a dress up kit like this since I was 9 years old. NO LIE. I was putting together a corvette model and loved the black and red chemistry on the tiny LSX motor. I never had seen this until literally days after I purchased this. I now see them everywhere. lol I guess that's just how things work. I still love them though. I'm glad i didn't paint the block black like I was originally going too.

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Okay done for today lol. I still have plenty to write and have many pics to still share but I just want to thank this site and its members for all you're support of my novice inquiries over the past year. :thanks:




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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

So around this time I walked into a great deal. My girlfriend's father owns a performance shop. There was this guy that came in there every single week trying to sell a complete new in the box magnaflow 3 inch catback exhaust system. I ended up getting this system for $150. It retails at nearly $500 new so I was very happy with that one...

Out with the old stock stuff (which was in mint condition btw)

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and in with this


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This made the 305 sound noticeably better. I liked the tone. However I really like the volume. Its not to loud with a great growl. Definitely would recommend this system!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Another minute issue I would like to share that I had with the engine was the timing chain cover. This is not something I thought that required much thought. I got the dress up kit I showed before and thought that I could just hang it on.... Nope

Since I'm using a retrofit roller cam in my pre-'87 block, I need to use a thrust button that fits in between the cam sprocket and timing chain cover to prevent cam walk. Where would this button land? Right on the punch out of the bow-tie! Could you imagine that nylon button wearing against a raised surface? It would be eaten up in no time. I called up Summit and since they sell the cover separately, it was a straight up exchange for a Milodon Cover with a built in reinforcement plate to prevent flex when the cam is under load. I sanded it down, painted it black, and put it on the block. I had to grind a little off the button to get good end play. The cam should have enough room just to "budge" with a screwdriver on one of the lobes.

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I have read conflicting opinions on whether or not to weld the pickup to the oil pump. Most of the conflict comes from the two different metals, cast and steel, being welded together.

I used a wench and a mallet to get the oil pick-up on the pump. I didn't trust just the press fit alone so I had it tack welded. Before though I ensured good pickup location using a 3/8 nut. I put the oil pan on and played with the pickup until the pan just sat on the block and the nut. (3/8" is usually the recommended distance from pick up to pan)

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

With a quick paint job similar to the block, the oil pan was ready to go on.

Now I really couldn't make up my mind as far as cylinder heads go. I was so torn I started a thread and got great insight from many members, all that I have great respect for even if I didn't go with their suggestion. The dilemma is best illustrated by my post https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...tise-head.html.

I think that when picking out anything as important and expensive as heads you have to be real honest with yourself, your car, and your goals. I do not regret and am so glad I went with the American Flow Racing 1040s. They are just simply wonderful pieces right out of the box and their great CNC craftsmanship is undeniable.

I also had trouble with choosing the correct head gasket. It is explained in depth in the linked thread. I ended up going with the Victor Reinz composite gasket and not the Fel-Pro #1003 shown in this picture due to compression and cylinder quench reasons. This required measuring how far each piston was down in the hole. I did this with a straight edge and feeler gauges.

My engine ended up having static compression of 10.1:1 and a quench of just over .040 inches. I am very happy with those specs.

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Very promising build! Engine is looking great. Can't wait to see the engine in the car. Congrats.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Alright so I got the heads on and just sat back for about 30 mins and stared at it lmao No lie.
It was almost there!

A few days later I got these goodies

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along with some pushrods.

I checked for correct pushrod length with a marker and a borrowed standard length pushrod.
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With that line dead center for both valves I was good to go.
After an initial sluggish pace, I got the hang of setting the valve lash and things went smoothly. I couldn't help myself not to put the valve covers on. This was followed by another 30 minute starring break lol.

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and my fav pic of the engine so far...

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Thank you so much.

Me either!!!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

that's the same dress up kit I want lol nice build so far

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Okay now I am pretty much caught up with my progress with the engine. An Edlebrock Performer RPM intake will be going on top of their very soon along with a custom built non computer controlled Quadrajet by SMI Induction (literary just sent it out) I know, I know, a quadrajet on a build like this. Hopefully I am right but there is good evidence out there that the q-jet is the absolute best street carb borderline strip carb period. I guess I will be able to see if that's the truth
: )

This is the rough core I sent to SMI.
It was a free-bie with electric choke.
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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

haha It's real good looking and affordable. My favorite out there def

thanks.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

So suspension wise this car is bone stock. I picked up these from a member for a real good price. I think these KYBs will be an excellent match for what I want out of the car (although I think they raised my ride height : /)

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My stock struts might as well have not been there they were so bad. I got literally no shock-action from one, it just stayed where ever you put it.


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Buhbye
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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I have a brand new set of Hotchkiss subframe connectors downstairs. They will be going in the car this weekend. I will be sure to take pics of that. Without their reinforcement, I do believe that I would have twisting issues haha. It should handle a lot better too.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Good looking project! Cant wait to see more!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Thanks a lot man. Means alot!

I'm going to go skim through yours now (link in your sig)

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Great story. It looks like you're doing a good job on the motor. Good luck with it.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Thank-you!

I'm doing the best that I can. I'm not going to let the car down ; )

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Great progress so for. Congrats on your diligence.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Thank you ! Means a lot.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Build and car look fantastic dude!!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Update

Okay since my last post I got a good amount done. The most significant was I got my set of Hotchkis weld-on subframe connectors on. I also got to drive the car for the last time about 1/8 of a mile to the lift haha.
Those KYB stuts did wonders just driving down the road. I can't wait to see how it feels on the highway.

For the subframe connectors the entire installation took about 2 hours, no rush though. We put the car on the lift and mocked eveything up, grinding my subframe and the connectors. One side was tacked and the other that bolts to the rear was connected with the bolt. The car was then lowered. It was allowed time to settle and then again tack welds all the way around. We then brought it up again and welded it solid.

There was an absolute difference immediately visible from how the car lifted. The first time with no connectors, you could see the door jams budged a little. The next time when it was lifted to finish the welding, this was completely eliminated. The ride home was even better with now both the struts and the connectors installed. Absolutely felt the independent difference in both.

I am sold. Subframe connectors are absolutely a must have mod on our cars. I think they look nice on mine too. I never even realized how you can see them from the side.

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Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I just ordered the following:

Edlebrock Performer RPM Intake Manifold, Spreadbore
Carter Muscle Car fuel pump
Fel-Pro gaskets for that and my headers
And ARP Bolts all the way around


I also just finished placing my order for an Edge Street Edge Torque Converter. I'm going with 2,800 stall with lock up. Andre from Edge is a good person to do business with, answering my emails very late (11PM here so maybe 7ish where he is)

Also got 2 people interested in my 305. I'm literally going to start disconnecting, labeling wires tonight. My engine swap is so close!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Thanks man!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Got all of my goodies yesterday. Thank the lord for Summit's shipping!

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Also Removed my radiator, fan, p/steering, misc things, disconnected all wires that I saw and labeled, and drained my tranny. All I have left now is to drop the drive shaft, tranny motor and pull it out.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psd1bd0731.jpg

Should have that done next week hopefully.

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Just need some opinions:

Should I paint my intake black? Paint part of it? or just every little thing on it like the water neck, etc?

I dont like the clashing of the two aluminum hues ha.

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I dont want it to be too black

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

I'd leave the intake aluminum. When you get everything mounted you won't be seeing much of the heads

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Awesome build man. Love the car. I would also leave the intake unpainted. Maybe a high quality clear coat to keep it looking good?

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Definitely leave the intake unpainted, man your motor looks good! (:

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

You could maybe clear coat your intake..may darken it a tad and make cleaning it easier. But - that being said, I leave mine bare and when it gets dingy I use aluminum mag wheel cleaner on it.... works great!

Looks like a great build using some decent parts! She oughta scoot pretty nice when you get it dialed in! One of the best things I did was go to retro-roller cam in my engine. It opens up a bunch more grinds to choose from.

I may go with aluminum AFR's in the near future too...Iron Eagles are OK, but they really aren't performance oriented like the AFR's...they're nice heads.

I have old style Spohn SFC's in my car, but after seeing the Hotchkis ones you have - I like yours much better...seems you have better exhaust clearance, which is a HUGE plus on these cars!!
:thumbsup:

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Hello , are those Hotchkis sfc's part # 4001 ? need to know cause i was gonna go with
spohn tubular, but i need all the exhaust room that i can get, and also are they an easy
install, i mean i dont want to cut my floor . thanks in advance , kevin,,,,,,,, 92 camaro

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Yes they are # 4001. They are an incredibly straight forward install. No cutting or modifying of any part of the car itself! The only thing you will probably have to do is cut your stock y pipe and "shorten it by removing a few inches of length and re connecting it.

I didn't have to because I am not using the stock exhaust system. ( i just cut it off and drove it home with open manifolds lol... Live right up the road but was a little fun) it sounds like you are modifying the exhaust system in some way as you need plenty of room. I have never installed another brand of sfc's before, however I definitely would recommend these.

Get them and you will be incredibly satisfied!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

And to all that responded to my opinion-are, I really appreciate your help. I did not paint the intake after all. It looks great all together!

I have been really busy with work and school but have made alot of progress on the car. Just trying to find time to take good pictures so can give a real good update of project.
In short-
305 is out and sold
Almost everything is on engine that will not make it harder to maneuver to my garage (it's in my basement lol)
Waiting for tranny parts to control my tourqe coverter lockup

Will post soon though!

Re: My '83 Camaro
 

Thanks alot. I am thinking of laying down a clear coat just in case. Just have to find and engine enamel clear spray.