I have a 85 HO305v8 camaro (new motor-probably)
The body is shot and there is quite a bit of bondo over all the dents
Both bumpers need replacing
There is rust all along the wheel wells, most of the portion closest to the wheel is completely gone
The transmission has supposively been replaced
But it's F*8Ked beyond belief. My clutches are dead from 3-4 (my engine literally winds-up and accelerates slowly)
And from 1-2 its mighty slow
Has trouble downshifting. Takes off good tho'

When I got it, at 147 thousand miles, it didn't run
I gave it a tuneup, some "hands-on" timing (I moved the distributor until it ran the best)
And I fixed the carburator and put in a new fuel pump
Changed the oil and filter of course
Runs and starts like it's new know, no smoke
The thing powerslides like a dream and is fast as hell up to 20
The motor probably has a little internal work done to it for mild performance seeing as how most 350's I've been in don't take off like it does.

To sum it up, good motor, bad, bad tranny, crappy interior and body is f*cked. The heat doesn't work probably, and the AC is non-existent. The rear brakes need serious attention (brake-torqueing) and the trac bar is all wobbly and loose.

The trac bar probably went because of powerslideing, which makes me think the car has been beat on. I seriously doubt that any service was ever done on time or anything like that.

Should I just drive this POS until it dies then dump it? Should I wait until it dies then rebuild the tranny? I have 0 experience with trannies, I'm 16 and have no outside help but I'm very mechanically inclined and intelligent.
Should I save myself the trouble and do the tranny now? Will it make a difference?

So my big question is... Is this thing worth my time to restore? I love the motor and the car, and I really don't mind the frustration (I might as well learn on a POS so it doesn't matter if I kill it). But I do mind spending more money than on a regular just in parts that I have to install.

 

I'm in the same boat as you. But...I'm restoring mine! If you love the car, as you say, than restore it! At your age, this would be a good junk car to turn into something decent and learn something in the process.

Brandon

 

I agree with Brandon, you will learn alot by working on it, and if you look around you might be able to get some good parts cheap, maybe luck into a donor car or something like that to get interior and transmission out of. it sounds like you have a decent engine and thats a big piece of the puzzle to have. good luck on the project.

 

dude take it from me... ditch that p.o.s before you waste your time and money! It will never be worth what you put into it, and there are plenty of 3rd gen camaros on this site that are very reasonably priced ! I sank six grand in mine and still not what I want needs even more stuff! run dude run

 

man don't listen to anyone that tells you diff.... trust me nothing makes you feel better than riding around in a car that you built or restored yourself

 

Scrap it. I don't care what anybody says, when a car is that beat it doesn't matter how good you'd feel after restoring it; you'll dump a ton of money into something that will have next to no value.
Buy another one.

 

did you buy the vehicle?

 

fix it!! it doesnt matter what amount of money u put in the car the satisfaction ull have by doing the car and doing it the way u want it will be worth every dime and u will have something to be proud of when it is done! yes u could buy another for less money but if u redo the car u have then it will be how u want it to be. that is my

 

where in michigan do you live, and do you have pics of your car. because i may have seen your car before

 

post pics let us c wat u r working with...

 

i agree with 83, you never know how bad it is until you actually start to get into it, and sometimes others can provide some good reinforcement. no car deserves to be treated like that , but on the other hand everything is fixable, it all depends on how well you do it if you decide to put effort into it. dont give up hope

 

The rust is a real deal breaker. If it werent rusty and the body was straight and OK, youd have a good base for a restore. But, that car sounds like its pretty much cooked and is too far gone to be practical to fix. Put it out of its misery and move onto a better car when you have the money. You will dump an s-load of $$$ to fix all those problems, and even then it might not be right.

 

BINGO!!!

you are 16 and I would gather probably not in a financial position to take on such a project. I found an 89 RS with no rust, new tires but the owner couldn't get it started and I paid $500. I got it started with a little carb cleaner and it ran OK. Again, I bought the car for a restoration project because the body has no rust nor do the floors. It's a Florida car.

Why drive around in a vehicle that seems to be somewhat dangerous and put yourself and others at risk? Good luck but it seems like a huge financial burden for a 16 year old who should instead be saving his money for prom, college and other things that 16 and 17 year old kids should be doing.

 

i hate that you said that but its true for us teenagers

 

I still recall my first car and the pride I had. I bought it muyself and kept it running myself. Within a 12 month period I put more than 9 times what I paid for it into repairs. And, then the engine began to knock. I ditched it and got my second car. Since then, I've had .......well, let's say quite a few vehicles.

I'm now fortunate to be at the point where i can take on a project. I re-did a 95 Z28 which my son now drives and it screams. I now am doing an 89 because I like the lines of the 3rd gen. My daily driver is a Stang (no flaming please)

Keep the passion for cars. You will get to the point where you can take on projects. Until then, the best gift you can give to your folks is to be safe.

Sorry to be the old-timer in the thread. We're all gathered here because we are passionate about cars. But, I've walked away from vehicles that aren't worth the restoration/repair and it seems like the OP has such a vehicle.

 

i would say it depends on if you have the help, place, and money to do the job right. if your not mechanically inclined or no anyone who is and have the drive to fix it, go for it but if not buy a better one. The car is only going to be woth it to you. your call

 

Am I the only one that noticed that this thread started in 2003?

 

HAhahahahaha uhhhhhh thats akward.

 

quite........awkward indeed

 

so what he's 23 now? wonder if he still has the car..

 

Thanks for pointing that out lmao