I'm about to get my mom's 83 Camaro Z28, which she has had since it first came out. I've been told by her that this one was not built on the assembly line and doesn't have some things that a regular Z28 might have, like cross fire injection. I was supposed to get it when I turned 16 but she thought it'd be too much power for me and so I got a Saturn SC2...joy. Then I wrecked that in an accident and got an Acura Integra, now my little brother is about to turn 16 and he is going to need a car, don't have the money to buy another one so I'm getting the Z28. So I'm happy.

Anyway, it's had some problems since it's been stolen twice. The main ones I want to get fixed before I start driving it is the Speedometer and gas guage. The speedometer doesn't really show how fast your going it shakes so if your going 45mph or so it shakes between 55mph and 35mph. The gas gauge doesn't move at all.

Also, my mom drives it every night but because of something draining the battery we have to charge it up every night. We had an alarm put on the car after it was stolen the second time and now that it's supposed to have been disconnected (my mom doesn't drive it as a daily driver anymore) we think that's what's draining the battery. The light to the alarm still blinks but it doesn't sound anymore. I was wondering if it could just be a bad alternator or something simple like that.

Finally does anyone know where I could get a dashboard it's cracked as well as a steering wheel since the leather on it is pretty bad.

*edit* oh yeah and it's an automatic and even though this is probably going to be a stupid question, I was wondering if there was a light where it shows P R N D so on and so forth. Cause at night even though it's simple to remember what's what kinda like having a light there. If there is and it's just gone out how hard is it to fix that?

Thanks, hope I can get my questions answered.

 

The speedometer cable probably just needs to be lubricated. A mechanic can do this for a reasonable price (maybe $15 to $20). If that doesn't work, a new cable is probably in order.

The gas gauge could be a number of things. Could be a bad sending unit or floater, or a broken gauge/wiring. You might also check your fuses just in case one of them might have blown.

It's hard to say for sure what is causing a battery drainage, but you can rule out the battery itself and the alternator by having an autoparts store check them for free.

And yes, there is a light for the shifter, although I don't know how hard it would be to replace it.