I have a 1983 z28 with a 305 and I'm getting about 9 miles per gallon right now and I'm wondering what I'm supposed to be getting....and what could cause this.

 

with a lead foot, 9 MPG might be about right for city traffic.

If that's with a light foot on the highway, your engine might need a tune up.

A search might give you a lot more info.

 

I do live in the city but its not that bad. It's the same on the highway.
I won't be able to fix the problem for at least a month. If I do get it checked out and nothing is wrong then bye bye Z28. That is just crazy...now I know why everyone *that i know* hates these cars. :*(

 

Many of "these cars" you've mentioned get excellent mileage along with good performance. With the AC on and driving around in hot Honolulu, both my Z28 5.7 TPI cars with 160K+ miles on the clock, get 19-21 mpg. On the highway at a steady 70 mph they get about 25 mpg.

So, sounds to me like you need to do some upgrades...

 

why dont you do a general maintenance tune-up on it? You wont have to "take it" anywhere as long as you have a beginner's toolbox you can do it all yourself.

do

spark plugs

spark plug wires

distributor cap

rotor

PVC Valve

fuel filter

Oxygen Sensor (will need a specialty tool for this, but it's only like 10 dollars compared to 50 for a shop to do it you come out ahead)


switch to synthetic oil and use a good filter (anything but Fram basically... and trust me on this)

flush the coolant system

and if your car still has the stock catalytic converter on it (you'll know as soon as you look under it believe me haha) then you will want to replace that ASAP! Those almost 20 year old cats can drain gas mileage badly.


If you do all of this and still get 9MPG then rebuild your carb, or get new injectors (cant remember if you said you were FI or Carb'd).

After that you should have same as when your car got off the show room floor gas mileage.

 

sellmanb speaks wisely.

~C

 

A new air filter couldn't hurt anything either...

 

Good. Quit crying about it and sell it. That will just be one more thirdgen for the rest of us.

edit: spelling

 

Actually after looking at the other camaros out there I've decided to get rid of it as fast as I can. First of all I don't know anything about fixing cars, I barely know how to get the hood up. If I could fix it myself then I would...and if I had the money to do so. There is someone around here who wants to buy it but they also want to rip out the engine and mod it to death. I guess thats the only way you can make the car worth the time.
It's really hard to have hope in something that people laugh at everywhere I go. I just wish that the 80s didn't suck so bad and force these cars to suffer with such a loss in power.
Don't get me wrong I love third gens..I love the way they look...they sound..the way they smell. I pretty much grew up in my mom's 84 z28 and since then I've wanted one of my own.

Oh and yes this car is pretty much all original cept the hoses, filters and some other small things

 

You have a 22 year old car, they need work. If you dont know how to work on a car then sell it a buy a new civic.

[edit]
on second thought, i'll fix it for free

 

At least once a month we get the "I cant change my sparkplugs this car sucks" or the "this thing never runs I hate it"

I second the vote for a honda.

 

hhehehe

 

did you see the headlights on that thirdgen in the photo above.....LMAO

 

lol nsimmons was that a picture of you going "hey i'm a chick and i can fix a car.... how 'bout them apples" or just showing us what a 22 yr old looks like? LOL

 

lol hey.. I'm 19
:P
I will post again when I find out what the previous owner did to the car. If he doesn't lie to me that is. I'd say that if he told me it was a "1983 Iroc" then I shouldn't trust him that much... :/

 

You, everyone else and especially your Camaro will be much happier when you let it go and get another make of automobile more suited to your abilities. Do it now, please.

 

Why are you trying to discourage someone from doing work to their own car?

Besides the carb rebuild/new injectors (usually unnecessary), all the things that sellmanb mentioned to replace/fix are quite easy to do and will most likely solve your problem.

These cars are quite tempermental, but I think that's one of the "unique" qualities that make them what they are. If you really don't want the hassle, then by all means sell the car. To be honest, though... the feeling that I get when I do my own tuneups and repairs is very much worth the effort. Not to mention they are a blast to drive.

 

I agree Nate, I didnt start really working on cars until I got my camaro, and when i got my camaro i could barely change my spark plugs, i then quickly learned how to do my O2's, the distributor cap and the module inside it, and then the list goes on to now when i just replaced my oil pump (though now i need to replace my bearings because i got a crazy knock even with good oil pressure :-( ).

If you need a dependable daily driver, sell your Camaro, and sell it quick haha, my car has been a blast to drive, and work on, but it sees as much maintenance time as it does road time. Most of the problem with these cars is not that they are unreliable from the factory, it's that after almost 20 years of mis-use and mis-treatment they get handed down to people who enjoy these cars and respect them, and they just need quite a bit of TLC.

I'm 19 as well by the way If you have a job, and a secondary car, keep your camaro you will love it that much more every time that you work on it.