Hi all... I've been browsing these forums for a bit, after I got a new Camaro (1982 Z28)... It's my first Camaro and I'm looking to improve it a bit.. I've seen some pics of many on this board, and some look great all around. I've attached a pic of it. The pic is kinda misleading, the flames are not purple paint, but color shifting... It goes from purple to most any color you can think of, I love it...

So, what I'm looking for is:
somewhat inexpensive (I'm saying, don't say "Add a NOS kit for MAJOR Speedeee!" mods that would make it a better all around driver car... I'm not against showing it off, but for now, I don't need to spend alot of money to do so...

So, any major 'You get a camaro you change this" sort of items?

PS, please don't be too harsh on the car...

 

the hood (original fiberglass... )

 

well as for mods depends on what motor you got and what mods have already been done as for engine if you are carbed 305 or 350 i would recomend open element filter and new intake im partial to edelbrocks get some headers and 3" exhaust. as for handleing sub frame connectors some lowering springs adjustable pan hard bar and adjustable torque arm i would also recomend doing a energy susp tranny mount makes a world of difference

 

I agree with AlbertaFbody, First thing is the engine, if it is reliable, start with suspension. Third gens really respond well to good suspension mods. It makes a huge difference in the nature of the car. A tight, well sprung Camaro with good brakes, stance, and decent power is just an awesome ride, much better than big power and sloppy, flexing car with all the squeaks and rattles that they come with that only get worse and take the fun out of driving.

Good luck and welcome!

 

subframe connectors are one of the first/best mods for these cars, most guys will agree. by the way nice paint and welcome to the club

 

listen to ^. SFC's first.

 

here here!

 

Brakes, exhaust.....Looks like it would already have the goodies.

 

Youre car is nice man.I would get new set of rims though,something bling,bling.The ones you have now dont match the paint job on your car car IMO

 

looking good, first mod i would do is change the name on your title...to my name! hehe


nice car man...but i would like to know more about the drivetrain before i tell you which mods to make...


edit: man, those are the sickest flame, i have ever seen....lol

 

I like the paint man!
If i were you i wouldnt touch the engine yet i would get suspension first. its all about handeling!
But again nice job with the car. Welcome to the boards.

 

Wow, I wasn't expecting the car to be so well received! I like it...

As to the person who said it looks like it already has the goodies, yes it does look like it, but unfortunately, all the previous owner's mods were pretty much all appearance.. It does have a nice looking dual pipe (not dual exhaust) chrome exhaust system... So, it sure seems like the SFC are a must... They really make that much of a difference huh? wow... Ok, so mostly it's all suspension related... Any interior must dos? (the carpet is practically new)

Thanks much!

 

Got a pic of your interior?

 

just remember one thing while doing your interior....Black with chrome accents...it will look amazing.

 

SFC's are a definite must, I wish I still had that pic where the guy basically balanced his car on one jack (he had good SFC's). Some new shoes wouldn't hurt either, engine wise, what do you have under the hood? Is it a crossfire ?

 

Here's that interior pic... Things I already know:

The steering wheel is horrid, it's cming out real soon
I need to change out radios
minor fixes


Anything in it you see that says what I should do? I'm really looking for almost any suggestions.. I love many of the cars you guys have on here.. awesome looking.

 

I'm pretty sure it's not a cross.. Any certain way to check to see really easily?

 

cross fire kinda look like 2 small intakes connected? ya know what i mean... lets see some engine pics..

 

That's a gorgeous car.
Amazing exterior.
And a nice clean classic interior. My kind of ride.
Well get an engine pic and we can help you out.

It's an '82, so LG4 possibly? If it's a sad performer, i'd step up on that...
It's true, suspension will really make it handle nice (duh), and is relatively inexpensive. Subframe connectors, some polyurethane here and there...

But personally i'd look into exhaust, if it's not already done (and not shiny, but good...) like headers etc. They'll really wake up an LG4 (heck and SBC..) and make it sound as nice as it looks...
Then a good air intake, many ideas here on the boards (look for "CAI" = cold air intake). Then it's whereever you want to go from there... cam, head porting, etc. etc... -J

 

Ok, here's the engine pic.. Just reminds me I have a lot more to clean...

 

Man,all you need is to clean the engine and int,and youll have one sweet ride.And get new black carpet.Hows your headliner?

 

LG4 in there, carb... nice car all around. way better than mine was

 

Headliner is great. It's either very very new or was never damaged, near perfect...

so LG4, non crossfire, right?

 

Correct

 

yep, looks like an lg4, which is the low output 305. not crossfire. what are you looking to do with the car? everyday driver with occasional trips to the track? weekly trips to the track? more into auto-cross? or just a badass street car that never sees any track time? regardless, get you some headers first. a set of hooker p/n 2055's will do very well. a full 3" catback with a high flow cat. what are the emissions laws in you area? if there aren't any, then you can delete the smog equipment. are you ever planning to replace that motor with something bigger? do you want to stay carbed or go to fuel injection?

sorry, i am a go-fast guy and appearance stuff always comes last to me. but i must say, that is one sharp car!

 

I see you have tried to remove the A/C, well you should get rid of the whole module against the firewall, it would look more open in the engine bay if you did that. Especially if it was all nice and clean

 

look around for some 4th gen seats I love the feel of mine. They have a lot better support for your kidneys and sides. And you'll probably need them once you start go karting with suspension mods look into the bigger sway bars (WS6 or Iroc) 36 front and 24 rear are the biggest matched set they had i believe. Depends on your taste though, alot of guys like the 34 23/24 combo. Get a good set of struts and shocks, they make or break the car.

And the reason SFC's are #1 is because they actually make the suspension do the work instead of the body, which greatly increases handling. I'm sure your aware of the camaro/firebirds being a unibody and they flex really bad under certain conditions. They make the car quieter to not as many squeaks and rattles. (sometimes you find different ones though in my case the dash)

 

Thats a nice ride


Someone has been into the engine. Those are centerbolt valve covers and will not fit OEM 1982 heads, late 86+ heads on that engine. Your going to need to find theine casting number on the engine before you start dreaming of a HP machine. SFC's will have to be custom built to fit clear your 82 exh system assuming its factory. A good set of headers and a high flow cat will make a nice improvment and should be the first mod you do.


Find the engine casting number and let us know.

 

agh, I cant tell if they're actually centerbolts or perimeter valve covers from the picture. How can you tell SSC? They look like my '86 LG4's valve covers, but I trust your word... which side can you best see the centerbolt indents?

Sure looks stock to me atleast.... and he tried to delete AC

 

You can see the center bolts circled in red.

Is that an engine oil dipstick in the tranny tube?

Simple Green is your friend.

Nice car on the exterior.

 

Nope, the oil dipstick is on the back area... Look at the chrome, then look at the 10:00 position.. If you look super close, you can see the white lettering...

Simple green you say? I'm guesing good cleaner? I'll have to get some of that.. I'd like the engine area to look as good as the exterior too..

Thanks for all the tips and comments!

 

Nope, the oil dipstick is on the back area... Look at the chrome, then look at the 10:00 position.. If you look super close, you can see the white lettering...

Simple green you say? I'm guesing good cleaner? I'll have to get some of that.. I'd like the engine area to look as good as the exterior too..

Thanks for all the tips and comments!

 

I see the holes now They were sorta hidden by hoses heh.

Go to www.mortec.com so you can find out what motor was installed in your car, or if someone just did a head swap at one point.

 

Well now you have some ideas. Which do you think YOU want to do first? Power, handling, or looks. (or other..)
I'd say looks are pretty much covered, it's nice on the outside, and nice and clean interior (stock, but clean).

Is it fast? who knows what the engine is, (until you run some serial #'s)
but if YOU feel it's fast enough but handles badly.... suspension.

but if you think it's still pretty slow, but handles fine....power.

 

It really fits into the fast enough but could handle better catagory. I'm not going to be racing it, so it's mostly just a cruiser that I want to look and feel good. Right now, it's overly loose, so the suspension should be tweaked a bit.

I've started work on the engine compartment. I've cleaned up the only shiny part in it (air filter top), but haven't started anything else.. That's for tommorrow and saturday. HAs anybody here ever used castrol SUperclean? It cleans really well, but it's also extremely strong.. SHould I use this, or some other cleaner? The soap I have now is mostly a good exterior cleaner.. IS simple green the best dirt and grime remover, along with gunk thats in an engine compartment?

 

I like simple green because it has a million uses. You water it down to use it for whatever you need... interior, (plastic, carpet), exterior, engine bay, underside.... etc. etc.

Suspension: Good choice, you shouldn't have to spend huge $..

Subframe connectors, polyurethane bushings, maybe box the rear control arms & panhard rod..... new springs and shocks if they seem worn out. Maybe new ball joints if they junked...

 

You can't see the indents, but you can count the ribbing, there's no breaks in the ribbing for the bolt holes, and the artifacts circled in red are sitting on a rib. My 88' L98 valve covers have 7 ribs, and the 3 ribs in the center aren't continuous where the bolts are, other wise they wouldn't seal very well.

Justin can tells us whether the bolts are on top, or on the perimeter. Justin, Hey!, where's Justin?

 

Looks clean cept for that4 banger/V6 steering wheel. Has your car been convrted from a V6 to a V8?

 

unless it was converted from non-z28 to z28, i doubt it was a v6-v8 swap car. those "block" steering wheels where available in all the earlier cars.

 

Nice job making an older third gen look good. Mine still has the 83 gold stripes on it, at least I got the circular steering wheel though.

 

Justin,

After you get the engine cleaned up, get yourself a new overflow and washer fluid bottle. The was you have are looking pretty bad. Cheap to replace and makes things look a lot better.

 

I'm thinking they are the bolts.. But then again, a picture is worth far more than someone who doesn't know what you are really talking about's opinion.. therefore, a pic, at the points in which the red circles were drawn by someone else.. I think it'l answer your question...

And yes, I hate the steering wheel too...

That's a good idea aout the washer/overflow bottles, mine do look really bad.

You guys do know what you are talking about!

 

And that solves the almost-mystery of whether it's perimeter valve covers or centerbolt.

Did you nab the casting numbers off the block yet Justin?

 

I don't know exactly what those are.. I'm thinking they are what I circled in red. Are they?

 

well, i know one thing, those are not the casting numbers.

casting numbers will be on the engine block

 

Oh, could you point out where exactly? I've been poking around, and I didn't notice anything...

 

i was told on the passenger side, under the heads, but i may be way off..

 

Werd on the street its on the backside of the engine

 

then the street lied to me.

 

http://www.mortec.com/location.htm

tells you where the casting numbers are located on the engine. kinda hard to get at though :S



number 3 would be the position of the BLOCK CASTING NUMBER.