I bought a 1990 camaro RS w/ the 305 TBI with 183,000 miles. Body is sharp except a small dent behind the drivers door. The t-tops dont leak. fell in love with it cause ive been wanting one since i was 14.
The bad is that the trunk motor doesnt work, the tachometer reads at 4,000 rpms when its idling fine, the dash light doesnt work and the speedometer will stop working when i hit a bump and start working at the next bump in the road.. and the dash is cracked to hell, thats driving me crazy.
2 days after i bought it i put in new plugs, wires, rotor cap, air filter, oil change, radiator flush, thermostat and housing, and installed a flexible red led light along the trim of the dash that looks cool.
What should i do next to get some more horse power and get it running "newer" again???
thanx for all threads

 

What color is your dashpad? (I think they were ALL black?) If a Firebird dashpad will work, I have one that i will sell ya cheap, you pay the shipping.

Dashlights: Do ANY of them work? might be a blown fuse, bad switch.

Tach: Does it 'test' when you hit start? or does it always stay at 4000? Might want to check the connection at the distributor.

Trunk motors can be replaced, or, i think there is a tech article on site here to eliminate it? Maybe.......

change the fuel filter as well. Have fun with that.....

 

Firebird dashpad will not work - they don't swap with one another.

Trunk motor rebuild kits available from www.top-downsolutions.com, a TGO sponsor.

Check fuses for dash lights. Might have blown bulbs as well. Carefully remove the cluster, look for bad lights and replace, and after putting cluster back in, before inserting screws see if the tach issue resolved itself - might just need jiggled so that the contacts are realigned.

Ditto on the fuel filter.

Not much can be done for better hp on the TBI cars without major custom chip retuning - exhaust, headers, free TBI mods are about it - beyond that chip tuning is a necessity. Best seat of the pants feel for the car is better gears in the rear - posi 3.08 or 3.42 would make it "feel" alot faster light to light, but won't help your gas mileage.

New suspension parts will make a world of difference in handling. Shocks/struts, springs, tie rod ends, ball joints, idler arm, sway bar end links will make a new car out of it. Defintely FIRST get a "wonderbar" - it's a steering brace that was available on the IROCS, but every 3rd gen should have had one - either snag one from the local JY or get a new one from www.top-downsolutions.com - it's a simple piece with amazing handling results!

 

New suspension parts by all means, to include the Wonderbar. Remember, however, that the Wonderbar was developed as a Band Aid to strengthen the steering box area of a car with 16" wheels. It was never meant to be the performance part that it seems to have become in recent years. In a blind test, with the steering area in good shape, I doubt that most drivers would know whether it was in place or not. At any rate, the Wonderbar is a desirable piece.

JamesC

 

I didn't think my steering was in bad shape on my RS - but I would have been able to tell the difference blindfolded, ear plugged, hands tied, and driving with my knees! It was a vast improvement, and why I always reccommend it!

 

Before the install of the Wonderbar, did you check the steering area for tearing or cracking? If not, the bar may have simply tightened, but not fixed, the area in question.

At any rate, a blind test would be very interesting, though frankly I'm convinced that most drivers wouldn't have a clue simply because they aren't really 'drivers.' I'm certainly not. Did I notice a difference with Spohn spherical strut mounts and an Edelbrock STB? Unfortunately, no. Each to his own opinion

JamesC

 

Well, after just having gotten new paint, the "blind" test will have to take place in someone else's 3rd gen! Anyone wanna volunteer their ride?