Hi gang, I'm new here and am looking for some feedback on what to look for when cleaning up my wife's '92 Camaro RS with the 3.1L V-6.

Here's my deal: My wife took ill about 3 years ago (we've been married for 4 years) and is constantly medicated (not in the good, fun medicated way either, but not as bad as some, thank goodness) and therefore can't drive for the time being. During that time I've basically neglected her car - it's been sitting in the garage gathering dust. It's basically a sound car, she's the original owner and babied it for the 68k miles it has up till now. It's pretty basic though; no power windows, doors, or anything else for that matter! AM/FM/cassette, automatic.....yeah, that's about all. I'm not experienced with GM cars at all, so assume I'm about as bright as a crash test dummy when it comes to this thing. But hey, a car is basically a car, right?

What I want to know is what to look for when going through this car. The exhaust sounds like it could use replacing, front tires shown uneven wear (alignment obviously needs to be done) and it seems to be sitting kinda low in back. I want to know what sort of areas are general problems with this car/year/engine/etc. What should I really be looking for, what BS should I look for from a mechanic, that sort of thing. Not looking to do any mods - most of that is being done to my car at the moment - the interior looks like new, paint is a bit rough and she got crunched in the front end back in 95 or so but that's all been fixed and you can't tell she was ever damaged.

OK, I've gone on long enough - let's here what you who know this car inside out think. And thanks in advance for the input.

 

TomP's Tune up comes first https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...t=Tomp+Tune+up

Sorry to hear that about your wife.

 

 

Yeh, get that thing tuned, make it purr like a kitten. As far as the exhaust goes, it's kinda a double bladed sword, given that you do "know" cars in general (mods to urown as stated) i'd say you could either keep a stock exhaust system, or possible get new pipes if needed (mandrel or regularkinked bends, no biggie " u said u weren't doig mods" ) and then you could add a flowmaster for 80 bux (loud) or dynomax (not so loud) muffler...or keep it stock. give it a vacuum, get the allignment done, also f-bodies wear their tires on the edges, part of the suspension design. Just something to keep in mind, however i'd say get it alligned anyway, hasn't been driven much, so why not. After Tom's tuneup, see if you're having any running probelms, hesitations etc, and get back to us about it.

Keeping a car clean is the key to looks, if the paint looks good enough, and the clear hasn't all flaked away and the color isn't faded say 4 tons lighter, then i'd say, just keep her clean, clean those wheels up, touch up any troubled paint areas, and make it look good, clean wins car shows, often times over "modded".

Also sorry to hear about the wife.

 

First off, thanks for the kind words about my wife - she's dealing with it day to day and we haven't had a need for a hospital trip in several months, so that's good.

As for tips and pointers on the car, they're much appreciated. TomP's tips is a great resource...I'll be making a list and stopping by the ol' auto parts counter in the near future then gettin' the hands dirty.

85f-bird, your comments on the tires wearing on their edges is spot on. I looked at one side first and the outside edge was well worn so my first thought was basic alignment. Walked around to the other side and saw the same thing. Hmmmmm.

Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted on how it goes....may even through in a few pics after I clay bar and wax it.

 

I'll 3rd the TPTU

Also look at the distributor very well. After picking my 91 up and it had sat 9mo-1year, it was very rusted and jammed up. Upon first starting, it bent some of the prongs. (you'll see when you look at it) so pay attention to it, see if its rusted.

These cars do tend to sag some in the rear, esp with a full tank of gas. Speaking of gas, put some additive to prevent it from varnishing up, and to keep water out the system.

good luck to the wife, welcome to the boards!