Hey everyone,
this seems like a great forums, lots of information.

My 1987 celica GT (5 spd / convertable) Went up in flames last week,
I was lucky enough to pick up an 88 Camaro V6 rather quickly.

I was a little skepticle at first, but it feels faster and feels like it handles
better than my previous little devil.

I was surprised at the intake on this thing!
is that ram air? (or can it be made so with a little chop job?)

The car has new exhaust on it, sounds nice,
I think its OEM set up, but the pipes looks pretty fat,
and it rumbles.

The previous owner (my Italian Barber of 22 years Mario)
Kept this baby in pristine condition, if he heard a squeak,..
"I no Like-a the squeak, I no care what it costs!"
just rolled onto 110,000 miles...
Man is this thing clean.
Power windows / manual locks
The nice wheels / spoiler (i guess all 88's got those)

Sound system has the same head unit Im used to seeing on my old
87 celebrity (which was 2.8 mfi but doesnt look anything like this 2.8)
and 85 Cutlass Salon 5.0 (currently resting with a blown motor)

There is a logo on the dash that says ERS (extended range sound system)

I cant find any info of this, all i know is for that sh**y head unit,
this thing bumps hard... Some kind of 6 speaker system, or internal power amp? Bose speakers? Whats going on here that this thing kicks that hard!

It's auto.. But I like the way it shifts.. cant say that about many
other autos ive driven.

The air filters on this thing look like brand new Frams,
The Coolant was perfectly full, clean and green.
Oil was even clean on this car.

So, judging by the way it runs, and the barbers reputation for
keeping his cars in mint shape, I'd say this baby is in awesome shape.
Looks like original cap and rotors, , wires, and im betting original
plugs too.

If i were to replace cap/rotor/wires/plugs/coil pack
What would you reccomend?
And would i notice any difference?

The intake manifold is restrictive on these cars I've read,
and the only aftermarket ive seen is for the carb models..
How can I open her up?

AC Delete / underdrive pullys a good idea?

Computer Chip?


What exactly does a wonderbar do and where does it go?

What kind of oil should I run?

Sea Foam?

any other advice?

Id really like to open this V6 up if possible.. without
going turbo, or getting to far into the engine internals

 

Sounds like a good car, welcome to the site. Since you don't want to get into internals you can add headers/catback, gut the airbox, shiftkit for the tranny, and some free mods. Check the sticky at the top for a list of parts. For tuneup parts everyone likes AC Parts.

 

what are these free mods you speak of?
Timing advance?
Gut air box...


anything else?

 

The intake on that v6 should be the y-box, and its actually very good, just needs some tweaks. In the part that bolts to the car, there are some water baffles, remove them.. takes a 9/32 socket IIRC. Then in the y part that sits up top, take it off. Remove the maf, and in there you will see a "lip" on the bottom that needs ground down. Other then that, thats the best intake your gonna get. It was flow tested by a board member on a 2.8 up to 5k RPMS and provided little/zero restriction. Most of the 3.1 guys swap to that same intake.

Coil, go MSD or hypertech.
Wires, something 8mm or better
brass cap and rotor
stick with standard acdelco plugs
You can bump timing from 10deg, to 12 or maybe 14.
Depending on where you live, there are coolant lines that run to your throttle body, you can remove them and put a "u" hose in place of them on the block side.

 

why are coolant lines running to throttle body bad?
Car was originally bought in NY (still here now)

 

The coolant lines are there so that the throttle blade doesn't get stuck open in cold weather. The downside is that is heats up the TB so the incomming air is warm and you will loose a little bit of power but nothing noticable to make a difference. I would leave yours on since you are in NY. I took mine off b/c I'm in FL and don't have to worry about terribly cold wether and my tubes started to leak.