david86camaro

I'm posting this here, because I'm sure everywhere else people will tell me to put in a V8, I like my V6!
I'm going to try and get my car back on the road again, I need some motivation, ideas and expertise from those with experience in getting a car that has been sitting for a while on the road.
My poor Camaro has been in my garage for at least 6 years (having kids, work, and lack of money) - still have a lack of money, but what's new.
I parked it when the 3rd gear was going out and we didn't need a second car, so I know I need a new transmission, the fuel pump went out soon after so unfortunately the car hasn't been started in that long. I also know that I will need a new battery, and as of now that is all I know that I need.
So does anyone have ideas as to how to get the car started again after sitting for so long. The car has 164k miles on it and was running pretty well when I stopped driving it.

david86camaro

I have a list in my mind as to what I need and what I want to do to it to get it back on the road. This won't be a daily driver, just a stress reliever and weekend cruiser.
I need to:
1. rebuild the trans (T5)
2. new battery (haven't decided if I go for an Optima or not)
3. new fuel pump - saw a thread a while back that there is a Corvette pump that would fit in and have metal instead of plastic so I shouldn't have to do this again.
4. I may have to do engine work, but we will see after I get the fuel pump in and battery and try and start the engine.
5. repair or re-rig the rear hatch motor.

Things that I would like to take care of sooner than later:
1. the rest of the weather stripping that I didn't replace 12 years ago!
2. shifter boot (it's dried and cracked), and maybe a custom plate around the boot (the plastic is starting to crack around the edges)
3. take care of the bodywork and paint. - I have some rust bubbles around the rear wheel wells and the hood above the headlights is rusting and the clear coat is starting to peal in spots. Over all the paint looks okay but needs to be redone.
4. replace the wheels and tires- I love the look of the wheels I have (Crager Prostars) but between the curb rash and the fact that they are heavy wheels that don't balance well, I want to get Weld Prostars, they look the same but are a much better wheel.
5. headliner replaced or recovered (don't know if I can the edges of the backer board is breaking up.
6. maybe some engine upgrades (ignition or other reasonable upgrades to get just a little more power)
7. get my cruise working again, I think I just need the control module
8. get the AC working, I'm older than I used to be and don't want to just deal with the heat. (part of the reason that the AC went out (almost 15 years ago) was from very little use, in the heat the T-tops came off!)
9. replace the power window motors, they were starting to slow down.


So any input or ideas in getting all this done for a reasonable price would be appreciated.
Thanks, David

welchk85

YAY!!! another person that loves there v6 someday i was thinking about putting a vette motor in it but thats years from now i love my little v6 my 3.1 has just the right amount of pep to keep me in front of most of the hondas and it gets damn good mileage. what do you mean by re-rig your hatch?

jensen73110

iTrader: (4)

Price the trans rebuild vs buying a rebuilt one. Could be the same cost in less time.
How often will you drive it? Optima yellow tops are good batteries, but expensive. If driven more than once a week, I'd save the cash & buy a $40 walmart battery.
You can go with a factory replacement 'vette pump. It will be decently cheap and support hp mods down the road.
Was the engine closed? (spark plugs in, valve covers on, etc) If so, see if it cranks by hand. If it does, just check vacuum lines, fresh gas & injector cleaner, Seafoam, and start 'er up.

david86camaro

I had pulled out part of the hatch motor and put in an angle bracket to hold the hatch down, since the motor housing cracked! But I would rather just get it working right.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

Drop a V8 in it.

If it has been sitting that long I'd change the oil. After that long the oil has most likely broken down and separated. I worked on a car that was like that. What will come out is going to look more like snot than oil. I wouldn't try and run the engine that way. You'll probably want to drain the gas tank if you left fuel in it and replace the pump as well as the fuel that was in there with a little fresh gas.

david86camaro

So what would a good source for a trans be? I don't want just a cheep checker special!
I think for the battery I am leaning to the Optima because I know it won't get driven regularly in the winter and will have stretches of over a week that it won't get driven, the one thought I had is would it make just as much sense to have a battery tender of some sort, it would be almost cheaper.
Thankfully the engine is all closed up, and a year or 2 ago I changed the oil just to make sure that there was no moister in the engine and it was fine, so it has "fresh" oil in it.
Thanks for the input.

david86camaro

I just hope that my tank will be okay with having half a tank of gas in there, my dad had gas left in a motorcycle tank and the tank was almost rusted away, the paint was almost all that was left of the lower part of the tank! I tried to siphon out the gas a while back and I couldn't get a tube down the filler neck so we will see what it is like when I drop the tank.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

The trans can be rebuilt for less than $200 if you do it yourself with a guide from eBay, snap ring pliers, and a rebuild kit from a place such as the Gear Box. You may not find a junkyard trans (not rebuilt) for that price, much less a rebuilt one. While the trans is out, I would check the clutch and the rear main seal.

An onboard battery trickle charger/maintainer can be had for less than $30. I have one.

Pull the spark plugs and put a little oil into each cylinder and then turn the engine over by hand if possible. If the crank doesn't turn, you'll need to put something in the cylinders to break the rust rings. Of course, oil in the cylinders means that you will have a very smoky startup, so make sure you have ventilation when you crank the engine up.

Check the wiring to make sure no mice or other animals have eaten anything. Also look for nests and other animal things.

Oh, and, if and when you decide to store the car or park it for a while again, put in some gas stabilizer...

david86camaro

Thank you for your input, I was thinking that a rebuild kit would be around $200, and I have been feeling ambitious enough to do it my self, thanks for pointing out that I will need snap ring pliers, I have a pair but they I wouldn't rely on them. As for the rear main, that needed to be on my list, it has been leaking for at least the last 70k, that is one that I'm not looking forward to doing!! The clutch has only 30k on it but will check anyway it's a whole lot easier to only do things once!! I think I'm good on the mice and stuff, the car has been in my garage and thank fully I don't have issues with little animals.

As far as fuel stabilizer, the gas actually has some in it, but I think that there is a limitation to that stuff.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Well, since you're going to be yanking the trans anyways, I would do both. The RMS MAY have killed the clutch plate by greasing it up, so I would do both the RMS, rear cam seal (3 10mm bolts and use RTV on the cover), and put in a new clutch kit with pilot bushing and throwout bearing. And be sure to clean the crap out of the flywheel, rear of the engine, and the bellhousing before you put stuff back together. Your trans is probably pretty greasy as well. Also, may want to replace the trans mount while everything is apart, since the oil flung around from the RMS by the flywheel has probably soaked into it, and one good hard application of the clutch will probably separate it.

Just as a heads-up, you may end up taking the flywheel to a machine shop to have it resurfaced due to the RMS problem.

david86camaro

The RMS is a very small leak, and mostly when the I shut the engine off there is 4 small drips off of the crossmember. I have had the clutch replaced twice since the leak started, and havn't had any grease on the clutch.
Saying to replace the trans mount reminds me that I need to replace all my bushings (some on my fronts suspention arl almost gone), I was thinking that I would just get a full set of poly bushings with a trans mount.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

You probably want poly suspension bushings, but a lot of people on here have been having serious vibration problems with the poly trans mount.

david86camaro

I'm surprised that poly mount would have problems, I think I would use it anyway.

So I found out this weekend that one of my friends that owns his own Xpress lube would be willing to do all my work at his shop (in the 3rd bay he doesn't use very often, and him helping of course) and not only that he works with a transmission shop and he might be able to get the trany done for cost!!

So I guess I just need to put together a shopping list before I tow my car over there!!
So this is what I'm thinking of replacing/fixing for now unless there is something else that would be worth doing while I have things apart;
1. fuel pump (and filter)
2. battery a cheaper one and by a battery tender
3. poly bushing set, maybe new shocks/struts while I have stuff apart.
4. transmission.
5. rear main seal/oil pan gasket
6. check clutch and engine
As of now that is all I'm thinking of doing, unless anyone has anything else that might be worth looking at while I'm working on everything else.

david86camaro

Does anyone have any requmentations for shocks/stuts for our cars since they are lighter than V8's? I just want quality don't need high performance!

david86camaro

If I could spell!!!!!!

david86camaro

I'm bringing this very old thread back since after so many years since I have finally gotten a good start at getting my Camaro back on the road. I probably shouldn't since it's a little embarrassing!
I replaced my fuel pump and I have gotten the engine to run after some starting fluid shoot down the throttle body (had a little backfire that caused a small fire!).
Now my transmission is on my work bench ready to rebuild.

So so far I noticed that I need a new shift boot on the transmission, we will see what else once I open it up. I did have 3 out of the 4 bolts missing that bolt the transmission to the bell housing, anyone know a source for those? The auto parts store didn't have any.