This is my first post here but I've been a lurker for a while. Long story is I bought my wife a brand new 1986 RS when she got her Master's Degree. It was a beauty-Yellow (her favorite color) with a tan interior. She loved it and we were on to marital bliss. We even took it all the way to New Orleans (from VA), carried our luggage on the roof for a week long Mexico cruise. Kept loosing water (unknown to me)overheated at some point and blew the intake gasket which caused the main bearings to go at 60,000 miles. I had it rebuilt by a local shop and she drove it until 2005. We had a couple of kids (20 and 24 now) along the way. She needed something more kid-friendly so I bought her a Honda CRV. I already had a truck and needed to save money so I decided to take the Camaro off the road. Of course I started and even drove it a few times a month to start with but eventually got busy, the battery died and ...you know the rest of the story. It sat at my mother-in-laws under a cover and began to rot. Two years ago (2011) I got the itch to see if I could get it back on the road. Bought a battery and tried to turn it over and there was no fire. Changed plugs, wires, coil, rotor; nothing. Had it towed to a shop about a year later and spent another chunk getting brakes, brake lines, fuel system purged, new pump, filter and a host of other stuff done which got it running but not quite right. Bought new tires, got tags and insurance and actually drove it around for a month or two. Idle was all out of whack, none of the idiot lights worked and I wasn't sure the fan was working. Figured out how to read the codes (34 and 42-I think) Bought MAF, IAC and changed them out-no good. Took it to another repair shop and said it needed a new throttle body which they could not find. I found one used and ordered it. They put it on and just about had it ready for me to pick up when it developed a major oil leak at the intake near the back of the motor. Having that fixed now. Should be ready next week! Down about $2K and still needs a paint job...

 

Great to hear that your fixing it up ! , , , , but , just curious , cause you mentioned "And began to rot" , , Where exactly IS this rot ? If your using the word rot to describe rust it may be in your best interests to have someone who knows these specific cars take a quick peek at it to see if the rot (rust?) is compromising anything important . I do know that around the mounting areas for the front struts is a common rot spot on our cars that can be problematic , and there are a couple of other areas that should be looked at as well .

Great story of the car's history and best of luck with it's restoration

 

Well the interior was all mildewed, some rust at bottom edge of doors. Nothing structural that I know of. By "rot" I just mean start deteriorating in general. Unfortunately, I parked it on the grass for about the last 3 years. Prior to that it was on concrete but outside. Stupid, I know! Some of the rubber needs replacing at windows and doors but overall the interior looks good except the typical dash cracks. I could kidk myself for ever taking it off the road. Lesson for all!