My daughter and I started on her project car on Saturday. It is a '85 base model Camaro with a 2.8 & 700R4 tranny. The car has been sitting for several years, but I have driven it around the property some when we first got it. I'll try to get a few pics posted once it will move under it own power again.

Known mechanical problems are a bad alternator, no fuel pressure, the last time it ran it felt like it had a dead hole while idling, and it was also throwing the code for the MAF.

I rebuilt the alternator and reinstalled it on Saturday. I'll find out if it works when I get it running again.

The fuel pressure is what I'm troubleshooting now. Using the wiring diagram in the Chilton manual I found the fuel pump relay, and verified that I'm getting power to it, but I can't find the lead to test the pump. Looking at the diagram in the Chilton manual, it looks like I can jumper the oil pressure switch to get the pump running. I verified that I'm getting 12V there, but still no joy in getting the pump running. The car sat for a couple of years with no gas in the tank, so the pump may well be varnished up.

My daughter removed all of the spark plugs so we could run a compression test on it.
#1 - 129
#2 - 158
#3 - 155
#4 - 158
#5 - 155
#6 - 151
A little oil in #1 brought the compression up to 135. That may be where the miss at idle is coming from. All of the plugs were dark and sooty, so I installed a new set of plugs. I have another good running 2.8 in an '89 S-10, so I can swap it into the Camaro, along with its serpentine belt setup.

I found out today that the MAF relay is gone. The plug is there, and the empty outer casing is still on the core support, but the relay is gone. Looks to have been gone for a while, too, based on how dirty the plug is. I checked continuity from the MAF itself to one of the wires on the plug to confirm I had the right relay plug.

There are two other "mystery" relays on the firewall next to the fuel pump relay. Any idea what they are for?

If you're 100% sure you've found the fuel pump relay, then the one with mostly green wires is for the A/C compressor and the other for the radiator fan. All 3 of these will plug into the MAF relay connector. Personally, I would swap over the compressor relay as it won't be needed until the car runs...

You can also run battery power to the lower left of the ALDL (under the dash by the radio, 12-pin connector facing driver's seat) and ground to upper right to test the fuel pump. While powering the pump, see if one of you can get under the car with a hammer and hit the fuel tank to try to jar the pump into working (but not hard enough to dent the tank!).

You may want to check the valve adjustment on #1... I had (and still have) issues with the factory rocker nuts backing off all by themselves. Failing that, worst case is you would need a leakdown test to find out if the head gasket, piston rings, or something else is the problem.

IF you're going to swap the engine over from the S10, you might want to swap the trans as well (upgraded with better parts if the S10 is an auto). All you would really need to do is swap the speedometer gears and the tailshaft housing. Either way, you will still need an intake gasket set. And leave the flexplates on both engines as they are (88+ internally balanced, 85 not).

Thanks for the info on the relays, Maverick. I have confirmed that I am getting 12V to the pump, and the pump is not working. I jumpered the plug on the oil pump pressure switch and checked for voltage at the pump plug above the axle. 12V in, but no joy on the pump. I'm not looking forward to dropping the tank. I want to check the sending unit, too, to make sure it's OK. Any tips on getting the tank out? Looks like the exhaust and the axle will need to be dropped down.

As far as swapping the engine/tranny out of the S-10, it will be engine only. The S-10 has a T-5 in it, and the Camaro has a 700R4. Looks like I'll need a new flex plate, too. I did not know about the difference in balancing.

have you tried banging on the tank with the key forward?
probably be a good idea to change it anyway?

The gas tank is probably the single biggest PITA on the entire car.

First unhook the fuel line coming into the filter and see if gas flows out of the line. If it does, then leave a bucket under there and walk away for a while (since you can't use the pump). This will get a good amount of fuel out of the tank.

The tank itself is a good 20 pounds or so, and maneuvering it isn't exactly easy. Add in almost 8 pounds per gallon of gas in the tank, and the mess from that...

Yes, you need to drop the exhaust from the cat back and at the very least disconnect the sway bar links and shocks on the rear axle and completely remove the track bar and brace. Then the heat shields come off and the filler door and pocket. Then you will want to remove the plastic shield in the left wheel well so you can get an arm up to maneuver the filler neck around. And do be sure to hit the gas tank strap bolts/nuts with penetrant as you don't want them breaking... Don't forget to disconnect ALL of the lines that connect to the tank.

If you're really ambitious, disconnect the rear brake hose at the body, the brake cables, and unbolt the control arms at the body (if you can, these bolts are notorious for freezing in the bushings), and pull the entire rear axle out. This makes dropping the tank out SO VERY much easier.

Don't forget to put anti-seize on all disconnected bolts (but NOT the brake fittings if you go that route) so that things can be taken apart again if needed).

IIRC, (I'd have to look to make sure) the order for the fuel lines is pressure, return, vapor vent, and pressure vent, from left to right. Either way, the fat line is the pressure, the skinny line that runs along with it to the engine compartment is the return, the skinny line that actually runs over the top of the trans to the other side of the engine is the vapor vent, and the one with the short hose and white bell attached is the pressure vent (which probably doesn't work but you don't want to get rid of it or break it).

Getting the tank out isn't that bad. I replaced mine in an afternoon. I'd just replace everything while you're in there. Pump, sending unit, whatever else so you never need to do it again! I just took out exhaust and lowered rear end.

We managed to get the tank out. I ended up having to cut the exhaust pipe since it is a completely welded system. One of the PO's replaced the cat with a universal, and every joint is welded. Figures. Anyway, I checked the resistance in the sending unit and it was all over the place. No smooth resistance change when the float is moved. Looks like I'll be replacing the entire assembly. jrhaus, where did you get yours? Rock Auto has a Spectra Premium sending unit, pump and strainer assy listed for $121.79. Any input on Spectra pumps?

I got everything to do the job at Autozone.

Sounds good. Autozone shows the same assembly from Spectra. I ordered the assembly last night, hopefully it will be in this week. Once it will move under its own power again I'll get it outside for some pics.

when u swap the engine , i suggest doing a new set of gaskets , oil pan ,head/intake , valve covers etc

at the same time if u would like to a get a tiny bit more power out of it a cam swap is also a good idea to do at the same time , a 252 or 260 grind from delta will run around 105$'s and make the car a lil more fun to drive , specially when having to merge onto the highway

my original bone stock 2.8 was dangerous when merging onto the highway from its sheer lack of acceleration

It Lives! We installed the new sending unit and fuel pump into the tank this evening. I'm not overly impressed with the Spectra lock ring supplied with the sending unit, but it worked. The quiet whine of the pump and then the loud exhaust was music to our ears. Tomorrow we get the heat shields installed, exhaust back on, axle back in place, and install the MAF relay. Hopefully we will be able to run it up the driveway a few times. I'll shoot a few pics once it's outside again.

The MAF relay made a huge difference in the way this thing runs. No more check engine light, either. We took it for a quick drive up the road yesterday. Other than a slightly high idle and a slight flat spot just off idle, it seems to run fairly well. I need to get it hooked up to my computer running WinALDL to see what's causing the high idle. Right now it's running on non-ethanol gas with stabilizer and Lucas fuel system cleaner in it.

It seems to shift OK, but the torque arm bushing is trashed. It was pretty well shot before I let the rear axle down to change the pump, but it's trashed now. I guess I'll be replacing the tranny mount, too. It was looking a little suspect.

The pics show a pretty rough looking car, but it is very solid. We have already started scraping off the flaky clear coat. My daughter is working on that part while I tinker with the electrical stuff.

Fragile screws... I was tinkering with the Camaro this evening, trying to get a handle on the high idle. Seems like the PO adjusted the idle screw up to compensate for the missing MAF relay. I searched and found the procedure for setting the idle speed properly. First thing, the head of the idle screw broke off. Then, when I went to adjust the TPS, the bottom screw head broke off, and the top screw stripped out with minimal pressure on it. Yes, I'm sure I'm using the right size torx bit. I'm amazed at how easily these thing stripped or broke. Any tips on how to remove the remaining fastener bits from the throttle body? I sprayed some PB Blaster on them for now. I'm guessing they're seized in the aluminum.

I have used these on everything...... from small screws to broken tranny mount bolts

Yep, those.