The Camaro Club (UK)

Picking my car up...on Saturday, hopefully!

Just need to sort out insurance tomorrow and I'll be good to go

Long term plan, sort the running gear out, fit a decent engine, suspension and brakes, tidy up the interior and keep the exterior pretty stock.

_________________
My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

hi mate what year camaro

Its on an X suffix, so must be '81, its a 2nd gen so must be one of the last ones

_________________
My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

Quite often back then they registered cars the year they were imported, so 81' may be the import year, but the car may be a year or 2 older..
(Mine's on a W plate, 80/81' but it's a 77' car..)

They changed this at sometime, as all the 90's Jap imports are on age related plates, though DVLA still get that wrong sometimes..

_________________
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

ok mate any pics to find out the year open the bonnet on the drivers side of the bulkhead there should be a vin plate on the vin plate at the top left there will be a year as mine is a 70 my tag has st 70 let us know what you find thanks shaun

No decent photos yet but will get some once I have it.

Its been converted to 305 V8 from a V6. Headers and exhaust system have been done as well. Reconditioned auto box last year. Resprayed last year as well. Bright yellow with black stripes...

Previous owner has had it for 4 years.

I'll check the actual manufactured date as well, it was advertised as a 1980, so might be a year older.

_________________
My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

nice 1 mate an snap mines yellow with black stripes al post sum pics for you soon

Well I got it...







Sorry for the bad pics only just got back and its a bit dark now.

Its not perfect by any means, and no show car. But it was a very good price, I think. From first glance it looks like a very solid car, needs a few small patches here and there but nothing I wouldnt have expected. The arches are in very good condition as are the sills and bottoms of both doors. Rear floor also looks fairly solid. Needs a couple of small patches on the floor though.

Its a 305 V8, looks like a mid 80's lump, not original as the car was a V6. Recent recon gearbox (TH350) and sprayed last year and body looks sound underneath although most panels are a bit rippled.

And the list of things identified to put right has started growing already....

Stickers are all coming off!
Both door seals need completely replacing (priority job this one as it lives outside now)
Front drivers side brake disc needs replacing as heavily grooved - got one with the car
Pulls to the right sightly under heavy braking
Fuel gauge doesnt work - reads off the scale (full) when there is plenty of fuel, or reads empty when on reserve. Have a new sender.
Need to get underneath and identify and do any welding thats required - car has been undersealed in the past, so that may be a hinderance.
Bonnet hinges are both knackered and need replacing or rebuilding and springs fitting too.
Both doors need the hinges sorting as drivers door particularly saggy
Runs a bit hot when doing 70mph plus but seems fine in slow moving traffic - may be another reason for this...
...bogs down and clatters (probably detonation?) if you plant your foot to the floor and seems to miss sometimes at higher engine speeds, so seems to be running lean. So the carb needs stripping and checking - its a Carter carb, not sure of model or CFM.
Intermittently screeches at high speed, louder on overrun, sounds like a slack belt to me rather than a mechanical gear whine but needs investigation anyway
Power steering belt slips on full lock when manouvering
Interior needs ripping out and floor inspecting from inside, seems surface rusty, probably due to water ingress through door seals. Needs prepping and painting.
Wiring needs sorting as its a bit messy behind the dash.
Rev counter doesnt work - but car was originally a V6 so will probably require modification.
Dash tell tales for indicators arent functional
Drivers door handle needs replacing - again a spare came with the car.
Winscreen has a crack in the bottom corner, fine for the MOT though. Also foggy up both sides.
Booth door cards need sorting
Transmission tunnel top needs covering/trimming
Couple of oil leaks need tracing to see what the problem is
Small water leak at bottom hose to water pump.
Paint needs flatting and finishing properly

This makes it sound really bad, but the shell seems pretty solid. It was registered in the UK in 1982 and was manufactured in 1980.

And lots of other little things - I am very fussy, so over time I hope to make the car a lot better. I am thinking of it more as an investment at the moment, if I enjoy it then I shall keep it. Its never going to be an original example so the idea is to just make it into a very capable street machine.

I already have plans for a 350 to fit in it, but I'll make a big dent in the other jobs first.

PS anyone know what the small pipe that runs inside under the carpet just along the bottom of the sill on the drivers side is?

_________________
My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

Hi the pics are spot on in the dark or not, do you plan on doing the repairs as you are running it ,and to see out the rest of the summer ? keep the pics coming Cheers Neil

Woohoo... !!

Does look nice in the pics... It';s amazing how many little things often are issues on these old motors, even on fairly sorted cars...
That's a pretty extensive list to work through, so I'm guessing it's all depending how perfect you want it or how deep your pockets are.

If you want any advice on stuff, I've tackled a few of the faults on your list, and I'm sure others here have dealt with some too..

Meanwhile... enjoy the drive and V8 loveliness...

_________________
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”