The Camaro Club (UK)

Hi,
Just bought a 3rd generation z28 5 litre with a carb converion.
Bought it really cheap and I must say that I am very impressed with it.
It's my first American car so I didn't know what to expect hence buying it cheaply!

No manuals came with it so I am just working through things to see what's what.
I have only had it for 3 days and have covered around 250 miles.

I have a few questions for anybody who can help.

1 First 'D' symbol on auto box lever i presume is for normal driving ,Is the second 'D' as a sport mode)seems more responsive with this used.

2 Can't find switch for flashing main beam (the stalk may not be working properly.

3 Button imbetween electric windows that you slide forward, is this overdrive if so how do you tell whether it is on?

4 What is the correct oil to use for my 5 litre engine?looking to service it shortly.
5 Best place for parts? I live quite near to Stateside near Atherstone, any feedback on this company could be helpful

Great to know that there is a club for this model of car, it certainly deserves one, thanks for reading this.


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Oooh another 3rd gen saved from the scrap heap!

Welcome!!!

They are pretty good huh, its alot of car for the money, even when new i think were £20k for the base v8s in todays money. Maintenance, insurance are all pretty cheap and the reliability is amazing due to the heavy build and GMs bottomless pit of powertrain development! Just a shame by todays standards apart from the IROC/GTA they are all slugs! So are you planning for some upgrades to go with that carb you have?

Answers are:

1. Gears are from top Park, Reverse, Neutral, Overdrive auto, auto, 2nd, 1st and D would be as in Drive. This is you first automatic i take it? They are kind of rare over here.

2. Pull the stalk back a few times, should notice the beams flashing, otherwise add that to list to fix, surely have one by now?! Might want to check the steering column to see if it wobbles as well, thats a real fun one to fix!

3. Thats the boot release switch, should only work when the motor is off/ park i think.

4. I guess the oil cap has been replaced, its 5w30. How many miles on the clock?

5. Depends how much you want to pay or wait, can buy parts here its quicker but they way more expensive.

Think theres around 200 3rd gens but half or so are sorn, so im actually amazed there is a club for them.

Excellent, thanks for the reply.
Really helpful
I am not sure what upgrades are available.
The carb is an Eldebrook (i think that is how it is spelt).

Its just a nice car to cruise around, amazed at the fuel consumption considering its size.

The only over niggle i have is that engine fumes enter the car when it is ticking over or stationery.Can't really smell them when the car is moving though.

I am going to run it over the next few weeks and if it behaves I will have it re/painted as the paint looks tired, I think it deserves it as it is such a cool car!

Haha, that's how i used to pronounce it too. It's close... Edelbrock.
What kind of upgrades are you looking for? Speed / handling / cosmetic?
If you're upgrades involve performance, it will affect this, so worth bearing in mind. These cars are pretty powerful at 200hp+. Of course, it depends on what you use it for. 200hp+ is plenty for daily normal use. If you're wanting a track car / to hit 10 second quarter miles, then ye, it's not considered powerful. Depends on if you want the fuel economy or not. There are people out there starting to regret makes their cars super powerful, as they don't like to use them much due to low mpg's and it being too expensive to go for a drive. If you're building something competitive then you would need the speed mods, so totally your call.
I have the same issue. There's a thread on here about it, so far we've come to the conclusion that it's likely over fuelling and may also be aided by slightly worn valve stem seals, which allow some oil to seep into the cylinders. This means that there's not a clean burn in the system, which gives off the smell. I should be be looking into this soon as i have some days off to take before the end of the year, so i'll report back how it goes.

Any other questions etc. just let us know.

Cheers,

Ray

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The light stalk won't flash the lights. It works as high/low beam with lights on, but no flasher.

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Thanks to al your replies!!!
Really impressed with the feedback.
Going to leave it alone regarding the upgrades for now until i have kept it a little longer.
For now it is quick enough,rather use it as a cruiser.
Built for comfort and not speed just like the wife who refuses to get in it..

Once again thanks for all you replies...

Refreshing to hear. I get so bored of people saying 'put a ls1 in it' or get a 350 or whatever. Enjoy it for what it is. They are quick enough for 99% of situations in this country.

I had the same- LG4 carb 305 for many years. Great car.

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Refreshing to hear. I get so bored of people saying 'put a ls1 in it' or get a 350 or whatever. Enjoy it for what it is. They are quick enough for 99% of situations in this country.

I had the same- LG4 carb 305 for many years. Great car.

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I see that on a lot of U.S forums - "305 is junk / weak / POS " etc. I'm like.. really? When i visited NPD in L.A and talked to the guy at the counter, he asked what kind of cars people drive here and i said as an example about my 1.2 litre 75hp clio that i had at the time. He could not believe a car could have such a small engine. I corrected and said that actually it's 1.15 but they round it up. He drove a 5.0 Mustang (early 2000's model) and said how he felt it was under powered and didn't go much above 80mph. I said err.. this is quick off the line up to about 30 due to the gearing and i've done 95 in it and in normal driving gets 42 mpg. He really struggled with all of that information

_________________
How to post pics: When writing a message, scroll down and use the "attach file" option. Where possible, a photo sharing service can be used such as Flickr, Imgur etc. The image location (usually ending in .jpg) can be copy and pasted between the ][ brackets that appear when you click the 'Img' button (you can find this button at the top of the message box).

How to post youtube vids: Click on the 'youtubeHD' button at the top of the message box and in the middle of the ][ brackets that just appeared, copy and paste everything from the youtube web address that appears after the = sign i.e if this is the url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0 just copy "K2cNqaPSHv0").