I have a $10,000.00 budget to start off a resto project on a 80 camro rs. What recomendations would any one have for engine, trannys carb or fuel injected etc.... I would really appreciate some as I am pretty new to restoration. Plenty of mechanical expirience though. Please for recommendation on the engine, I want to put in an engine with the most power for a SB. Thanks in advance from yonni aka Johnny

 

Is this 10000 just for go fast parts? Or do you also need to do body work/interior/etc.?

 

I'd like to dedicate at least $7000.00 to engine comparment, will spend a little more on that later as well. Why, do you think it would be better to do all body work first?

 

Do your mechanical work first. That way when the body is done there is no leaning over fenders to do engine work, less chance of scratches.

How to effectively use the budget you have depends on how much of the work you can do your self. $3,000 is not much for the body if you cannot do a lot of it at home. If you are looking to replace the engine entirely, get a 383. It is an excellent street motor.

 

Agreed 100% with JRs72RS. Spending a while over the fender wells definantly makes knicks and dings even if you have fender covers. Pulling those things out even for simple stuff gets old too.

I would also take the advice of going with a 383 (or another crate engine). 7500 is a lot for an engine and you could easily go big but realize that 7500 for the engine should also include all swap parts if you go bigger (compatible oil pan, headers, etc.) and you will need to take into consideration the transmission and if it can handle what you're putting in it. Kind of a waste of money to put a 600+ torqued 502 in it if you blow the transmission the first couple of days out and have no more money left to repair/replace it. Same goes for your rear end. Put something with mega power in there and you'll need to have a suspension that keeps the power on the ground and not spinning all over the place.

If you're wanting to replace the interior and redo body then you'll need to research the prices and what is being reproduced and what isn't and how hard it is to find what isn't being remade.

Also, how long are you looking at with this resto and what condition is the car already in as far as interior, body and engine?

 

I plan on taking as much time as I need to, I'm 23 so I got plenty of time. The whole interior will be done last, but I plan on redoing it all in a nice le mans blue. with white trimmings.

 

So 10k is your kickoff money.

First, what do you want out of the car? Do you want to be able to drive it a lot or is it a weekend cruiser that will come out a couple of times a month? If it's a driver do you want to stay carb'd or do you want to go fuel injected? Are you considering an overdrive transmission to help with mpg if you're driving it highway alot?

You need to know what you want as a end result and that will help us give you a more narrowed down list of what direction to go in.

I wish I had 10k to drop in mine right now.