Hi. I am new to this forum. I have always wanted to have a second generation camaro. Not for racing or anything like this but because I think this car looks cool. Finally, I am financialy independent so I can pursue my dream. Because I live in an apartment building (no garage), I can't really have two cars. So I was looking to get a 78 or newer Camaro that would be my daily driver. I only make about 10-14 miles a day. So here is my question: Will the 250 L6 be good for a daily driver? Is there anyway to tell what mpg I can expect? I am currently driving 4 dr Buick with V6 3800 engine. Will I see a huge difference in power? I checked and the 250 engine is rated at 110 hp and my current 3800 is 205 hp (though I guess Camaro is a lighter car).

I have two used Camaros I am looking at. Pretty much stock with L6 and only about 50-70K original miles. The cars are not located close for me to take a quick ride to check them out so I wanted to ask few questions before on this forum.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

I have edited my post as GRIFF pointed out about the V engine. I was actually writing about L6 (250ci) not V6 engine.

 

I believe the 2nd gens only had a v6 the last couple of years before that they were a straight 6, the 2nd gens were not a real light car 3600 to 3800 pounds. As I remember beginning driving in that era most cars were not real powerful and the 6 cylinder cars were at the lowend. A 305 would be a better choice and most likly could get the same milage. I would only consider a 6 if the body/frame was real nice and the price was right one real benifit of these cars is that engine swaps smallblock or bigblock are not real difficult.

 

Anyone else? Do not tell me that all of you own 8 cyl Camaros

 

I had the "pleasure" of driving various stovebolt sixes as a teenager, and it was embarrassing to watch those old Flathead Ford V8s just walk away from you. The 110 gross HP those things equates to about 80 HP net, as currently measured. So considering the weight of a Camaro, you can expect some pretty dismal performance, actually dangerously underpowered.

 

Thanks. I did not know that 6 cyl. Camaros were that slow

I guess I have to read about engines and get to know how they work. I am really surprised that 250ci engine produced only 110 HP. This is pretty much the HP rating of my old Pontiac Sunfire with 4 cyl 2.0L engine. Even with stick shift this car was slow when it came to acceleration.

So if the 6 cyl. Camaro engine is slow, would I see difference between this and stock 305 which I think it is rated 140HP? It seems to me like even 140HP for 3800 lbs car is not enough especially when everybody here usually lowers the original HP rating on old cars.