OK, guess I'll have to do the squirt bottle with gas approach then. I was hoping to not have to do that but suppose there's no way around it. Can you help me identify what I need clip-wise for that large hole where the fender bolts in by the door hinges? Something fell out of both sides when I removed the fenders and again, left a big hole that no mounting bolt will attach to. Must be some kind of J-clip but have no idea what it is. Thanks.


Was hoping to have started the Camaro yesterday but the wiring has taken 2 days longer than I planned on, no big surprise there. I now have the wiring FINISHED for now, including the ignition box and have some things to get done today and plan on starting it up this evening. I hate all the clutter that the wiring creates in the engine bay but hopefully with a little loom I can get it looking neat again once everything is running and working properly. Wish I knew how people manage to keep the wiring all together and out of sight like some do. I tried like heck to do that but it's impossible! Could be worse I guess.


Heading out to get at it soon, it's hot today, good day to actually be out in the sun and not stuck in the garage. Think I'll try and finish up the sanding/polishing of the X pipe so the exhaust can get finished up after the Camaro starts and runs. Need to figure out how I'm going to hang the exhaust too, don't want a bunch of cheap ugly hangers under there, but I plan on running the pipes out in front of the rear tires so hopefully there's only a couple hangers needed. Getting ahead of myself here, first things first. Hope to post something tonight with a success story! Please say a prayer for this Camaro!

 

I don't remember any J clip, or anything else that sits under the fender mount, besides the shims to adjust the height. There is a captured nut in the body that the bolt threads into. If the nut fell off, it will be down in the kick panel, and has a large washer or cage attached to it.

 

Oh super, down in the kick panel eh? Well, I think I could manage a kick panel removal if need be, just not excited about taking things apart just to obtain a nut. Think I'd rather buy a new one or two if I can. Thanks for the insight, I really thought it was a J-style clip or something that the bolt threaded into. Gotta get something figured out soon though, I want these fenders and front end back on there so I can drive!


Speaking of driving, or even simply running, another day come and gone without firing up the Camaro. Really wish I could explain why I decided to spend almost 4 hours of my day today trying to get the carpet all lined up and laying down flat (or at least not bunched up) and ready for the seats to go in. Heck, I'm nowhere near done with the seat brackets! Just thought it would be a good idea to do that now since I was literally starting to install the console back in when I decided to fix the carpet. Worst part is I completely wasted the afternoon on it, and it might look a tiny bit better. Once I got the seat belts bolted back in, the carpet was almost back where it was when I started! Can't figure that one out but whomever installed this carpet must not have cared much since all the holes cut for mounting bolts etc. are off by about 5-6". Drives me nuts, but it's as good as it's going to get until I actually remove everything to redo the interior. Carpet has to be almost brand new also.


I did finish all wiring, interior is back in minus seats but shifter is all done, new **** that I ordered custom on there also and I even put the new steering wheel (temporary one) in that my kids got me for Christmas. Looks pretty good, all things considered. Drive shaft is in there, inner fenders are on, battery tray paint is drying overnight and will go in first thing tomorrow. Just need to tighten the cable onto the back of the alternator, finish putting the fluids in and hook up the battery. Doubt I'll be sleeping much tonight since this feels like I'm a kid again and it's Christmas Eve! Here's a couple update pics and in the side shot of the Camaro I'm thinking that I've discovered one of the reasons (maybe?) why this Camaro has given me so many fits along the way of the rebuild. Notice the purple-ish hue in the pic? Could that be an apparition/ghost that didn't realize that what I was doing to it's Camaro was making it much better? It sort of looks like it's checking out the interior work and hopefully digging what it sees!! Let's hope, let's hope....

 

You'd need to get into the same area to get a nut inside regardless, as there's no way to bolt through the hole, and reach the area behind it.

 

Man this Camaro WANTS to run but there's something(s) going on! I'm sure there's more than one thing keeping it from starting, probably some grounding issues for sure.
1. There must be something wrong with these micro switches that I installed for the shifter. As soon as I turn the key on the reverse lights come on, and stay on. I unplugged one of the wires going to the switch and they went off.


2. Should the car still be able to turn over in gear? Thought that was what the neutral safety switch took care of? Mine still turns over no matter where the shifter is.


3. It's getting spark, when it turns over I can see the sparks in the distributor where the coil wires plug in. Turns over great, just nothing happening.


4. Weird wiring issues. I didn't mess with the factory wiring really, but when I hit the brake pedal the dash lights come on! I did install a new brake switch and the brake lights work fine when I push the pedal but so do the dash lights.


I didn't see anywhere in any instructions about having to connect the B+ terminal on the actual distributor? I have all the wires connected to the 3 wire connector coming off the dist. but do I need to have anything on the terminals in the cap besides the coil wires off the ignition box? Do I need to ground the terminal also? Like I mentioned, I do have the ground in the harness coming off the distributor.


It's got to be something easy to get this Camaro running, I need to get this figured out!! Can someone/anyone please help me out?

 

First of all well done on your camaro. Looks very nice. Sorry for not helping you on the wiring issues! My wiring is a mess and 99.99% I will have to order new complete wiring from Classic Industries to prevent similar issues. The best way is to follow the wiring diagrams (by wire colour) and use a multimeter to check continuity from one end to the other. By doing this, you would know that the wires are not disturbed (cut or shorted to ground).

Reply to questions 1 and 2) I do not want to mislead you on this, but if I am not mistaken, there are adjustments on the neutral switch. It must be adjusted correctly on order to have the engine starting. This is to prevent starting the engine on gear. I remember that when I had to start mine (2 years ago now), I needed to make the shifter to neutral so I can start the engine. On my other 85 camaro (manual transmission) I need to press the clutch so that I can start the engine.

Reply to questions 4) Either you have a power from this new switch feeding the dash lights, otherwise it is a ground problem. You have to see from the wiring diagram where the dash lights are being powered and getting a ground. You need to find where either the power of the switch or a bad/loose ground is powering your dash lights. Remember this, if you do not have good grounding, you will have these issues. Somewhere I read that even running LED tail lights, you may have similar problems (but not with the dash lights)

Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks for your reply Val.

 

1&2-Yes, I'd say you've got the wrong wires, if the back up lights come on. Should be two switches; one for neutral safety and one for reverse. May have multiple issues with wrong wires, and bad switch adjustment. Put a test light on each side of the switch, and see if the power out goes away as you select different gears. Then adjust the switch until it goes out when it's in neutral.
3-If it's getting spark then check out at the plug wire, and crank the engine while you hold a screwdriver in the end of the wire near ground. If it gets a good blue spark out there, then it might be off on the timing. Get someone to crank the engine over as you turn the distributor slightly each direction, until it fires. Be sure to mark the base on the intake, so you know where you started first!
4-Could be a ground issue, but could also be some of the wires that the previous owner messed with.

 

I'm completely positive that I've got the correct wires for reverse/neutral safety. Don't know how to "adjust" the switches on the shifter since they're fixed to it without any room to adjust. I'll try the test light and see what I can figure out.


On the distributor, again, should I be running a ground wire from the "ground" terminal between the 2 coil wire terminals? I have the wires connected from the ign. box to the 3 wire plug that normally would plug into the distributor. I have a ground from the 3 wire connector to the firewall but should be adding one to the terminal inside the cap also? That's my question. When it turns over I can see sparks going back and forth between the 2 coil terminals inside the cap. Haven't checked for spark at the plugs yet, but I will.


I am assuming that there must be some ground issues that need to get found regarding the dash lights coming on when I hit the brake pedal. I don't get that one. I noticed an issue with the electric fan switch that I installed also. Light is on the switch with the key on, but the fan won't turn on. With the key off the light on the switch is off (like it's supposed to be unless turned on) but I can push the button and turn the fan on. That one is an easy fix I think. I don't have a lot of time today to work on the Camaro unfortunately, but might get out there later this evening for a while. Man it's so close, sounds good when it's turning over at least!


I did put LED's in the tail lights but they just plug right into the socket, no other wires needed or anything. Not sure if they could be causing any issues or not. Brake lights work, sort of. One is brighter than the other. Turn signals turn on, but don't blink either.

 

This is how close I am.


Electric choke is not working on the carb for some reason. Had to do the old screwdriver trick to get the Camaro to fire at all. Have to keep my foot to the floor and it'll fire, but won't stay running. Haven't figured out the issues with the lights inside yet but for the 30 min. I had to work on it this evening I feel a lot better about things hearing it come alive, if even for 2 seconds.
http://vid1298.photobucket.com/album...ps690b859c.mp4