well, i need major help. I just took possesion of a 91 Camaro Z28 and i don't know where to begin the fixing and adding of aftermarket parts. It has a problem with the engine getting to hot eventhough i've already took the car to get checked out and the mechanic said he didn't know what it was but that the radiator wasn't the problem. Anyways I have about $3000 to play with right now and I think i may end up with $1000-$2000 more to play with. Where do you guys think i should start off, whether being the engine, exhaust, etc..? By the way, the engine has about 157,000 miles on it. I don't know how the transmission's condition is at at this point. The exhaust piping is rusty (i don't know about the under carriage) and also the whole area around the breaks look rusty. The car has not been moved for about two years and was parked outside the whole time. Again, i'm new to this forum and my car performance knowledge sucks major ****'n'*****.. What do u think?

 

Before you start buying aftermarket things, take care of what is needed first. first, do an oil and oil filter change. i recomend castrol synthetic. then, buy AC Delco spark plugs. a chevy small block does not perform well with the fancy multi electrode plugs. then, buy ignition wires, and a high voltage coil. then, completely refill on radiator fluid. dont fill a camaro in the tank on the side, directly fill the radiator cap. try to get as much as you can, and pour the remainder in the overflow tank. buy a new fuel filter, that is an important one. that should alltogether cost somewhere around $160.00.

I can further help if but i need you to tell me what type of intake do you have. is it carbureted? or does it have TPI?

 

Well, if it is carbureted, i will be able to help. i dont really know much about how to upgrade TPI.

Ok, first, for performance upgrading, i would buy an edelbrock performer 650cfm carbuetor. perfect for a 350. if you have a 305, then a 600 is a little better suited. match it up witha performer or performer rpm manifold. but, note this, i also have a 3rd generation camaro, and you are limited with hood clearence. if you use an edelbrock performer rpm, your filter element can only be 2 inches tall. edelbrock carbs are pre-tuned to their own intake manifolds, so no or minor tuning is needed. buy a k&n filter, remember, only 2 inches tall. once intake is taken care of, look into exhaust. for headers, i recommend dougs tri-y headers. they are awsome for off the line performance. 3rd generation have no room for true dual exhaust, so have a single 3" exhaust running to the back. choose whichever muffler you decide, whichever sound you like. with these performance upgrades done, you would have in a 350 about, 290-320 horsepower. if you want to go more extreme, i recommend aluminum heads. i would get them with a 72cc combustion chamber. oh yea, and have the motor rebuilt, and bored .030 over. match the 72cc heads with flat top pistons, and your compression will be somewhere around 8.5:1. i would also look into a mechanical camshaft, and roller rocker arms. remember, when looking for a camshaft, look for one with off idle power gains, to match up with the carb and intake manifold. mixing top end stuff with bottom end stuff will make it run a little sloppy. also, wrap it up with a new timing chain or timing gears, and a nice destributor. with these performance upgrades, you can be looking at mid 300's to lower 400 horsepower levels, one bad machine. these items all together will pretty much make you broke.

To save time and money, sometimes you can be better off buying an entire crate motor, tunes for whatever you will be using it for. take a look in a jegs magazine or a summit magazine. they both have great products that you can find useful. after writing all of this, i hope i have helped you.

 

Thanx for the help. to answer ur question whether its carburated or TPI, well its a TPI. I don't think i mentioned it in my post but i need to mention its an automatic Camaro. By it being automatic does ur suggestions change the parts u mentioned or their sizes? Again thank u for the help.

 

ok, i can help you with TPI upgrades... just PM me with ?'s and ill help you out.

 

personally with that much money to play with, i would start with a GM crate 350 and upgrade the TPI system and TB, then do full exhaust

 

having an automatic or manual tranny does not change the products i typed in, i hope ive helped.

 

where do u think i should start reagarding the TPI upgrades? DO u think i should rebuid the engine and tranny or should i just buy a new engine? and would it be a major headache putting a 383 instead of the 350? i hear it gives people trouble on the hood clearence....lemme know.

 

like i said i would put in a fresh motor with an upgraded TB for your TPI, and larger injectors

 

i am personally a carbueted person. it is simple, efficient, and looks a lot better i think. with 3000 dollars to play with, you could get one bad crate motor. ive heard of a place in north carolina that sells a 383 stroker with 500 horsepower for 3500. that would be way too much for a camaro with no drivetrain upgrades, but i just showed you what you can get for around 3grand. whichever you choose, good luck.