I am rebuilding the front end of an 83 Camaro, its been sitting about 4 months and Im going to get it today because my Maxima blew up on me! :-(

I am a budgeting college student and I just need it to get me to work and school, but for all that, the car is in really good shape. 350 with 4 barrel carb on a Aluminum "Highrise"(my dad called it?) intake, with about 27k since a rebuild. It came out of a silverado 87, along with a transmission that was rebuilt about 14k ago.

The only problem I can see with the engine is that the guy that rebuilt it didnt put the Front Main Seal together correctly and there is a small oil leak. Is this hard to fix? Compared to my maxima this thing looks super easy to work on.

But my main concern is rebuilding the steering components. Its got a new Steering Box(old one was garbage) And Im putting on a new centerlink and idler arm. I believe the tie rods are okay because when I last had it jacked up the tires had no play in ANY direction. Tight as a virgin.

I have already changed struts on it about 1k ago and since then it has been sitting. I didn't want to drive it and until recently had no incentive to try and work on it(even though i should, i know, i know, im college student after all lol)

Anyway My main question is, is the centerlink hard to change on this generation of camaro? What about the idler arm? What tools should I rent? Would a worn out centerlink and idler arm cause wobbling after hitting sufficient bumps in the road?

Some more questions:

Where is the best place/website to buy new weatherstripping?

How hard is it to change coil springs?

I was fiddeling with the idea of new rims and tires, what size would you suggest? I was thinking stock but are there any benefits for smaller/larger? I know it needs it soon because one is so old/bad shape that its disentigrating.....

I have already changed struts on it about 1k ago and since then it has been sitting. I didn't want to drive it and until recently had no incentive to try and work on it(even though i should, i know, i know, im college student after all lol)

Any other suggestions on this? My goal is not to redneck hotrod this thing by any means, but turn it into respectable on the outside, but nice on the inside. Exterior honestly doesnt bother me as much as it should for some reason :-( I do plan on getting it repainted at some point, anything but red >_<

 

When you say front main seal, are you talking about the crank seal? The best way to fix that is to pull the timing cover. (Meaning the alternator and water pump have to come off. Not an incredibly difficult job.

As for the suspension...too easy. I do advise you get a pneumatic hammer and a pickle fork. Beating away at 25 year old fittings will drive you crazy.

 

you can get away without the pickle fork, but it takes a bit of skill. you can rent that from any large auto parts store. otherwise, its just a few nuts and bolts on each. itll probably take an hour to remove the center link and idler, and about 15 minutes to install the new ones. as for the front main, how bad of a leak is it? if its minor, you could let it go for now but keep an eye on it. and depending on how your accessories are mounted, you may be able to get away just taking the water pump off and then the timing cover. and yes, it wont be nearly as hard as the maxima

 

I am not dumb about mechanics, but asking such questions makes me feel so lol.

Anyway, I picked the car up tonight, and driving from Franklin KY to Hendersonville TN was a pain! The battery was not charging and my lights would only last until the next gas station. Had to park it, and jump/charge it, and run it for another 15-20 mins and then repeat. It has a brand new alternator on it, i mean, its so new it still smells new. I had it tested and its okay(before i let it sit) and I would ASSUME its the battery being bad from sitting.

HOWEVER, this couldnt be the case as if the battery were bad, it wouldnt hold a charge, even one enough only small enough to run the lights for just 20 mins while driving. It has to be something in the redneck wiring(the guy before me unfortunately) that is causing it.

For the longest of time(before I sent it to the shop to get some of the wiring checked out) the battery light was on and it was not charging, but they rewired something to the firewall and the light went out. We assumed it was charging, but now that I am driving it again it does not appear to be the case. I was thinking about ripping all the redneck, half-assed wiring out of it and doing it FOR REAL.

I know the car in itself is simple by todays standards, in terms of electronics, it couldnt be hard to rewire it, could it? what would you guys suggest I check out on it first? Keep in mind the battery/charge light is NOT on. Sorry to pound you guys relentlessly with questions lol

 

Your alternator is not charging correctly. If you are driving 20 mins, car dies and you gotta jump it again...your alternator is not doing its job of providing electricity and the car is relying on your battery. As you stated, the alternator is new but the wiring is all boogered up......Id suspect that wiring.

Heres a little test. While the car is running, disconnect the battery. If the car stumbles, sputters or dies.....then your alternator isnt working correctly. (if the car is running on the battery or 1/2 battery-alternator, when you take away the battery the car wont have enough electrical juice and will die)

 

I have hooked up a deep cycle charger onto the battery and its been charging for a couple of hours. Its at 75 percent charge currently at 10A. The cells in the battery are all showing response(bubbles) to be charged. So the battery is okay.

As you can see, the redneck that had the car before me really rigged this wiring up.


I tried to make the pics smaller, hope they arent too large.

 

never unhook the battery while the car is running. you can burn the diode's or the regulator out. it looks like the wiring is wrong. you should have a wire going to the ignition switch on connection, the other wire im not real sure of but i think it goes from the alternator to the idiot light then to the on connection at the ign switch. man the internet sucks when looking for wiring diagrams. not like it used to be. lol

 

Yea I have to trace the wires the wires that lead from the Idiot light so i can splice the new wires into the original. I have pulled the dash out to get to the lights, and the idiot light bulb for the battery was burnt out.

I know that it could cause it to not charge, but it doesnt appear to be wired right anyway so now that i have the cluster out Im just gonna replace all the burnt bulbs and get direct access to the color wires i need.

Rewiring is not fun, this has turned from a simple task into a complicated and over the top one. I was supposed to change the center link today but somehow this has taken more time than I thought.

I am gonna wire it all the ignition switch, and see if I can get a charge. We replaced the alternator(AdvancedAutparts said it was fried!??!?) and we still arent reading a charge out of it, which either means its bad again or the wiring has to be correct for it to even put out voltage.

Any input thus far?

 

I am stuck at pulling the dash. I cant pull it far out enough to get to the speedometer cable, and the Haynes said you should be able to. It wont pull out and I dont have any space to get to the cable to disconnect it.

I have given up for today instead of getting pissed and ripping it out in fury.

 

good move, it took me years to learn that. lol, things always seem easier after a break.