hey everyone well this is my frist post on here.so ill start will a hello my names chris, i dont own a camaro.... yet lol but am a chevy guy. so on to what i need to know. i know someone who has a 3rd gen (dont know the year but it seams like its alatermodel i wanna say 90 or 91)??? it doesnt run,he said its something with the motor... the guy knows nothing and the cars jut been sitting in the garage. also the car does have its rust spots as iv heard in the wheel wells and so on. the one rear tire is flat and when i say flat i mean some how the bead is broke and u can see the middle of the rim ontop lol. im guessing from rolling it outof the garage yesterday when the tire was flat?? (guys moving) whatim told is the car is mine for 450...... i dont think its worth that.do you? i want it for 200 lol maybe 300. also i dont even think i wanna mess with takening the motor apart and rebuild. just a swap and start over. with more power of course. so with that said just to get this thing "running" whats the cheapest way? its going to be a winter project. and i dont have alot of cash now but will come the end of the year and then tex season! lol i know there are amilion options. and threads where it says what you need for a v8 swap and so on.. im justlooking for a cheap estimate.... oh also its an automatic

thanks ahead of time chris

 

I would say the cheapest way would be to replace the motor, depends on what it has in it and whether you are going to be doing the wrenching or hiring it done. However, if you want to do it right so that you have no worries, I would go with a rebuild. It might cost more initially but you don't take a chance on buying a motor and then having something go wrong with it or it being misrepresented by the seller. If you go with a used one, try to find one that has been tested or you can hear run. Sounds like a good project.

 

I've been doing a resto on my 87 for about 9 months now. It was my very first car, so I've been taking my time and doing everything correctly. I knew the history of the car which helps immensely as well. As of now, money has been no object. I really think that is the attitude you need to have to do it right. Also, you can't get in a hurry. It will still be another 6 months or more till it is all finished. I honestly would have better off to just buy a new one. I will be close to 20k when its all done. I did my own motor and trans swap. I've kept it smog legal as well. I had some rust which I thought was minor, but once the car was stripped down on the rack there was a lot more than I thought. Even a little bit of rust takes a lot of work to fix.

Here is my breakdown so far:

7K for new stroker motor (this figure includes headers, carb, mounts, ignition box, belts, hoses, fluid and everything to make it turnkey and legal.

2.5K for new hughes built 4l60 with 2500 converter (includes new mounts, new torque arm hardware, braces, and U joints.

My point is there is no such thing as cheap when it comes to fixing these cars.
8-10K for body and paint (I had a little rust on RRight qp and a bad rocker panel. Doors were fine, just were sagging badly. But they have a LOT of hours into getting eveything laser straight. I did do a custom job on the hood to get the clearance I needed. I just don't like the look of the high cowl hoods. That alone was 40+ hours of labor.

I don't even know the misc stuff like weather stripping, t-top seals, new tires, new brakes, registration, etc. Oh, I haven't even started on the interior, rear end, or exhaust yet.....

If you love these style of cars then go for it and do it right, if not, or if you want to just slap it together and sell it, save yourself the time, money and frustration and walk away.

 

Well I hope that's not my only option. Cuz no way I'm spending 20 g on the car lol. And Money IS an issue for me. I'm looking to spend MAYBE 2000 on just a motor. Weather that's a swap me rebilding it or what ever..... Body work isn't a big deal to me it looks cllean for the most part. And ill fix all the small stuff myself and paint it. The is a PROJECT car just to mess with and have fun. If it doesn't work I'm just turning it into a drag car MAYBE... I would realistically just like to put a 350 in it and get it running. And I was kinda asking how hard is it to find what I need to do that. And how much? Or rebuild the motor in the car now and then boost it... Or add the bottle. The isn't meant to be a rocket. I have a brand new motor cycle that runs 9's or 10's. And a new Chevy cobalt with mods for my dd. This is purely just a thing to tinker with an get running. And add a few ponys at the same time.

 

Ok, then you could gut it and make it a drag car. That will not be cheap either. The 3rd gens do not make good drag cars unless properly prepared for it. If you think you are going to rebuild a 305 and boost/bottle it for 2g then like I suggested earlier, you may want to pass and put some more mods on the cobalt.

 

well for a 350 from a camaro with the tranny computer and main wire harness its 1600 bucks..... and only 40k miles on it good deal?

 

ok stop busting this poor guys ***** hes not looking for a show winner hes made that clear these cars can be cheap to do i know ive done a few parts are plentyful and cheap now the guy is right bout two things rust is a pita and a budget killer sincer ur not looking for perfect and u just want a nice looker that will help a bit and alots going to depend on what motor is in it if its a v6 ull need to move and replace the motor mounts for a v8 and it also depends on what engine you want to put in it so let us know what engine is in it now and we can help you out alot more also what year would help alot too and these cars are hard to come by for under 500 unless theres no motor or tranny i picked my 92 rs project up for 500 not even know if it was running tossed a battery in and it started right up so i got lucky plus the guy tossed in all the parts to replace the damaged parts so again i got lucky

 

Sorry iv been postting in a few dif spots on this forum. It is a 92 rs v6 3.1. Automatic. It does run! Lol pretty sure just needs a head gasket and intake gasket. No knockk or nothing! But when I build up some more cash I do wanna put a 350 in it

 

Nice first post....

I'm not busting his *****. I am stating fact. Ok, you don't need to go crazy, but these cars are approaching the quarter century mark, most components on these cars are shot! Interior, body, suspension, etc almost always need work, and good work isn't cheap. You aren't going to make a barnburner out of something that never was without a lot of cash.

Oh, and all I need to do for a V6 to V8 swap is buy V8 mounts and move them? Wow, sounds like you've done this more than once.

 

i love the maturity level in this forum. anyways rockstarbass1 im in the same boat you are. im probably gettin a 3rd gen just want to look at my options and how much everythings gunna cost . keep the answers comin . good luck with yours man .