Howdy all

I've been surfing the forum for a few weeks now, and I thought I'd sign up. I previously owned a 02 Z28, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I got it from a crook dealer and the thing was pretty much a lemon looking for a place to die.

I hate to start off my time here with a few questions, but here goes:

I want to get back into Camaros, but at a grass roots level. The third gen looks like a good place to start. There's alot of them for cheap, and the older I get the better looking they become. I want to restore one from the ground up and go with an old school drive train. No cats, sensors, computers, or EFI. Basically I want to pop the hood and see an air cleaner, valve covers, and a radiator. What years of third gen cars would best suit this? As in nothing but the bare essentials.

I've heard bad things about the 305 motors. Would it be worth it to drop in a 327 or 350?

I don't knowhow strong the third gen automatic or manual trannies are. Would it be wise to drop in a turbo 350 or 400 auto, or a munsi M21 manual? Would they fit the stock tranny mounts?

Do you know anything about Virginia inspections? I know in Washington state if a vehicle is over 25 years you don't have to have the emmisions tested anymore. I don't think a camaro without cats will pass.

Thanks

 

There is a section of the forum for saying howdy as a new member. In this section you start off with questions and stuff.

There is no third gen with the bare essentials. If your local emission laws allow it you have to make it that way.
The 700R4 is a good tranny. I think it was after 87 +/- they were upgraded. The same with the T5. You will need to find one with the torque arm mount. That holds the rear end in line. If no mount on the tranny you use you can get a mount that bolts to the body of the car.
The 305 is just low on power as was everything in the 80's. If you need to get a motor though get a 350. If you compare prices at the dealer for a 305 and a 350 the 350 is cheaper. There are plenty of them around.
You should be able to look up your areas emmisions on the web. Usualy your states web site will have links to it.
As for the year body. The bodies are the same but its stuff like the bumnper covers for instance. The covers on the 82-84 are different that the 85-92 so the later years are more plentiful

 

Try to find a carburated car w/ the old school HEI ignition! Just take off all the smog pumps and crap like that, and you will have what you want. I belive they stopped putting in the carbs w/ hei ignition at around 86. Also make sure to look up a year for the emissions law, in most states they have it to where if your car is a certain age it isnt subject to the emissions laws.

 

Thanks guys for the info. Looks like I'm looking for an 86 or older camaro.

 

What part of VA are you in? I may be moving to Roanoke next year.

Pretty sure VA has fairly tough emissions laws. I know in Maryland (and the laws are pretty similar between VA and MD), a car has to be at least twenty years old to qualify for historic tags, which exempt you from any testing or inspections. So, if you were to find an '87 or earlier, you should be able to register it as such. The down side to this is that you are not "technically" supposed to drive the car more than a certain number of miles per year, and no more than "occasional driving" ie: no more than two days per week. You could theoretically get a ticket, but I don't know anyone who actually has. Just some things to take into consideration.

 

I'm from the Hampton roads area, and pretty new to the area at that.

Hopefully VA has the over 20 rule for historic tags. I only plan on driving it on the weekends to the beach and back so I'm not worried about getting ticketed. I got my 4 cylinder Colorado for all the high mileage commuting.