Greetings to all the camaro owners,
I started a thread in december about a 1986 camaro. The car needed a ton of work, and I planned on doing an engine swap, and putting a manual tranny in it. I looked for months for a great deal on an engine, and finally found it. A 1989 305 with a manual tranny. It turned out that the firebird had a nicer body, so I planned on using that as the car, and the other as the donor. It turns out that the junkyard I got the car from didn't put coolant in, so the block was cracked (yes it sounded fine when I checked it out). My master plan has also changed since then, because I found out my family would be moving due to a change in jobs. There wasn't enough time to really do the firebird right, so I started searching for a car that was in better shape. Well, I found it. A 1992 25th anniversary edition RS. It has a 305, and a manual. The interior is nearly perfect, and the exterior is just as nice. It still needs a paint job though, and has a few rust spots. It also has T-Tops.
so far, problems include:
The hood release cable is shot, and needs replaced
There's a vacuum leak, which is believed to be the cause of the break problem.
The break problem mentioned above (It pulls the car to the left when it breaks)
Bad weatherstripping
Bad Hood hydraulics
No muffler
Scratched T-Tops
Fan motor died.
A harley davidson sticker on the back (jk, this is not a problem, and has been removed already. Although why would you put it on in the first place?)
A cracked dash.
AC not working
Cruise not working.

So today I worked on it in the morning before I worked on dirt race cars with my mechanic friend. I managed to snag the hydraulics from the firebird (I won't sell it until I've gotten the parts I need from it). They work fine in the camaro, but the clips that hold them in are awful to take out though. The Firebird also has T-Tops, and they fit perfectly. I think I'll keep this as a backup set. I also started looking and found the flow-master exhaust system in a catolouge for $260, and my mechanic said that he could get them cheaper through another company. The dash is also cracked pretty badly... is it the same one as an 86? because I still have access to that car, and I'm sure I could get the dash from it. (The friend that was going to let me use it still has it sitting behind his shop). I'm on a limited budget right now, but I want to know what I can do to get a little more power. It has the 170hp 305 I believe, and everything is stock. I believe it's the TBI... Would I be able to use a different intake manifold without using a carb? would a carb fit without any hood modifications? What bolt on mods could be added to the 305? what would give the most boost for the least cash? I should make a few thousand over next summer, and I plan on working during the school year of 08-09. If I had enough money for a big block then, would it fit? and what tranny would I need. If I was to buy some bolt on mods now, would they fit the big block?
the photo album is http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/masterfangman/
Questions, Comments, Suggestions, and Concerns are all welcome.
Thanks,
Austin
P.S. I also plan on getting the Pyramid 2000 watt amp (the 2x1000 max), and 2 12" pyramid 500 watt RMS 1000 watt max subs and building a costum enclosure. Does anyone have any experience with this brand?

EDIT: Something like this would work with my current tranny, right? or would I need a tranny that could handle more power? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Small...QQcmdZViewItem
Also, Carbed setups fit fine in 3rd gens, right?

 

Well the car looks great good luck with her. The stock T-5 tranny doesn't handle a lot of power so the 500+ hp 383 you posted would be a little to much. That tranny can handle roughly 300-350 hp and that's pushing it. As far as bolt ons, start with exhaust from the headers back. I don't have much experience with TBI so I can't really help you there. A carb would fit but you would have to change the intake and possibly the heads. As far as engine swap put in what you want but a 350 seems to be the way to go. They swap right in and most of the parts from the 305 should fit. The 383 will fit but you'll need to do a lot of suspension work like springs, shocks, struts and especially sub frame connectors. You can find a 350 at a junk yard or if you shop around you could get one at a good price. Good luck with it and let us know how you make out.

 

set up a cardomain
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2629567
check it out. I figured I'd have to replace the tranny if I got a high powered engine like that. okay, well I'm putting flow masters on soon, and I could replace the headers. and carbed would seem like a good idea when I swap engines, until then I'll leave it as TBI. I also want to make sure any bolt ons I use could be used on the 383, because I really would like a little more power than a 350.

 

if you dont wanna go carbed, go tpi. carbed fits fine on my 85 camaro, the intake manifold looks a little high on that 383, so you may need a cowl hood. or any hood with somewhat of a raise in the center. anyway, i hear tpi is tons better than tbi, i had tbi on one of my other cars. it sucked. would have much rathered the mpi they had in the r/t model. oh, it was a dodge spirit. r/t model had a turbo and like 200 hp and some change stock, i think. sold it. i had the le model. i dont know what benefits tpi has over carbed, havent researched it yet. but maybe someone else can shed some light.

 

Okay, that's good to know. I plan on upgrading in a few years after I've saved enough up. I'm ordering the Flow Master exhaust and Seat covers now. Are there any aftermarket addons/mods that anyone highly recommends for a 3rd generation camaro?

 

reason why the car pulls is possible a brake line pinch. check the front brake lines.

 

I worked on it again today. I started by doing a complete check over the car. So, Now I need basically the whole brake system redone because it's rather aged. I then went to work on the fan motor, and found that I had to physically bend the frame back into shape to get it to fit. (this is of course after switching all the mounts out with the ones from my firebird). I also stole anything and everything I could from the firebird. I took all of the emergency stuff (spare tire, jack, etc), and also tore apart the interior. On the interior of my camaro, it was missing the little white clips that the interior screws screw into (they snap into the metal frame of the car), so that's why I got from the firebird interior. My Mechanic friend then helped with the hood, and the hood release works, and it's not bent up quite as noticeably as it was before. I began work on the air conditioning and cruise control by checking all the fuses, and they're all fine. Next week I'll charge the AC and see if that helps. This week I need to get the firebird door and T-Tops key copied (so I can snag those T's), get my flowmaster exhaust kit, and get all of the brake hardware. I also plan on ordering the seat covers, and getting a keyless entry at some point.