So we bought my son a pretty rough 1999 Camaro ... Base model 3.8L. We recently came across a 1996 Camaro bank repo that we can pick up pretty cheap (under $1000) that has really good body parts. Question is will they bolt on okay? Not worried about being period correct ,just want to replace the front bumper and fenders.

Also the seats are definitely an upgraded leather that we may want to swap out. They are electric. Is the wiring harness in the '99 that can be hooked up since his have manual seats?

TIA
Sean

 

The whole front end changed in 1998. The hood and fenders sit up a little higher for the LS1. You can replace the whole front end but it seems like a lot of work compared to finding the right parts. Search front end swap for the 4th gen on you tube.

The seats will bolt in and the I believe the harness is under the carpet. I did a 93 to 2000 swap in about 30 minutes.

 

Would it be just bolt on or will there need to be modifications? Every quarter panel on this car is pretty bad. It is my understanding that the rear panels are exactly the same and bolt right on. Just not sure about the front ones.

thanks for the seat info

 

Gorn is right seats are an exact swap out. Electric makes no difference. Your comment on rear quarters confuses me. These are unibody cars and the quarters do not " bolt on" as far as I know. Better check that.

 

Take pictures of what you have and compare them to the selected purchase.

 

If I'm reading this correctly....then yes, you can cut the quarters off the older car and graft them onto the newer one without issue, they were the same from the a-pillar back. As was previously said, the front fenders, hood and bumpers were different

 

May be less work to put the engine in the 1996 then to repair the 1999. To do the front end you need the whole thing. Just about every part, It would take you 2 day. The intake manifold on the 1999 3.8 is too tall and will hit the hood. Your 1999 computer is drive by wire and the 1996 intake is not. You would need to find a 1998 intake that was pre drive by wire.

As a general rule on US made cars you have fenders in the front and Quarter in the back. The quarter panels are part of the body shell and are welded in place. They can be carefully cut out but process of saving used quarters and re-installing them would take a skilled metal worker the better part of a week to do. You could patch what is there if its not rusty.

Or You can swap the drive line from the 1999 into the 1996. That is a weekend project and they only thing you have to buy is an intake gasket, I would recommend swapping all the normal wear/age items. Motor mounts, hoses, belt tensioner, Spark plug and wires and anything else that looks aged.

Check out my Project 1996 in my sig. In that I put a 2000 motor in a 1996. When i finished that car I drove it for over 100,000 miles. That 3800 is pretty bullet proof.

Edit: I was thinking about the intake backwards. You would need a intake that was low like on the 95-97 3800 but is DBW. that not something GM made. That means you would need to clearance the hood or buy an aftermarket one. You can kinda see in my post 13 in my 96 build thread the 1996 and 2000 motors sitting side by side. The intake manifold on the 96 has a sharp bend down right at the throttle body and the 2000 motor is straight. The 96 engine is closest to the camera