FAO: flyboy

[Verbal]

Bitchin' Camaro, Bitchin' Camaro!
I ran over my neighbors
Bitchin' Camaro, Bitchin' Camaro!
Now I'm in all the papers

My folks bought me a bitchin' Camaro
With no insurance to match
So if I happen to run you down
Please don't leave a scratch

I ran over some old lady
One night at the county fair
And I didn't get arrested
Because my dad's the mayor

Bitchin' Camaro, Bitchin' Camaro!
Donuts on your lawn
Bitchin' Camaro, Bitchin' Camaro!
Tony Orlando and Dawn

When I drive past the kids
They all spit and cuss
Cause I've got a bitchin' Camaro
And they have to ride the bus

So you'd better get out of my way
When I come through your yard
Cause I've got a bitchin' Camaro
And an Exxon credit card

Bitchin' Camaro, Bitchin' Camaro!
Hey man where ya headed?
Bitchin' Camaro, Bitchin' Camaro!
I'm drunk on unleaded

[flyboy2548m]

I'm almost scared to inquire as to the authorship of that masterpiece. I know for sure I've never seen it before.

[blueblack]

I donn`t like this shithead

[Verbal]

[flyboy2548m]

Never heard of them.

The Camaro in question was all but given to me by a colleague, who basically has too many cars. So much so that his homeowner's association has been sending him letters to the effect that he ought to stop letting his driveway look like a used car dealership. The car sports a low-mile Jasper reman long block, but needs plenty of work otherwise. I've been having fun tinkering with it, and having even more fun discovering the cheapness of Chevy parts. I can actually afford to fix this thing.

[Not_Karl]

Congratulations, Flyboy!
We want pictures .

[flyboy2548m]

Congratulations, Flyboy!
We want pictures .

Thanks, pics soon.

[GlennAB1]

and having even more fun discovering the cheapness of Chevy parts. I can actually afford to fix this thing.

The main reason rednecks like Chebys......

but, I had a Camaro once.... it was a lot of fun.

[Verbal]

Flyboy sent me a picture of his Camaro, which he asked me to share with the forum.

[Ancient Mariner]

Never heard of them.

The Camaro in question was all but given to me by a colleague, who basically has too many cars. So much so that his homeowner's association has been sending him letters to the effect that he ought to stop letting his driveway look like a used car dealership. The car sports a low-mile Jasper reman long block, but needs plenty of work otherwise. I've been having fun tinkering with it, and having even more fun discovering the cheapness of Chevy parts. I can actually afford to fix this thing.

What year, engine? I really loved those early Camaros, had lots of fun in one in particular although it wasn't mine. Congrats and enjoy!
Speaking of cars, I'll be checking out a rebuilt and tuned BWM M5 for a friend of mine this afternoon. He's considering it as a birthday present for himself when he turns 60. It's going to be fun, around 500 hp, rearwheel drive and snow. Yeaahaaaw.
Per

[flyboy2548m]

What year, engine? I really loved those early Camaros, had lots of fun in one in particular although it wasn't mine. Congrats and enjoy!

'96, 350cid (5.7L). The original engine fell victim to a female driver's inability to interpret a coolant temperature gauge, hence the reman. Currently working on squaring away some ignition issues (google GM Optispark for more info on that little masterpiece of engineering), tierods, front brakes and some interior junk. Left rear quaterpanel has a scuff that will need to be dealt with eventually. Overall, a decent example of a high-option (leather, T-Tops, power everything) Z28 model. Only thing I don't like is that it's an automatic.

[Ancient Mariner]

What year, engine? I really loved those early Camaros, had lots of fun in one in particular although it wasn't mine. Congrats and enjoy!

'96, 350cid (5.7L). The original engine fell victim to a female driver's inability to interpret a coolant temperature gauge, hence the reman. Currently working on squaring away some ignition issues (google GM Optispark for more info on that little masterpiece of engineering), tierods, front brakes and some interior junk. Left rear quaterpanel has a scuff that will need to be dealt with eventually. Overall, a decent example of a high-option (leather, T-Tops, power everything) Z28 model. Only thing I don't like is that it's an automatic.

Looking good in white and black. White is in vogue again around here after being definately off the charts for years. Reman = re-manufactured? Got it. Chevy 350, shouldn't be difficult to tune or repair. Agree, manuals are so much more fun, does it have like a "Tiptronic" option?
Per

[flyboy2548m]

Looking good in white and black. White is in vogue again around here after being definately off the charts for years. Reman = re-manufactured? Got it. Chevy 350, shouldn't be difficult to tune or repair. Agree, manuals are so much more fun, does it have like a "Tiptronic" option?
Per

No, no tiptronic, the TH700R4 transmission (4spd successor to the legendary Turbo 400 3spd) wasn't offered with any kind of manumatic features. As far as repairability, it's not the easiest, but definitely not the hardest. One thing that helps is that there is a huge knowledge base on these, so it's pretty well impossible to get stumped. Whatever problem I run into plenty of other people have already seen and have posted extensive DIY instructions on the internets.

And yes, reman means remanufactured. Jasper is a very large supplier of overhauled driveline components.


http://www.jasperengines.com/gas-engines.php

[GlennAB1]

What year, engine? I really loved those early Camaros, had lots of fun in one in particular although it wasn't mine. Congrats and enjoy!

'96, 350cid (5.7L). The original engine fell victim to a female driver's inability to interpret a coolant temperature gauge, hence the reman. Currently working on squaring away some ignition issues (google GM Optispark for more info on that little masterpiece of engineering), tierods, front brakes and some interior junk. Left rear quaterpanel has a scuff that will need to be dealt with eventually. Overall, a decent example of a high-option (leather, T-Tops, power everything) Z28 model. Only thing I don't like is that it's an automatic.

Very fun car, same one I had (except red), handled great, very well balanced.

[Hazmat]

Very fun car, same one I had (except red), handled great, very well balanced.

I drove one in Switzerland for a couple of days (belonging to one of my friends) a long time ago and from what I remember I had some serious mixed feelings.
While it was plenty powerfull , very well equipped and according to the owner also reliable it was also very plasticy on the inside, also the front window is very sloped giving a rather claustrophobic feeling.
Also , while it has a very decent powertrain it also suffers hoplesly from an inadequate suspension setup which just cannot handle the power/torque, that's at least the idea I got cruising through Thurgau on a somewhat rainy afternoon.
Still a great car, BTW I like the new Camaro too, looks just brilliant.

[flyboy2548m]

I drove one in Switzerland for a couple of days (belonging to one of my friends) a long time ago and from what I remember I had some serious mixed feelings.
While it was plenty powerfull , very well equipped and according to the owner also reliable it was also very plasticy on the inside, also the front window is very sloped giving a rather claustrophobic feeling.
Also , while it has a very decent powertrain it also suffers hoplesly from an inadequate suspension setup which just cannot handle the power/torque, that's at least the idea I got cruising through Thurgau on a somewhat rainy afternoon.
Still a great car, BTW I like the new Camaro too, looks just brilliant.

The fit and finish are definitely subpar, even for the time. I owned a '96 Explorer, which had a much more solid interior both with respect to material quality and craftsmanship. For a car that's not even a convertible (granted, it has T-tops) there is quite a bit of cowl shake and body twist. Part of the problem is that it's actually a very large and heavy car (it's longer than a Taurus, for example) and I agree wholeheartedly that the suspension is desperately underengineered.

After the "golden age" of the muscle cars ended in the early seventies, GM never again took them seriously. They continued to produce them only because they thought they had to. For serious performance they wanted you to buy a Corvette (which saw its own fair share of suffering), and if you couldn't afford one they would stick you with the car that largely made do with Corvette scraps, and that was the F-Body (Camaro and Firebird/Trans Am). By the time Gen IV cars came out in 1993 they at least got some decent power and pretty acceptable brakes, but everything else was still leftover stuff.

The one bit of good news is that there is a huge supply of aftermarket upgrades for these cars for every taste and budget. A lot of these upgrades are pretty inexpensive (cross-drilled brake discs for $28 a piece, for instance), so that helps. My current list of stuff I still have to purchase includes over 50 items, but adds up to barely $600. Quite refreshing for someone used to BMW and MB prices.

I figure I'll improve the braking quite a bit, throw on some HD Bilsteins or KYBs and tame that roll tendency a little, but there isn't much I can do about the fact that the car is at least 1,000lbs too heavy and a good 4' too big.

[Hazmat]

I figure I'll improve the braking quite a bit, throw on some HD Bilsteins or KYBs and tame that roll tendency a little, but there isn't much I can do about the fact that the car is at least 1,000lbs too heavy and a good 4' too big.

That's the best thing about American cars, an almost infinite amount of possibilities to upgrade/trim a car to make it more to your likings.
What it deinately lacks is body-stiffness , a very cheap (and it can also looks fairly good) option is to install an extra bar between the front suspension mounting points under your hood, it dramatically improves the roll charcteristics and really reduces all that annoying squeeking and rattling from the plastic interior.
Also something similar can be done in the aft underside of the car, vastly improving tracking of the wheels and reducing wear and tear of the tyres.
A bit like mounting a small subframe , improving the car dramatically for a very reasonable price.

Examples;

and

[flyboy2548m]

What it deinately lacks is body-stiffness , a very cheap (and it can also looks fairly good) option is to install an extra bar between the front suspension mounting points under your hood, it dramatically improves the roll charcteristics and really reduces all that annoying squeeking and rattling from the plastic interior.
Also something similar can be done in the aft underside of the car, vastly improving tracking of the wheels and reducing wear and tear of the tyres.
A bit like mounting a small subframe , improving the car dramatically for a very reasonable price.

It already has a real stabilizer bar. As for a strut brace, that's a tad more problematic due to the intake plenum being in the way. Edelbrock does offer a brace for it, but the only way to make it fit properly is to take off the plenum and then spot-weld the center part of the brace to the windshield support, which I'm not convinced is a terribly good idea from the crumble zone standpoint.

Plus, it sounds an awful lot like work, and work - bad.

[Not_Karl]

Nice car!

[flyboy2548m]

Nice car!

I don't know about nice, it'll do.

[3WE]

It screams "RJ Pilot that gets neked and runs in the woods with FA's"

[Gabriel]

... and having even more fun discovering the cheapness of Chevy parts. I can actually afford to fix this thing.

Ok, but...

5.7L

Can you afford to pay the fuel bill?

[flyboy2548m]

Can you afford to pay the fuel bill?

Believe me, Gabriel, if you can afford three kids, I can swing one car's fuel bill. But thank you for asking.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel, if you can afford three kids...

Point made. Affording three kids if probably worth the fuel bill of ten Caterpillars.

[flyboy2548m]

Gabriel, if you can afford three kids...

Point made. Affording three kids if probably worth the fuel bill of ten Caterpillars.

Probably, what with Spanish-speaking kids being both in desperately short supply and in huge demand worldwide.