My first car: 92 Camaro RS

[gamarada717]

This is kind of long, but I'm so darn excited I can't help myself.

Pics are up! Saturday, I'll be working on her. I plan to take out the carpet and everything, give it a few good washes with the power washer. Wash and wax, and we should have the brakes fixed by the end of the day, hopefully the heater core too.

Well, ever since I went to Philmont and we had a lot of free time over there, especially in the van, one of my friends who has a 77 Trans Am got me into cars. I really don't know much about cars, except the basics of the engine, things like that. All of the smaller stuff I'm clueless about. My dad passed away when I was 9, so I never got a chance to learn about cars. Since it's something that I need to be educated in, I went over to my neighbor, who has been working on cars his whole life. He even has a big lift in his driveway, which his grand daughter thought was going to be for her new swingset. He practically has his own shop in his garage, it's huge...so I asked him if he would help me pick out a camaro and teach me about it, fix it up, help me with everything because I wanted to learn about cars. Started looking back in September, and we looked at a bunch of BAD cars...I couldn't believe how people could drive them into the dirt like that. One time, while I was taking one around the block, the entire dash fell on me. I've been saving for 2 and a half years, and made quite a bit of money in the stocks. I was at $1700.25. Well, as he said, those who pray and wait for it will be rewarded. And boy, have I.

We found the car at one of his good friend's used car dealerships, and he checks out cars for him before he puts them on the lot. The first time I go and look at it, they were closed, so I just got to look through the fence. It's a 92 Camaro, which is what I wanted, it's a dark metallic green, and the paint looks good. 25th annaversary, t tops, V8 305 high output (120,000 miles, but several new parts have been added within the last 2 years), dual exhaust, and the pipes are huge. But they look just right, not sticking out far or anything like that. The body is perfect, no dents or anything, very straight. The windshield is broken.
Brand new tires, and the stock rims, which I think look cool. On the interior, the two front seats are torn up a bit, but the cussions are still good, and the back seats are perfect. The carpet and door panels are all great, its a buckskin color leather, which looks gorgeous with the green. No radio, but I would replace that anyways. The shift plate is cracked, and like, there's some padding or something on the dash and its a little ripped. Other than that, the interior is great, nobody ever smoked in it so it doesn't smell horrible.

The problems with it. Brakes are out, but I'm gettin it towed for 25 bucks. The heater core is broken, so the windows were all fogged up. The engine has a little gasket problem, but that's kind of good, because I actually wanted some problems so I would have to fix them and all. Neighbor said that it was nothing big to fix though, and soon we would have the brakes running well so I could tinker my heart out. The best part was when we started it up, it started great. The exhaust let out a roar that made my heart shake. I was amazed at the sound. But I was even more amazed about 2 minutes later when it warmed up...I know this will sound cheesy, but it just sounded so cool. And to think that I was about to purchase this car. And I would have it in awesome condition when I started to drive, and make my friends jealous.

Now, here's the best part. I got it for $800. :wow: I just couldn't believe it. This car should be going for well over a thousand; maybe more. And that means that I can start fixing it right away, because I still have like 900 bucks left over! My mom even said that she would pay for it, since she bought my sister a 30,000 dollar suv, but I want this to be my project, and I take honor in using my own money that through various yard jobs and working at a refreshment stand at a ballpark one spring and summer. So I paid full cash out of my own wallet. I'm really excited, and it will hopefully be towed here by tomorrow, definetly by Friday. I'm a safe driver too, a year of permit driving has done me well. I'm going to be very careful with this, I don't want the insurance to shoot up, that would be bad. This is like, the best day of my life, I think I'll actually sleep in it tomorrow night :) :dance:

Pics when it gets here!

This should make Pyro proud, isn't he a 3rd gen Camaro fanatic? :rofl: :dance:

Wash and wax and some sunlight coming on Saturday...

http://img94.exs.cx/img94/148/camaro00110zv.jpg
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/6166/camaro00078np.jpg
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/1642/camaro00084ew.jpg
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/518/camaro00099nb.jpg
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/9600/camaro000102tj.jpg
http://img99.exs.cx/img99/5791/camaro00069tx.jpg
http://img99.exs.cx/img99/3959/camaro00054cr.jpg
http://img50.exs.cx/img50/188/camaro00045lk.jpg

[dj89]

Pointless with out Photos. :)

[Pate]

Pointless with out Photos. :)

quoted for truth :D

[dj89]

quoted for truth :D
:D i got quoted :p

[skife]

i got a buddy that loves 305's

i'm a 350 person myself.


305 ho isn't a bad motor though.



i always wanted a 3rd gen.


i've got a g body though, 1980 cutlass supreme packin an olds 350 rocket

[trxrustler3]

Definately a good buy! The 305 is a strong engine, and will serve you well. I got one for my friend, it's a 92 RS with a 305 and auto. Immaculate, and when I say it I mean it. Everything is perfect, car had 68k miles on it, all highway, older couple. The good thing is, I got it for $600. They gave it to their son, the transmission "went out" so i got it for her, turned out to be the shift linkage was bent.

350 swaps aren't hard either, you should look into one. Or if you're feeling gutsy, buy an old race block 383 and build it up. It runs about $1200 to get a good 383 with mods.

I'm a huge fan of that car, and I'm looking for a 91 IROC that just needs a 383 and supercharger. Keep us updated! And please don't rice it, restore it.

[PyRo]

Why yes, I’m proud of you.
You have an extremely rare car; in fact it is so rare GM didn’t even know they were making them. It’s the same 305tbi (throttle body injection) I have in my car, nothing too special about it, 175hp, 255ft/lbs tq. The RS either came with the 305tbi or the 3.1mpfi. The Z28 got a 305tpi (tuned port injection) in the base model, and a 350tpi option. The base z28 has about 40hp on the upgraded RS. The 305 high output was only used for a couple years, 87ish and wasn’t anything special.
You also don’t have dual exhaust, the manifolds go into the Y pipe which goes into one pipe, then through the cat, that pipe then goes into the muffler which has two pipes coming out of it. Yes your pipes are defiantly bigger than the average civic (well before they get the 8in fart can anyway), but not huge. I believe they are 2.25, the angle they are cut at makes them look big. Go for a set of headers and a hooker catback, then you have 3in all the way back which is more than that motor will ever need, should give you about 25hp as well.
A thirdgen with a perfect body is hard to find especially with the price you paid, that was a very good find I paid about $2,000 for my car and the body had a few imperfections. Check the quarters and floors for rust if you haven’t though, they like to rot and the sooner you deal with rust the better.
90% of thirdgens have torn up front seats. Go to a place that does interior work and get a quote on reupholstering them, some will do it pretty cheap. Your other option is to buy a set of forth gen seats (93-03) which bolt right in, adding power seats isn’t hard either you just run a wire from the fuse box although I think the power lumbar takes some work. You don’t have much choice on the dash pad, you can but a cap for sixty dollars or so that looks horrible, you can put carpet over it which looks horrible, you can buy a good one for about $120, or you can have yours recovered for about $400. Look up too, if you haven’t, the headliner might be coming down.
Brakes are always and easy fix as you probably know, the entire system will probably run $400 for good parts. I would recommend getting some stainless steal lines to replace the rubber; it firms up the pedal a little bit and just makes the brakes feel a little nicer. Have fun with the heater core, that top bolt is a PITA.

[PyRo]

Definately a good buy! The 305 is a strong engine, and will serve you well. I got one for my friend, it's a 92 RS with a 305 and auto. Immaculate, and when I say it I mean it. Everything is perfect, car had 68k miles on it, all highway, older couple. The good thing is, I got it for $600. They gave it to their son, the transmission "went out" so i got it for her, turned out to be the shift linkage was bent.

350 swaps aren't hard either, you should look into one. Or if you're feeling gutsy, buy an old race block 383 and build it up. It runs about $1200 to get a good 383 with mods.

I'm a huge fan of that car, and I'm looking for a 91 IROC that just needs a 383 and supercharger. Keep us updated! And please don't rice it, restore it.



Good luck finding a 91 IROC, 90 was the last year for them.
350 swaps can be easy or hard, it depends what you do. First off do you have emissions? If you do then your extreemly limited. If you don't build a nice 350, rip everything out of their, put it in with a T56 (6spd manual from a 4th gen), and a 4th gen 4.11 or 3.73 rear end behind it and you're good to go. If you do have emissions a common route is to rip the entire 350 from a caprice carb-pan with all acessories, everything bolts right in, acessories in the same place, same wireing, all you need is the PROM from the caprice. Just don't tell the guys doing the inspecion you did it and they will have no idea and pass you. That will only get you about 220hp however, put headers and an exhaust on it if you don't have emissions laws against it and that might get you 250. At this point you have to get into chip tuning, a chip is good for a ton of power and necessary for most modifications (not a mass produces aftermarket one, one that you custom make for your car). Do mild heads and a cam, exhaust, chip, and other small things you should be able to make it though emissions with 300hp.

[gamarada717]

Pics up!

[PyRo]

Aftermarket exhaust much?
Nice car :)

http://img117.exs.cx/img117/1558/camaro40en.jpg
:)

[skife]

thats the first lift i've ever seen in a driveway....

i didn't think he was serious about having a lift in the driveway.

[PyRo]

Havn't you seen Fast and the Furious 2? :)
I don't know if I would want one in my driveway, I could definatly see some idiot kids thinking it was funny to try and push the car off the life effectivly screwing up my car and killing themselves.

[skife]

Havn't you seen Fast and the Furious 2? :)



yeah breh!

[gamarada717]

Well, started our work today. Pulled off all the tires, the front right rotor was rusted to hell, and the brake pads were worn down to metal. The left front rotor was fine though, but it was leaking a little fluid. Looked on the underside, I'm missing a bolt on the right side of my exhaust, so I fixed that :mad: . Got a new rotor and brake pads and put those one. Getting the bolts on my tires off was a pain though, all 4 tires had locks on them, and they were overly tightened and the metal was almost straining. But, on our trip to the parts store, we were riding in another 92 camaro, 5spd. We went down by the railroad tracks where the roads are extremely wide and hardly any traffic, we burned out in a 180 and we hit 120 or so. It was fun. Bypassed the heater core so I can work on it tomorrow. I'm going to have a blast taking out the entire dash :bounce: Pics of it on the lift.

What I learned today: Make sure the fluid in the radiator isn't hot. and open the cap slowly . Luckily, it wasn't hot, but I just flipped it open, it went everywhere. What I don't understand is how all of my fluid was still there, but it was leaking in the floor on the right passenger side. Also, when we're driving it, the windows fog up and steam comes out the vents right at the base of the windshiel. Yet my fluid is full. :confused:

[PyRo]

A few things.

You have drum brakes in the rear, disk up front. Disk brakes use pads, drum brakes use shoes. The Caseings you found were probably drums they fit over the outside of the brake assembly with five holes for the studs?

Replace the other rotor up front, I wouldn't drive it until you do the other one. You're likely to experiance some pulling in one direction or the other while braking or uneven brake wear which will result in your brakes wearing out quickly at which point you're going to have to replace both sides anyway. Always do brakes in pairs, fronts get done together, and rears get done together, it is ok to change your front pads but not the shoes, but never change pads or shoes on one side, the same goes for lines, calipers, drums, or any other component.

I don't know what you used for the bolt but i'll just add that you should always use grade eight bolts (unless you are doing somthing that takes a specialty bolt like heads). Some people prefer grade five because they claim they are less brittle which I don't understand. Just don't use the cheap stuff from the hardware store or your just going to be drilling out broken bolts later. Also when you pull out a bolt if it seems old and brittle spend the couple dollars and get new ones. I get to drill out a bolt on my crossmember tommorrow because I thought I could get one more use out of them, wrong.

The ECM in the 92 Camaro cuts off at 112 due to speed ratings on the factory tires so 120 is unlikely unless he has burned a custom prom or a switch to turn off the cable that tells the ecm the speed (forget the name). Driving that fast isn't a good idea either. Note what happend last time I did it and learn from my experiance rather than having one of your own.

Please don't take the dash out for the heater core, it is a PITA to get out and even more of a PITA to get in right. I promise you very few if any people will pull their dash out to change a heater core. Just remove the passenger side kick panel and you will be looking right at it, you are working in an odd position but it is very do-able. Just make sure you have some extensions and swivils, probably a 1/4 in drive ratchet (i'm guessing this guy will have these tools). Go over to www.thirdgen.org, look at their message boards and do a search on heater core replacement you will find all the information you want on it. The top bolts are hard to get out but they do come out.