(By all means, if there's a more appropriate forum for a project thread, feel free to move this there )

Figured I'd toss up an "as I go" thread, just to keep track of wants, needs, and to see just how long it takes me to actually DO any of it.

Picked up Friday, Feb 19th. (which I realize is tomorrow, but I don't feel like waiting around atm. I'm REALLY bored)

First picture, is from the ad I from Craigslist.



Obviously, the pic is crap. Then again, so is the next one, from my cannot-possibly-be-any-lower-end cell phone.



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Right now, it needs (that I know of from talking to the guy, and giving it a quick once-over):

- Passenger fender and front bumper cover clearcoated. Apparently, the previous owner was backed into in a parking lot, and replaced the pieces, just never had them finished off. Whatever.

- Driver's seat either repaired, recovered, or replaced. Minor tear on the bolster, like damn near all of them end up with.

- Replace the hatch struts.

- Replace Exhaust gasket(s). Driver's side exhaust manifold gasket is pretty weak. After it warms up, it tightens up. But, cold, it's a little noticeable.

- Small dent on the driver side rear quarter panel just above the wheel (it's about 2 or 3 inches or so in diameter).

So far, really, that's all I know of. Everything else seems pretty solid, though I'll know more tomorrow night after I get to go through it a little closer. It's a PA car, has no rust that I can see, at all. I'm also told that the undercarriage is also spotless. If that's all true, it makes it the most solid car I've had since my 96 Avenger that I got like, 10 years ago from a dealer. Time will tell.

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FUTURE PLANS:

- New wheels/tires. I haven't really decided. A lot of people seem to be focused on the Z06 style, though there are some really nice 5 spokes out there. I did see someone sporting the aftermarket IROC style, but..I'm not quite sold on those. Wish Tire Rack would let you change car colors on a Camaro ><. It only offers black, and limited selection. Oh well. Cardomain is working wonders.

- Revamped Exhaust system. It's got dual 3" outlets right now, I'm not sure how much was replaced underneath. I also think that there might be a small leak in the rear of the exhaust, and not JUST the passenger exhaust manifold gasket. But, I'm thinking eventually, headers and a decent setup, preferably true-duals throughout. I loved the sound my 82 Z-28 had when we did that (of course, there were no cats on that one, but still).

- Minor underhood mods. I don't really need anything huge, just for kicks. Probably do the basics: Cold Air Intake, new Throttle Body, maybe some ignition upgrades as well.

- Ground Effects package, MAYBE. I dunno. I've seen some pretty nice kits out there, but then again, I've seen some pretty mean looking ones without. That's a maybe. But definately planning on a new hood, and leaning towards the SS spoiler as well.

- A better set of seats inside. While I'm told the factory seats are very comfortable, I haven't sat in them yet for more than 2 minutes. And, with the one being ripped, I wouldn't mind replacing altogether.

- Probably upgraded guages. Depends on if I like the yellow.

- New STEREO. GOD I miss having a system. The last 4 cars I've bought, didn't even have radios. This one has a slightly older Pioneer deck, which is good for now. But, I'll definately be working on this. I sorely miss my old AVIC-N1.

Here are a couple of ones I saw. (Apologies for using the pics, and mad props to owners of these. They look amazing.)

If only this was Black...



Then there's this one, no body kit. Easier to imagine the Black version.



I dunno...like I said, I'm still searching through thousands of Cardomain rides, and CamaroZ28.com forum rides, trying to piece together ideas in my head.

By all means though, throw suggestions my way!

 

I think you shouldn't worry about anyone else's opinion. You are doing good for yourself and looking at a lot of good examples, then just decide what you want.

From a builder standpoint, it can be easier to stick to the goal if you find a "theme" and stick with it. That way the car looks more complete and planned, less like you just bought a bunch of stuff and threw it on the car.

You also want to think about how you will be using the car. If you are going to drag racing, probably don't want to weigh it down with body kit stuff, just a thought.

Good luck with the project

Josh

 

Dont get anything but an ss hood. Best hood for this car.

 

Yeah, not really goin for a drag setup. Mostly cruising around town, but with enough oomph to at least be less than boring. But I found another one, that looks just...perfect for what I'm looking at. The wish list is started

edit: yeah, the SS hood would be the only one I look at for it. I haven't seen anything else that stands out for me.

 

Welcome Man!
From a 93 formula owner to a 93 Camaro guy, the 93 cars have a bunch of different stuff than every other year LT1 car, so check out speeddensity.org for 93 specific details. I am building a FI 383 and they (as well as here) are helping alot.

Good luck and remember that power is addictive!

 

02/27/10 -

Well, went to replace the exhaust manifold gasket. Turns out, the rear two bolts were broken off in the head. Joy. We removed the manifold, drilling out and tapping new holes for the flange to the Y-pipe since they were pretty beat. Since the gaskets were pretty cheap anyway, we just doubled them for now, and reinstalled the manifold, minus the 2 rear bolts. Since eventually, I plan on putting headers in, and whatnot, I figure I'll save everything until either then, or, until something comes up that forces me to replace them at that point. When that happens, I figure I'll pull the heads, and all that fun stuff at the same time, drill out the studs, etc. For now, it's a lot quieter under the hood, which was the immediate goal.

Also decided to poke around a little bit inside. Set the radio clock (was annoying me), and then realized that while yes, it actually HAS a radio (unlike my last 5 cars), only the driver's side speaker was working. So, then I open the hatch, and realize that it originally had the factory BOSE system. There was a sub grill on the panel in the hatch. Pulled that off, and saw the Bose Sub housing in there (minus the sub), and some rigged up wires dangling from it. God knows what the guy was trying to do before. My guess is that he replaced all the speakers, before realizing that he had no idea how to make them work after pulling the Bose setup, and then just ran a direct wire to the driver's door, and called it good. So, maybe next weekend I'll just gut the inside, and pull the panels, and re-wire the speakers. There were a set of Pioneer 2-way 5 1/2"s in the B-pillars, though the surround on one of them was a bit mashed. But, they'll do for now once I hook them back up to the deck. On a bright note, with the Bose sub housing out, I was able to just reach up and pop out the dent in the quarter panel. There's a TINY dent left that I couldn't get out with my fingers, but at least it's very easily accessible now.

Did also figure that the muffler is pretty much junk. Everything else seems tight, doesn't really look like it's leaking along the pipes anywhere, but the end just sounds like crap. So, I'll be looking to replace that piece of junk sometime soon too.

Also need to replace the bulb in one of the fog lights, and one of the bulbs in the rear (parking light works, brake light filament is toast. meh. lol).

And, the tires were all replaced - with the wrong size. Cheap bastage. They went and put 225/50/16s on the front, and 225/55/16s on the back. dumbasses. So, 4 new tires are on the "to buy soon" list now.

 

The small (3") cowl hoods look sick as well. But I agree, most of the hoods for our cars are pretty ugly.

 

3/03/07 -

Well, started to strip the front pieces off for paint later this weekend. Fun that is. Also found out, with a short test drive around the hill, that the temp sensor is likely shot, as the gauge never moved. Also needs a coolant flush, since it's a bit brown. The tach is acting up (gets above 2500 RPM, then bounces back to the bottom, and just is really sporadic). Car seems to run ok (though is in dire need of rear tires, regardless of how the tread looks. Anything over 1/4 throttle, and the rear is sideways (which isn't always a bad thing, just is like "dayum I'm all over the place!").

Parked it in the driveway after the drive, and couldn't tell if it was running warm or not. It seemed to be steaming a little from underhood, but, that could also be from the snow in the driveway melting off the exhaust when I came through it. I didn't hear any coolant boiling, but I'll have to check for that the next time, since it was dark and I never popped the hood to check it out completely.

I was going to take it out for another spin....but couldn't get out the driveway again :P WTB tire chains...

I see more dollars in my future...going the wrong way from the wallet! lol.

 

Don't feel bad. We replaced almost the whole ignition, 80% of the sensors, including IAC, TPS, etc., water pump, injectors, and a few other random things I can't recall. Car was 2k, spent 1.2k in parts, ..best of all? Until we replace the passenger O2 sensor it keeps missing xP lol

gl, fun as hell when it's running.

 

Well, finally got the bumper cover and fender back from the guy I had paint it. Had an argument with him when he didn't want to stick to our agreed upon arrangement for doing it, so he apparently decided to half-*** it. Figures. At least it's painted, and from a distance, looks matching (mostly). The rest of the car needs to be resprayed anyway, so for now, it'll manage. I'm just glad it's back in one piece. I do have to drop the bump stop on the driver's side though, it's holding the edge up just a bit. EDIT: Or not. Bump stop isn't keeping it up, so I'll have to dig into that more tomorrow.

 

looks like you got a good start going, and unlike most people you are setting out plans before just jumping into things.
you have come to the right place if you need some help along the way
good luck with it

 

Good luck with it man. Love the Lt1 look so much