1973 Camaro Z-28

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 03-31-2008, 09:39:44 PM

Here's the story. My two friends and I have always wanted to build an old Camaro, but none of us have ever done any body work or welding, cutting etc. Myself and one of the others do have some (very little ) knowledge of cars in general and engines etc. We do have access to a shop with all tools necessary for engine work, body work, and painting. This thing needs almost everything. Most body panels that have rust are getting cheap enough in the right places to straight up replace. It has no engine or transmission, it was a 4-speed car though. Has a crappy 10-bolt rear with 2.73 gears. Has most interior, but it all needs to be redone. We all know this is a big undertaking, and will be a great experience to do all this. My question is, which way would you go, old school drivetrain(crate engine, th400 or 4 speed, etc. ), which will cost out the ass on its own, or Find a pull out of an LS1 and t56 6 speed(which I've thought of putting behind an old school engine anyways?

thedude327 · 03-31-2008, 09:49:52 PM

First off , welcome to the site. Now before you start thinking about drivetrains, it sounds like there is alot of bodywork to do. If your willing to try, you will learn plenty along the way. Old cars can test your patience. Be prepared for this project to take anywhere from a couple of years to much longer unless money and time aren't a problem. Good Luck and post back with questions or problems. There are many knowledgable folks here to help.

Paul

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 03-31-2008, 10:18:04 PM

yea, I know it's going to take a long time to do, and I guess I am getting ahead of myself, but the good thing about this project is that there are three people involved, which is three sources of income and three sources of time to work on it, so that is good. I'll be posting pics soon of the car as it is, and then some after we tear it down. Should all be by the end of this week. thanks for looking.

72BIGBLOCK · 03-31-2008, 10:28:28 PM

so if 3 people are putting money in, who owns it?? welcome to the site

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 03-31-2008, 10:32:18 PM

yea, i know it sounds crazy for three people to be putting money into one car, because people would think there would be trouble after it's complete, but these two guys are long long long time great friends that won't cause any trouble with, well I put the most money into it, or I have it titled in my name kinda thing. We're great friends and I'm confident it'll be that way, at least I hope...lol. sounds weird I'm sure, but you'd have to know us.

1st and goal · 04-01-2008, 01:17:41 PM

Good luck, as far as drivetrain goes, I went with an LS1 but it all depends on what you want to do with it.
Drag car go old school, something to race a bit but enjoy on the street go modern. With the gas prices the way they are I'm glad I went with an LS1 vs the 502 I was mulling over before the swap.

It was more expensive than I planned as I seemed to get a used motor with issues with some accessories (alternator, A/C compressor, injectors come to mind) so things will add up fast.

Marc
P.S. Get rid of the hood scoop

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-01-2008, 01:56:39 PM

yea, that damn hood scoop is hideous, 3-4 inch cowl induction is what I would like to do.

andrew1977 · 04-01-2008, 02:07:04 PM

dont under estimate the ten bolt rearend. if its stock it is a 8.5" ten bolt, and if built right, iv seen cars with 600+hp drag race with these rearends... seen pics of a car that runs 9s in the 1/4 with a built 8.5"

most people confuse the 8.5" with the 8.2" because it looks very simaler. the 8.2" is garbage, but 2nd gen camaros were blessed with good rearends from the factory.

BTW having a 273 geared rearend isnt bad either, in fact if you do have a posi your lucky... because if you had a 256 gear ratio (like mine had) you had to stick a ring gear spacer on the carrier to fit 273 gears and numeracly higher.. wich isnt as strong as the 273 and numeracly higher posi carrier because of the spacer.

^^^ bassically what im saying is there are two diffrent carriers gm came out with for 1970-1981 camaros. you have the good one, you can put like 410 gears if you wanted without having to use a ring gear spacer.

(guessing its a posi)... its a great rearend.

if it isnt a posi just buy an eaton posi with 30 spline axles, and c clip eliminators.... id be very suprised if you broke that with a street machine.

i know my grammer and spelling is terrible.... im heading off to english class soon... maby i learn to spell

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-01-2008, 02:17:56 PM

yea, i knew there were two different 10 bolts but I figured for some reason it would wind up being the weak one.

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-01-2008, 03:35:56 PM

oh and no it's not a posi unit, but by this weekend I'll know if it's the good rear or bad as well....is there an easy way from the outside to figure out if it's the 8.2 or 8.5 rear end??

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-01-2008, 07:25:12 PM

by next week I will have pics of how this thing looks up close. man I can't wait to dig into this thing, now I understand why all you guys(and gals) in here are so obsessed with this. I already am and haven't even started yet.

andrew1977 · 04-04-2008, 04:43:38 PM

diffrence.

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-17-2008, 04:22:54 PM

wow, we finally got it into the shop after getting it cleaned out yesterday, and removed the bumpers and front clip and driver side door and both door panels. Just taking it all apart seems great, trying to label most of the bolts and such, but keep getting in a hurry and forgetting some here and there. Anyone know if there are better type of hood hinges than the original style? They are in good shape and just need cleaning, sanded and painted, but I don't think they work at he same pace as each other which causes alignment issues on the hood. I'll post up some pics pretty soon.

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-22-2008, 10:36:39 PM

Just to give you a better picture of what all is wrong with this thing....the more I do , the more I know I overpaid for this POS!!! but it's to late for that, just fix fix fix now....sigh

We have since these stripped down the interior to almost nothing, removed all bolted on panels etc....which I will post some more pics up soon....the window channels are rusty and pitted and some on the rear window channel are rusted so bad its almost gone....

JCP_ProjectZ28 · 04-23-2008, 05:54:24 PM

looks like within the next few months I'll make an order from pro touring f-body and buy everything I'll need to do the complete front and rear chassis and suspension. Seems like a good place to start.