View Full Version : Yet ANOTHER new guy.
Hello, my name is Brad. I am the proud owner of a 1978 Camaro LT. My father bought it for me when i was born. He drove it maybe two years, put 68 thousand miles on her, then put it away in a garage for me until this past weekend. I went over opened the hood, and found that the power wire that runs from the battery to the starter was melted with exposed wire touching the frame rail. Obviously i was quite upset, but after replacing the wire, and the starter she fired right up! Mind you, she had been sitting in the garage, without any attention for 6 years! The tires were all at 10 lbs pressure, so I put air in the tires and have been driving it ever since!
What I would like to do to her is put on a new intake and 4bbl carb., a mild street cam, and MAYBE rebuild the bottom end.... to wake her up a bit. The exhaust was rusted out, so I replaced it with a Vortex exhaust from the dealership here in town.
Pictures will come once i charge my digital camera. I look forward to reading some cool things here in the upcoming days and weeks!
1971CHEVELLE
04-29-2009, 12:14 PM
Welcome to the site
Rich G
04-29-2009, 12:36 PM
Welcome Brad,all I can say is there is always something cool going on here. Puts alot of ideas in guys head.
Ralph LoGrasso
04-29-2009, 12:52 PM
Welcome to the site, Brad.
NOT A TA
04-29-2009, 01:21 PM
Welcome! Very cool story! Nice of your dad to do that. I'd change all the fluids including the brake fluid. I don't know how much of a car guy your dad is but please be safe.
Depending on your budget ya might want to hold off on the new toys. Its been my experience that cars which have been parked a long time need several items replaced within a few hundred miles. The most common items are hoses, belts, water pump,master cylinder, alternator,wheel cylinders, calipers, and the radiator. Also tires dry out and become unsafe. Shelf life of a brand new regular tire is about 7 years according to the manufacturers reps I've spoken with.
79-TA
04-29-2009, 03:36 PM
Welcome to the site! When I first got my Trans Am, I dumped some gas in the carb and got it fired, but in my case, I knew it'd be better to go for an entire engine rebuild.
My friend has a '78 Camaro and it's a lot of fun. Does your car have the 305?
yeah she's the 305 lt.. My father is a HUGE car nut. He's saved EVERY reciept from day one. I even have the original window sticker! The 305 in January of 1978 was a 185.00 option. The radio with tape deck (8 track) was a 389 dollar upgrade! haha! The radio was more expensive than the engine was! I've replaced belts, alternator, starter, battery, and all the fluids. Next is the tires.
edit: That first post did sound a little bit like I didn't take care of anything before putting it on the road huh... haha!
No i know better than that. I am a car nut too.... I've built a buddies 4 cylinder engine to push 524 horses running on 28lbs of boost, and my dodge neon SRT4 has roughly 400 horses to the front wheels, pushing 25lbs of boost.... so I know a thing or two about mechanical work :). (I'm not bragging, just showing some of my background.)
This weekend I am replacing all of the gaskets in the engine. Should be a fun (and rather easy) tear-down seeing as how I won't have to worry about any computers getting in the way for once! Although I must say, this will be my first big N/A car I've ever worked on.
79-TA
05-01-2009, 02:27 PM
So I guess the question is are you going to swap in another more build-friendly motor or will you venture into the brave world of 305 building?
So I guess the question is are you going to swap in another more build-friendly motor or will you venture into the brave world of 305 building?
looking into a 350 4 bolt main as i type! :):1st:
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