Newb with a 74 Z28 Type LT

[kyphur]

Just wanted to say hello and drop a note. I know a lot of you guys have older cars than mine but I still enjoy mine. I'm dropping a T-56 in right now and I'm sure I'll need to ask some questions on here.

My 74 Z28 Type LT is all matching numbers right now with the TH400 and L82 350 small block. I rebuilt the engine last year and was going to rebuild the tranny next summer but it isn't wanting to last that long it seems. So right before I went into the rebuild I found a great deal on a t-56 out of a 02 Camaro Z28 with very low mileage. Everything was included in the purchase from the pedals, master, crossmember, etc. and I paid less than what a lot of people pay just for the core tranny. So I'm looking at Quicktime's RM-6023 bellhousing to mate it up to my L82 350, Amp Performance crossmember for 74 Camaro and a McCloed adjustable master cylinder assembly. Has the 3.42 geared big 10 bolt 8.5 inch posi under the rear with 255-60-15's but with the new transmission I will probably go with 4.10 Ford 9 inch next year.

As far as the engine goes I have a Weiand 8501 Air Strike manifold with a pretty modified 750cfm Holley 3310 with some QFT goodies installed and a 12-803 Holley fuel regulator. I'm getting annular boosters installed hopefully soon to give better low end signal. Comp Cams 280h that has .512/.512 lift with 1.6 Crane Energizer full roller rockers, Comp Cams one piece pushrods, Isky superlifter anti-pump-up lifters and comp cams beehive springs sitting on top of lightly modified 881 heads with 2.02/1.60 valves. Stock forged rotating assembly with TRW pistons and around 9.25 or so compression with the heads being milled. Clevite P series high performace rod and main bearings throughout and Total Seal gapless piston rings. MSD ignition system running at around 25 degrees advanced with a slight curve that I'm still tuning. Edelbrock 110 gph fuel pump and no logo ribbed valve covers. B&M transmission cooler and Griffin radiator for more than adequate cooling that used to vaporize my stock system whenever I turned up the crank. Hooker comp headers going into 3 inch pipes.

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I hope to learn a lot while here and contribute a good deal. :jump:

[Ummgawa]

What you have is a rare car. I also have a 74 LT Z-28 4 speed L-82 with A/C and points. Regular 74 Camaros are reasonable. They are only original once. If you still want to go on with the build, make it a killer. You sound like you have agreat list of parts.

[kyphur]

Yeah, I'm going to box/crate the originals as I replace them for future prosperity. That way I can have fun with what I have and when I want to retire it and return it all to original I can at a later date. I'm hoping to either go to an LSX with big cubes or a 454 stroked to a 496 in a year or so. I'll pull the engine, seal and prime it to keep it in good shape and then crate and store it. As I've put on newer parts I've kept the originals if they're worth saving for any reason. I'm returning her to her original Bright Blue paint scheme soon but I'll leave off those D-88 stripes with the Z28 logo on them for now. Not too fond of those, ha ha.

There's a part of me that wants to keep it all original but when I got it it wasn't in great shape. :( A lot of the changes are out of necessity and major changes were made to it before I bought it. I've only had it for about a year now and there's a lot of body work that needs to be done. The engine and tranny were pretty abused and a lot of it was already modded and the original parts gone. The guy before me was trying to turn it into a circle track racer and had removed the posi 3.42 rear for a 2.56 peg leg. Then butchered all the electrical, removed the AC setup, destroyed a lot of the tranny piping, etc., etc. As soon as I got it it went into an unexpected rebuild so I just upped the internals and tried to keep the external engine looking stock save for the intake, headers, carb and cleaner. When I first bought it I didn't even realize how rare it was until a few weeks or so later when I started researching the vin and trim tag. I thought the transmission was a swap until I pulled it and found the tranny vin number on it and compared it to the engine vin and title vin.

I enjoy driving it too much and I'm worried if I keep the original drivetrain in it then I'll wear it down. I don't want to do that so that's the reasoning behind the swaps. I'd rather enjoy the ride than have it sit but that's just me.

[Ummgawa]

Dude

Drive em till they need rebuilding. Thats why they are built. Kick ass and good luck on th build up. I will certainly be watching.:1st:

[JEFFTATE]

Cool !
The '74 s are gonna be the next big thing.
Sounds like you are on your way to a great car !

[69*Goat]

Very Nice....

Welcome to the Board

[NOT A TA]

Cool !
The '74 s are gonna be the next big thing.


Oh sure now you tell me! I just sold mine a couple months ago!!!!!!

[NOT A TA]

By the way WELCOME KYPHUR!

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Welcome to the site.

[1971CHEVELLE]

Welcome to the site very nice car

[MikeDVC]

Welcome, it's nice to have another "big bumper" camaro on board

Mike

[Tucks69]

Welcome to the forum. I used to have a 77 Camaro. Hate I let it go!

[kyphur]

Tucks69> Well, you still have two other 1st Gens under your belt according to your sig. I wouldn't be too upset with that, ha ha.

MikeDVC> Really sweet 75 you got there friend. I loooooove L88 hoods and yours looks sweet. Where did you get it from and what brand is it? Your car is overall badass. What AC system did you go with? Is that Vintage Air?

Not A TA> What type of 74 did you have and why did you sell it?

Jefftate> Thanks, I've got a long ways to go before I'll be happy with and not trying to leave work early everyday to go work on it, ha ha. I grew up on a farm repairing cars, tractors and whatever needed fixing but this is my first "project car". My stepdad had a 73 Torino, a 60's two door Fairlane that's sitting in a barn that still cranks but needs a lot of work and a couple of others. I've been trying to get that Fairlane for some time now. My first car was a 78 Thunderbird back in 93 with a 351 Windsor and that was a yacht.

Thanks for all the "welcomes"! I'm came to this board to pick some people's brains about swapping in my T-56. Already this board has helped me find information and people to help with.

Do any of you know anyone that's done a T-56 swap into a 2nd generation Camaro?

[MikeDVC]

MikeDVC> Really sweet 75 you got there friend. I loooooove L88 hoods and yours looks sweet. Where did you get it from and what brand is it? Your car is overall badass. What AC system did you go with? Is that Vintage Air?[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I got the hood form a body shop about 20 years ago (yes, 20 years ago, I've owned the car since 1985) ; not sure of the brand.

Yes, went with Vintage Air which I got from Frank of Prodigy; one of the site vendors. Haven't completely installed yet, just have the compressor mounted....finally.

[kyphur]

Sweet, I was going with to get AC this year but the T56 project took hold. I had a good quote for a complete kit from Hot Rod Air that put it all behind the dash kinda like Vintage Air's.

[MikeDVC]

Sweet, I was going with to get AC this year but the T56 project took hold. I had a good quote for a complete kit from Hot Rod Air that put it all behind the dash kinda like Vintage Air's.

I really like the ac/heater/fan control panel on the Vintage system, fits in factory location and is all fly by wire. No more manual vent levers!

Good choice on the T56; I'm currently running a Muncie; if breaks or starts giving me trouble, then I'll go to a 5 or 6 speed.

[kyphur]

I really like the ac/heater/fan control panel on the Vintage system, fits in factory location and is all fly by wire. No more manual vent levers!

Good choice on the T56; I'm currently running a Muncie; if breaks or starts giving me trouble, then I'll go to a 5 or 6 speed.

Thanks, I've loved the few T56's I've driven. I'm still finding it hard to get 100% info on how to do my setup so far. I know next to nothing about manuals as I've only dealt with old school automatics like th350's and th400's. I'm still trying to figure out how to mate it up to the back of my engine with what clutch, bellhousing, etc. I've talked to a couple of different vendors that supply parts and I keep getting conflicting information on some things. I'll probably start posting my information and pics in the transmission section and what I'm doing step-by-step to see if I can get feedback.

I would love to have AC going right now but my TH400 is in need of rebuilding and I came across this deal with the T56 so I went that route. Figured if I spent money on a rebuild might as well go ahead and put it in the direction I want to go.

[MikeDVC]

You may want to check out NastyZ28.com , a 2nd generation Camaro site. Perhaps you could get some info on the conversion there.

[kyphur]

:) Been a member for a while.

There's actually a lot more information here and there are a couple of people who have done the mate-up very similar to mine on here. I'll probably start asking questions soon when I get more of my technical information down.