1974 Camaro Z28
Discussion
So in one of those odd circumstances that rarely happens, the simplest fix was the answer and the rad cap has cured both the overheating and boiling over issues, which is a result!
To celebrate I decided to head out with some of the guys from the Yorkshire Supercar club. The car pulled a surprising amount of attention considering the company she was parked in! Here are some photos courtesy of AD Images who has kindly shared these shots for free.
To celebrate I decided to head out with some of the guys from the Yorkshire Supercar club. The car pulled a surprising amount of attention considering the company she was parked in! Here are some photos courtesy of AD Images who has kindly shared these shots for free.
The Dictator said:
Please do play with how it sits :-) it's amazing how much better a car can look with a light tap of the lowering stick. I dropped my 1981 500 SEL by 45mm on H&R springs with Bilstein shocks and it looks about 3 times better, there is still tyre/arch gap so it doesn't look chavved or broken.
It's not for me I'm afraid, I love the way the car sits as is. I've had my fair share of lowered cars but I really don't think this is the car for it. Maybe if it was a restomod with big wheels and an LS, but it's an original numbers-matching car and will probably stay that way.
Well it's the height of show season, so I've had the Camaro out and about. So far still haven't seen another '74!
The plus side to all this is that is that I got chatting to another owner who advised me that I'd be better swapping over the vac line on my carb...
...so I did. I won't pretend I understand the intricacies of it at the moment, but what I do know is that my idle has slightly increased and as a result my temperature is now holding steady and there's no longer any boiling over at all. Fixed!
The plus side to all this is that is that I got chatting to another owner who advised me that I'd be better swapping over the vac line on my carb...
...so I did. I won't pretend I understand the intricacies of it at the moment, but what I do know is that my idle has slightly increased and as a result my temperature is now holding steady and there's no longer any boiling over at all. Fixed!
Shnozz said:
No doubt you have seen this one up for sale? Looks a beauty.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Restored-1978-Chevrolet...
I have, that's the third 2nd gen I've seen black/black in the last few weeks at over 20k. I'm more than happy that I only paid a little over 7k for mine https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Restored-1978-Chevrolet...
Thanks for that explanation - makes it much clearer than I had it in my head! As you say, these cars are great for learning about basic mechanic skills/theory.
I'm not sure I'd say you're missing a great deal with the manual box, it's very agricultural! It is great fun when though trying to heel/toe in something like this though
I'm not sure I'd say you're missing a great deal with the manual box, it's very agricultural! It is great fun when though trying to heel/toe in something like this though
The car has finally thrown its first real wobbly in my ownership. Having gone to take the car out for a drive, the key felt like it turned one step too far and the engine didnt even try to turn over. I figured it was a problem with the ignition barrel as I then couldnt get my key out, so I managed to source one in the UK and make some time this weekend to fit it.
I'm far from a mechanic so just try to reverse-engineer what I can see and work out how it operates. Initially I dropped the column but then found that to be unnecessary. With the wheel off and the sandwich plate removed (which was tricky without specialist tools!) I was here.
It turns out that once you get to this stage, you have to chisel some of the soft metal away to force a screwdriver through and press the tab.
With the tab exposed, I got the barrel out and found that it works absolutely fine. So time to have a look inside and see what isn't working!
I soon found this gear with two teeth missing, one of which was sat next to the gear having obviously just broken off.
From what I can work out, the gear moves an actuator rod that then completes the circuit with the ignition switch. With the front two teeth missing, the actuator doesnt move far enough to make the contact.
However accessing it through the barrel would have been far too easy! So I separated the next section of the column.
Tricky, but there is enough width to get a screwdriver in the back and prize it off.
Finally, problem part out!
I've found the part online, but at $16 plus $63 shipping I'm trying to find alternatives. At the moment a friend has a 3D printer so he's going to try scanning/repairing it in 3D and then printing me another.
I'm far from a mechanic so just try to reverse-engineer what I can see and work out how it operates. Initially I dropped the column but then found that to be unnecessary. With the wheel off and the sandwich plate removed (which was tricky without specialist tools!) I was here.
It turns out that once you get to this stage, you have to chisel some of the soft metal away to force a screwdriver through and press the tab.
With the tab exposed, I got the barrel out and found that it works absolutely fine. So time to have a look inside and see what isn't working!
I soon found this gear with two teeth missing, one of which was sat next to the gear having obviously just broken off.
From what I can work out, the gear moves an actuator rod that then completes the circuit with the ignition switch. With the front two teeth missing, the actuator doesnt move far enough to make the contact.
However accessing it through the barrel would have been far too easy! So I separated the next section of the column.
Tricky, but there is enough width to get a screwdriver in the back and prize it off.
Finally, problem part out!
I've found the part online, but at $16 plus $63 shipping I'm trying to find alternatives. At the moment a friend has a 3D printer so he's going to try scanning/repairing it in 3D and then printing me another.
First test print, looks pretty close:
Luckily (depending on how you see it) an accidental drop highlighted our first issue - it's made of ABS plastic and the original is nylon. A quick test in the ignition barrel after the impact and it sheared the end off.
So time for a re-print and test-fit tomorrow!
Luckily (depending on how you see it) an accidental drop highlighted our first issue - it's made of ABS plastic and the original is nylon. A quick test in the ignition barrel after the impact and it sheared the end off.
So time for a re-print and test-fit tomorrow!
Managed to get some time on the car on Saturday with the new nylon gear, as well as a glued ABS spare. I also decided to get the ignition switch off and clean it up as the last 'step' was very stiff. It seemed quite obvious how the whole thing works once it was apart - the gear moves an actuator, which in turn moves a long metal rod (much like a bicycle spoke) which slots into the ignition switch.
"How hard can it be?"
Luckily a friend was on-hand with a better memory, so we got it all back together. Unfortunately, both gears sheared off in the same place. Our conclusion is that it's down to how 3D printers work, printing laterally and giving it an easy weak spot. If printed the other way round, it would simply shear the teeth off. Luckily Ive managed to find an OE part which appears to be injection-moulded so a lot stronger.
I haven't driven the car now in almost 6wks, so I managed to bodge it and get the car started. My friend has a lovely 67 so we went for a little drive to blow the cobwebs off.
Alright, so a little too giddy at times...although it looks more dramatic in this photo than it really was!
Nice to be back behind the wheel again though and the car was very well behaved.
"How hard can it be?"
Luckily a friend was on-hand with a better memory, so we got it all back together. Unfortunately, both gears sheared off in the same place. Our conclusion is that it's down to how 3D printers work, printing laterally and giving it an easy weak spot. If printed the other way round, it would simply shear the teeth off. Luckily Ive managed to find an OE part which appears to be injection-moulded so a lot stronger.
I haven't driven the car now in almost 6wks, so I managed to bodge it and get the car started. My friend has a lovely 67 so we went for a little drive to blow the cobwebs off.
Alright, so a little too giddy at times...although it looks more dramatic in this photo than it really was!
Nice to be back behind the wheel again though and the car was very well behaved.
Thanks Ben!
The replacement part turned up, I believe it's out of a slightly later Camaro. This one is made of metal though so should be up to the job!
A friend of mine also commented on the noise the gearbox makes and after a little digging, it turns out it's the Muncie 4spd 'rock crusher' which was the one to have on 70s muscle cars. Sounds a lot like a straight-cut box so it's very noisy!
Managed to get the car out to AMT for a supercar meet at the weekend too. Behaved well in the traffic and despite being probably at least £30k cheaper than any car there it drew quite a lot of attention. (thanks to Mike Thomas for a few of these shots on a proper camera!)
Mr lestat said:
You could always just use the ignition barrel to just turn things on. Then wire in a starter button for the final push to actually start it
With the car being numbers-matching, I'm trying to keep it original at least to the point I can return it to OE later in life. I think a push-button start will be a little fiddly to later return to stock.The replacement part turned up, I believe it's out of a slightly later Camaro. This one is made of metal though so should be up to the job!
A friend of mine also commented on the noise the gearbox makes and after a little digging, it turns out it's the Muncie 4spd 'rock crusher' which was the one to have on 70s muscle cars. Sounds a lot like a straight-cut box so it's very noisy!
Managed to get the car out to AMT for a supercar meet at the weekend too. Behaved well in the traffic and despite being probably at least £30k cheaper than any car there it drew quite a lot of attention. (thanks to Mike Thomas for a few of these shots on a proper camera!)
Another week, another car show. This time again with the Yorkshire Supercar club and Mustang UK club at the Motorist Hub, Sherburn.
With a friends mint/original Capri:
Nice to see one of these in the UK too (although the colour isnt my thing), turned up with probably 50 other Mustangs including a couple of Bullitt cars!
With a friends mint/original Capri:
Nice to see one of these in the UK too (although the colour isnt my thing), turned up with probably 50 other Mustangs including a couple of Bullitt cars!
Well it's been a long winter and I've been too busy working to really have much to do with the car. That and the weather has been awful! But in between rain, I found some time to spend with her.
One of the clients I've been doing a lot of work for is Batley-based MAP Tuning. Whilst dropping off some printed photo books, Ben was taking the 850bhp demo car out for a run across the motorway so I joined him.
Unfortunately the Camaro disagreed with the 'enthusiastic' drive...
Fortunately not a big deal (although wrestling the car across four lanes with steam pouring out of the engine bay and the engine off was exciting to say the least), just a split radiator hose.
With the issue fixed, i got the car home to start cleaning it up. There is coolant everywhere! So starting with the filter...
Good as new! But still so much left to clean
One of the clients I've been doing a lot of work for is Batley-based MAP Tuning. Whilst dropping off some printed photo books, Ben was taking the 850bhp demo car out for a run across the motorway so I joined him.
Unfortunately the Camaro disagreed with the 'enthusiastic' drive...
Fortunately not a big deal (although wrestling the car across four lanes with steam pouring out of the engine bay and the engine off was exciting to say the least), just a split radiator hose.
With the issue fixed, i got the car home to start cleaning it up. There is coolant everywhere! So starting with the filter...
Good as new! But still so much left to clean
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