1974 Camaro Z28
Discussion
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
99t said:
Did the engine overheat and cut out due to the loss of coolant? Hopefully no major harm done, these old cast iron motors are quite forgiving.
Is that coolant as rusty as it appears? If so, please flush and add antifreeze as a matter of priority!!
No, the engine runs a little cool anyway (especially at speed in this weather). The hose let go very suddenly so I shut the engine straight down and coasted to a stop. Is that coolant as rusty as it appears? If so, please flush and add antifreeze as a matter of priority!!
Yeah the coolant has definitely seen better days. Don't worry, there's a few jobs that should hopefully be done in quick succession, that being one of them.
It was nice to finally get a break from the rain!Rogue86 said:
Quick clean yesterday and out for a run to grab a few essentials. Plenty of headshakes from the local nan-gestapo who I'm assuming think I should be out in a Corsa!
I took the SLK55 out yesterday to get some shopping. I dropped the roof and did get some stares from the stasi police. I've had the time to go around the car with a proper 'snagging' list now and make a note of all the bits that need refurbing or replacing. Some larger more obvious items and some smaller detail pieces.
Starting with the interior.
The steering wheel is the most obvious bit here. I've tried to repair it with the OE centre trim but the whole thing is warped - probably from the US sun. I can't find a good OE rep (or real) anywhere.
So I've ordered a Momo hub and I'll be fitting the Key!s Racing wheel I had in my RX7, at least for the short term until I find something I like more. Unfortunately Larkspeed made an error with their stock and the part wont arrive until Mid May...
The dash is the next bit - the panel is held in with cable ties and the clocks have stopped working. So I've had it apart and found the circuit board is fried. Easy to get a replacement from the US fortunately enough! New panel will be ordered with it too.
There a few trim pieces and badges that could do with tidying up too. Again, most of them seem straightforward to get hold of from the US.
Mechanically its pretty much there, but could do with some tarting up and basic maintenance. The filters in particular have seen better days.
I've been apprehensive about ordering directly from the US so far, but with good reviews I tried RockAuto. I ordered a new air filter and plugs around 4 days ago and they all turned up today! Well, most of them (a listing error meant I didnt get all the plugs I ordered, but theyve been refunded and I'll definitely order from them again.
The old filter was definitely ready for changing...
Now I need to get stuck in to removing all the old coolant from the nooks and crannies of the engine.
Starting with the interior.
The steering wheel is the most obvious bit here. I've tried to repair it with the OE centre trim but the whole thing is warped - probably from the US sun. I can't find a good OE rep (or real) anywhere.
So I've ordered a Momo hub and I'll be fitting the Key!s Racing wheel I had in my RX7, at least for the short term until I find something I like more. Unfortunately Larkspeed made an error with their stock and the part wont arrive until Mid May...
The dash is the next bit - the panel is held in with cable ties and the clocks have stopped working. So I've had it apart and found the circuit board is fried. Easy to get a replacement from the US fortunately enough! New panel will be ordered with it too.
There a few trim pieces and badges that could do with tidying up too. Again, most of them seem straightforward to get hold of from the US.
Mechanically its pretty much there, but could do with some tarting up and basic maintenance. The filters in particular have seen better days.
I've been apprehensive about ordering directly from the US so far, but with good reviews I tried RockAuto. I ordered a new air filter and plugs around 4 days ago and they all turned up today! Well, most of them (a listing error meant I didnt get all the plugs I ordered, but theyve been refunded and I'll definitely order from them again.
The old filter was definitely ready for changing...
Now I need to get stuck in to removing all the old coolant from the nooks and crannies of the engine.
I've been having issues lately shifting gears, generally first to second was fine as was third to fourth, but second to third was becoming a real issue - especially when warm. Common diagnosis online seemed to point to old or wrong gearbox oil. I figured I had no idea when (if ever) it was last changed, so I bought some 80W90 GL-4 mineral oil. While the shift itself was now much slicker, I was still having the same issues.
Guessing I had a more sinister problem, I took the car to Motorsport and Performance in Birstall. I shoot a lot of ridiculous-powered Mustangs for these guys so I had every faith they could get to the bottom of my problem.
(Excuse the phone shots for these next few)
One of the first interesting discoveries we made was that the gearbox wasn't a Muncie afterall. It's a Borg-Warner Super T10 which meant all the research I had done and come prepared with was utterly useless. The stamps do check out though, this is the original gearbox that came with the car in '74. In good nick, too.
While the oil change had clearly done some good inside the box, there was still some crud to clear off the shift forks.
Josh was straight on it, throwing any parts we could inside the big washer and re-assembling them once they were clean.
While he was busy doing that, I set about changing the plugs. Turned out to be a nightmare of a job thanks to the aftermarket headers, which we believe to be Kooks. Luckily there were enough different tools laying around to get them all out.
I don't have any photos for the next bit as we were losing time, but with the gearbox back together and cleaned we still had the same issue. Off came the Hirst shifter and linkages, disassembled and into the washer it went. Once back together and on the car, with a bit of fettling I was back on the road home. The difference was night and day from the drive in where I practically limped the car across the motorway.
We'd had a check over the whole car while underneath it and were both left impressed by the condition it was in. I also did some parts tracing where I could and found the Edelbrock to be a 750CFM carb with a high-rise intake. While its obvious that at some point a 'keen' amateur has tackled a lot of the smaller jobs (/bodges), the bigger things like underseal etc have been left to professionals. Feeling confident about the car making a good base for my plans, I threw my savings account at the internet and ordered the bulk of the parts I need to restore it.
This is about half of that order, mainly the bits I needed from RockAuto and the UK. It's got to be said the service from RockAuto is incredible. I ordered the fuel tank on Monday evening, it arrived Thursday morning. All the taxes and fees are paid immediately so there are no hidden surprises once the parts get here. The only downside is they don't really stock any aftermarket parts, or many interior bits.
Parts so far include:
235/60/15 General Grabber HP tyres
Koni Classic shocks (front and rear)
Spectra fuel tank (21gal)
Door cards (upper and lower)
OEM Z28 ducktail spoiler
Heat-wrap for the headers to help keep the gearbox cool
That's on top of some of the older parts I have like the steering wheel from Key!s Racing. I'm still waiting on the hub from Momo.
That's about half of the order with around another £1k of bits to arrive still from Summit Racing, who have gone quiet since I placed the order last week. With them arrives the bulk of the mechanical parts I need, circuit boards, wiring, hardware, dash panel, header bolts and gaskets, interior parts and fixings. I also treated myself to some Hotchkis 2" lowering springs for the front to give me the rake that I think muscle cars should have.
Feeling happy with the car and with a suitably empty savings account, I thought I'd enjoy the last bit of golden hour with the car and head out for a short Sunday drive.
The car did what I half expected it to do in those circumstances. It broke down in spectacular fashion. Coming up to a set of traffic lights in town and with pedestrians everywhere, I shifted from coasting in neutral back into second gear and with an incredible bang I lost all drive. While still rolling downhill, I tried desperately to restart the engine with no joy and an alarming smell of oil. I daren't look in the mirror to see what I expected would be part of my bottom end waving back at me in the road.
With the car pulled onto some wasteland, I had a look around and couldn't see anything obvious. No leaks, engine was trying to turn over but not catching. With some hope, I called the RAC. In a twist of fate, the chap who arrived (within 15mins!) was an old school friend of mine.
We set to work taking bits apart and trying to diagnose the issue. We had fuel, we could see the valves moving, so everything pointed to the spark. Twitchy bum time as I remember I've just changed the plugs and thrown the old ones away. We eventually traced it to the HEI distributor and with some friendly advice from Steve (you may remember his 67 Camaro from previous posts) we found the culprit - a sensor inside the dizzy itself. You can see it here, it's the black plastic part.
So he drove home, whipped his off and we changed it out. The engine fired up straight away and managed to limp the car home. So another brand new one is also on it's way, at which point we can refit it and tune everything up.
Guessing I had a more sinister problem, I took the car to Motorsport and Performance in Birstall. I shoot a lot of ridiculous-powered Mustangs for these guys so I had every faith they could get to the bottom of my problem.
(Excuse the phone shots for these next few)
One of the first interesting discoveries we made was that the gearbox wasn't a Muncie afterall. It's a Borg-Warner Super T10 which meant all the research I had done and come prepared with was utterly useless. The stamps do check out though, this is the original gearbox that came with the car in '74. In good nick, too.
While the oil change had clearly done some good inside the box, there was still some crud to clear off the shift forks.
Josh was straight on it, throwing any parts we could inside the big washer and re-assembling them once they were clean.
While he was busy doing that, I set about changing the plugs. Turned out to be a nightmare of a job thanks to the aftermarket headers, which we believe to be Kooks. Luckily there were enough different tools laying around to get them all out.
I don't have any photos for the next bit as we were losing time, but with the gearbox back together and cleaned we still had the same issue. Off came the Hirst shifter and linkages, disassembled and into the washer it went. Once back together and on the car, with a bit of fettling I was back on the road home. The difference was night and day from the drive in where I practically limped the car across the motorway.
We'd had a check over the whole car while underneath it and were both left impressed by the condition it was in. I also did some parts tracing where I could and found the Edelbrock to be a 750CFM carb with a high-rise intake. While its obvious that at some point a 'keen' amateur has tackled a lot of the smaller jobs (/bodges), the bigger things like underseal etc have been left to professionals. Feeling confident about the car making a good base for my plans, I threw my savings account at the internet and ordered the bulk of the parts I need to restore it.
This is about half of that order, mainly the bits I needed from RockAuto and the UK. It's got to be said the service from RockAuto is incredible. I ordered the fuel tank on Monday evening, it arrived Thursday morning. All the taxes and fees are paid immediately so there are no hidden surprises once the parts get here. The only downside is they don't really stock any aftermarket parts, or many interior bits.
Parts so far include:
235/60/15 General Grabber HP tyres
Koni Classic shocks (front and rear)
Spectra fuel tank (21gal)
Door cards (upper and lower)
OEM Z28 ducktail spoiler
Heat-wrap for the headers to help keep the gearbox cool
That's on top of some of the older parts I have like the steering wheel from Key!s Racing. I'm still waiting on the hub from Momo.
That's about half of the order with around another £1k of bits to arrive still from Summit Racing, who have gone quiet since I placed the order last week. With them arrives the bulk of the mechanical parts I need, circuit boards, wiring, hardware, dash panel, header bolts and gaskets, interior parts and fixings. I also treated myself to some Hotchkis 2" lowering springs for the front to give me the rake that I think muscle cars should have.
Feeling happy with the car and with a suitably empty savings account, I thought I'd enjoy the last bit of golden hour with the car and head out for a short Sunday drive.
The car did what I half expected it to do in those circumstances. It broke down in spectacular fashion. Coming up to a set of traffic lights in town and with pedestrians everywhere, I shifted from coasting in neutral back into second gear and with an incredible bang I lost all drive. While still rolling downhill, I tried desperately to restart the engine with no joy and an alarming smell of oil. I daren't look in the mirror to see what I expected would be part of my bottom end waving back at me in the road.
With the car pulled onto some wasteland, I had a look around and couldn't see anything obvious. No leaks, engine was trying to turn over but not catching. With some hope, I called the RAC. In a twist of fate, the chap who arrived (within 15mins!) was an old school friend of mine.
We set to work taking bits apart and trying to diagnose the issue. We had fuel, we could see the valves moving, so everything pointed to the spark. Twitchy bum time as I remember I've just changed the plugs and thrown the old ones away. We eventually traced it to the HEI distributor and with some friendly advice from Steve (you may remember his 67 Camaro from previous posts) we found the culprit - a sensor inside the dizzy itself. You can see it here, it's the black plastic part.
So he drove home, whipped his off and we changed it out. The engine fired up straight away and managed to limp the car home. So another brand new one is also on it's way, at which point we can refit it and tune everything up.
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