GM's ever-popular F-body pony car,
the Camaro/Firebird, had weathered two recessions in the Seventies but was
looking decidedly long in the tooth for the new decade.
“Early cars have the most rust issues,
mainly in the floor pans, especially the front corners of the foot wells. The
exhausts join together at a Y-pipe, then there's a catalytic converter under
the floor pan, and it's all a very tight fit, especially on the offside. Then
spray from the wheels hits the hot pipe and cat and steam-blasts the inner sill
and floor pan! Also, people often jack the car up on the outer edge by the sill
which can damage the floor, and can cause the bottom trailing edge of the front
wing to fold up and misalign the wing to the door. You need to push the jack
under the exhaust and jack up on the chassis leg.” – RG
For
more than two decades, both owners and enthusiasts have coveted the
competition-ready third- and fourth-generation Camaro 1LE Performance Package.
And it’s everything you’ve heard — combining the white-knuckle performance
elements of ZL1 and SS with a decidedly aggressive attitude of its own.
“These cars are usually pretty watertight,
but the earliest 1982-1985 T-tops aren't very good. They're still a lot better
than the second-gen T-tops ever were! There's an aperture at the base of the
windscreen, where the wiper linkage sits, with a plastic cover over it. This is
a box section that feeds the ventilation system and blows air through the sills
to keep them dry. If this box section gets blocked with leaves and muck –
especially on a car that's been sitting for a while – it will rot through the
bulkhead and let water in at the toe boards behind the pedals. It's a major, dash
out job to fix.” - RG
“T-top rubbers leak like any others.
They're available, but the price can soon add up. Also check the weather strip
at the top of the door that seals against the window – rain water getting into
the door will start them rotting, and possibly soak the electric window motors.
There don't seem to be a lot of convertibles over here, but all the usual
ragtop look-outs apply. A new hood isn't that expensive to buy, but you'll need
an experienced fitter to put it on otherwise it'll just look like you've bunged
a blanket over the roof.” – MM
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“Four-cylinder cars are rare and best
avoided. Early 305s had Crossfire fuel injection which is fairly simple but
they do have their problems and nobody really understands them. They can have
uneven idle at start-up, sometimes the choke or idle air control will only work
on one throttle body and not the other. Other early Eighties V8s had computer
controlled carburettors, many of which were changed for normal carburettors but
you must change the distributor too. The Tuned Port Injection is good, but
early ones had an odd problem with the MAF. There was a relay that kept the MAF
sensor hot after the engine had been switched off to burn off any contaminants
on the wire. Many MAF faults can be traced back to the relay that controls the
burn-off, which is now obsolete and bloody expensive! From 1986, it was much
simpler, and from 1988 it was simpler again. Up to 1986 they used the old
coil-in cap HEI distributor, but from 1987 on they used a separate coil.
The
Color Driver Information Center on 2LT, 2SS and ZL1 models is designed to let
you monitor your vehicle’s vital stats to ensure all systems are go: tire
pressure, oil life, fuel range and more. From the intuitive instrument panel
and revised climate control graphics to the four-pack of auxiliary gauges —
standard on 2LT and 2SS — that includes oil pressure and transmission
temperature, you’ll always be up to date.
The latter gave a lot of distributor faults
– poor starting, rough idling, stalling – that won't show up on a diagnostic
check. They also eat distributor caps. If you find an intermittent misfire on
throttle, change the cap. Spark plugs are a nightmare to change on the V8s
because the back of the engine is so far under the bulkhead. It's an hour's job
to change them, and that's on a ramp. The V6 will often suffer oil leaks after
the distributor has been disturbed. Earlier dizzys had a gasket, later ones had
an O-ring oil seal, and if the dizzy's been moved the Oring will leak down the
back of the block, which can be mistaken for rear main oil seal failure.” – RG
