My 1978 Z28 Camaro (I Know Not A Firebird)
- Thread starter 70formula
- Start date
Well, we have some forward progress again...
New OEM cast Water pump is installed, and I have started getting the wiring and engine bay a little better. I had "universal" plug wires which means they fit nothing properly lol. So I got a set of msd ends and cut them down a ton to fit better and installed a set of sparks plug organizers. Getting the wiring into loom and starting to figure out the routing for now. I'm not getting super OCD yet, as I'm planning to take this car back apart for paint and body work once we move to a new house for law school in a few months. Got heater core lines on and will get the clip on them soon that anchors them to the wheel well. I changed the air cleaner setup to a drop base and ran a hard bend line to get the fuel inlet to clear the new base. Now I can run a normal air filter instead of the tiny one I had on there that was getting crushed by the hood. This one is a 3 but I think I'll run a 2 inch and get a tiny bit more space as it still is really close to hitting. Still not happy yet with how this bay looks, as it still is a hot mess, but its a work in progress.
New OEM cast Water pump is installed, and I have started getting the wiring and engine bay a little better. I had "universal" plug wires which means they fit nothing properly lol. So I got a set of msd ends and cut them down a ton to fit better and installed a set of sparks plug organizers. Getting the wiring into loom and starting to figure out the routing for now. I'm not getting super OCD yet, as I'm planning to take this car back apart for paint and body work once we move to a new house for law school in a few months. Got heater core lines on and will get the clip on them soon that anchors them to the wheel well. I changed the air cleaner setup to a drop base and ran a hard bend line to get the fuel inlet to clear the new base. Now I can run a normal air filter instead of the tiny one I had on there that was getting crushed by the hood. This one is a 3 but I think I'll run a 2 inch and get a tiny bit more space as it still is really close to hitting. Still not happy yet with how this bay looks, as it still is a hot mess, but its a work in progress.
To be honest even OEM stuff is poor these days, seems the only reliable stuff is old shelf stock.
Before / after - driver seat frame. Not sure why I was so intimidated to try interior and upholstery... but here we go. I got tired of waiting for a shop, and the quotes I got were out of budget. So going to try my hand at restoring my seats.
I spent a few hours with the orbital and some hand sandpaper, and even still, my ocd is not thrilled as there's so many nooks in there but kept telling myself - these are going to be hidden. They weren't painted from factory, and long term I'm sure eventually I will want seats that recline long before these even think of rusting out.
I spent a few hours with the orbital and some hand sandpaper, and even still, my ocd is not thrilled as there's so many nooks in there but kept telling myself - these are going to be hidden. They weren't painted from factory, and long term I'm sure eventually I will want seats that recline long before these even think of rusting out.
Happy new year everyone!! Hope its a great one.
For my camaro themed resolution for 2026 -
By end of year - have the Camaro all in the same color even if its just epoxy and #2 - Drive it in the function 4 junction cruise.
For my camaro themed resolution for 2026 -
By end of year - have the Camaro all in the same color even if its just epoxy and #2 - Drive it in the function 4 junction cruise.
Well, got the camaro back to running. New boring OEM pump on, new radiator, and now, new heater core and lines. For the first time in decades this camaro has functional heat and defrost.
Sure wish the motor sounded like a proper muscle car instead of a tractor, but it is what it is for now.
Sure wish the motor sounded like a proper muscle car instead of a tractor, but it is what it is for now.
