My 1978 Z28 Camaro (I Know Not A Firebird)

[70formula]

Oh yea, my shifter arrived from Ebay, and in typical eBay fashion, it needs some work not mentioned in the ad lol. was missing the pivot bushing, so I got one ordered. I did get it lined up with a bolt enough to temporarily install it long enough to get the shifter linkages laid out and fitting proper. So, I now can get the motor and trans installed, and then when the pivot bushing arrives, if the motors in, I'll just get to spend some time on my back to install the shifter and get linkages on. I would have rather have it all together, but its Oregon...Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be sunny...we may not get sunny days for a while, and I don't want to drop the motor in the rain...so crossing fingers and toes...send the rain elsewhere as I don't want to wait to drop the motor in.

 

[70formula]

Got her broken down, and new parts ordered to get her back to new, and got the body repainted.

 

[70formula]

Big day here, as my z28 finally got her motor and trans in.
Ended up having to pull the nose and bumper off to get the engine lift in far enough to set her down, which is disappointing as the nose is a pita to get on. But such is life.
Once I got the bumper off, we were able to get her back far enough to see that I would indeed also need to pull the headers off the engine to get it to slide in, which was pretty expected. After that was smooth sailing and got the big ol 454 motor installed with the Muncie m20 4 speed behind it. After she went in, got the trans crossmember in so everything is supported and where it needs to be. After that, I slid the headers in from the bottom and got them bolted in. I was very happy to see that the stock oil pan cleared the cross member, so I wont / didn't have to pull it all back out to swap oil pump, oil pickup tube, and oil pan. Also, the headers have great ground clearance, so shouldn't scrape. Big milestone to have the heart installed.
I also put the hood back on afterwards, just as the rain started back up.

 

[70formula]

Well, progress has been happening in between rainstorms. I been slowly working on getting ready to fire the motor up. I got the fuel lines installed from the tank up the frame rail and have a return temporarily soft line from the frame rail to the fuel pump, and got the fuel line from pump up to the carb. I also got the heater core lines ran to the intake / water pump. The front sway bar and end links are now installed as well. I also got the motor filled up with oil as well.

with the crazy weather we been having I didn't get pictures of all that yet but will get some posted up soon.

The current issue I been working against, is getting the yoke and driveline figured. The Muncie has the 27-spline output shaft, while the driveline was for a St10. the yoke I bought I test fit today, and I'm a newb so not sure if this is correct....

The shaft is inside the trans roughly 3 inches, and this is the overhang out of the back I got...Not sure if this is to much / to little. (Obviously there's no bearing caps on the u joint, didn't want to install if this yoke / shaft isn't going to work)


What are your thoughts?

 

[70formula]

well, my goal was to get the motor to run before classes started...today. Spent the weekend in the rain, and under the car. Got things wired, radiator in, upper / lower hoses done, filled with oil and coolant. Filled trans with fluid. gas lines installed. Tried my best, but the weather and things fought me. got everything to where it should start...power at starter, power at the push button, but it wont crank. After putting starter back on for the 3rd time in the pouring rain and being as soaked as soaked gets, I threw in the towel and accepted, I wouldn't hear it run before the new school term starts. time wont be my friend again for a while. such is life.

 

[70formula]

So, another big milestone, but not really mechanical, but nevertheless, important milestone. This car didn't come with a title. When I bought it for the roof, I wasn't too worried about paperwork, other than verifying it wasn't stolen. Once it was clear I was going to build it instead, obviously I had to deal with the paperwork. My brother-in-law works at a scrapper, so I used his connect to get a possessory lien going. I just heard back that the 60-day countdown officially started on the 5th, so previous owners now have 58 days. We did it at 9200 bucks, so either the Camaro will be in my name, or they will have to pay 9200 to get the vehicle back.

 

[70formula]

Hit one of the best milestones in any build...let alone one like mine that started as a fully striped shell.
First test fire on the 454. Still needs some timing and some tuning but nothing like the sound of a big block with open headers to bring a big ass grin and make all the work feel worth it.

 

[70formula]

ah two steps forward, one step back. I put the Z-bar on, and hooked up the clutch fork return spring. Used actual vacuum line plugs to seal up any Went to start it to get the timing dialed in, and now there's a metal on metal grinding nose. Seems to be either the trans wanting to be in gear or maybe the starter to flywheel.

 

[70formula]

I've been fiddling slowly with getting the Camaro back together and running better, but the weather has turned freezing, which as much as I want to get things done, I'm not hard core enough to get on my back under a car in the ice unless I'm stranded.

What I have figured out, the hurst shifter is missing a piece that I didn't realize originally. I was able to get the trans back into neutral by hand, and now the motor spins by hand without issues again, haven't tested yet to see if it will run again, as it was 22 degrees, and was over the cold.

I also invested some more money into parts...ordered a custom taller z28 scoop, radiator, full brake lines, booster, master cylinder, power steering brackets and pump, gas pedal, and some odds n ends

 

[70formula]

Well, as I had expected, I dropped the started today and saw clear evidence of grinding. So I put it on a bench, and used a file to debur the grind area, put the flywheel cover on which got me out, and then threw a staggered shim in to lower it, and viola, she started right up, no grinding. I need to shorten the plug wires a bit and figure out which one is not 100% as sounds like one is missing. , the timing cover tab only goes up to 20, but sent timing to above that. Topped the oil off as well, and she sounds healthy. the lifter noise is gone as well, so think it just needed to pump up a bit and get the oil level full internally and in the sump.

 

[70formula]

I took each plug wire out, added some spark plug grease, and 6 of 8 got Heat boot sleeves added. (bought out the local part stores of them) need to get 2 more to complete the set, and got things back together, and I'm not hearing a miss anymore. I added the hurst backing plate with the stop bolts to the shifter, and got it all proper now, and got it reinstalled. it now feels like it can actually find the gears, so that's a win.


I also hooked the z-bar up with the clutch pushrod and get the clutch pedal all together. I will still need to make some adjustments to it, but its back together and working now. I started cleaning the front window channel and the dash area where the windshield meets and started getting the old seal out of there. I plan to get it cleaned and sanded, then I'll prime / paint / clear the channel, and get the new glass installed.


We got a nice influx of cash, so I ordered a ton of parts...

New legendary seat covers, and new seat foam, wiring harness, chrome master / brake booster, (stock one I ordered from inline tube was the wrong bracket and pushrod length, so sending it back) windshield, wiring harness, lower grill, new headlights, chrome parking light housings, fender extensions, and prob some other things I'm forgetting.






And just for fun, my father-in-law has been building a family project T bucket as well, and we got it all built and ready to fire up. So, here's a photo of that.

 

[70formula]

Parts are arriving...feeling pretty excited about the project as its getting closer to a functional car.

Hood scoop I picked up off facebook marketplace. Bolts in the same spot as the current z28 scoop, but is 4 inches taller. Will be able to bolt it on and cut out thru the hood the area for the air cleaner, and make my scoop functional as well. Pretty excited to see how it ends up looking.

 

[way2far]

Had fun catching up on this thread and living vicariously through you. You're doing great!

 

[70formula]

Well, popped out the old nonfunctional Z28 Scoop, and test fit the look of the new bigger scoop. It's not really on or bolted tight so dont mind the gaps etc., as I still need to cut the hole in the hood for the air cleaner to come thru, then will fully mount it up.

I also made life a little better working on the camaro by putting up a carport. Just in the nick of time, as as I put up the final leg it started pouring lol.

No pictures of it, but I installed the new 4 core radiator as well.

 

[70formula]

Realized I forgot to take ending photos but spent the day working on the z28. I got all new brake line installed from front to rear, as well as the soft lines off the front brake rotors. I also ran new fuel feed and return lines, and got the tank fully hooked up to the pump, so now I can fill the tank, and I don't have to stick a soft line to a gas can when I fire the motor. I also ran the emission line from distributor to the carb for the vacuum advance as well. I also pulled the passenger fender off, got the inner fender installed, and reinstalled it. I am not thrilled with the fact that I didn't sandblast the inner fender, but I was talking with my brother-in-law, and we want to try making a custom inner fender on the driver side. If we do a good job and like it, then will remove the stock inner and make a second custom one. But, in the meantime, I got the itch to drive this car, and to mount the battery...the inner fender needed to go on.

I also got the radiator mounted a bit better, I wasn't liking how it was looking, it looked like it was going to vibrate on the core support. So took the flap disk and ground down the core support in a couple areas, and then added some shims to the hold down mount area so it sat more level and applied a better grip. The new radiator is much larger then the stock one...


My new driveshaft arrived this evening, as well as my new master cylinder / power brake booster. Tomorrow my goal is to get master cylinder bleed, installed, then bleed new lines and hopefully...have functional brakes. Then install the driveline. If I can do that...I can stick a bucket as a seat and drive this beast around the block. Wish me luck!

I also noticed today, the wieght of the motor has finally settled the front end down a bit. I suspect when I start driving it, will settle even more. Hopefully...if not Ill need to put some lowering spring on, as there was some massive fender to wheel gap

 

[70formula]

Another solid day of progress, but she still isn't moving on her own lol. This home stretch of details has been the hardest of the build as when she was nowhere close to being drivable, it was more abstract. now that the motor runs so nicely, I'm dying to drive it lol. But Shes close...

Today I installed the new chrome power brake booster and master cylinder with new proportioning valve. I also got all the hard brakes line installed now, bolted into the proportioning valve, as well new clips holding the hard lines in place. I realized though that I didn't have the brake line tabs to bolt to the frame to hold the connection from hard to soft line. Got a set ordered.

I got the new driveshaft mostly installed. I had to use old crappy straps to hold it in place for now. I had bought new ones...but they were too short. So, need to get another set of u joint straps.

I had bought a nice billet power steering mount...but after checking fitment it wasn't going to work as it mounted to low and the pulley was both out of alignment for the crankshaft, as well as hit the power steering box. So I ended up using the old truck brackets that came with the motor, to get the new chrome pump mounted. I need to figure the adjustment area out a bit, but its on.


Throttle return spring and bracket installed as well. moving the on off switch / push start button for the distributor into the driver area as well.