Hi,

I've been trolling around this forum for long enough now and decided to register.

First off, compliments to all for making this one of the best car specific forums on the net. In all honesty, if I have questions on something technical I find the answer here. Something even my Chilton repair manual does not do every time I ask it.

I'm dutch by birth, travelled around and am currently living in germany where driving a ponycar suddenly becomes affordable. This made me decide to look into something different from the rotaries I've been driving up to recently.

I purchased a 1989 camaro RS with LO3 engine about a month ago.
The car was built in the Van Nuys plant, shipped to germany right away (US military service station near Stuttgart), driven by a US GI untill it was sold off to switzerland in 1994. In februari 2009 it was then shipped from it's 2nd owner (poor guy could no longer get out of the seat due to higher age) to me.

The car is bone stock apart from some aftermarket wheels which had to be fitted to pass TUV (mandatory government regulated technical car check) because the US wheels do not have a full set of details engraved in them. In order to make US wheels work in germany you have to buy 2 sets, pay TUV EUR 6000,- for a material strength test and with a lot of luck the wheels pass the test and you are then allowed to fit them onto your vehicle.

Since that was to much of a hassle and more expensive then the car itself a set of ugly 3 spoke aluminum rims were fitted which however, for driving purposes are replaced by a set of Cragar 15" chromed wheels. (the aluminums of course stay in the barn for the TUV check which has to be performed every 2 years)

In order to pass smog tests will keep the car mostly stock, apart from an aftermarket exhaust (most likely hooker 2055 headers, Y pipe, Catco 3" cat and hooker cat back 3" exhaust system) and an open air filter (which again, for the smog test will have to be retrofitted with the original setup)

I'm considering swapping out the driving gear for a 3.42 one at some point.

Further budget modifications and restaurations which will be nescessary are roof liner fix, front seats (might consider swapping in trans am seats since those are very comfy), fit new security belts, sway bar upgrade, PU bushing all around and at some point in the future a paintjob.



(As you will notice, the generic german garage is 30cm shorter then the car is long)

 

welcome........... car looks sweeeeeeeeeeeeet..............

 

thnx for the welcome

it's a sweet car indeed. Did some autobahn runs today to see how the car is holding up.

With a 20 year old car I'm not even going to push it straight from the start. Teh engine did 184000km so it's broken in allright. I don't know how or how much it was driven in the past few years so I'll basically drive it like I have to break it in for starters.

I gently pushed the car up to 180 km/h today. The engine sounded fine up to there and acceleration was positive and constant through the whole rpm range so I'm happy with that. I smelled some heated oil afterwards but that might have been due to me messing around while filling up the oil after purchase.

I'll lift up the car later on and have a look underneath.
I bumbed something underneath the car while driving into yard.
Found out that with 2 people in the car suspension compresses as far that I bump into the metal 'door stop' which holds the gate when closed.
When I'm sitting in the car alone I have some room left though.

Basically the only parts in the area that could have touched the door stop could have been the tranny oilpan and the engine oilpan, right?

 

Thats a very nice looking Camaro dude, have you got an open element filter on it yet? I want to do that with mine but I'm confused with which one to get as they all mention carbs and my car is single point injection. I've considered changing the seats too, Cobra Daytona's look nice.

You should look at Borla exhausts, mine has a cat back system and it sounds awesome!

 

That is a very nice looking RS, and welcome to TGO

 

welcome... nice looking car!

 

fitting european licence plates on the car and how it doesn't work



I personally think these daytona hoods look awesome. WOnder if I should fit one on my car



and the picture below shows th ecar with the rims it came with



I'm still considering whether I put a set of Cragar quick trick on the car or if I go for something from american racing.
Torq Thrust look great but I have roller breaks on the back of the car which looks less then impressive to be honest.

Outlaw II look a lot like the Cragars. I might go for these.

As for exhaust, I just fell in love with the Hooker 2055 headers and hooker part number 16820 cat back exhaust. Would have to upgrade the cat to a 3" model in that case as well which would set me back about 25% of the price I paid for the car again. Since the exhaust is first on the priority list (it has some holes in it) purchasing other rims will have to wait so I might or might not fit the somewhat rusty cragars.

A set of wide cooper tires for the rear and some smaller ones for the front will cost me a further $500 excl. any rims I purchase of course. That can wait. The open air filter element costs only $30 so I'll see that I order one asap and fit it.
Already figured that with the open filter element the THERMAC will become abundant since the car can suck in air from the engine room anyways (will have to). The part of germany I live in doesn't have cold winters anyways

@ Andy, the TBI basically looks like acarb (well, a bit at least) and uses a similar filter on top.
The only really o=inmportant bitz for fitting an open filter element are to:
1) make sure to get the temperature sensor mounted to the filter (hole marked on most filters)
2) place additional filters on the crank case vent hose as this is now unfiltered and doesn't attach to the open air filter in any nice way
3) prevent rubbing of any cables against the open air filter element
4) make sure the open air filter element (this should be 1 actually ) leaves enough space for the TBI module to do it's work. Some open air filter elements have a really short kind of bottleneck mounting piece which does not leave space for the TBI module to work.

 

They make you fit a rectangular plate on the back? in the UK we can fit square ones, i'm thinking about getting some metal US style ones from states-plates.com they're not really road legal though but they do look cool! haha.

I'll have to check those headers out too, I was planning on getting some once i've do the open air filter...thanx for the advice on that by the way

Search on eBay there is someone selling a set of RS wheels with tyres in the UK, same as what I have on my car. Also there is a set of IROC-Z wheels with a buy it now of £200ish.

The Daytona hood does look pretty awesome! dread to think what postage would be though!

 

I convinced responsible government body that this doesn't work. The odd part about germany is that they make decisions based on the individual case and by the person who is available at the time. That means, I went to the TUV guys (those doing technical checks etc.) and had them measure the available space , from there went to the office which registered my car in the first place and showed them the document which clearly states that a certified technician measured the available space for a rear licence plate.
They then figured that there were no car licence plates available to fit in this space, so the lady disappeared in some mysterious room and came back 15 minutes later with the allowance to fit a motorcycle plate.



I was finally able to remove the odd bent licence plate after owning the car for almost a month already, which is how long it took me to get the nescessary documents allowing me to drive the car with this licence plate.
Also cost me EUR 140 in total.

 

Clever - It is good that your motor vehicle department worked with you like that. Question - Does your TUV, or another government agency, require that your cars be tested for emissions? I was just curious, as you are considering exhaust modifications. I'm thinking of very similar mods for my car's exhaust system, as well.

 

An emissions test is nescessary as well. I would normally never have passed it with the car in it's current state since the current exhaust has some holes in it meaning one value varies from the norm quite a bit.

Fortunately, the car is tested, first on safety related issues and mechanical issues. This is a seperate test and you're handed a test result form for this. A second test is performed for emissions, which my car did not pass. Had the car passed the smog test, then I would have a second document stating it did.

Both documents, along with the car papers are then taken to the motor vehicle department and they check these documents, including travelling pass, bank details (for tax) and hand you 2 new documents which allow you to drive the vehicle.

Since I'm a foreigner in germany I have to bring extra documents which confirm that I do live in germany. I also brought the import documents for the car since it was imported from switzerland.

My great personality and the amount of documents must have overwhelmed the lady at the moter vehicle department desk because I got all documents signed for for the next two years including the ones I did not have.

This leaves me two years time to build the car for which I'm rather gratefull as I could not have paid for all the materials I am going to need at this moment.

The aftermarket exhaust I'm going to fit will have all the emissions stuff on it (airlines and sensor threads) and so will the new cat. That means, as long as the engine does not burn significantly more fuel there is not going to be a large difference in emissions before and after the modification.

The biggest difference will be the open air element which of course, for the purpose of a smog test can be replaced by the original as long as I store that somewhere dry and well prepared. I'll try and pass smog with the open air element first. If I do not pass I have 1 week time to pass the test.

The THERMAC is really going to be the main difference in those two units though. It will not be available on the open air element but it only effects cold starts anyways.

 

Wow - quite a lot to go through to get your car registered and inspected - Here, I go to a friend's commercial garage, get my safety inspection performed ($12.00 U.S.), show my proof of insurance, and go over to town office to pay my registration fee and get new stickers for my plates. Maine still has safety inspection rules, but there are a lot of states that don't. I guess it is a good thing in the long run, makes for safer vehicles. You people have an impressive amount of documentation to deal with, I admire your patience, and at the end of the day, it is worthwhile, because you have a much cooler car to drive than most everyone else. As far as your air filter goes, I'd recommend storing your stock element in a big ziplock storage bag to protect it from moisture. Also, have you had a chance to read in the exhaust section of this site? There you might be able to find a way to run both your exhaust mods and the THERMAC plumbing, I don't know enough about that to help you myself. I have an RS as well, a 1990 convertible. You can see a picture or two of it over in the convertible section, My '90 RS convertible, I think. Good luck with your car, I hope you will post your improvements as you make them. As to your garage, at least your car can fit inside - we own an older home, with a very small workshop - I have measured,and my car won't fit, there are too many tools, and my '79 KZ1000. I store my car Winters in my next door neighbors 2-car garage.

 

The ziplock bag sounds like a good idea indeed.

The benefit of the extensive inspection and all the documentation that comes with it is that my car is technically in good shape, and I have that on paper.
The disadvantage is that it took me almost a month and well over $250 in registration and inspection fees alone to get licence plates on the car and I'm still waiting for the approx $1000 in tax to be deducted from my bank account.

Still though, all in all it's cheaper to drive such a car in germany then it would have been to drive the same car in the netherlands.

My biggest advantage with the garage is that the roof hangs over far enough to keep my car dry all year.

If that had not been the case I would not have gotten the car. Last year we had a hailstorm (rather local. Only one city block actually suffered the consequences of 2-3" ice chunks falling from the sky destroying cars and did a lot of damage to buildings. Also had a few hurricanes passing by but nothing big really. Apart from that the climate is pretty mild. With a total of 6 days of frost a year (we had snow for a whopping 3 days) so leaving the garage open is not that much of a problem.

I don't intend to drive the car in the snow. Since we have so little of it people can't seem to handle it very well. As soon as the first snowflakes fall police officers soil their britches because cars start spinning out of corners everywhere simultaniously. I know I can handle a car well enough in snow but I don't want someone driving into my car if I can avoid it by leaving the car in my garage when it snows.

I read through the exhaust section a bit and will keep you posted on the progress.

EDIT::

As much as lowering a car can sound like a brilliant idea, my girlfriend informed me that apart from the entry to my yard is not the only tight spot.



That means, lowering is definately not an option... :/

 

Some updates to my German Camaro Adventure.

Something in the range of 2 years has passed since I purchased (and first posted here) and a lot has happened, only to show me even more has to be done

I had the exhaust replaced from the cat back. Removing the original exhaust was easy. I was told a few gentle bangs with a hammer suffized to transform the original exhaust to a pile of dust.

Fitted was a 2,5" Dynomax cat back, which is deliciously silent, yet gives off a nice exhaust note as well. Still sounds like a V8 engine, just not so loud. I decided to go with 2,5" in the end because I do want to do a few mods to the engine, but set my limit at about 250-275 HP, to remain mostly stock.

Fitting the cat-back the next exhaust leak found was in the passenger side headers so Hooker 2460's were ordered, with off-road Y-pipe on which I will fit a 2,5" cat.

A lot of technical stuff was replaced to get the car in good shape. I figured that I might as well have the brakes, suspension and drivetrain sorted out before I start adding power.

In that train of thought the following parts were replaced:

Replaced all fluids
Flushed radiator
Bled brakes

Alternator
Distributor
Ignition cables
Spark plugs
Battery
Thermostat

Exterior wiring (lights and stuff)
Interior wiring (more lights, and now my horn also works)

Rear drums
Stabilizer end links
Steering rack
Had the front wheels aligned

Safety belts

I also found a set of stock 15" wheels

The following upgrades were already performed:

Open element air filter (can really advise this upgrade to every TBI owner)

EBC brake pads
EBC disks
Calipers
Progressive spring rate MOOG springs
Yellow KONI shocks

Built me a cheap but working airdam

Fit a Grant steering wheel to replace the badly worn stock one
Fit a set of 4th gen Firebird seats



And removed about 20 meters of cable that did not go anywhere

Here's a picture of the car as she sits now:



(here's another one for your entertainment

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96...212_152744.jpg

and one of the steering wheel

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96...s/SAM_1425.jpg

Plans I currently have for the car:

235/60 R15 tires instead of the stock 215/65 R15's

Fit a set of ported LB9 heads
Buy a cam
Fit an adjustable fuel pressure regulator
Upgrade fuel pump
Buy EBL

Get a shift kit, corvette 2nd gear servo and better stall for the new powerband.

Tune

Once all the technical stuff is done I need to redo the undercarriage and would like to get some dents removed as well as a repaint, but that's something for the next two years.

 

Were you ever able to find a rear license plate that fit? I've seen license plates in Germany made "shrunk" down so they fit American cars. I visit Germany often driving between Stuttgart and Munich. Any chance I'll see you on the Autobahn?

 

I mostly travel in Northrhine Westfalia, mostly between Cologne and Essen which makes the actual chance of finding me on the Autobahn between Stuttgart and Munich rather slim.

I got a fitting licence plate for the rear. These shrunk down plates are motorcycle plates. Next up is one for the front which is going to be more tricky, but might work.

Here's the rear one:



I found a few people that are willing to work with me in getting the small plates for the front.
I have:
US licence plate holder
Foglights
IROC Grille insert

After fitting all these components the current licence plate will obviously block the foglights. I found a friendly police officer who is willing to give me a written warning (without fine) stating that I need to change the front licence plate. I also found someone who does technical inspections, and will write a copy of the technical papers stating that the available space for my front licence plate is limited to the US licence plate holder. Might as well get the wheel spacers and the 235's registered while I'm at it

Bringing these, as well as a photograph of a car registered in the same town with the small plate up front to the vehicle registration department should get me small plates for front and rear. Will most likely cost me another $140.

I hope that after fitting the small plate up front some of my cooling issues are history and I can swap back to a stock airdam, rather then the increased surface one I DIY'ed.

 

Somewhat decent pictures this time around.

The clearance shot sucks because the garage entrance isn´t even (as you can see in the background). I think I would hit the can somewhere at the top of the Pepsi rip-off logo.



Anyways, it´s to illustrate clearance. About 1 1/2" more of that then before, with the 20 year old shocks and springs. I´m happy with that.

As you can see in the next shot, still some scraping going on when exiting the garage. The air baffle stays in one piece however.



There is also still quite a lot of rust left to deal with.
The rust underneath the A arms and on the K member is a scheduled event. I used an oil based product that seeps into the gathered rust, flakes off taking most of the rust with it and then leaves back a clean metal surface (which now slightly crroded, but will be far easier to clean then the original mess)



There is still some excess grease on the PU, which I´ll clean off later.

And this is what the car looked like about a year and a half ago:

 

I got myself a new licence plate:

IMG_20110916_074534.jpg?t=1316152459

Registered the car so that I can drive it from March untill November.
That saves me about $1000 a year. Money that can be put into restoring the car.