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My story starts with a friend who had a 3rd gen Z28, took good care of it but wasn't expecting an engine failure. When it happened she put it away and there it sat.
A story to often heard and the end result often tragic. Scrap yard bound. This 3rd gen was loved with the hopes it may one day come alive for it's owner. It was talked about for years and never happened. I offered to buy it to fix it, but was refused over and over.
The car sat for 10 long years in the garage waiting, till one day, out of the blue, I got the call. Come and get it! And so it began.
Then next step was to get it home and evaluate. The car was in great shape for its age other than, It didn't run. Body was straight and interior was clean. Just to figure out which direction I wanted to as many have pondered. Restore or Mod? The car was good enough to get restored so it was get the motor out and rebuild. Nothing better than #'s matching. Well got it out and tore it down.
So now it's a no brainer. Full out mod from here. Plan is to go 350, 350 horse. I wanted however to drive it as the process went on. So I bought a used running 350 which I was told ran good and clean while I was building the one to go in. Ya well it was used alright! Burned more oil than gas but at least I got to feel the rest of the car out for repairs and what was next.
I have to add that the info I found within 3rd Gen.org was very valuable and helped me with deciding what and how to go about with this build.
I contacted my engine builder to find me the right power plant for what I wanted. He found a LT1 350 4 bolt main and I gave him the go ahead to proceed with the build. While it was being built I went onto other mods. I'll get back to the motor later.
The next part I moved onto was the wheels. The stock 15" are cool but too much side wall with the rubber. My intention was and is to have as much of a stock look as possible. GM did a great job IMO for the styling with the 3rd gen but it was all show and no go. I decided to stay stock but wanted to go. The IROC rims for that same year matched the car perfectly. Who knew that the rims would not bolt straight on. Well you guys did and the info kept coming in. Offset was wrong. So now its onto rear axel and disc brakes.
I found one on line and went and bought it. Guess what I discovered, It was a G92 3:45 posi rear end and I got it for $300.00! Off it went to got rebuilt.
Found a set of used 87 IROC rims and also got them for $300.00. Also had them restored. Followed it up with placing G force sport comp 2 rubber all around. Below pics are before and after,
While waiting for the engine and rear end to be rebuilt I shifted my focus to the interior. It was in pretty good shape for it age, no rips or holes in the seats. The common worn parts such as cracked dash pad, drooping head liner and worn steering wheel needed attention and of course a new audio / video needed to be installed. I repaired the headliner
Recovered the steering wheel simply by getting a leather slip on cover and stitching it on. best bang for the buck I tell ya.
And just searched and found a good dash pad prom a new Camaro.
Other then mine being an '85 it is exactly like the Z28 I owned in High School...
As there are many of us who have had in the past. And what a memory it was. It's why my passion for this car is so strong. Brings me back every time I drive it
Great looking car! With that new motor it should be as fun to drive as it is to look at.
I was scrolling thru the pics, following the story, and I got to the IROC wheels, and I thought, those will look good, but they really should have gold inserts. Next pic, BINGO! Gold inserts. Perfect. I might suggest adding the correct Z28 tape stripe kit, to give it the vintage look. Keep it looking as stock as possible, and any mods might fool people into thinking they are original too.
Got the motor back and the engine builder blew me away with what he managed to do on the budget I gave him. He had $3500 to find the block and build it with around 350 horse. It was under budget at $2800 as shown below.
Here's what was done. It was bored out 20 over with forged pistons coming to 10:1 compression. Heads were shave and a regrind on the valve seats, Balanced crank, double roller timing chain, scorpion roller rockers and a mild cam complete with a performer intake. The rest was up to me to provide. New Carb, headers, water pump Etc.
Thanks Again! It was a great platform to start with. As the build went on I was constantly on TGO searching and receiving great info as well as searching for parts and deals. It made it pretty easy to swap out the motor to a 350. All the parts from the 305 bolted right on such as pulley's, distributor, Etc. I ended up finding a set of Headman short headers for the 3rd gen at a deal of $150. Painted the bolt on parts, put a new Edelbrock 600 CFM carb on it and put it in. Soon realized how tight of a fit it was with the headers. 1/4 of an inch between the frame rail and the headers on the passenger side.
Now that the motor has been installed I moved my attention to the under side of the car to assess any other issues which may need to be addressed. Everything seemed to be in descent shape so while the rear end is out I figured I'd start to clean and if need be undercoat to prevent further rust which I assumed after 30 years there would be some. To my surprise as I started to clean I saw that there was no rust and factory paint with undercoating in wheel wells and certain key areas from the factory. So the long hours of cleaning paid off.
IMO the underside of the car should look as good as the top. If only for my satisfaction.
As for those wheels, After spending a few dollars on the restoration they turned out awesome! Just had to track down the center caps. More difficult than I thought. Apparently these wheels were only made for a few years before they changed them. I believe they went from 85 to 87. Maybe 88. Not too sure on that though.
As for those wheels, After spending a few dollars on the restoration they turned out awesome! Just had to track down the center caps. More difficult than I thought. Apparently these wheels were only made for a few years before they changed them. I believe they went from 85 to 87. Maybe 88. Not too sure on that though.
I would love to do the gold on my red Iroc, but my gray interior wouldn’t look right. I envy your color combo! Awesome story, look forward to more progress!
Now that the motor has been installed I moved my attention to the under side of the car to assess any other issues which may need to be addressed. Everything seemed to be in descent shape so while the rear end is out I figured I'd start to clean and if need be undercoat to prevent further rust which I assumed after 30 years there would be some. To my surprise as I started to clean I saw that there was no rust and factory paint with undercoating in wheel wells and certain key areas from the factory. So the long hours of cleaning paid off.
IMO the underside of the car should look as good as the top. If only for my satisfaction.
What did you use to clean the undercarriage? It came out really nice!
It's a commercial bio degradable degreaser that I got from the machine shop I deal with. Just a numbered product I think. They sell it to me at bulk and I dilute it myself. they use it on parts that have rubber seals and such cause it won't damage plastics and seals. wont damage the paint either. I'll try to get more info on it.
Since I've gone through all the trouble of cleaning the undercarriage it would be a shame to reinstall the old looking parts back in such as the torque arm, drive shaft and sway bars without refreshing them up. I cleaned them up and gave them some paint. But just a word of advice for anyone thinking of doing the same, spend the few extra bucks and get them powder coated. The paint was cheaper but the finish won't last as long. None the less it still turned out nice and looks great.
In case any of you are wondering how this is happening so fast, I've done all of this already and decided to share this build with you. This is a process of a few years being condensed to get everyone caught up in my build. I kept a full complete set of pictures detailing the build over the years. I also think it lets people see the build over a short period of time rather than seeing little bits over a longer period of time. I'm in the final stretch now and is becoming very exciting for me to finally be finished. I do go through some issues which maybe useful to others through out this build. Hope those who have been following will continue to follow this build. I will be posting progresses as often as I can but there has been a lot done to this Z.
I waited quite awhile to get the rear end back. Apparently the Borg Warner 9 bolt 3:45 G92 rear axel has hard to get parts for. There not readily available on the shelf but was IMO worth the wait. By time I got it back all the other parts I had acquired and painted so it was just a matter of bolting everything back in. The end result turned out awesome.
Now that the car is ready to get fired up I'm still gonna have to be patient for it's still in the middle of winter. So I decided to detail the interior and add audio to make it that much better. The typical single din deck was installed sticking out a couple inches just cause the after market adaptor plates sucked. IMO looked just wrong. So I made an upgrade. Double din deck, subs, amps and 6 speakers in the passenger area. I made a custom plate for the deck, customized the ashtray and turned it into an IPhone holder which connects to the deck and these cars are perfect for putting a sub box in with the well in the back. The interior was in great shape and well looked after so very little needed to be done to fix it. Just detailing mostly.
I managed to tough it out and resist firing the new engine up till spring. Found some slick valve covers to compliment the motor and got the installed, detailed the car. spring came and on the first descent day rolled her out and got her running. Always a bit nerve racking firing a motor up for the first time but it fired right up without any issues. Set the timing and she's ready to roll. The rims look awesome!
So I decided to detail the interior and add audio to make it that much better. The typical single din deck was installed sticking out a couple inches just cause the after market adaptor plates sucked. IMO looked just wrong. So I made an upgrade. Double din deck, subs, amps and 6 speakers in the passenger area. I made a custom plate for the deck, customized the ashtray and turned it into an IPhone holder which connects to the deck and these cars are perfect for putting a sub box in with the well in the back.
Now that the car is ready to get fired up I'm still gonna have to be patient for it's still in the middle of winter. So I decided to detail the interior and add audio to make it that much better. The typical single din deck was installed sticking out a couple inches just cause the after market adaptor plates sucked. IMO looked just wrong. So I made an upgrade. Double din deck, subs, amps and 6 speakers in the passenger area. I made a custom plate for the deck, customized the ashtray and turned it into an IPhone holder which connects to the deck and these cars are perfect for putting a sub box in with the well in the back. The interior was in great shape and well looked after so very little needed to be done to fix it. Just detailing mostly.
Great build. What is that screen thats in the backseat
The heater controls didn't have much play at all. I just made a spacer bracket to pull them out flush and up a 1/2 inch. It was all I could do to get that. With the way the mounting supports are it would be more difficult to move them over but could possibly be done. Some fabrication of the mounts would be required. There's lots of room though where the ashtray is unless you use it. I had a blank spot under my light switch on the dash which I think was for the fog lights which I don't have. The cables for the heater controls were tight in my car. I've seen others who put them below the deck. Not sure how they managed that. I tried to set it up that way but couldn't make it work with the double din deck
I'm planning on a newer one later and extend a custom console in the back that has cup holders. Hahah these cars suck for cup holders. I guess no one drank in the car 30 years ago.
I took a season to drive the Z and dial it in. All I can say is It's awesome. However I am a perfectionist and there are a few things that just need to be rectified.
#1) At idol it seems to be burning rich.
#2) I have an excessive amount of heat coming from under the passenger side floor. Almost makes inside the car unbearable in warmer weather.
#3) The steering sucks. It's effort to drive it straight.
Throughout the following posts coming I will inform as to what I found and how I rectified the problems I was having. Some were head scratchers but ended up being simple things over looked and not so obvious. Maybe my solutions may help others.
The car is quick and fun to drive especially with the new gear ratio in the rear end and the 350 under the hood. The ride is good with the stock suspension but can be better knowing it's old and sagging I'm sure. The car was brought back to life using stock parts except for the motor so now the fun begins.
The first thing I needed to address was the motor running rich at idle. I had a edelbrock 1406 600 cfm carb on a performer RPM intake (Problem #1) doesn't match. The carb had 2" clearance from the top of carb to the hood. There was no way I was going to cut or replace the hood to accommodate the air cleaner.
I installed a 1 1/2" drop air cleaner to make the fit (problem #2). I was constantly adjusting the carb but the issue I was having was after it warmed up it would almost want to flood out at idle. One day while this was happening I popped the hood and it started to run better. My conclusion was that the heat build up from the headers and the restriction though a low profile air cleaner was starving the engine of air.
After discussing this with my engine builder he recommended the Quickfuel HR 600 double pumper to solve problem #1. Essentially the same as the Holley but way easier to adjust and better fuel economy. The air cleaner was another issue I had to solve and cold air intake was my solution. Now try to find something low that fit under the hood that performed. The solution was the Spectra low profile air breather dual snorkel, problem #2.
After installing these 2 items not only did it solve my rich problem but increased performance by a substantial amount. Total cost for both $1,100 Can.
Not only did they solve my problem but it looks awesome. Bit more than what I wanted to spend but well worth it.
The hard part was finding the center caps for those rims. I ordered them from classic industries and got the wrong ones even after I called to confirm the ones I needed. After dumping a chunk of cash on them I lost faith in the online market. You never know what your going to get. So I found and inventive way to get them reproduced. I copied the image online of what I wanted and went to a trophy place and they engraved them and cut them into a disc. Found a plastic cap that fit the hole and glued them together. Gave them a coat of clear coat to protect them and it worked perfectly. LOL I even got them done in gold. Cost me $25 for the set up and $8 each to get made.
I installed a 1 1/2" drop air cleaner to make the fit (problem #2). I was constantly adjusting the carb but the issue I was having was after it warmed up it would almost want to flood out at idle.
There is the possibility that the low profile air cleaner lid ended up too close to the top of the carb, effectively cutting off the air flow.
But you solved all of that with the new carb and Spectre setup. Nice job.
Ya I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out so far. After driving it I found myself once again striving for perfection. I felt like I should be getting a little more power out of the motor. I was constantly trying to set up the timing to get it perfect.
When I set the total timing I had lots of power at the top end but suffered out of the hole. Then when I would set the initial timing I would get out of the hole good but suffered on the top end.
I was using the stock distributor from the 305 that was in it originally and I think that's where the problem was. The timing curve wasn't right for the motor. So I decided to get a new one.
Again after talking with the engine builder he told me that I would have to get a spring kit regardless of which distributor I bought to dial it in properly to get the most out of it. If anyone has played with that it's a pain in the *** to dial it in that way. All trial by error. So if I was gonna spend money on a new distributor I was going to do it right.
I bought the MSD Digital E-curve Pro Billet distributor. Wow! What a product. Once I understood how to set it up it made all the difference in the world. The torque was amazing all the way through the curve. It even comes with a setting for a rev limiter. The motor was running at its best that I could get it. The adjustability was awesome. I could get performance and economy with whatever setting I chose. I would recommend this product for anyone who has a performance engine.
02-20-2018, 06:56 PM
