[Project] 06camarodude IS BACK!

[93formulalt1]

Hey guys, thought I'd drop a line here. . . When I originally signed up on this site in March 2006, my user name was 06camarodude, and I drove a '94 Camaro (3.4 V6/5 speed), the "Pumpkin ****in' Orange Camaro".

I'm BACK in the driver's seat of a Camaro. I picked up a '94 Z28 LT1/M6 about 4 hours ago. It is in need of some pretty serious body work, but nothing that I can't handle. I drove it over 100 miles today alone, from Jackson to Belleville, and back home to Adrian, and I drove it to work tonight as well.

I have to say, after spending some time behind the wheel, I am SHOCKED that GM would put an automatic in an F-Body, it's SO MUCH MORE FUN driving a 6 speed car. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE my A4 Formula, but the Z now holds a special place in my heart. . . And my driveway. lol

I will post some pictures in the morning, since I need to get it pulled into my buddy's garage, where it will be torn apart and repaired.

For the details. . .

1994 Camaro Z28
LT1/T56
117k miles
Black in color
T-Tops
Grey cloth interior
stock EVERYTHING
Factory Bose speakers


I picked it up cheap. REALLY cheap. Cheap enough that after the body work is completed, I will still have less into this one than my Formula's original purchase price.

The trans shifts beautifully, engine runs like new, and before the accident, the exterior was in near immaculate condition. It is truly a diamond in the rough, and while it's not going to be perfect (it's going to be a driver, I'm not aiming for perfect), it's going to look good.

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the Formula, but the Camaro already has ,e hooked, I didn"t know what I was missing until now.

Pics will be posted within the next couple of days, and throughout the project. I hope to have the body work done by summer.

[shawnc16]

Pretty sweet!

[jakes_GSXR]

congrats! pics please

[MunsterZ28]

pics or ban!!!! lol congrats man and welcome to the dark side 6speed lt1 car !

[93formulalt1]

No pics yet, I was just over there where we'll be doing the bulk of the work, and tried to snap a few with the camera on my phone, no dice. Too dark in the garage to see it really, and my phone takes crappy pics. lol

Now I'm back to being broke. I'm thinking of stripping the performance parts off the Formula, putting them on the Camaro, putting the stock parts off the Camaro on the 'bird, and selling the Firebird as it sits. I may be able to get $2500 out of it by going that route. Then the Camaro would have headers, ORY, line lock, poly trans mount, lowering springs, air shocks in back, a badass stereo system, and leather seats. I'm also considering using the Camaro as a parts car, swapping everything over onto the 'bird, and parting the Camaro out, but then I'd still have rust issues to deal with in the Firebird. The Camaro only has ONE spot of rust, on the floorpan behind the driver's seat, but it requires some extensive body work and some time on the frame rack. . .

Decisions, decisions.

I'm still amazed at how much more responsive the M6 feels, I think it's the 3.42 gears. A set of 4.10's, headers, and dumped true dual's would wake this car up a lot.

I have to pay some bills before I can really invest any money into the car, but as soon as I get some money to spare, I'll be getting started on it. I'm going to take a really close look at the undercarriage and other unseen places to survey the damage, see if it's worth saving.

Problem with swapping the drivetrain into the Firebird is that all the wiring would have to be swapped over as well, the Formy is a '93, speed-density PROM chipped LT1, the Z28 is a MAF car with programmable PCM. Let me do some research, and I'll make a decision over the coming weeks.

[93formulalt1]

pics or ban!!!! lol congrats man and welcome to the dark side 6speed lt1 car !

I've always wanted a 6 speed, and I was going to buy the trans and everything out of this car if he decided to part it out, but for $300 more than he wanted for the trans and everything, I got the whole car. lol

I didn't know what I was missing. Now, I've seen the light, and I'll NEVER go back.

[93formulalt1]

Quick question, has anyone here ever tackled replacing the inner AND outer rocker panels on a 4th gen before? I'm going to be attempting it myself, I saw a guy on LS1.com got the whole right side of a 4th gen (quarter and rockers) and installed them on his damaged LS1 car, but I didn't know if there were any special concerns with just replacing the rockers. I just need to do the drivers' side, the passenger side is going to get some massage work done to clean up the quarter panel damage, but the rockers over there are still fine. I also need to pull the door pillars out a bit, they were tweaked a bit in the accident, but I think I can accomplish that without a frame machine, I have a porta-power that should be able to push them out far enough to allow the doors to line up again. . .

I'm going to see what I can get my hands on as far as a generator goes, and start scouring the junkyards for rocker panels, so I can start working on getting this Z straightened out and ready for paint.

[93formulalt1]

Here are the only pictures I have. . . The garage was dim, it was late at night, and the only camera I had was the one on my phone. I'll take the DSLR over there when I go to work on it this afternoon, and attempt to get some decent lighting to work with. The car is dirty, as you may imagine, and black doesn't really photograph well unless there's plenty of light, but I'll do my best.

[meissen]

Congrats Nick!

[JoeliusZ28]

excellent!

[93formulalt1]

I still can't believe I have this car, it's the car I've wanted since I was in middle school. I had my '94 V6 Camaro, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted, I wanted an all black T-Top Z28 6-speed. Granted, my daydreams in science class didn't involve a wrecked car, but if you really want something badly enough, you'll work for it. I think that's what's really going to create an attachment to this car, the sheer amount of work I have to do to make it what I want.

So far, here are the plans for AFTER the body and paint work is done:

Disable CAGS (drove the car for 4 hours, that's already bugging the crap out of me)
Swap the parts from the Firebird that are interchangeable, taking the Firebird back to stock (or close to it)
Install the RS side skirts and 3-piece spoiler lip I've had sitting in my garage for 3 years
Locate and install front and rear lower RS valances
Install the wheels shown on my firebird in my signature, upgrading tires later on
Tune
4.10 gears and Detroit Locker
Install the 2-DIN Pioneer touchscreen DVD headunit I bought for the firebird a couple years ago, as well as my 1200w amp and Cerwin Vega 12" subs
Aftermarket hood of some sort, possible Ram-Air setup

[my95z28]

Congrats Nick. You going to swap the wheels over as well? Those would look awesome on the Camaro.

[93formulalt1]

Congrats Nick. You going to swap the wheels over as well? Those would look awesome on the Camaro.

Oh yeah. That's the plan, I've done the salad shooter bit before with my old Camaro, they didn't last long before I axe'd them. The C5 deep dish rims are going on as soon as summer hits. lol

I'm hoping to buy all the parts I need to get the body squared away and have less than $2k total into the car. It's got a clear title, if anyone was wondering. I can't believe I got the deal I did, I'm still in shock.

Unfortunately, I have to self-impose a freeze on spending for the Z28 for now, I just had to pay my $145 cell phone bill and $165 student loan payment, I'm leaving a cushion to get me through to next paycheck with what I have left, and my state income tax refund is already set aside for another purchase. Once I get the Firebird stripped of all the parts I intend to keep and get it sold, I'll be able to start blowing money needlessly on the Z28, but that's not going to happen until summer. Maybe I'll keep them both, who knows. One can be the "fast" one, and the other can be the "fun" one. lol

I need a house with a BIG garage, I'm always working on something. If it's not the Firebird, it's the Honda in the garage. If it's not that, it's the Jeep. Now I have a Camaro to throw in the mix? I must be crazy. lol

I may be having another "party" at some point to get the Z28 ready for paint, but that won't be for a few months at least. I think tomorrow I'm going to get the driver's door pulled open, and maybe start working my magic on the right rear quarter panel, I'd like to get that straightened out so I only have to worry about the left side of the car.

[Darren]

Wanna make a quick buck and sell it to me?

Nice pick up

[JoeliusZ28]

pictures of the damage?

I would definitely sell the firebird. No point in having two cars serving the same purpose if you like one better than the other.