Rep Power: 695

I was unaware they didn't bring back the Z in 77 until around August, and that is apparently when my dad bought his. It also happened to be the year he graduated.
After pulling all the wheels and replacing cylinders and shoes on a 67 Mustang we were working on, we decided to roll the Camaro out and clean it up a bit. These are before and during pics, I'll put up some more later. I've started polishing with some Turtle Wax stuff, and it's really shining. Amazing how all the old paint has held up through garaged dust.
It had been wrecked by my mother in '87, the rear quarter panel was totally smashed. He had it repainted and the decals were taken off. It's been sitting in the shop ever since.

 
Rep Power: 1046

nice. I love late second gens.

 
Rep Power: 0

my pops had a 79 made me fall in love with the camaro name. Very nice man!

 
Rep Power: 875

Nice! i couldn't even tell what color it was supposed to be in the first pics. i was so close to having a 79....i wish i had the cash for it. woulda been .

 
Rep Power: 695

Thanks for the positive feedback, I'm really excited to get it cleaned up and cruise a little. We dumped a little gas in the carb and fired it up, still runs like a champ. Need to do a little brake work, replace fluids, simple maintenence stuff and it should be road worthy.

What is the general rule for cleaning paint up? Soap > rinse > hand dry > polish > wax? It's got a few nicks and bumps, and a little rust around the rear window, but it's not too bad. I really can't wait to cruise around in it.

He said the original 350 overheated quite often, and I guess the engines were notorious for not getting enough air anyway. It has a rebuilt 350 in it punched .40 over, which I think is a 377, correct?

 
Rep Power: 875

that would be a 355 i believe

 
Rep Power: 822

wow sweet car cleaned up awesome glad it started up and everything for ya too

 
Rep Power: 695

That would make more sense I guess. I was thinking of a destroked 400 block.

 
Rep Power: 758

A 355 is a 350 .030 over, .040 must be a ~356-357.

Looks good with the painted bumpers. I always thought the 74-77s with the big aluminum bumpers were ugly. I'm partial to the 78-81s... since I've had three. haha

What are the plans for it?

 
Rep Power: 695

I've got a 400 small block sitting in my 67 chevy that isn't used much, and the motor is strong. My dad traded it for a bike a while back and I've been driving it to school and back for a couple weeks. Not sure exactly what has been done to it, but it's got a nice hot cam in it, great lope. It's really torquey with the 3 speed auto it's paired to. I think we might drop the setup in the 77 instead of rebuilding the 350 that's in it. It runs alright, but it needs a lot of clean up work that neither of us are interested in doing. I think it would be a really nice setup for the car.

It felt good to putt around the driveway in it, though. It really looks great polished up, and my grandpa was really excited to see it pulling itself around.

If anything it's a good father-son bonding project. Fun times.

We'd like to get the interior all re-done. It needs headliner, new carpet all over, and the seats re-padded and covered up. I think we could get the whole thing done for around $800. He would really like to re-do the drivetrain as well, but we'll see. It's all kind of up in the air right now. The car has been sitting there since 1987. Getting it out and running was just kind of a spur of the moment thing. I'm really, really surprised he was up for it. He's been babying it there in dust ever since I was born.

 
Rep Power: 1093

that spoiler on 2nd gens makes the car for me.

 
Rep Power: 1046

Yeah, I love that spoiler. That's why I got the one I did for my car. Its as close as you can get for a 4th gen.

 
Rep Power: 861

Yeah I love that spoiler.. Im gonna get one for mine once I have some spending money. http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/in...ROD&ProdID=161

 
Rep Power: 935

Looks ****** good for sitting for so long.

 
Rep Power: 695

I've got the interior cleaned up decently, but it's going to need new carpet on the floor. The backseats are in good condition, as well as the passenger. I think the driver seat is going to need to be re-done.

I made some laps in it, and the radials are definitely out of shape. It's going to need new tires. -_- So: Master cylinder, tranny leak, new tires, and an out of date tag are the only things holding it back from the road. Shouldn't be that big of a problem. The tranny leak is very slow, but I think it may be the front seal. Could just be in the pan, though. I'll get some pics of it on the road later.