HT

Hey guys,

Earlier this week my uncle passed away. He's been battling Lou Gherig's Disease for 14 years (life expectancy of two years) so he got to see his son grow up for a while which was really a blessing.

One of his passions was cars, and we are now left with a 1974 Camaro that I think would be a great memorial to restore. His son wants the car when he is old enough to drive, and it seems like something that would be good for me to help out in any way I can.

I know a decent amount about cars, but there may be some things that I need help with, and I was hoping that maybe some of the folks here may be able to lend a hand if something comes up that I can't handle.

We'll be able to purchase the parts (I hope) but I'm not sure if there will be any chance of taking it to a shop (and it would be more rewarding to do it without professional help). I just wanted to throw this out there so that everyone knows. I'll keep this updated with the progress and any questions I have/help I may need.

It's actually in pretty good shape, and it started up the other day, but it's not running too well so we'll have to diagnose and fix up, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Jeffk

Sorry about your Uncle. Restoring the car seems like a great memorial.

alan0614

It does seem like a good memorial. Where is the car located Hunter?

Sleeper_GT

Sorry to hear about your uncle.

HT

Its near Charlotte. Im here now for the funeral. I'll try to diagnose it a bit while I'm here.

Jeffk

Post up some pics so we can get an idea as to what sort of condition it's in.

when you say it's not running too well does that mean it needs a tune-up or a rebuild?

SHOHORSE

Hunter...Sorry to hear about you Uncle. Is the Camaro a Coupe, Type LT or Z-28?

HT

I have zero knowledge on types of Camaros. I took a photo of the outside but my phone lost it.

The car starts up, but struggles to idle. My uncle modded it, but it hasn't been driven in about 10 years...it's definitely a retune, not a rebuild.

As far as what I see needs to be done...I'm going to drain all the fluids and refill everything fresh. Based on the startup issues I'm thinking I'll need to replace the spark plugs as well. I'm not sure if the loping idle is from cams or if it's more of a problem (nobody knows what the mods are). I've never worked on an older car so I'm not sure what to expect sound wise. The only one I've ever been around was an old TA, and it's not modded so it's relatively quiet.

I got to hear it for a total of about 5 seconds so it was hard to tell really.

This is what I got photo wise:



It's dusty, but it's not in bad shape. Air filter needs to be replaced...but that is minor. I think changing the fluids out and getting the obvious stuff fixed will help, but it's going to take a bit of time diagnosing and just fixing problems as they come I'd say.

The side badges say 350 I believe, so does that mean it's a Z28? It had a landau roof but they took it off about 7 years ago and had it repainted. The paint job looks nice. A few hours with the outside and I can have it looking like new.

Jeffk

If it really has been sitting for 10 years you need to completely drain and flush all fluids, change fuel filter, plugs, wires, dist. Cap and rotor.

HT

Right, so I was on the right track to start, but a bit more labor than I had acknowledged so far. None of that sounds like anything we can't do without professional help does it?

And as far as prices, is any of that overly expensive?

Thanks for the help.