For those of you with 3rd gen Camaros and want a little input on how to get started modding them, here is what I have learned to be the "basics".

First of all, you might as well examine the intake and see if there is anything you can do to free it up. On a TBI car if you can find a dual snorkel air cleaner assembly then they are highly recommended. For TPIs the first and easiest thing to do is remove the baffles that sit below the air filters. They serve no purpose other than redirecting the airflow down into the box before going up again in hopes of trapping foreign elements in the bottom of the air box. I took mine out years ago and haven't noticed a difference in the condition of the air filters. You can also take this a step further and either drill holes in the bottom of the air box, or cut away all the material below where the air filters sit. Next is a more controversial mod, one that probably costed me $150 the first time I did it. Removing the screens on either side of the Mass Airflow Sensor ('88 and older cars). My MAF went out shortly after doing this, but heck it had been working sense Ronald Reagan was president. Before I installed my new one, I removed the screens again and haven't had and issue with it.

A mod that I personally and highly recommend is and complete ignition system tune up and upgrade to a high voltage ignition coil. My Hypertech coil has given me more seat of the pants gain than anything else.

Next weak link in the 3rd gen chain is the exhaust system. Front to back, if it is stock then it needs to go. Cat-back systems are a popular and easy way to start. If you need to pass emmisions testing then a hi-flow cat is in order. I've heard nothing but praise about Magnaflow's catalytic converter and if you are tossing the A.I.R. system then MF's universal cat is very reasonably priced. And next would be headers and y-pipe. From what I've seen, if you go with either Hooker, Heddman, or SLP you will end up with a good header. All 3 also make good Y-pipes but it is really worth taking the Y to a muffler shop and getting a 3 inch collector welded on instead of the 2.5 inch most come with.

Most 3rd gens came with 2.73 rear gears, so an upgrade here can make a huge difference in acceleration. Gear selection really depends on the individual and what you want, and what you plan to use the car for. Personally I'm going to be going with a 3.73 since my car is not my daily driver and I'm not worried about mpg.

These would all make a pretty drastic change to your 3rd gen, but they are not absolute rules or anything. They are only meant to help point people in a good direction for having some good ol' American hot roddin' fun.

great post and good info there - thanks for sharing it with us - wtg:rockon:

Hey thanks for the information I will be trying some of those. Here is what I have to work with. I just picked this up last month and Im just starting to get to "know" the car and to do work to her. My car has already had all the emission removed, the A.I.R/SMOG system, cats, and anything else to do with emissions is already gone. The car has stock headers which I want to replace ASAP but a flowmaster exhaust sytem from there back. As for the suspension it has been lowered 2 inches all the way around with a Eibach racing suspension and I personally love the lowered car and how it handles compared to other thridgens that I have driven.

Right now I want to do the body work to my car (I am still learning how to handle small parts of rust). There is a few missing pieces that I have to gather then I will be ready for paint. Any input? I am debating between painting it the orginal shceme (heritage package white with red stripes) or doing something of my own taste, any thoughts?

One last thing what is a dual snorkel air cleaner assembly?

Stock air cleaners usually just have the one hose and opening going to the air filter. But the older 305HOs had a dual hose assembly. But since it looks like emmisions aren't a concern to you then open element would be the way to go ;). Personally I really like your current paint scheme. But custom can really set you apart. Depends on what you like and how much you want to spend.

http://www.thirdgen.org/tech/images/kevin11.jpg

This is a custom dual snorkel setup. The tube on the drivers side is hard to see but that should give you the jist of what they are. If you see one in a junk yard...I would grab it and see if you can turn a small profit selling it on ebay. Even if you just break even you would be saving a not so common factory part from the crusher.

Ok cool yea my setup is just the single tube. When you say open air element is this something like what you mean?

http://www.barneswebdesign.com/camaro/DSC03654.JPG

Yep...that's the one :thumbsup:

Yea I will be looking into getting one of those ASAP partially cause the set up I have just simply looks bad. lol As for the paint the way I was heading was keep it the orginal style which I love the exterior just hate the red interior and keep the history of the car, or completly change it and go for something different. I have some time to think about it tho as I will be doing the body work and preparing it for paint over this winter.

Just a quick question is the 305 v8 TBI engine that I have worth putting some $$ into it or am I just wasting cash and should look into swaping the engine out? I am not looking to build a drag car here just yet. I was thinking something simple and fun but yet I plan on driving her everyday in the summer months. With a few basic upgrades and some tuning for a "nice" street car will I be sitting ok?

Great thread Sweet Pics :old:

305s even though they have a bad rep are actually just as durable as any small block V8 since they are all the same engines just with different bore and stroke. You can have fun with an LG4 (TBI 305) depending on what your idea of fun is. If you have a goal as far as a 1/4 mile time you would like to attain then check out the "My Generation Camaro" project car articles at the Chevy High Performance Magazine site. I would also add that car kinda had a bad selection of parts on there that hurt the performance of the car. But that should give you an idea of what you are up against. Other things to consider before throwing the 305 on the trash heap is that they all came with pretty mild camshaft profiles, and the intake valves in the heads are 1.84" instead of 1.94" like on 350s. The main argument against 305s is that everything you do to them, if you were to do the same exact thing to a 350 the larger motor will always make more power just because of the extra cubes. But is 30-40HP a good enough reason to do an engine swap? Again it comes down to what your expectations for your car are and if you care to put in the time and effort to change motors.

Thanks for the info! I absolutley love my car, can you believe that I traded my 1995 GMC Jimmy with a custom interior and sound for this gem? I am going to stick with the 305 for now since I am young and $$ can be tight at some times. I think I am looking to do some basic upgrades that I can do in my garage and have a lot of fun with the car. I'll keep ya posted as well as everyone else with the process of the car!

Yeah I was planning on keeping my 305 for a while longer too but its knocking now so I am going to be swapping in a 350 this winter. I'm going to document the swap on this site and post pics so you can get an idea of what is involved should you ever decide to do it. As a Camaro lover I would have made that trade myself without a second thought. They are great cars and can even be made to handle better than the larger 4th gens inspite of the older suspension technology. I've even seen a braking comparison for the the stock front disc rear drum setup on a 3rd gen against upgraded systems and our stock brakes did very well in the comparison. But and upgrade to 4th gen front a rear brakes and master cylinder is a good great setup for our cars as well.

That be great! I'd really be interested since I have the same plans, as soon as my 305 starts to go I'll be wanting to swap it out as well.

Thought you might want to check this out Plumerino.