j.e.d.

Yea wiring harness.. I did see a couple of harnesses on the Classic Industries website, they did say compatible with my year https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1983/chevrolet/camaro/parts/tf900215.html

Sweet cheers, yea I couldn’t see anything for ‘83 either. This car has push button start and an aftermarket under dash heater unit and digital dash also, so I’d assume these things are easy enough to wire in

Thanks man.. nah no TBI.. just a 355 from what I’ve found out with a MSD/carb setup, so no need for an ECM I believe. Looking at all the options at the mo.. you make it sound so easy lol

Yea it looks like the wiring has been hidden in the engine bay.. not necessarily a bad job, but where it comes out is just a mess of wires. There is an 83 in a wreckers out west but the guy said the wiring loom isn’t available sadly. I just don’t think they wanna go to the trouble of taking it out. Cheers for the link too, I’ll check it out.

Yea when I saw the choc blocks and electrical box for a house I thought ‘oh fuck’

Not sure, I might have to do some googling.. I’ve just been contacted by a guy who has a complete loom from an ‘89 (less taillight loom) that he’s pulled out of his car cos he’s turning it into a track car.. wants $50 for it and although it looks like a mess of wires it’s all complete down to all the relays and ECM which I don’t seem to have.. just not sure on the difference between the years.

Unpacked the car.. interior seems all there. Wiring is an absolute fucking mess. Might need to wait til I have some more space (and patience) before I tackle that mammoth task. Looks as though the previous owner has cut a fair few of the connectors, and attempted to rewire it. I’m no expert but it looks a bit dodgy. Any auto sparkles on here? Might be easier for me to get someone to take a look at it.

Nah not the same car, but it looks like red Camaros with US Mags are a popular choice as I've seen another one with IROC Z on the side.... I guess I can say mine's the only one with the T-Top

Just time and what looks like a fair bit of wiring.. someone seems to have deliberately cut the wires but I could be wrong.. it was on the road a couple of years ago, but the car was repossessed from the finance company.. I’m grateful it looks to be complete and has a few nice things in it.

Feel free to yak about car addictions here

Oh wow, what a surprise I’ve bought another car. Not a lot of valid reasons why I bought this.. yes, I’ve always wanted an ‘83 something-or-other so I could say I own a ‘63, ‘73 and ‘83 at the same time, so I’ve managed to tick that off the bucket list albeit perhaps short lived as I’d like to sell the Mustang due to a serious lack of time for such a big project and other more life important things to concentrate on which will become apparent in time. The other reason was it was going so cheap and I didn’t want anyone else to have it at the price it went for.. tacking on the horrendous Turners buyers fee made the deal a little less financially beneficial though. I also convinced myself this would be an investment to get on the road and sell for more than I paid for it, but we’ll see how that goes. The car was advertised as being repossessed, had rego on hold.. the interior has been stripped right out and I’m hoping it’s all there packed in the car, but I won’t know til I get into it. I’ve noticed a few cut connectors so it looks like the loom will need some work. God I hope it won’t turn into a nightmare haha. Here are some pics on my trailer and in the garage after waiting 3 weeks for the transport company to finally get it up here from Palmerston North. Bit of a squeeze.. not ideal when neither of them are running. I have a habit of cars barely fitting in spaces I think. Discussion of anything that needs to be said..

Agreed, but I do like the spaced out cat image on the back guard

Well, bittersweet post time. I came across an opportunity to swap the bike for a digger and it all fell into place yesterday. Change in direction with my life and what I’m trying to achieve for myself and my family.. and I can’t have everything haha. I did manage to complete the oil change, primed the pump, and I heard it kick over and idle albeit just for a couple of seconds as the fuel tap was gunked up and needed cleaning properly. Sounded fucking great, just as I remembered it. Goodbye old friend.

Will need a prime.. previous owner drained the oil out of the tank so it’s been sitting empty for a while.. plan is to get into it tomorrow

ah yep.. I was lazy looking at pics I'd already taken..

Sweet cheers @Kimjon.. that'd be the one to the left in this pic... might have to call into the $2 shop for a telescopic magnet today. Thanks for that tip, as I wondered if there was a way to prime the pump

Electrical all sorted now. Bought a new battery from Auckland HD about 1.5 years ago, and only just realised the other day that the + - is the wrong way round for my cables. Decided that getting longer cables made would be far cheaper than buying another battery, so a trip to the local auto sparky in Puke got me new 100mm longer cables made up and a new connector plug as the rear loom connector was corroded. Looks a little messy as I needed to move the loom around with the swap over, but the seat covers it all and there’s nothing loose.. Pulled the plugs.. rear looks a little blacker than the front.. will give them a little clean up and see how they go

I had a lot of issues with fitment of long tube headers on the 390… leaked badly the first time round. The mechanic ran a few heat cycles and bolted, tightened and retightened through those cycles. I have a feeling they tightened the bolts from back to front to pull the flange in tighter and straighter each time. Seems to have worked well this time around.

Cheers man, will give that a go

Yea man, work from home most days with a view of the busy road

Got the dash painted and installed.. not convinced on the look but it’s tidy and that’s the only theme I’m working on at the mo.. maybe I’ll paint the chrome around the ignition and the stainless speedo ring. And the glass was broken on the speedo at some point during the previous ownership. Unfortunately the stainless ring is pressed on so no way of replacing it, and a new speedo is stupid money, so I just cut a circle from some hard plastic packaging (shower hose from Bunnings) and that seems to work for now. Would like to run a thin bead or silicon to stop any water getting in, but for now it’ll be a dry weather bike so not too worried about it. (White lines are a reflection on the plastic)

Couple more pics at drag day. Found a plate I felt suited my car.. and a piss-take on me On @piazzanoob’s advice, I took the car back to E&H as he wasn’t able to hear anything in the engine through the badly leaking headers. Well I finally dropped the car back there last week and picked it up today. I feel like they’ve done a great job with this, as they took the time to run the car through a number of heat cycles and tightened up the header bolts in a better order.. replacing the exhaust gaskets as well. Funnily enough now that it’s been done right, the engine is actually running quietly, and the only noise is the exhaust reverberating through the H pipe and coming out the back. I’m calling it a win for now, so I treated the car to a new battery.

Saw you drive past my place yesterday.. you must have been on the way to VTNZ

Thanks man, I'll do all that you've suggested. I don't have a problem with doing as much as I can to prevent any potential issues. Yea its a Super G, so I'll get stuck in there.. Cheers!

Finished cleaning up the dirty things on the bike.. looks soo much better. Have painted the dash as well so will put that back on tomorrow. Now, I have a question for those more knowledgeable than me.. this bike has been sitting for a few years, complete which is good so nothing I feel I need to worry in the bores as the spark plugs are still in and carb connected. I want to do the right thing on start up, so I’m thinking I’ll need to prime the oil pump somehow (looks like a bung at the top of the pump so assuming oil goes in there). I have a full service kit for the bike, engine, primary and trans oils, new filter.. would it pay to hand crank the engine to make sure it turns freely? I’m assuming here I’ll need to remove the primary cover to do this though so hopefully this won’t damage the gasket. Not sure if this is necessary though. I may need to clean the carb too? Just thought of that now as it may have a build up in there.. the bike has only done 1640 miles since being on the road though.. noticed the fuel tap was slightly seized, so a quick spray of CRC freed that up. Feedback greatly accepted, otherwise I’ll just start on Dr Google and work it out from there.. ta