BonzoHansen's 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Factory Options:

It's a real Z28, 350 4bbl/ST-10 4-speed with factory A/C. That is about it. The person that ordered it did not spring for a posi, so I have a 3.73 open rear.

Exterior Modifications:

What I’ve done so far:
*It was heavily oxidized when I got it. 15 year old single stage red will do that. I buffed the crap out of it with passable results. A subsequent buffing & detailing job, with big Rich189’s knowledgeable help leading the way, the car now shines very red again. Big help.
*I replaced the missing bumper front fillers. Glass beading cleans them up very nicely.
*I got an NOS header emblem for $20 or eBay and an NOS 78 Z28 grill emblem off a Team Camaro member – cheap at $85. I had to hack the grill up a bit to make it work – the emblems look the same but mount differently from the 77 due to the grill change. I figure I should hack up a part they re-pop over one they do not.
*Rebuilt the door hinges.
*The inner fenders, rad support, firewall, subframe and all the misc. brackets and such were painted semi-gloss black.
*The hood hinges were sand blasted & painted with Eastwood cast blast paint. But the RH hinge is now binding and the hood won’t close right. New hinge on the way. Don’t sandblast your hinges
*Latch hardware blasted & painted with cast blast. New hood insulation.
*Rad support cover painted with Rustoleum ‘hammered finish’ gray paint, as is the air filter.
*New battery tray
*Lots of stainless steel bolts.

Future Plans:
***Short term***
*Clean up the rear bumper fillers.
*Get the rockers painted black and the factory stripes applied to the current paint.
*Paint the front & rear windshield trim black, like OE
*Add factory style front spoiler if I can match the current paint.

***Long term ***
*Strip it to bare metal, make it smooth and paint it copper orange (think Sunset Orange Metallic) and correct factory style striping.
*Integrated subframe connectors.
*Possible fiberglass bumpers
*Updated exterior lighting, even though I am not sure exactly what that means yet. But it needs brighter lights.
*17” or 18” wheels that are similar to the 5-spokes. Spokes will be painted body color.
*Flush mount glass like a modern car – check out the Year One Bandit cars. They may make this easy on me, LOL.
*Possible flush mounted door handles
*Possible late model side view mirrors, if I can find something I like.
*Possible grill closeout of some sort. And between bumper & upper valance where there are no OE fillers

Interior Modifications:

Current Changes/State:
*4th gen Camaro graphite gray leather seats. Power driver’s seat (that I have not wired yet). I had to fab brackets from steel stock and parts of the 2nd gen seat tracks. I have to tinker more this winter, the LF seat is too high.
*Someone changed the stock tan interior for what I believe is a black deluxe interior from an 80-81 Z28. Whoever did the dye/paint on the brown plastics did a good job, it held up well.
*I have one deck mounted 3-point seat belt in the back for my oldest son. The lap belt on the other side holds my youngest son’s car seat in nice & tight.
*A Pioneer in-dash CD/MP3 player. And really bad, old speakers in the back. Good enough for now.

Future Plans:
*Finish the AC system
*New VDO gauges
*Possibly a late model lighted rearview mirror.
*Possibly a 4th gen center console
*Replacement headliner, dash pad, wiring, rug & some sound deadening
*Different door panels (maybe custom)
*Have rear seats recovered to match the front seats.
*New seat belts – possibly 4th gen belts
*New rear package tray.
*Vastly improved stereo system, with new deck speakers, a sub & dash speakers.

Performance:

It ain't a race car. But it's fun to drive. Needs more power.

Current Setup:
*350 4-bolt main block, 882 heads
*Engine internals? Damn if I know. Stock rockers.
*Edelbrock double roller timing chain- because I had it on the shelf
*Fluiddampr – again, on the shelf
*Fel-pro TC, VC and one-piece oil pan gasket set. – it was leaking bad.
*Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake
*Holley single feed 600 CFM carb
*Accel Super coil in stock style cap, MSD wires with ‘custom’ wire retainers, NGK plugs
*3rd gen serpentine system – CS130 alt, etc….
*$13 Summit billet swivel t-stat housing
*180* high flow t-stat
*Hooker headers blasted and painted with Eastwood Manifold Paint – very impressed with this product.
*Lightweight Proliance aluminum & plastic tank radiator – direct fit for this car. Works great.
*1993 Camaro LT1 cooling fans, driven by a DCC fan controller – also a very impressive product.
*New TRW motor mounts – made in the USA!
*Fancy custom Z28 crankcase breather!

Future:
***Short Term***
*New exhaust before spring, still TBD.
*Maybe sit down & tune the poor thing.

***Long Term***
Who knows? Ideally, I think I’d like an aluminum headed 383 with EFI. Give me 400 at the crank and I will be happy. I think.

Suspension/Chassis:

The suspension was pretty soft and worn when I got it. The idler and center link were dangerously loose. Now it is tight and pleasurable to drive. And it stops well and rides very well. It handles pretty good, but it needs shocks and is severely tire limited. I knew the tires couldn’t keep up with some of the parts I installed, but if any part was bad (control arm bushings, etc.), I upgraded.

Current State:
*GW Solid Body Mounts
*Alston Racing Sub frame connectors.
*SPC Adjustable upper control arms with hex adjusters from SC&C – Marcus is awesome to deal with - http://www.scandc.com/
*GW Del-A-Lum lower control arm bushings
*Howe tall lower ball joints
*Hotchkis TVS System – front & rear springs & sway bars – I got too good a deal to pass up.
*Herb Adams mod to leaf spring perch.
*Complete front end rebuild with Moog parts.
*Edelbrock tie rod sleeves
*Steering box from WS6 3rd gen T/A, new lines, new pump, Magafine filter
*B-Body spindles, 12" 3rd gen 1LE rotors, Porterfield pads
*SS braided flex lines, new SS lines throughout.
*All new rear brake parts with Porterfield Shoes.
*Brake power booster replated & rebuilt by http://www.brakeboosters.com/ - excellent job
*245/60/15 Dunlop GT Qualifiers

Future:
***Short Term***
*Bilstein shocks – I need these bad!
*Alston Racing G-Braces – I need to modify the LH one before I can use them

***Long Term***
*17” or 18” tires & wheels (make/model TBD)
*Rear disc brakes, possible bigger front brakes
*Possible hydroboost setup
*Other mods – I have no idea.

Drivetrain:

Current:
*Borg-Warner aluminum case ST-10. 2.64 1st gear. All new seals. Still has the vin on it.
*Rebuilt OE shifter – ITM
*New Delco flywheel, Luk clutch
*Stock steel driveshaft
*3.73 open rear

Future:
*T56 6-speed transmission
*4th gen aluminum driveshaft
*Posi-traction, possible 3:90 gear ratio

Electronics:

Electronics? Sure. How about electrical. The original wiring harness was a melted mess – in fact I can’t believe the car hadn’t caught fire.

Current State:
*All new AAW lighting & engine harness – top quality - http://www.americanautowire.com/
*Mad Enterprises Start ‘Em Up kit - Ford style starter solenoid - http://www.madelectrical.com/
*Entire engine harness modified. All power wires now run to distribution point on the LF fender rad support. Harness runs between fender & inner fender.
*Relay ‘center’ tucked under on the LF of the rad support. Currently only the HEI is wired, but headlights will be done soon, and future expansion is super easy.
*DCC fan controller mounted on custom bracket under RF fender behind the battery. A great product with questionable service - http://www.dccontrol.com/
*CS130 alternator – clocked to clear tall valve cover
*0/1g battery cables, 4g ground straps at battery and block.
*2nd power distribution point under RF fender behind the battery used for cooling and blower fans and later expansion.
*Wiring diagrams forthcoming…

Future:
*Rewire underdash and interior– hopefully AAW will make a classic update harness in time,
*Wire LF power seat
*Some kind of brighter headlights
*LED tail lights?
*3rd brake light assembly
*Relocate battery to trunk – using Optima or Odyssey battery.
*Some sort of GPS and alarm.

To-Do List:

N/A