1980 Chevy Camaro Berlinetta
Page One
1980 Camaro Facts and Figures.
1980 Camaro Production: 51,104 V6, 100,901 V8, 152,005 total.
Dimensions Length: 197.6" Height: 49.2" Width: 74.5" Wheelbase: 108.0"
1980 Berlinetta Specific - Included Custom Interior, bright upper and lower grille, bright windshield and rear window moldings, dual pin stripe treatment, body color sport mirrors, argent applique on rear panel, specific trim and either wire wheel covers (standard) or color-keyed aluminum wheels (14 x 7") (optional). Amberlite insulation blankets included in doors, rear quarters, roof/sail panels, behind rear seat, under package tray and under carpeting (RPO Z54 interior decor/quiet sound). Option U05 dual horns and U14 Special Instrumentation were also standard equipment.
How we came to own one.
A little background, my wife's first car was a 1975 Camaro and she has been crying about getting anoher one the day after she sold it. We then saw one at a gas station but it had no sign. Then one Saturday morning I was in WallyWorld buying grass seed and some other gardening supplies and I get a text from her saying "buy me that Camaro" and jokingly I reply back "ok". So it seems that the owner decided to put it up for sale and she was the first to see it. and to make a longish story short 5 hours later we were handing over a deposit.
What it needs
It is remarkably clean with almost no rust but the suspension looks to be original. So a complete replacement of suspension bushings is in order as well as new leaf springs.
A few interior items also need to be fixed. The drivers side window crank, the AC/Heat control panel needs to be replaced, the hood insulation, and the window weatherstripping and the drivers side door handle.
The rear springs have been ordered as was the door handle and window crank. The previous owner had all of the weather stripping. I am looking for a AC/Heater controll panel and the front suspension will most likely be a winter project.
There are a few other interior items but that will all happen in time.
Some more information
We met the person twho was the second owner and did most of the Z28 upgrades. The car has only 21k original miles, he added Z28 front springs as well as the front grill. He also added the rear spoiler and painted the car. He sold it to the person we bought the car from who had it only a short time.
Some Pictures
And the odyssey begins....
First Repairs
Started with what I thought would be a few simple fixes.
First the horn, putting power directly to the horn proved that neither of the originals worked, so I replaced them. Still not working.
I went back along the horn circuit and found the honr relay to be toast, replaced that. Still not working!
Checked the horn mechanism in the steering wheel and found a small pin that rests on a spring was out of place and laying on its side. Put that back in place and finally the horn now works.
The othe quick fix was to replace the windshield wipers.
As it turns out the current type of wiper will not work on the Camaro.
They fit onto the arm just fine but because of the design the wipers are too tall and hit up against the hood when they "hide a way"
A quick trip to Rock Auto and bought a pair of TRICO Part # 182 exact fit wipers that cost me less, including shipping, then the wipers at the local big box auto store did.
Rear Suspension
Started with the back end and replaced the leaf springs and new shocks replacing the old air shocks. The job took the better part of all day and I can definitely see why they say you should remove the gas tank first. I didnt since it was full.
As you can see its a tight fit between the shackles and tank. If you can remove the tank and save a lot of time and knuckle skin.
Once out, and they did require some leverage and a large hammer to remove from the axle, putting it all back together was fairly straight forward. Just watch out for how the axle pads go back in. I used five jack stands to keep thing stable and safe.
