Saturday, I took the Camaro out for a test. I needed to go to a friends to check on the progress she has made on quilts made out of my father’s clothes. She lives just north of Evansville.
I ran into / noticed several issues that I’m posting here for my own sake.
I have the cluster in, but it is only connected to the speedometer cable and electrical plugs for the cluster. Due to vibrations, etc. it likes to pop out, rendering some of the gauges useless at times.
The odometer and trip odometer are not working right – at all. It listed my trip to Evansville as 500 miles. The round trip added 3 thousand miles to the odometer. Part of this is because I was unable to get the right gear in the transmission. That is the reason why the cluster isn’t installed completely. The speedometer is also still off, by 10 to 20mph. This is a work in progress. I got lucky and was able to source a proper speedometer gear. Once I get it – the odometer, trip odometer and speedometer should theoretically function properly. They may need some calibration work however. If I cannot get them right, I have been in contact with a company in Rhode Island that specializes in this exact work.
The cruse control is not functional. I had never tried to use it before. I have a replacement control arm. I have read in many forum posts where someone has replaced the control arm and it resolved the problem. I will wait until I have done this to dig any further on the manner.
The Service Engine Soon kept coming on about every 30 miles or so. Whatever fault is happening, it is not being stored in the computer as a simple restart clears it. Which leads me to my next issue.
The car is running rich. It’s not overtly evident all of the time, but after a while you can smell fuel. I used 20 gallons on a 200 miles trip. This car should be getting around double that. I’m going to start by replacing the O2 sensor and installing an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. This car is over 30 years old. It’s quite possible the rubber diaphragm that controls fuel pressure is bad. The OE regulator is known for not providing enough pressure, hence the adjustable option. We will see where this road leads me.
I rode all day with the t-tops off. It provided wonderful ventilation but also gave me a little too much sun. When I put the t-tops in their storage bag in the car, I noticed the stitching that holds the bag’s zipper on has rotted away. I need to get this repaired. It will require someone with the equipment that can handle such thick material.
Today, on the ride home from my girlfriends, it was raining. I rolled the window down a little to get some ventilation and noticed some water leaks. It’s something I will keep my eye on. Some well placed RTV or silicone will probably resolve the issue. It is not a major issue however. T-top cars are notorious for leaking water.