This week I’ve been working on recovering the sail panels and headliner on the Camaro. I had purchased fabric and glue weeks ago, but just made a realization. I bought the wrong color.
I’ve already cut the fabric, and I’ve already placed it on my sail panels. So there’s $50 down the drain.
The interior of this car is technically called “Medium Dark Grey.” Finding it however is not an easy task. The material I bought is called “Dark Grey/Charcoal” and per the image on Amazon and the review that stated it matched perfectly to a camaro with “Medium Dark Grey” interior, I was sold.
Images can be deceptive however. It’s actually a lot darker than this image shows.
Here is an image of one of my sail panels covered. I told myself it would lighten up.
Here’s the original headliner. Notice the dark grey area in the middle. That’s what I’m going for. To me, they looked very similar.
So where do I go from here? A part of me says to just stick with it. The perfectionist and person who wants to make this as accurate as possible says no.
So I’ve just ordered more fabric. Listed as “Light Grey” but with a online swatch that looks identical to what it should be.
I don’t look forward to taking the fabric off of those sail panels, but it must be done. I was really looking forward to enjoying the car this summer. That goal keeps becoming further and further away it seems.
In the continuing saga of the speedometer reading incorrectly on the IROC I received some answers today.
I took the differential cover off. Thankfully the ring gear had the teeth numbers etched into it, 13:42. What does that mean? That means there are 13 teeth on the pinion gear, 42 on the ring gear. If you divide the teeth on the ring gear by the teeth on the pinion gear, you get the ratio. In this case, it equals 3.23 which is a widely used ratio.
From that, I now know what gears my transmission needs in order to display the speed traveled correctly thanks to this post on the 3rd gen forums. I went ahead and ordered a 38 tooth (blue) driven, and 15 tooth (gray) drive gears from eBay. These gears are commonly known by their colors.
I was a little apprehensive about taking the cover off, as it’s something I’ve never had to do before on a vehicle. I had a plan however. I purchased a different cover that has a fill and drain plug, the OEM one does not. The Dana 44 axles on my Jeep have them.
This differential cover is sold all over under different name brands, but all of them are made by the same place, LPW Racing Products. I purchased it directly from them through, you guessed it an auction on eBay. Besides having fill & drain plugs, it also has a girdle to help strengthen the already “weak” 10 bolt rear end this car has.
I also received the gauge clusters I had purchased from eBay, and was able to successfully remove the needle on the speedometer from one of them. I then used that needle and shaft from the donor cluster to rebuild my original.
I still need to purchase bulbs for my cluster. Not knowing how long they have been in there, but knowing how hard it is to remove the cluster – I want to replace them all. 1 of them is missing/broken.
In other news, I have removed the headliner with the help of my daughter. It definitely went better with the help of someone than had I attempted to do it alone.
Those dark areas show the original color
Last night, I took all of the old material and foam off. The backer is quite fragile, some small spots came off with the material or while I was taking the foam off with a combination of a vacuum and sponge.
That light area in the upper left quadrant came off
By the end of the weekend, I hope to have the car back together. When I receive the gears for the transmission I plan on having a shop change them. I might then have to remove the cluster again if it requires more calibration.
I’m talking about the IROC. Part of diagnosing why the speedometer was reading incorrectly is knowing exactly what the gear ratio of the rear end is, and how many teeth the 2 gears in the transmission that drive the speedometer have.
Today, I did the easiest method for finding that with results that were not expected. Per the VIN and the RPO codes on the car, it should have a 2.77 gear ratio in the rear end, with a limited slip posi-traction differential.
For those of you that I just lost, that ratio means the driveshaft should turn 2.77 times for every time the rear wheels turn once. Limited slip is a form of posi-traction, which enables both wheels to spin at the same time. For this car, the other option was an open differential, where only 1 wheel actually provides the power.
I jacked the car off the ground, placed my camera under the driveshaft and rotated 1 wheel towards the front of the car.
As Described
The results? The driveshaft spun about 3.5 times. What? It should have only spun 2.77 times!
I knew “something” had happened while my dad and stepmother went on a trip, but didn’t know if it was the transmission or the rear end. I posted on Facebook about it where my stepmom and her brother, my uncle argued about the subject. I tend to trust him more about mechanical things like this, he did paint it after all.
Names removed for privacy sake
My next steps are to remove the differential cover to inspect and verify the gear ratio. I also need to check the transmission gears. There is one located on the tail shaft, and one that is driven from that gear to turn the speedometer cable.
Unfortunately, I believe this is a Borg Warner 9 bolt rear end, made in Australia. I have done a lot of searching tonight and have only found used sets of the 2.77 ring and pinion gears for sale. Replacing these two parts is not a cheap venture, so it will be put on the back burner for now. I’m merely posting this for documentation and as my dad would infamously say to make a “historical document.”
My headliner material should be arriving on Friday, and I have been in the progress of removing the trim and parts to take the existing original headliner out. I hope to be successful in doing this, as it’s something I have no experience in. I will videotape and obviously post here about it.
Here’s a setback I wasn’t expecting. I broke the needle on the speedometer of the Camaro. I’ve noticed that it’s been reading up to 10mph too high, sometimes as low as 3. I was trying to adjust it by using some advice that I sourced from the internet, and boom.
What good is an instrument if you can’t read its output?
The gauge cluster on this car is a relic of the past, sharing the same kind and style of components that vehicles 30+ years older than it have. Vehicles of today use digital instrumentation (even if you have physical gauges). Odometers are readouts on a screen, this one is a dial that shows up to 5 digits of miles.
I spent all last night researching and trying to find answers to the problem I’m facing. You would think there are replacement parts and people who are well versed in instrumentation woes who have said something on the internet right? Wrong. I’m coming up pretty empty on this one.
Camaros of this generation came with three, count em, 3 different speedometers. They came in 85, 115 and 145 MPH varieties. With this one having the 145 one, which is hard to find. From what I have found so far, each one had a different “spring” in it, which I can only assume helped it be accurate. Thankfully I have all of my parts.
Primarily disassembled
Further complicating things, is the fact that many moons ago, there was an issue with the transmission. This makes me question whether the gears that drive the speedometer cable are the correct ones. My stepmother told me that my father chose to have a re-manufactured one installed at a dealership. My father never told me.
I just procured a 85 MPH speedometer on eBay, and am bidding on an entire instrument cluster. My next steps are to determine all of the gear identities so I’m not assuming things that may not be true. I need to find out what speedometer gears are in the transmission, and the actual gear ratio on the rear end, as well as the tire diameter.
With that information, I can make informed decisions on where to go from here. I will also continue to prepare to replace the headliner and recover the sail panels, possibly doing a transmission service as well. I figure it’ll be better to accomplish these tasks since the car is down right now.
I sure didn’t expect to have such a detour, but I might as well make the best of it that I can.
This “new normal” has really been getting to me lately. My mind went through a period of depression as it normally does when it comes to change, but I am finding my escapes from it now. Those being my vehicles and my home. I have a laundry list of things I want to accomplish and that gives my soul energy.
Friday I was working as normal, then lunch time came around. So I ate something, watched a little TV and decided to take the rest of the day off. But what do I do? The day started out raining and gloomy but the clouds parted and it became beautiful outside. I know, take that Camaro out for a cruise!
Driving on I-69
So I did. I stopped to see several people who are important to me and this car. Namely my stepmother, my girlfriends parents and my car bro, Ira. He has a 87 IROC.
This is the first real drive I’ve ever taken the car out on, and I’ve got to say it was wildly different than the last time. The vibrations from braking are now gone. Due to my modifications to the proportioning valve, braking is balanced and effective.
While on the highway I did notice something that bugged me however. I was going the speed limit according to the speedometer, but was being passed like crazy. It seems the speedometer is off by about 10mph. This car has a mechanical speedometer. It involves a counterweight attached to the meter, and I think it is out of sync. It will take some tricky work to get this where it should be – but that’s one thing I have to get resolved as soon as possible! It’s going to drive me insane.
Yours truly, photo courtesy of my girlfriend’s dad
While at Ira’s he noticed something I hadn’t. The door moldings were gone on my car. I can only assume my uncle removed them when he painted the car. When I get the orange peel removed and the paint is where I finally want it, I will have to get these installed. I’ll probably have a body shop do it, to match the paint color and ensure proper installation.
While on the way back, I picked up my girlfriend on the side of the road and said “I normally don’t do this sort of thing, but your beautiful. Want to take a ride with me?” I think she loved it, and I did too.
With that cruise, a lot of the pressure I felt to get the car to a certain point before I did any driving suddenly removed itself. I still need to get the new struts installed but I’m going to take every opportunity I have to get out and drive at this point. I’ve had this car long enough to not enjoy it.
I’ve been in a real funk lately. My mental status has been very low. Everything seems to be like Mount Everest at this point. It’s been beating me up, seriously.
So today, I decided to do something that generally cheers me up I worked on the Camaro. I had a laundry list of things to get done and most generally speaking, I accomplished them!
Over the winter, I spent over $1000 on parts to put on the car, with plans to do all of the work over the winter. Boy was I wrong. The inner bear who just wants to hibernate comes out in me in the winter.
I can proudly state the rear end work on the car is done at this point however. Now I just have to do the front, which includes the brakes, struts and strut mounts. Plus any rubber bushings or hoses that need to be replaced.
When I replaced the rear shocks, I had to pull the rear carpet section out of where it was to access the shock mounts. Placing it back was quite the struggle. I had to remove the back seat and remove a couple of screws on the plastic interior pieces in order to put the carpet back.
I then made a discovery that has really boggled my mind. The front seat belt holders were broken, and so I ordered some re-manufactured ones from Hawks. I was quite surprised to discover that the fabric used on the drivers side was maroon instead of grey. The passengers side is grey. I also found it interesting that the drivers side is longer than the passengers side by about 2 inches. I think the car was made on a Monday or Friday. Someone wasn’t paying attention. That’s for sure.
Old on Left, New in Middle, Seat Belt on Right
It’s been a while since I’ve made any real progress on the car. I haven’t posted anything new to YouTube, but I have shot some video. I just need to edit it. It feels good for a change.
I finished it off by installing the spare seat a Camaro buddy let me borrow since mine is still in Oklahoma, and due to stay at home orders/pandemic I haven’t went to get it. I will as soon as I can.
Then it was just a matter of putting the rear wheels back on and I now it’s finally a driveable car again. I’m still figuring out how to get a license plate, as our BMV offices have been giving some conflicting information on accessibility.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had this view
Tomorrow I’m going to clean up a few things in the rear of the car, get the old stereo out of it, and be done for a while. I want to actually enjoy this car this year – while I can.
I’m currently trying to make a schedule and figure out when I will do all of the front end work that I know will make the car about 100 times more fun to drive.
Progress on the IROC has been hard lately. I’ve been trying to bleed the rear brakes and remove the brake fluid that is highly questionable in age. I purchased a cheap vacuum bleeding system from Amazon, but it was of no help at all. I don’t really have a helper at the moment, so the solutions I have been looking at have been restricted to solo options. Then I discovered gravity bleeding.
That fluid should be almost clear
I had the bleeder valve open for almost four hours today. I’m going to open it again tomorrow for the entire day. Hopefully it will be clear then.
I’ve decided to put off replacing the brake lines now, and will put that project off until next fall. I will then paint the calipers and wheel well areas.
Sadly, I’m still working on the rear and have the entire front to do!
On another note however, I finally got my spare tire situation figured out. The 3rd Generation Camaro / Firebird has a very interesting option for the spare tire called a Stowaway Spare, and mine has it.
I had the tire, but it wasn’t installed – and the parts required to mount it were missing. eBay came to the rescue on that, where I got those parts and the tire inflator.
Spare Tire Mount PartsGM Stowaway Spare Tire Inflator
Not too long before my father passed away, he was messing with the original one in the car. He was trying to figure out how to refill it. This is basically a CO2 canister used to fill the tire up, as it comes deflated but mounted to an aluminum wheel. I have asked my stepmom to look for it, it was in much worse shape than this one but it was original to the car, an important thing to me.
These canisters aren’t cheap to replace or find. This one cost me $100 – but with the shape it was in I couldn’t resist. I then went to work and got it all mounted. I had great difficulty mounting the canister to the wheel (how it is supposed to be). Mounting the spare in the compartment was a piece of cake though.
Snug as a Bug
Now I’m questioning where these two foam pieces go. They were in the spare tire compartment. I’ve done a lot of searching and haven’t been able to find any specs of information on the internet regarding those foam pieces.
This weekend, I went back to battle on the rear end upgrades/maintenance on the IROC. After my experience last weekend, I had knowledge and skills I wasn’t equipped with the first time. I rented a caliper tool from the auto parts store I frequent, and it made the experience far better.
I started by swapping the drilled & slotted rotor as a mechanic had told me. After doing some research on the subject, I believed and agree with him. After posting an image on social media, another mechanic friend (whom I trust more) told me it was wrong, so I begrudgingly swapped it back. This also gave me an opportunity to use that tool I had rented, to ensure the slot in the caliper fit properly with the nub on the brake pad.
GM Delco-Morraine Brake Caliper
I then went to the passengers side, which is the oddest thing I have ever seen. The brake caliper is on the opposite side on the rotor. The manager at the parts store (who I’ve known since I was a kid) said it’s also common in some Ford pickup trucks.
So Odd
There was something in the way however. Due to this mirrored setup, the lower control arm was in the way. The bolts that hold the caliper on did not have enough space to be removed. So I unbolted it and got to work.
On my previous post I mentioned how the thought of replacing these lower control arms with new tubular ones really vexed my mind. My mind was reassured however, as the bushing on this one that connects to the axle was in really good shape. So I won’t be replacing them.
The rotor on this side was really rusted on. I had to beat it with a hammer for a good 10 minutes before I was able to get it fully off. That was the largest issue I faced.
I then replaced the shock on this side, which like the other side was the OE one and dead as a door nail. My daughter helped me with the first one, I was happy that I was able to do this one all by my lonesome.
Then it was just a matter of reconnecting that lower control arm, which required I do some fancy leg work with a jack to jack the axle up incrementally so the bolt hole would line up.
The drivers side has solid metal brake line, the passengers side has a short rubber brake hose. I’m going to change a spring in the proportioning valve that is supposed to increase the line pressure on the rear brakes. These cars are notorious for having what are essentially non existent rear brakes. This stops here for me. It will require my brakes be bled, which needs to be done. I’m just weighing as to whether I should change the hose and do the bleed myself or have a shop do it at this point. I’m always weighing my options, I don’t want to damage this car, or destroy something.
I just have to take care of the brake hose, bleeding/flushing of brake fluid & the sway bar bushings & end links and the rear will be done. For now anyway.
We had a nice day last Saturday, and I’ve got a pile of parts just waiting to be thrown on the ol’ IROC. My plan was to replace the rear brakes and shocks, but plans never turn out the way you want them to.
I’ve known this car since I was 7, but I’ve never dug into it’s systems and deep into what makes it work until now. My father wasn’t one to do much more than an oil change on his own. With the help of other men in my life, I learned how to do everything.
Friday evening, with my daughter’s assistance, we jacked the car up and put the rear on jack stands. I’ve been trying to involve her and the other children in my life on the processes required to restore this car. Automotive knowledge at a young age is a wonderful thing for children. I know I loved it.
My Office for the Day
After taking the wheel off, I discovered something. Something I had never seen in my lifetime of working on vehicles of all shapes and sizes. After doing some investigating, I have come to a theory. 1988 was a odd year for braking systems on this car.
All original
My findings, coming from internet based research on forums and YouTube have led me to believe the following. Pre-1989 if a Camaro had disc brakes in the rear the rear end was essentially the same as one that had drum brakes on it. The only difference is the backing plate and the addition of a caliper and rotor. The brake line is hard all the way to the connection on the caliper itself.
This car is a 1988, but built in October of 1987. 1988 was a good year, but it was also a year of lasts and firsts. It was the last year for the cold start injector, commonly called the 9th injector. But it was the first year for the L98, 5.7L TPI (which this car has). It was also the first year of the 1LE option, which is the rarest of the rare 3rd Generation Camaro. Only 4 were made that year. Starting in 1989, if your car had rear disc brakes, it had the 1LE aluminum PBR calipers, which were made in Australia.
My daughter helped me install the new driver’s side shock. The old one, in the picture above was the original, and did not function at all. Unfortunately, I only received 1 hardware kit from the 2 shocks I ordered. I reached out to the company who makes them. They have sent me another kit.
So I went back to work on these brakes. The rotors are warped, and I think the pads are glazed, causing braking to be difficult at best. I went to compress the rotor only to discover this is one that requires to be twisted like a screw to go back into place. I went to the parts store not once but twice, as the first tool I bought to handle this task was too small. The second one would fit – but alas the pattern would only hold 1 of the pivot points. I had to use a pair of channel lock pliers to manually twist the piston back into place. It was difficult at best.
The Rotor is on Backwards
I then put it all together. I bought drilled and slotted rotors to help compensate for the small brakes on this car. Many upgrade the brakes with systems from newer cars or from 3rd party manufacturers.
I later discovered that technically this rotor is on backwards. The angle of the slot should be in the other direction. The cooling vanes within the rotor are non directional however, which mitigates that issue. I am still pondering on changing it. If you notice there is a “L” sticker on the rotor, and this is the “L” side of the car.
By this time, it was 6pm. I was beyond tired and happy to have accomplished what I did. Then my mind got to thinking. There are lots of rubber parts there that are obviously worn out and need replaced. Do I go ahead and take care of this while I’m at it?
I purchased a set of sway bar end links and bushings as a package, the other parts are for the lower control arms and the panhard (sometimes called a track) bar. Unfortunately it seems like replacing the bushings on those OEM parts is more trouble and more expense than buying new tubular parts. So I am currently in a battle with my mind on what to do.
As a teenager, all I wanted to do is put these kind of parts on this car. Now, nearing 40 I don’t exactly want to. I want this car to have it’s original character, flaws and all. Decisions, decisions.
For two and a half years I’ve been paying my stepmother $100 a month on my dad’s Camaro.
The day I got it.
I couldn’t afford and didn’t have the cash on hand that she wanted for it. Her price was extremely reasonable, she had spent some money trying to restore it herself. Her brother painted it, did a tune up on it and replaced some seals. I’m fortunate she was willing to work with me on a payment plan. This car meant the world to me from the day I first saw it.
My current financial situation isn’t great but I had a decision to make. I’m about to spend thousands to fix a problem with my house. Do I keep making payments to her or do I finish that, so I can put the money elsewhere. I decided to pay her off. This leaves me with one less payment to make a month. That money will just go towards this fix on my house.
Yesterday, we met at the BMV. I handed her the $1000 that I still owed her, and we transferred the title to me. We had a little mistake on the mileage, but was able to rectify it since we were there, thankfully. Details like this are huge with the provenance of the car. I’m even writing this post for documentation purposes. My dad and stepmom were who purchased it brand new, from Royal Chevrolet.
My next steps are weather dependent. I’m still waiting on some good weather to install new brakes and suspension components. I will be plating the car with a historic plate with a designation that allows me to also use a 1988 license plate.
Original passenger’s seat
I’m still waiting on my uncle to get the new seat covers that I ordered off eBay. They are supposed to be exact replacements to what you see here. We will see. I dropped the driver’s seat off with my uncle. When I go back, I’m taking the passenger seat with me for a new cover to be put on it.
Now I own both of the vehicles my father had when he passed. This makes my heart and soul very happy. Once I am finished with the Camaro, I will start on the truck.
