77MadMax

Hey, first off let me just say that i'm not a huge gear head, and I know little about car's much less about camaros. I just purchased a 1977 Z28 camaro in fairly good condition. Ever since I got it I've been fasinated with it, I'm eager to push it to its limits and make it faster. I've been told that the 77's have catalytic converters in them, and that they seriously degrade the engines performance, is this true? If so, how can I replace this? I'm open to anything and I've got about a 1000 budget to work on it with. any help would be appreciated.
Thanks- max

chenoweth316

Those engines in themselves were not a great lot, but if you want to work with what ya got, then i'd start with headers and work your way back, a good flowing exhaust system is key to getting that engine breathing better as well as getting that air into the engine, if you look at some of my pics on my WEBSHOTS webpage, you'll see that getting air into the engine is not an issue with my nor is geting it out, i have dynomax exhaust and countless people have asked me what i have to make their's sound like mine. sneaky when i wanna be bad when i wanna be, or loud.With 1000 u can also throw in a good cam but there might be labor in it unless u wanted some experience, i did mine with my dad, loved it. Also might look at a carb, this goes with the intake section as well. Rear end gears will give you a night day difference if u make a nice jump. I went from 2.41 to 3.73 and WOW. before it felt (i thought) decent in accelerating, now the front end jerks when it shifts and the tires just chirp like a ****. Hope this gets u started.

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Vehicle- 1978 Camaro LT yellow, purple racing stripes, 350 inside, Edelbrock Intake, Edelbrock 600 cfm carb, Comp Cams Camshaft, dynomax exhaust, 3" tips, 9"x5" K&N Air Filter sticking through the hood, 3.73 Rear end gears and more to come.
Stereo-Pioneer Head Unit with 3-d dot matrix display, MTX Thunder 302, 425 watts, 2 12" Rockford Fosgates in a sealed box, 2 Crystal 6x9, and 100 watt amp for them.
Pics- www.geocities.com/chenoweth316/camaro.html
http://community.webshots.com/user/chenoweth316

[This message has been edited by chenoweth316 (edited September 11, 2002).]

70 Cam Guy

You can do quite a bit on a $1000 budget. I suggest doing a full exhaust and not just the cat. The cat is only a small slice of the restriction pie

I'd also suggest replacing the carb and intake manifold with something more efficient (better flowing) like a Edelbrock Performer and maybe a Road Demon carb.

Another option is getting some better rear end gears. The later 2nd gen Camaros came with mostly freeway gearing like 2.56:1 or 2.73:1 ratios. Something like a 3.42 or 3.73 ratio will help you pick up some acceleration but you will lose some topend. The rear gears will cost a fair amount but the pickup is a big difference

The upgrades are endless for cars like ours. Its all about how much money you want to spend. A full exhaust might with the intake/carb might put you over budget by a little bit it would make a significant difference. I suppose it also makes a difference if you can't do the work yourself

www.nastyz28.com is a great site for 2nd gen cars. They also have a good message board.

If you're concerned about smog legality, that may effect what type of exhaust you get and the type of carburator. Your car may be exempt from smog inspection but I'm not sure where you're from

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Andy
aim: Andyman350
1970 Camaro - 355ci, cam, heads, the normal stuff
pics of me and stuff

AJ1978TA

Cool, where are you from man? If you have no emissions, make sure to ditch the catlytic converter. Like everyone else said, go for an exhaust system first. I gained almost a full second in the 1/4 mile with an exhaust system alone. With a K&N filter and taking off my hood scoop, and headers and dual exhaust, I ran 15.2, as opposed to low 16s all day lol. I got a set of hooker competition headers for $140, and I had a custom 2.25" dual exhaust system made for me. It came out to about $1200....Plus the price of headers, for a shop to do it. If you can, maybe you can get a premade dual exhaust kit (ie. the piping and stuff) and have an exhaust shop do it. Ask around and see what the shop says. Your car has a fake dual exhaust system, 1 pipe that splits into 2 at the end; you need REAL dual exhaust, 2 seperate pipes, 2 mufflers as well. I have flowmaster 40 series mufflers on here. If you want loud, maybe get a 2.5" system and 1 chamber flowmaster race mufflers . But, seriously, first mods should be that exhaust system, then save up for an edelbrock intake and carb. I got the combo for about $450 if I remember correctly. This is a good start....

Here's a link with an example of the intake/carb. Since you have a camaro, parts are cheaper than my car since you have a 350 chevy engine......

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...98&prmenbr=361


http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...91&prmenbr=361


There are MANY brands out there, especially for chevy, I myself had one brand of intake manifold to choose from, whereas you have about 10 lol. These are just starters....

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...90&prmenbr=361

This dual exhaust kit is VERY cheap, so I don't know if you should stay away from it or not, but it depends on your budget and how long you need it to last......These are just some ideas.....Ask any questions you want here in the classic area....

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1978 Trans Am, Pontiac 400 + .030", milled/decked 9:1 comp., High Energy 268H cam, comp cams rr's, valve job, balanced, edelbrock intake/carb, hooker headers, dual exhaust, flowmaster 40 series 2 chambers, B&M holeshot 2000 TC, B&M ratchet shifter, and march pullies. http://www.cardomain.com/member_page...=225185&page=1

anuarism

My dad and I redid my 77 maro when i had it. Like everyone has said go with the true duels and ditch the cat. As long as you don't go to a big chain exhaust like Midas or something there should be no problem not putting the cat on. Summit has intake carb combos that are pretty decent prices. Like a Holy 650 and edelbrock intake or something. Good luck, I loved my 77.

TJS69

What motor do you have ? 305 or 350 ? Do you have a 2 or 4 Bbl. carb. on it ? If you have a 350 and a 4 Bbl. that Quadrajet isn't that bad. Keep it. I agree on exhaust, but you should be able to have a shop do it for less than $400. Besides exhaust, I would get new heads amd a small cam.

$95 heartthrob dual exhaust kit from JC whitney
$30 mufflers from Summit
$80 headers from Summit
$72 Cam and Lifters from Summit
$560 Vortech heads drilled and tapped for pre 85 intake.
$837 total $$ left over for gaskets etc.


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69 Camaro Z28 "clone" 327 AT
DAYTONA YELLOW WITH BLACK Z28 STRIPES
327 - "461" camel back heads. TRW,Edelbrock,Ultradyne,Hooker
TPI 700r4 automatic transmission

77MadMax

Ah, thanks guys, thats all been really helpful. I should mention that my 77 is an automatic (unfortunately) I'm somewhat interested in learning about if and how i could switch it to a manual, but I imagine that takes a lot of time and money. Thanks for the help guys
- max
oh, and I'm from louisville ky, and I'm not really sure on the local emission laws.

AJ1978TA

Swapping to manual is a bitch, do that a lot later on if you want. I myself have a B&M Quicksilver ratchet shifter; I can shift gears myself as I like, and hold them out as long as I would like. However, you MUST get a shift kit installed if you hold out gears a lot, because the delay between shifts at high rpm will blow the car up, it happened to me. I learned, and I will get a shift kit now. It will also be more fun, and since there is little to no downtime between shifts, the car will be quicker. They make shifters that fit right in the console, and you won't have to cut or do anything. It was very simple, and looks great. You also cannot miss a shift with a ratchet shifter. If anyone gives you crap for having an auto, they can burn in hell. With classic cars, it's not that bad.

Ls1smlblck

77MadMax: You have a lot of questions and concerns regarding your 2nd Gen. I recommend you visiting nastyz28.com and go to the message board. You'll find an endless amount of information on our cars and tips and tricks to work on that stock motor.

Trust me, I'm a memeber and those guys have helped me thousands of times.

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81Z:zz4 350, w/700r4(4L60)
3.42's, t-tops,open and sealed cowl. 81Z

R.I.P. 99Z: M6, t-tops, 3.42's,
lid, borla.

[This message has been edited by Ls1smlblck (edited September 12, 2002).]

MadMike

I like that site too.

My 1st car - brings back memories

70 Cam Guy

While I don't post on NastyZ28, I have found it to be an invaluable source of info. I've also been checking the drivetrain forum lately since I just picked up a corporate 10 bolt rear end. I also have a 4 speed that I'm going to swap in eventually

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Andy
aim: Andyman350
1970 Camaro - 355ci, cam, heads, the normal stuff
pics of me and stuff

bestracing

Since your from Louisville, Ky. You have to keep your catalitic converter installed. You have the same emission testing as we do here in N.Ky. You can go with headers and aftermarket carb/manifold but you need to keep the EGR valve and the evaporation canister and all of the vacumn systems. We dont go as far as having a CARB number for all aftermarket equipment like California but it is close. I just got done spending $40 for both of my SUVs for emissions check.

Take Care,

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Wayne Best
Best Racing
67 rs Camaro

• 355 cu in Chevy
• 12.5:1 compression
• 10.90s @ 120 mph

87 Formula 350 w/388cu.in. motor

www.geocities.com/best_racing