sbca96

Two weeks ago when my wifes Camaro SS needed to be towed home 100 miles
when the fuel pump died, some research showed that dropping the entire rear
end wasnt needed, some people were cutting holes. Didnt take long to decide
that was the way to go. Using a dremel and reinforced cut off wheels I cut a
hole in the location shown below. This location is DIFFERENT than the 1993 to
1998 Camaros, that fuel pump is further forward, and I have proof.

I bought an AC Delco and was upset to see that I needed to cut the harness
to install a new connector? After complaining a while I just did it, solder, heat
shrink and sealant inside the heat shrink for a water block. Knocking the lock
ring took some effort. A suggestion, DONT disconnect the fuel lines until you
have got the lock ring free (in case of sparks while hitting it). When using the
cut off wheel, try to cut ALMOST through the material, and move on, then use
quick drops to limit sparks from falling through the open gap, cut so that sparks
shoot AWAY from the gap .. when doing this you will get the hang of it. Keep
in mind there is FUEL nearby and FUEL is flammable!

I decided to round the corners. New pump and connector.



I happened to have a red 1994 Firebird parts car in the back yard, so I used
the piece I cut from the SS to scribe a piece 1 inch larger all around. Notice
the location of the earlier pump vs the later one.



Here is the removed piece from each car.



I cleaned the body putty off, and painted the exposed surface with some of
the red Krylon I had left over from the '86 IROC underhood touchup.



Carefully chose hole locations that would not interfere with plastic hoses or a
plastic tank quite close in many areas.





Trap door from Firebird ready to go.



Ultra black to give a good seal.



Door screwed in place with screws cut short.





Tom

JakeRobb

Nice work!

I'm assuming the pump location changed when they switched from the metal to the plastic tank, which I think was 1998.

sbca96

Thats what I assumed too, but maybe someone that has a '98 can chime in.
From what I have read, 1999 was the first year of the larger plastic tank. In
1998 they had the LS1, with the metal smaller tank.

Thanks for the compliment, I am happy with how it came out.

Tom

Injuneer

I'll "sticky" this if it's OK with you.

Good job. I like the radiused corners. Great way to prevent cracking from stress risers in the corners.

sbca96

Feel free to "sticky" it, I am sure more and more people will be diving in. I know
that not everyone has a replacement floor sitting around, but salvage yards do.
If you want the clean look, a piece of metal formed with vice grips, or just flat
can work too. I wanted it to drop into the two channels to keep the lid stiff. I
agree on the stress risers, that is the main reason I did it. I honestly doubt it is
a serious problem, but why risk it?

Tom

grumpy Z

This is the cleanest trap I've seen done! There's an older thread on this subject and most of those guys butchered and hacked their cars! Great job on a shortcut done RIGHT!

TRIXSTA

I have a 98 and I have a small plastic trunk

berkman

Thanks for the " trap door " tip; I just completed the job.

All went well...esp thanks for the GREAT pictures. burke

Injuneer

A small plastic "trunk" ???????

Injuneer

From the 4th Gen FAQ:

GaryDoug

My 1998 T/A, built in January of 98, definitely has the metal tank. My owners manual says its 15.5 gallons, but I can't really confirm that.

berkman

Gentlemen...thank you..I did the trap door...trivial fuel module replace; compared to 'factory' remove-the-lining-from-you-wallet technique in shop manual. Thanks again walt

sbca96

Hey guys/gals ... glad to see this is still helping people out. Granted not all
people will have a parts car laying around (even red!) but these cars are in
salvage yards everywhere now and this area of the car will be useable on I'd
say about 98% of wrecks.

Tom