1990 camaro wont go over 20mph haha

[DarkEcho]

I am buying this 1990 Automatic 305 V8 RS Camaro for 250$ it runs but just barely and it didnt want to go over 20 mph when i test drove it... this car is just going to be a screw around car for the ranch haulin stuff around here and therre and messin around in the dirt fields that surround my house. i want to make it go faster than 20mph tho here are the symtoms
1. hard to start, have to pedle it a little to get it to start, takes 2 tries usually
2. engine seems to rev up then die down and rev up again and die down like if each (V) is a rev, it goes
VVVVVV.V..V..V....V...V.VVVVVVVV..V....V....V.VVVV VVVV

and 3. doesnt go over 20 mph... doesnt seem to rev any higher, almost seems to not shift gears but doesnt seem like it is going to, pushing the pedal all the way down makes it almost go slower and bog it down.. he has a little slip from an auto shop that says that its a timing issue and a fewpeople told me that i could just mess with the distributor cap a little while the cars running to try and get it to run better but anything else i should look into? im thinking new plugs and wires woudl be good for it but anything else that might be causing its extreme lack of power?
THANKS!!

[HBHRacing]

sounds like a fuel pressure and or cloged cat issue to me.

[1DangerousV6]

hmmm..i remember i had an 85 Celebrity in highschool and i broke the cable that runs from the shifter to the tranny and it got stuck in first and it acted the EXACT same way

[Fredless]

Do a full tune up on it and change the fuel filter. Also get a new cap/rotor with the plugs and wires...also BUY a timing light and SET IT CORRECTLY. On my 92 RS with that same motor, it was supposed to be at 0* TDC. I set it at 2* advanced and it ran like a champ.

Get a distributor wrench or if you're talented, 9/16" crescent wrench and unscrew the hold down bolt to where you can turn the distributor cap. Make sure you disconnect the ECM advance from the distributor, you'll see it to the left of the dizzy...COUNTERCLOCKWISE advances the timing and clockwise retards it. Once you get it set around 2* or 4* advanced, tighten the bolt back down and shut the car off. Plug in that connector again and run the car, see how it reacts. If it knocks to much at 4* (which it shouldn't) retard it back to 2*.

It also sounds like the transmission TV detent cable is messed up, also could be a TPS.

Its a SBC, so any problems are cheaply and easily fixed. Hell if worse comes to worse, find some other 305 for like 200 bucks.

When I got rid of my L03, I put it in the paper for 50 dollars - you come and take it. The L03 motor in that car has to be one of the worst performing motor that GM ever made...the peanut cam and the heads are a joke. Right along the lines of the Olds 307.

You can run it into the ground like you want, TBI is really reliable and cheap to maintain. You got a great deal on that car. Hearing a story like this makes me want to buy a turdgen to rag on. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ August 11, 2005, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: Fredless ]

[DarkEcho]

hahah wow thanks a lot!, well this guy seems pretty willing to get rid of it and im not paying anything over 250. I am going to have him drive it over to my work where i can tinker with it till it runs good enough to drive all the way home... why do i need to BUY a timing gun? cant i just rent it?
thanks agian!

[DarkEcho]

hey i just thought of something great! instead of putting the camaro down as a NOn-op, I could get it running and smogged, then put it on my insurance as my primary vehicle and the firebird as a secondary! that would probably lower my insurance a good deal!

i have no tickets or anything and i pay out the nose for insurance as an 18 year old right now.

i need to get this car back to my place and get it smoggable!!!!

[Fredless]

Spend the 29.99 on a timing gun...its getting harder and harder to find friends & neighbors with them nowdays because everything is going direct ignition.

Should be relatively easy with TBI to get it smoggable...EGR's are like 40 bucks, make sure the smog pump works...the 20 dollar O2 sensor is new...etc..

Good luck.

[DarkEcho]

i might be able to borrow one from autozone, they lend you stuff if u put a deposit and then give you your money back when u return it...

this will be fun, hopefully getting it smogged will be easy.. im just hoping that the timing and other things arent off because of the heavy damage sustained during the wrecks! then it might not be such an easy thing to fix... i just think it needs some tuning and tweaking and this guy doesnt know how to do it and just thinks the car is crap
thanks!

[jessica2112]

Originally posted by Fredless:
Do a full tune up on it and change the fuel filter. Also get a new cap/rotor with the plugs and wires...also BUY a timing light and SET IT CORRECTLY. On my 92 RS with that same motor, it was supposed to be at 0* TDC. I set it at 2* advanced and it ran like a champ.

Get a distributor wrench or if you're talented, 9/16" crescent wrench and unscrew the hold down bolt to where you can turn the distributor cap. Make sure you disconnect the ECM advance from the distributor, you'll see it to the left of the dizzy...COUNTERCLOCKWISE advances the timing and clockwise retards it. Once you get it set around 2* or 4* advanced, tighten the bolt back down and shut the car off. Plug in that connector again and run the car, see how it reacts. If it knocks to much at 4* (which it shouldn't) retard it back to 2*.

It also sounds like the transmission TV detent cable is messed up, also could be a TPS.

Its a SBC, so any problems are cheaply and easily fixed. Hell if worse comes to worse, find some other 305 for like 200 bucks.

When I got rid of my L03, I put it in the paper for 50 dollars - you come and take it. The L03 motor in that car has to be one of the worst performing motor that GM ever made...the peanut cam and the heads are a joke. Right along the lines of the Olds 307.

You can run it into the ground like you want, TBI is really reliable and cheap to maintain. You got a great deal on that car. Hearing a story like this makes me want to buy a turdgen to rag on. [img]smile.gif[/img]

^

^What he said [img]smile.gif[/img] I love this place!

[Fredless]

Let me know how it goes. My 1992 RS was my second car, I got it my junior year of high school and it was my "break in" car where I just started tinkering with stuff and learned a lot. A friend and I swapped in the GMPP 350 H.O. crate motor in it june 2003 a month after I graduated. I pretty much know those cars inside and out.

[DarkEcho]

I BOUGHT IT! ahha i bought it got the bill of sale and the pinky signed, had my friend illegally drive it to my work about 10 miles away (he owed me big time haha thankfully no cops were around ahha)

he reported that it did infact shift, he says he probably got it to third max, he was going pretty light on it... ill get some pix tomarrow. its not that bad really. he says that when you rev the engine, the oil pressure doesnt move much and it stays right around a little under 30psi.... he says that the transmission clunked around a lot when you put it into reverse and drive its noticeable...

you guys have any idea if the tranny is about to go out or is this "normal" and will it last? im thinking of messing with it just enough to get the engine running better then selling it for some profit but i would REALLY love to have a junker to mess around with on the property... only question now is 1. how do i get it home cheaply haha and 2. is it about to crap out or will it run for a while with some tinkering!?

thanks a lot fredless!

[Fredless]

Do the tune up first then report back. To keep the oil PSI up, run some heavier weight oil in it like 20-50.

The 700-R4 is probably shot. If its still pulling that crap, worse comes to worse, get a rebuilt 700-R4 for like 400 bucks.

Like I mentioned, if you do the work yourself, worst case scenario, for 1000 or less you could have one hell of a beater to junk around in.

[DarkEcho]

i got some pictures to post of the camaro heheh..

http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/upload...kecho/3323.JPG

http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/upload...naro%20008.JPG

http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/upload...o%20008323.JPG

http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/upload...echo/end23.JPG

[jessica2112]

Looks just like the 92 RS I had, but mine was a 3.1. Sweet deal you got! Congrads.

[DarkEcho]

i just drove it to get gas [img]smile.gif[/img] this thing is awesome!!!! once i got gas i could feel it stronger... although i think that the timing needs to be fixed (hopefully thats the problem) cause when i push too much gas the engine just stops trying to go at all.. almost like i let off the gas...anyways... how do i use an analog timing light?