newbie here about camaro engine

hi im only 14 and plan to buy a car this summer...i want to buy a 1970 camaro and buy a new engine and headers and stuff from jegs and build it with my dad. i really need someone to explain to me what i need for the engines from jegs...

i was looking at the "Deluxe HO engine with 64cc chamber Iron Vortec Heads" from jegs...it a 330HP.....is this a good engine??? how fast in speed is it???....i also want to get new headers....do i need a specific kind a headers??? like 70 camaro?? or SBC???

please help me get to know how all this works and what else i ened to know to biuld my car...:) thanx guys

Create motor from jegs is great.
As for headers you have to get the ones for your car. for you it would be a 1970 SBC Camaro.
Speed well that all depends on what tranny and rear end you have.

First thing you got to figure out is what do you want your car to do? street or strip... from there you build accordingly

o yes i forgot to add that....this is gonna be an everyday street car....so im gonna need it to handle well enough and not have crap parts in it to crap out on me....

im planning on getting that engine only because it had holley carb and iron heads and evrything already with it...i really dont have to buy much other then that and few other things...i also plan to get the new headers...so u think i should get a whole new exhaust system???? i was planning to... also if i need it new trans..

also sry but what do u mean by rear end??? will ahve to change anything on that??

nice overall idea man, i always had a hard on for the 1970 camaro with the LT1 and the split front bumper. but you are square on with your idea of the 70 with the Vortec headed small block. 330hp is plenty for your first outing. you would have to look at milage and condition of your trans and rear end to see if they need any attention. if they are ok, dont worry about it. i mean, a posi rear end is always a good idea, and if you live around snow or rain, they are a worth while investment. and a trans rebuild is always a good idea, a kit from B&M is a great idea. but with a 30 year old car, i would reccomend suspension upgrades, eibach springs, edelbrock IAS shocks, newer, bigger tires, say, 245/50R16's all the way around. on 16x8 in rims. the exhaust is up to you. the vortec heads love good airflow, the stock exhaust will be slightly restrictive. so an aftermarket one is always a good idea, but it all depends on the money you have. the crate engine is a great start. and will respond extreamly well to mods, say an xtream energy cam, porting and polishing, and stuffing them with oversize 2.02/1.6in valves. edelbrock performer RPM manifold and a 750cfm carb. upgrading the brakes with aftermarket four wheel disk brakes will be a very good idea. but thats all down the road. i think that the crate engine in the 70 camaro iis a great start, well balanced, and still fun. very nice choice i have to say.

First of all....Good luck trying to find a 70 Camaro. I found my 79 tottally on accident. And if its in any good shape what so ever, its gonna coast a few. If its a hunk of junk that you get for a couple hundred bucks, then your gonna spend even more money on interior, exterior, body parts ect... I say buy a 3rd gen like 89IROC&RS has and work on that. Those are alot easyer to find. And you could find a pretty good one for not that much. Finding a decent 70....even if you do its wheel wells/sub frame is more than likely starting to rot. Thats where they tend to get it the most...Mines a beaut, and it was pure luck on my part... Like winning the lottery lol

you can get headers from Advanced Auto Parts for like $99 bucks. There Flowmaster wich are pretty good. Just go there and tell 'em what you got and they'll help you out. I'm giving up on buying exhaust for mine, I'm just gonna make the exhaust myself at school. Get a creat engine. I hope you and your dad are rich...

ok well now that u sed that im 50/50.....please people give me ur thoughts on wut i should do...is till want to get a 1970 camaro...but he(^^) sed im gonna have to do alotta work....i plan on it..i want to do it all over the summer...

but should i get it or???? what do u guys think???

owning a camaro period is a wonderful thing, no matter what year, so do this, find about 3 different ones that are in your price range, and get the one that's in the best condition and needs less money put into it, that way you won't have any regrets.

personally I would go with a 3rd gen. A crate engine will eat a 16 year old out of house and home. no gas mileage.

3rd gen is wut years?? ill start to look into that once u give me the years....i just wnated a 1970 camareo because it looks so nice....but if i look around and like something else then i will look into it...so what yearsd are they??

3rd gens are 82-92 my friend. I would be a little cautious building up a 70 camaro for your first ride. 1, insurance, if you are riding around in a hotrod that is worth 10-15k then expect to pay quite a bit. 2, wrecking, most teenagers will end up wrecking/damaging their first car, do you really want to put all kinds of money into a car and then end up hurting it? Do you trust yourself with 330hp? Don't deny you will hammer that mofo every chance you gey :evillol: that is unless you baby it and keep it under 3000rpm all the time. If you do get one, be careful, we don't want to lose any more camaros err... teens than we already have.

o beleive me...once in a while i prolly will get up on it...but im not liek most teens..ive very veyr respocible for my age.....wuty do u think the frame and things will be good as long as i take my time and pick a good one??? because i dont want to spend 2,000 an frame and have a break on me...lol

thanks for the help guys....

the most important thing to remember, when buying any car, not just a camaro, is to do your research. go into it with the plan of knowing more about the car than the owner does. find out what all the build codes mean, and decode them in front of the owner, checking to make sure that, if it says it has a rear defogger, that the rear widnow has a defogger in it. that kinda stuff. if it is at all possible put it up on a lift, check all the suspension, look at the underbody for damage, for rust, heaven forbid, missing parts lol. and if youve done your homework well enough, you should have a spiral notebook of facts, figures, and numbers to check against the car. make alist of things to look at, especially if you have to drive it home. check the oil, belts, test drive it and listen for squeeks rattles or thunks. oh and do the test drive before the lift, so you can look at all the areas the noises were comeing from and look for trouble. shop around, get an idea of fair pricing, that way you can negociate, bring print outs of cars for sale, so you can show the seller, and be like, a car in this condition, with these options, sells for this much, your asking this much, will you take this much, that kinda stuff. i talked my IROC down from 2800 to 2300 that way. the 500 bucks i saved will cover the price of new brakes all the way round the car, all four rotors, and all the pads for all four sides, which are desperaetly needed.

now, as far as the third gen delema. its one of those things where you gonna have to show how more mature you are than your age. my dream car, and the one i was hard headedly shopping for when i found my RS, was a 1970 Chevelle. want one bad to this day. but the cheapest one in decent condition that i could drive every day, would be 12,000. found the RS for 3000. beter gas mileage, safer on the road, better handling, more options, better daily driver, and for 1/4 the purchase price. third gen camaros are amazing performance platforms. older cars are not. first time i took a 1978 Z28 for a spin, thought i was gonna kill myself, it was pretty quick strait line, but the first time i took a turn, thought she would roll on me. IROC went through twisty mountain roads one handed at 100mph with no noticable body roll, and thats stock. so you can always do the right thing now, buy the cheaper, better, newer car, and then when you get older and have a wife to give you a hard time about it, buy the older hot rod :)

if i wasnt to get the 1970 camaro....what year would u recommend to me?? in recent years that is...???

oh and if your interested, the black RS you see in my sig is now for sale. ive had it four years, maintained it with all AC delco parts, im a chevy tech, did all work myself, has a one year old jasper rebuilt engine in it. needs a trans rebuild, but still runs just fine. oh and there is a lincoln shaped dent in the driver side of the car. lol. needs a new driver side door, and rear driver side quarter panel. it drives just fine, passes inspection, and emmissions, door opens and closes, just kinda a eyesore to someone who loves the car as much as i do. only reason im selling is cuz now i have the IROC and i cant afford to keep both. or repair the RS righ now for that matter. so shes gotta go. if your interested, PM me your email address, and ill send you pics of the damage.

i would personaly reccomend a 89-92 camaro, they have all the newer options and improvements over the older third gens from 82-88. but they are great platforms as well. i personally do not like the LT1 camaros, but thats just me. i dont trust the optispark, thats what it boils down to. but if you can find a cheap LS1 camaro, jump on it.

naa sry....im really into the muscle car look...thats why i wnated the 1970 camaro and i wanted to do some of the work on it myself...but the newer recent camaro's i really dont like..i only like the older ones...but most people here say u need alotta money to fix it up and change everything over to new.....so now im kinda thinking about it again...very upset so i dont know wut i want to do...ive told all my friends...yeah yeah im getting 1970 camaro and rebiulding it....but now i dont think i can...

well like i said, do your own research, get your own feel for prices. if you avoid buying cars from the north east (the rustbelt) and go for something from the midwest, to the south. then youll probly be ok. like i said before, a 70 camaro with the vortec headed crate engine is an awesome setup. but i would personally recomend all the suspension upgrades. and that costs money. so its just the world of the hobby, its an expencive one. and all cars have their troubles. just make sure you cover all your bases, it might take a year to find the car you want, and wont bite you when you get it home. but so long as you look everything over, know what it is your looking at, and approach it from a logical standpoint rather than an emmotional one. a 1970 camaro is very doable. hit up these websites for an idea of pricing and what is out there.
ebay.com
cars-on-line.com
traderonline.com
camaro.net
those should give ya a good start. dont let anyone here scare ya out of what you want to do. we all just giving out two cents is all.

what do u think about the 1970-71 camaro's as to the work that needs to be put into the car....liek how much do u think all the suspension and stuff liek that would cost???.im trying to find one with a solid body and decently good engine....so i could get the other important stuff i need then go for the new engine..

wise call. as far as suspension, i think you could start light, posi rear, got my torsen with gears on ebay for 195 bucks, dont konw if you could hit the same deal. shocks, springs would set ya back like 500-800 bucks. i think, im not sure on that one. fatter anti roll bars, probly 400-500, rims and tires, personal call, depends on the size and maker of the rims, and same with the tires. so youll have to look into that one. i think that those mods would make it far more liveable on the street. follow with a set of disk brakes, i have no clue how much a retrofit kit would cost on that one, sorry. after all that, i think the 330hp crate engine would be much more fun. not fun to go fast, and not be able to control it, alot of fun to go fast, and know you aint gonna kill yourself ;)

and i plan on buying alot of things from jegs...i have to actually get the things to fit the right ype..liek 1970-71 camaro...right??? sry for all these questions....but i ahve to ask so i can learn...thanx
i mean when ur tlkaing about all this posi rear and stuff i ahve no clue...i know its the axle but nothing more or what it does..haha..sry

ive made up my mind....im gonna go with either a 1971 or 1973 camaro....im only 14 and live in jersey..legal driving age is 17....so i still ahve a while to drive and i can put a lot of work into it..

so first im gonna get the car...new suspenion shocks...that stuff

then im gonna get tired and rims...

then im gonna get engine headers and new exhaust....

then new guages..and little stuff....
and if i need to reinforce the body i will weld some more metal to the frame??? would that be a good idea or no????

so hows my plan????

and i plan on buying alot of things from jegs...i have to actually get the things to fit the right ype..liek 1970-71 camaro...right??? sry for all these questions....but i ahve to ask so i can learn...thanx
i mean when ur tlkaing about all this posi rear and stuff i ahve no clue...i know its the axle but nothing more or what it does..haha..sry


The only advise I can give you is not to limit yourself to Jegs and shop around before you buy. I bought my 900$ turbo for 356 because I shoped around and waited. Just be patience *sp* and keep your eyes open.

Dude I told you, a 82-92 just like every one elese is.
I have a 79, and you dont listen to me...

(Oh yeah, 89. You could tip an older Camaro pretty easy. They dont have the performance chassies/suspenion)

personally i'd get a 3rd gen, there easier to find. and if your gonna use this for a daily driver you'll probly want something with better drivability. the older vehicles tend to have wear and tear from the years such as, lose steering noisy drivetrain and suspension etc. and i love the way 3rd gen's handle, and they sit lower to the ground then the first and second gens. 3rd gens also have other benefits like fuel injection, overdrive, and luxury. But a 1970 build up would be cool if you got the $, and they also tend to turn a few more heads. But as for this over the summer build up idea, you'd be suprised how long it takes to do something like that, especially when you come across road blocks along the way. but good luck

lol, ok first off, dont apologize for asking questions, thats what were all here for. so its no trouble, if i was getting annoyed, id tell ya ;) but i think youve got a solid plan, dont get me wrong, i agree with the other guys that third gens are better all around, and are cheaper, but a car is always a personal thing, you like the second gens better, so get what you want. why settle for something else right??? i learned to drive in a 1977 olds delta 88, stepping up to the camaro was amazing after that. lol. and yeah, jegs is a very good place for parts, prices are very fair, and no shipping. but dont forget EBAY, ive gotten quite a few things from there. and deals are amazing. as far as adding metal to the frame, i would leave that to someone who knows what they are doing. welding in subframe connectors, steering braces and roll cages all stiffen the body and improve handling, but its really not something an amature should try on his own. im pretty into this car stuff, and thats something i would definately take to a shop and have professionally done. thats my two cents on that.

ok thanx for all the suggestions.....just one last question....is there any all make or model of a car that still has the old muscle car look but it is recent and has all of the recent new features???? cause thats wut im really after....thanx a whole lot



nice...ive just been looking around on ebaymotors and found something.....what do u think of the 1987 camaro...i liek that...does it come with posi traction and hows the suspension and stuff....any ideas on it???? if i could get a more muscle car look i will with another car but thats what ive found...

4th gen look just as much as muscle cars as any other camaro(and probably turn more heads around here), but unless u can find one with a v8 cheap, forget it, get a 3rd gen. their a pain in the ass, but can be a lot of fun with a 5 speed. don't be fooled by the sleek lines, 4th generations got as much muscle as any other camaro, if not more.

chnaged my mind again....this is my final thought...i want to get a 1995 camaro z28......it looks awesome...and comes V8 so it has power...does it come with all the recent features...posi traction...OD and everythihng else....tell me ur guys imput..thanx...i want to here what u think about it

atta boy.... good choice, old cars break down a lot. lol, i drove my friends 84 camaro for 3 days and that was enuff trouble for me... every day some new shit happens.. i imagine what '70 would be like. does the 95 z28 have t-tops? you'll want one of those...

yeah it has t-tops..i just didnt think u guys would wnt to know.....lol

if anyone has ever drove of of these i would liek to know how they handle????.wut goodies they come with???.how much power they have???.will i have to do much upgrades to them??? just want to get all the information i can...thanx guys....

good choice???

actually im debating between 94 or 95 camaro....i dont know which one..ill have to see whiuch one has more goodies,,,:)

lol, dude, once you drive a car with t-tops, its all youl ever want to drive. after the RS with them, it was one of my selling factors. wasnt gonna buy one without them :)
but good choice on the 95 Z, i think your going to find it a much better fit for your needs, especially as a first car.

it handles like on rails, and if it slips its easy to control. its a much better choice for u, i think what 89iroc&rs meant by saying its a better choice for a first car is that its safer than an old car (dual airbags and antilock brakes). not necessarily the best first car, something a little less powerful would be better for starters. the t-tops... well... you'll see for yourself... i like t-tops better than convertibles cuz it maintains the shape of a coupe and still opens the car up like a convertible. i have a 94 camaro w/ t-tops(first car) and am getting a 93 z28. ur gonna like having ppl run up to ur car, knock on ur window and ask u if your car's for sale.

what things could i ad to this one??? liek what could i add under the hood to make it more HP or more handable or more good looking???

Camaros handle good pretty much anytime as long as your not in the snow. Stay outta the snow and you wont need to worry about handeling. Engine paint or crome parts to make it looking better, make sure you degrease it though if your gonna try painting it. Horse Power= K&N Air Filter, new spark plugs and wires if needed. But I dont know much about the newer camaros.

yeah..92's are good at handling, but not in the snow..I worked at a ski resort last year and driving that damn car up the driveway everyday was no fun. handled ok on the road as long as you were in first gear. got stuck in the parking lot with less than an inch on the ground and the snowboarders were nice enough to push me out...great employee impression!

ok well thanx guys for all ur help...ill be doing some reseach on the car.....if guys can think of any other things that i should deffinetly change then please tell me...i just wanted to thank u guysb alot for all ur help...i know i had many questions but know at least i know some things...

if u could just think of anything i deffinetly should change then tell me please??? thanx guys..

oops...one more question.....the engine in a 94 camaro is a V8....this isnt a smallblock engine...right?? or anything?? if it isnt how do i know wut are the right aluminum heads are right for it????

cause i want to get new heads, headers, exuhaut and other little things for it....

It's a small block, my 305 is a small block. I think small block goes all the way up to 400.

is anyone else certain that it is a smallblock????

yeah it is a smallblock, however there are subtle differences, its not a "smallblock" like you would find in a 55 chevy, or a 89 camaro, its an LT-1, which has reverse flow cooling, a different flywheel, different intake, however the heads, block, and internal dimentions are the same. performance parts are very easy to find, from spark plugs to supercharger setups, just do a little homework. all the old school power adders, much the same stuff we were telling you for the 70 camaro, are still viable for the 94, only difference, is that for any major changes, such as a wild cam, high flow heads, or forced induction, and you have to reprogram the computer, or get a custom chip burned for your application. you can do anything you want to it, so long as you work with the computer, rather than against it, to make it happen. but aside from that, its really no different than hot rodding the 1970 camaro. just newer tech to adapt to. but yeah, it is a small block, its the GEN II small block, where as the older was the GEN I, and the LS1 is the GEN III. interior dimentions are a 4in bore and a 3.48in stroke.

oh and yeah, camaros stong suit does not have anything to do with snow. they can take it, if you driev in 1st and 2nd, and keep your foot off the gas. but going around turns, and accelerating to speed, the ass end fishtails and goes nuts. its controlable, alot of fun actually, but you tend to piss off everyone around you, and attract alot of attention from the fuzz :)

ok so if i get a 94 camaro...keep the engine...i can get these aluminum heads???
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=1249&prmenbr=361
the 3rd one down..LT-1 peformer heads

and what about headers??? which ones do u think i should get???? and exhaust system????


just looking for ideas and making sure things will fit...and im only looking on jegs b.c i ahve a catolage of them....thanxs for information and replies

yeah, those LT1 heads would work, im not sure if they are the best option or not, dont know alot about LT1 performance availability and stuff, but those would work. as far as headers, edelbrock makes TES systems which are 50 state legal, but the primary tubes are a bit small, the ones for my TPI are 1.5inches, trylooking at dynatech, and dynomax, headman, they all should have offerings for a LT1, exhaust, flowmaster, borla, magnaflow, all good choices, youd have to go to the websites and choose for yourself what system sounds best to you. flowmaster for instance, alot of guys love the 40 seriese i preferr the 80 series, some like dual chamber, some like single chamber, it all comes down to personal taste, and no one can tell you what you like or not. for the fourth gen i will continue to tell people about, even though its a 700 dollar system, the GMMG chambered exhaust system, using two stock replacement 1969 camaro pinched tube resonators for mufflers. its a cat back system, that spits and has the two mufflers in the stock location, and two pipes out the back, meanest sounding exhaust on a fourth gen i have ever heard. as far as heads, you could also look into LT4 heads, cam, and intake, its a very popular swap, and worth alot of power. dont know about cost, or exactly how much power though.

ok ive been looking at everything that uve mentioned above...do u think it would be better to get two seperate headers that go to two seperate exhausts???....or the one that u shower that combines into 1???

cause if i get the two serperate i cant get the GMMG system..right???

who makes that system anyway??? ive searched it but cant find it
i mean i know cat-back but i cant find it on jegs....

well, i would reccomend the headers with a Y-pipe into a single cat, and a single pipe back to the muffler, alla the stock setup. true duals i would not reccomend for this application. now if you were to do a true dual setup, you could do it any way you like, such as using the same chambered exhaust mufflers as the GMMG setup, so you wouldnt need their system. but if you go the route of the GMMG single pipe back, like the stock setup, i can give you the email address to the company that sells it. the company is GMMG inc. they made the exhaust for the 2002 berger camaros. and now sell it as an aftermarket peice. let me get back to you on that email.

i am prolly gonna go with the suggestions that u gave me...the edlebrock headers that go into Y setup with the GMMG setup...that thing should be angry then...right??? it does sound liek a muscle car...right??? not like a rally car...dont want that...i want muscle sound..:)

then after ill ahve to wait a little and get heads after that....and those TES headers will fit into the hbeads of the (smallblock) 5.7 L right??? cause ive seen different setup mounts....like 1 1 1 1.....or its 1 2 1...i dont get the difference but w.e...

thanx for all the help 89IROC!!!!

glad to be of assistance, and yes, it sounds very mean, i met Mr. Barker, the guy responceabe for the berger camaros at a camaro show in Va beach, and he started up his personal berger camaro for me, reved it up, and later that day entered the burn out competition, that camaro was freaking mean sounding, i loved it. definately does not sound like a rally car. as far as the fit of the TES headers, they are application specific, go to edelbrock.com, go to exhaust, TES headers, and scroll down the application chart, you should be able to find the application for your vehicle. oh and good choice on the GMMG setup, i will be very jealous ;) as far as different mounting for the exhaust pipes, as far as 0 0 0 0 or 0 00 0 the difference is a big block and a small block. all small blocks (except the LS1 engines which have evenly spaced ports) have the two ports in the center, and two on the outside, while big blocks have evenly spaced ports.

oooooooooo thanx for the information...i kept looking at catologes thinking wut if i got the wrong one and now i now i cant......i love learning things...thanxx for the information...

and the 94 CAMARO Z28 is a smallblock V8.....right????

ill get those things i posted above and i should have a nice sounding, and good looking car...right????

thanx man

lol, we all learn something new every day ;) but yes, the 94 camaro Z28 is definately a small block, an LT1. make sure that any small block parts you buy are for an LT1 or a Gen II small block. as far as the parts your talking about, no it will not be a nice sounding car, it will be mean as hell, and women and children will get off the streets as you drive past :) but then again, thats what your after right????? ;)

how would i know that its for a gen II smallblock?? years???

and one more thing ive just been wondering....are the headers and exhaust system liek custom fit to w.e car....like will i have to cut anything or will they just bolt right on???

:) and hell yeah that sound is wut im after...lol i live in new jersey and many people to screw around with here...heh

[email protected]

thats the email for the exhaust system, Laurie is the name of the sweet little thing i talked to, very nice, very helpful. you might ask for her, or this might be her direct email, im not sure. i think they quoted me 700 for the exhaust, and 150 extra for the oval cut tips. but that was two years ago i think so price may have changed. good luck.

wut about the gen II smallblock for getting parts??? what years is that??

thanx for the email...those prices are the same too...i checked on the GMMG inc website

after u look at the post above can u answer this question....these heads are expensive but are soppose to be good from wut ive read...here is the site...
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=1249&prmenbr=361
the 3rd one down from the top...>>92-97 LT1 performer heads....these will work right??????? and are these good ones to get........says they increase horsepower so i guess there good...

if i got these heads would i need to get any other components to make them work properly?????
thanx guys

the gen II is from 93 to 97 i believe. the heads you are looking at are good choices, there are better, but they are more expencive. but dont worry, no matter what you get, there is always something better, so i would go with those you are looking at. although i offer a suggestion, dont take advertising at face value, just cuz it says it makes more power, dosnt mean it does. always do everything you can to research it, and find numbers. for instance, on a L98 TPI engine, the vortec heads and SDPC baseplate, are worth 40hp. so i can justify the 400 bucks for the intake. if i didnt know that it was effective, i wouldnt pay for it. in this case im pretty sure that they are worth the money, but just something to think about.

oh and just saw the question about the headers and exhaust, as far as the edelbrock TES headers, they are bolt in, they shouldnt need any modifications. ive looked mine over, and they have all the factory mounting locations for holes and mounts, like AIR and O2 sensors. as far as the GMMG exhaust, you would have to ask them. i remember that they told me to put it in my third gen, there would have to be small modifications that any exhaust shop could do. but for the fourth gen camaros, it should be a no brainer.

Speaking of heads, I have a pair of original Lingenfelter IROC heads. It looks like they have mild porting. Is there anything special about these heads, if anything at all?
---TEX---

i have really dounf any different ebtween the two.....but which wouldd u recommend...

94 camaro z28

OR

95 camaro z28

would would u get???? on ebay theres more 94's but i sorta liek the 95 better.....what would u egt and what are some better goodies that come woith wut u pick???? thanx guys

My wife bought a 94 when they first came out. It was in the shop several times for a noisy rear axle and electrical probs. They finally gave us a good trade in price and a discount on a 95 t-top w/leather. Had no complaints on the 2nd. one. ran good too.
---TEX---

if i get a pair of those world products torquer 305 heads, are they already ported and polished, or does that need to be done to them after purchase?