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America shite - 90s Camaro


DodgeRover

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Any American car is an "odd choice" on the UK market, but a Camaro less so than some.  It's a manageable size on our roads, and the V6 wouldn't be too thirsty compared to, say, a V6 Capri.  The first owner would still need to be a bit of a Yankophile though.

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Now I've looked at that, and especially the pics, I can revise my valuation.  It's worth 75p less than my Rover.

Seriously.  It's the unwanted spec (which I realise makes it gold on here) and it's fucked.  Bidding is already way above what it's worth.  That should be the price for an intact and running V6. without MoT maybe but at least viable-ish.  Assuming you can weld.

 

By all means get yourself something American, and 80s-90s should be mostly ok, but don't just leap blindly (like I do, lol).  There will be better ones than this.  Get a decent one and you'll never regret it, but get a doorstop and you always will.

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I had a V6 Firebird (ie the same car with different lights) of the same vintage and it was dogshit. Luckily I only had to own it for 8 days but, the engine was gutless beyond belief, the build quality was appaling with almost every plastic part inside broken, and as Eddy said, the rust!

 

I had noticed exhaust fumes in the cabin, and upon looking under the car i noticed that the bottom of the spare wheel well (stored upright) had rotted away completely, with the tyre tread clearly visible.

 

Run away.

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I never said they were Fiesta size, but to anyone who's had a Jag or a RWD Volvo the size won't be much of an issue.  Adjusting to LHD might be, but if I can do it, anyone can.

As for the query above about RHD....don't hold your breath.  RHD American cars are not thick on the ground, and this generation of Camaro even rarer.  I'd be surprised if you found even one. 

None of that stops me wishing you Good Luck though.

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I find the hardest bit about adjusting from LHD to RHD again is how often you have to style it out when you go to get in the wrong side of the car.

 

Otherwise i find that if i'm tired i tend to try to use a non existent gear shift located in the drivers door.

 

The other thing i've just remembered on these Firebird / Camaro models is the in-tank pump is inaccessible without either removing the rear axle and dropping the tank, or cutting an access panel in the boot floor. Our American helper had located us a V8 Firebird originally but sackednit off for the V6 when it became apparent the extent of the work that was needed to do the fuel pump.

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Oh and in regard to being a manageable size, don't underestimate how big these things are - they are not small cars.

I owned one of these (its Firebird sister actually) and it fitted in a standard UK modern garage. The dimensions were very close to my 406.  They feel bigger than they are because the hood is very long and you sit low. The interior feels wide but I presume this is because there is less crush space in the doors than current cars.

 

The V6 is slow and the handling/grip on UK roads is not great. Think Capri 1.3. The fuel injected V8 versions feel very different despite being the same car. As this is a non-running V6 in stripped condition I would expect it to be worth money for body panels only.

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I'm with the others, find a better one. With a V8 ideally. This one looks like it's going to need work and it's likely to suffer from 'the eBay effect' with its price before the end of the auction too. The price will go up is what I mean! It's not really worth it and these are fairly common yanks here and in Europe if you really fancy one.

Besides that, with that sort of car you'll always wish it was a V8.

The only thing I can think the V6 would appeal for is if your not bothered about the extra grunt and soundtrack and want a cheap(er) to run yank daily driver.

 

The good thing is though that spares supply is good for stuff like this. There's lots available both here and the states and lots of upgrades available for them too.

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I think one of these in nice condition would be a good thing- even the v6 if you can accept it not being all that fast. The ultimate shite would surely be the 2.5 4 with about 75hp. I do t think you'll find any RHD examples. I really wanted one when they were still fairly cheap but I can't get on with LHD. This looks rusty and messed about with - fucked basically.

You may be able to find a RHD Caprice or similar?

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Personally I wouldn't bother hunting down a RHD yank. If it just happens to come up when I'm looking then fine but there's nothing at all wrong with LHD over here.

A lot of the RHD conversions were pretty crudely done too. They often literally just chopped the steering column in half, welded sprockets to the cut ends and shoved the top half over to the right hand side of the car then wrapped a bike chain around the sprockets! It works perfectly fine but it's not exactly the best!

A colleague has/had a 1970 Mustang which was like this from new, sold in UK new.

 

If you do want a yank though don't rule out going to the continent to bring one back. There's loads of American cars in Europe and you can often bag a nice one cheaper than you'd get the same car for here.

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I had a V6 Firebird (ie the same car with different lights) of the same vintage and it was dogshit. Luckily I only had to own it for 8 days but, the engine was gutless beyond belief, the build quality was appaling with almost every plastic part inside broken, and as Eddy said, the rust!

 

They are fine cars with adequate build quality and the V6 is more than strong enough to outrun even

the more spirited British drivers, but then again, a Renault 4 would be fast enough for that.

 

However, like it is sadly often the case, you had a clapped out beaten up old heap and now think they are shit,

which they aren't.

 

There is no such thing as a cheap yank that is also good.

Add to this that the longer they have been in this country, the more they got bodged and improved*.

 

Look at this as an example:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/chevrolet-/222575546862

s-l1600.jpg

 

 

Once a proud RS, it's now advertised as a 1993, which it clear as pea soup is not.

My guess is it's a 1992, but that is contradicted by the lack of the 25th Anniversary badge on the dashboard,

so we would need to know the VIN in order to tell for sure. Airbag steering wheel hints at 1990 or later though.

The wheels are correct for any 1989 - 1992 RS.

 

But the real show stopper is this:

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

 

All post 1986 V8 Camaros should have TPI, so whatever it is that found its way into that poor old car

is some bodged together rubbish, resulting in low performance and high fuel consumption.

 

Yet it is claimed to be in

 

 

excellent condition runs superb

 

by the seller.

 

I call bullshit.

 

Also:

 

 

sorry forgot to mention speedo doesn't work

 

Could it be the gearbox was also swapped for something that doesn't belong in there?

In any case, a dreary DIY Punch and Judy Theatre like this shitbox isn't worth the time I just spent typing this post.

 

Don't just avoid wank like this, steer well clear of it!

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