Rich Hydzik 's 76 Camaro LT Page
Family Updates - Updated 10/21/2007
The Interior Reconstruction (2002)
The Engine Rebuild (2003-2004)
The 3.42 Posi Rearend (2005-2006)
My Camaro is a 1976 LT. I have had it since 1987. It originally came with a 2 bbl 305. It is a Rally Sport, so it had the two tone paint which featured the flat black hood and roof, with red on the rest of the car. I drove it for one year with the 305 before it died. When I got it, I didn't know much about cars, and being in college at the time, didn't have much money to spend on it anyway. After I finished college, I slowly began to tinker with it. Small things at first, then a little more.
The car was originally equipped with:
Along the way, it has picked up a few modifications.
1988
1991
1992
1993
1994
1996
1998
1999
2000
Added 8/20/2000
I have been thinking about steeper gears. I realize that 2.73's are really wuss gears, but I have done a fair amount of highway driving this year. At 70 mph, I am turning 2800-2900 rpm. That is about as high as I want to go for interstate driving. If I arbitrarily limit my rpm to 3000 for cruising, my speed limit is about 75 mph. That seems pretty reasonable. The speed limit is 70 in Washington, and 75 in Idaho.
I found out this weekend that my AC still works very well. We took a 300 mile trip through the desert in complete quiet and comfort. I must admit, this is only the second time since I have owned the car that I have used it, other than to run it once in a while to be sure that it is fully functional. Worked good, hopefully lasts a long time. The only downside;18 mpg without it, 15.5 mpg with it on (70-75 mph cruising).
2001
2002
Interior (The Interior Reconstruction)
2003
Things really fell apart in 2003. I have had a low oil pressure problem for a while. When warm, there was only 9-11 psi of oil pressure, and it never went over 35-40 psi at high throttle. I was tempted to let this slide, but when I did my spring oil change, I noticed coolant in the oil. After tearing into the engine, it became obvious that it was coming from the drivers side head gasket. At this point, I decided to pull the engine for a more thorough inspection. This led to a rebuild, which I still have not completed (7/5/03). Also this year, I purchased a set of SLP takeoff Firebird rims with 245/50ZR16 Goodyear GSC's. I drove these around the block before the engine rebuild began. I used 1.75 inch spacers in front and 2.00 inch spacers in the rear with these wheels. I think they look pretty good on the car. Pictures will follow soon.
The engine rebuild has become a 2004 effort as well. I got it back together and still had low oil pressure problems. A teardown indicated more coolant in the oil, and a further investigation revealed a hairline crack in the lifter valley. Work continues with a new block.
2004
Engine is done. All is good.....so far. I added a couple of other things to the car. I decided not to use the Firebird takeoff wheels.
2005 - 2006
I finally decided to upgrade the rear end. I had been collecting parts for a while. I managed to acquire an Eaton posi differential and a set of used 3.42 gears. They were purchased used, so they were reasonably priced. However, this project quickly became expensive for several reasons. It also provided a fantastic opportunity to learn some new skills. This is detailed on the rearend rebuild link above. However, as of April 1, 2006, I now have a 3.42 posi rearend. I am not sure I agree with the consensus that these are freeway friendly gears, but they have definitely given the car a new personality. I am not sure I should call it Old School, now it is more like the Chainsaw.
I decided to remove the 7/8 inch rear sway bar. It seems to be too much bar for the springs. The springs are upgraded to 127 pounds per inch (97 is stock), and have polyurethane bushings. Each of these things, by itself, tends to reduce the need for a rear sway bar. The independent action of the rear end has been compromised by the large rear bar. I had considered better shocks, but I decided to remove the rear bar and see what happens. So far, I have noticed a tremendous improvement in ride quality. Removal of the rear bar would tend to produce understeer with the larger front bar, but I have not noted this in daily driving. I autocrossed the car like this on 7/9/06 and did not notice much additional understeer.
From 1987 until 1992 the car was my daily driver. The car saw plenty of winter driving over those years throughout Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. This is not something I recommend. I got real familiar with tire chains. When I started working after graduating from college, I bought a small front drive Ford Escort GT for winter and retired the Camaro from winter duty. Currently, the Camaro is my daily driver in the summer.
This is my favorite site.
2nd Generation Camaro Owners Group
This site has an outstanding bulletin board full of useful information.
Questions or comments? E-mail me at richhydzik@comcast.net