Nice car

We pushed it home last week, since we'd had a break in the weather and a rainstorm to wash the salt off the roads. Of course that lasted 2 days and we got a boatload of snow over the weekend, but that's melting. Still salty though.

At least it's easier to drool on it here. Also threw some more vintage stickers in the windows. I can't afford to do the big stuff right now so I like doing small things that make me feel like I'm getting something accomplished.

Also, a very nerdy piece of trivia. The door lock knobs. I was looking through old HRM issues (They've got em all online now if you have MotorTrend+) and I noticed an ad for them at a place called Midwest Auto Specialties. MAS had a Lakewood Ohio location less than a mile from what was Fairchild Chevrolet (where this car was sold new) in 1968. So these knobs have probably been on the car for its' whole life, and I wouldn't be surprised if the tach went on at the same ish time. Hell, maybe the C427X came from there too- I know the 454 in it is engine number 5 according to the fellow who owned the car in the mid 80s, but whose to say when the intake went on or if it bounced between every motor the car has ever had.

'68 Camaro has always been my fav first gen Camaro.For some reason it never gets the love that the '67 and '69 get.Yours is real nice and has great stance JRC99!

I have enjoyed reading this post and I really love the car. I would like to offer some well meaning advice. I have been in your situation and I hate to see you make some of the poor decisions I have made.

1. You need to make a punch list of mechanical items to fix and knock them off one by one in order. Jumping around from issue to issue without completely fixing the anything will only frustrate you as items pile up.

2. Do not make the mistake of pulling the engine for something that can be fixed with the engine in the car. Life and money will get in the way and you will never get it back together again.

I pulled a running and driving 1969 Camaro apart in high school to run thru it and build a show car. On a small budget and just beginning adult hood the car never got put back together. Life got in the way. Again, please do not make my mistake and be in a rush to pull the engine.
Plan your repairs one at a time a stick with it in order. Other members local to you have offered labor and guidance, take them up on their knowledge. Good luck on getting this lined out. You are far ahead of the game compared to some projects.

Appreciate the advice. At this moment I'm not doing any major work on it. It needs quite a bit more so it'll sit in the heated garage and stay safe while I iron out a couple other things (The Mustang needs some minor repairs that are a lot cheaper than this car) so I can start saving up for the surgery. I do plan on actually diagnosing it further at some point as well. I want to make damn sure it actually needs to come apart before I screw with it.

What all does the car need?

Is it possible the lifters are bleeding down from the car sitting long periods of time?

Haven't quite figured that out yet. I need to figure out the source of the knock and backfire and it also really needs front brakes. Those are the main two, everything else is "when I can get to it provided nothing else goes wrong"

Seems like new brake pads and new brake fluid / bleeding lines would be a quick and easy project that would take less than a day to tackle and would be pretty inexpensive. Getting the safety items rectified first makes a lot of sense.

You can then tackle a tune-up and address engine mechanical items as a next step and perhaps have someone experienced lend a hand to diagnosing the problem. Nothing like a knowledgeable old timer to save you hours of work and $'s with a quick diagnosis.

Really agree with the previous poster to break things down into smaller tasks and tackle one at a time to keep expenses down and make progress and achieve some satisfaction you're moving forward.

Solid advice

For the brakes, it's got 4 wheel drums. I'm dead set on swapping to discs on the front, so that's costly. I don't want to put money into the drums at this point, I understand that if I went through them properly they'd work fine on a cruiser, but I'd just feel better with discs on it. Dad and I came to that conclusion about 10 years ago, and Pappaw did agree, it just never materialized.

My buddy's dad is a mechanical wizard so I might have him come take a look at it. I miss my knowledgeable old timer. (We're coming up on a year, as well.)

It seems like I jump around on this car a lot because I do. I have pretty bad OCD so whatever thought pops in that I want to do, I get excited, run with it, blab about it, and then the reality sets in and it rarely happens lol.

So for right now, it'll sit in the garage, I'll work on a couple smaller projects on other vehicles to get them where they need to be, and come back to it knowing it's safe in the garage.