Hello all,

I’m currently in the market for a LS1 f-body camaro.

I found one in very, very good condition, however it looks like some mods were done to it in the past. There is an A/F gauge, aftermarket suspension and differential cover (perhaps whole rear end-not sure). Also the SLP intake looks brand new, I suspect previous owner had another aftermarket installed

I’m not too worried about that as it all seem to be good quality, the body is perfect for the year (98), all seals (windows, t-top) seems to have been replaced, zero oil leak from engine or trans, and all fluid were looking perfect and full. Pure yellow engine oil, red trans oil and full coolant level. Car only have about 60k miles too, one owner. During test drive, the car pulled hard, coolant temp and oil pressure was good, and no suspicious noises at all. However after 15 mins, low coolant level light turned on. I checked the level in the overflow tank and it was full so I think the sensor just need to be cleaned or replaced.

The things I’m unsure about is what some mods were installed exactly. There is a switch below the steering wheel that seem to have an effect on the A/F gauge only (it change from one single square light up to 3), and also there is a red button installed on the transmission ****.

Any idea what those are? I suspect the red button was maybe for a nitrous kit.

Oh and there is a switch for the radiator fans which you can select from off, 1 fan or 2 fans. All mode tested and worked fine.

Thanks!!

Pictures below

 

Since the switch label says bank 2 I bet the switch flips between the left and right manifold/sensor.

The switch on the shifter could also be a line lock or a trans brake.

 

Turn your phone sideways and take standard format pics , the "selfie" mode shrinks the view and the clarity a ton.
I also see a aftermarket switch in the dash to the right of the shifter.. But its too blurry to read.

 

I think you are correct since the wires are identified as bank 1/bank 2 and the switch affects the a/f gauge, it’s definitely only switch for the gauge.

also correct for the **** button, pretty sure it’s a line lock. I found a line lock switch online “Hurst” which looks very similar and attach at the same location. The switch behind the **** on the right is the radiator fans control switch which worked perfectly when I tested.

I normally would run away from modded cars unless I have the complete list and history, but this car is very low mileage and condition is impeccable for the year so it’s a pretty tough decision.

I have no clue what else was changed (injectors, fuel pump, cam, heads, tune??). Car is one owner, sold by a dealership who have all original purchase papers, manuals from 1998, but zero maintenance/mods list.

Not sure yet but I may just take the chance and get it then shortly bring it to a local LS engine tuning performance shop around here for a dyno tune and make sure everything is gtg

thanks for the help

 

Its a clean looking car, and points to the guy who labeled the wires..
The thing that would interest me is if its got internal work done with the external stuff done.
You could have a nice little car there... Great thing is if it runs good as is ,, you have nice starting point for whatever spins your wheels..

 

Follow the wires and see where they go.

Also follow RB's Rule Of Wire (which especially applies to wires installed by POs and discovered in newly purchased cars):

Look at a wire. If one end isn't connected, it isn't doing anything.
If one end isn't doing anything, the other end isn't doing anything either.
If the ends aren't doing anything, everything in the middle isn't doing anything either.
YANK!!

Nobody out here can see any better than you can, what those were put there for, or what fever or pipe dream the PO was enjoying while putting them there. Best we can do is guess, by such methods as reading whatever labels they have. Otherwise you'll just have to trace them and see if you can decode the mind of the ... other person ... assuming that they had a mind at all.

 

Ended up getting the car… simply amazing and what a thrill to drive.

The button on transmission shifter is a line lock, after further inspection of the engine bay there is a TCI module plugged for line lock. I haven’t tested it yet tho.

Car runs really smooth and have load of power when stepping on it… oil pressure is a nice 40 psi when cruising, about 30 on hot idle and about 60 when stepping on it. I have no idea what oil was put in there so I will change it to a 5w40 castrol edge as soon as I receive wix xp filters I just ordered and will get new seal at gm dealership. Will also inspect air filter soon. The 5w40 should be working well with those engine from what I’ve read and the 40 weight should help to bring pressure a bit higher to a steady 40 all the time even when idling hot. Assuming what is currently in the engine is the standard 5w30.

However, coolant temp is only reaching about 160. That is relying on the gauge in oem cluster, not sure how reliable they are. Is that low enough to possibly cause issues ? That is also with both radiator fans off since they are manually activated with switch.

Also I plan to flush coolant soon as I don’t know last time that was done. Current coolant color is orange so I’m assuming dexcool, may use prestone long life which have dexcool stamp on it, anyone using that with success ?

When engine is idling there is a slight noise that seems as if something is loose which is especially noticeable from under the car. I will try to post a video of it. I don’t have much experience with LS engine so maybe this is just normal!

The car is also catless and there is no CEL on therefore it is definitely tuned. It is also running rich on both banks according to the autometer gauge installed. It’s not completely to the right in the rich zone of the meter, just on the first square inside the zone, and is in stoich zone when idle. Unfortunately the gauge does not indicate in number. I’m planning to have the car on a dyno around here to know the exact parameters of the tune but I’m not 100% sure yet as the car is running really good and I don’t really trust others touching my engine/tune, especially after reading that 98 z28 pcm can be fried easily when tuning… maybe I should learn to use HPtuners myself, we’ll see…

The transmission oil pan have a drain plug which I don’t think OEM have them and also have a Sonnax sticker on it. Perhaps it was upgraded with sonnax parts but again I have no clue of what was done exactly on the car… Probably going to flush it soon with valvoline maxlife even if it’s currently bright red and full, because again I don’t know what was put in there.

The differential cover is also aftermarket one, a LPW 301-7.5G. No weird noise from the diff or transmission at all and shifting smooth.

Also ordered LED bulbs to replace all flashers, brake lights, low beams, etc and wireless backup camera. Noticed the passenger window is moving slower than driver side so I will probably have to do the window motor replacement soon too.

The car is fitted with nitto nt555 g2, very good tire, but I noticed right away they seemed a bit deflated which the salesman assured me that tire pressure was good and just filled them himself…. Sure enough when checking myself they were at only 20psi hot, fixed that to a nice 35.

 

Sonnax makes *** kicking transmissions and trans parts. I doubt someone would drag their *** down there to put a Sonnax sticker on where nobody would see it anyway. Sounds like you've found a nice car there. Seeing as the diff has a non OEM cover, I'm wondering if they upgraded the 7-5/8" ring geared diff?

 

Yes, hopefully some trans upgrades were made! See some pictures below. Any idea what trans oil pan model is this, if I can use stock trans oil filter or do I have to use taller one? Also some pictures of the rear end. I also just good a CEL, code P0306, I'll make another thread for that. Cheers

 

Thats a regular stock deep truck pan.

 

Nice, it looks so beautiful. I like your choice.

 

I'm willing to bet that car had a nitrous kit on it at some point. Check your spare tire well or the well in the cargo hold and see if there's a hole or two drilled for lines and such. If it has a new lid on it, someone probably had holes drilled in the previous lid for fogger nozzles. Not saying it's not a good car either way, but it's nice to know these things in the event that you have a problem.

 

I was thinking N2O from the beginning. Unless Im forgetting something, why would a line lock need 2 switches? Perhaps the line lock was added, along with the new lid, to help disguise the original N2O mod? Probably harder to sell a N2O car than a line locked one. Also, if the trans has some Sonnax equipment, it may have been added to beef the trans for N2O duty. Probably wouldn't need any extra beefing for just the line lock. Interesting....Still think OP got a nice car there....