I picked up this car in October 1996, a '97 Chevy Camaro Z28. As delivered, it's came with the 350 CID LT1 V8 engine, manual 6-speed transmission, convertible top, leather, pretty much all the options. Since then, I've learned a lot about cars; I've been reading books and following the Internet f-body community. I'm a member of the Bay Area F-Body Group,  a great bunch of guys - I really recommend you join us, if you're anywhere in Northern California. Modifications are happening all the time, and I'll document them in as much detail as possible here. Hopefully, the information will be of use to you. The F-Body FAQ is a fantastic resource, as well.

I spend lots of time working on the car - here's a shot of Rusty and me, tightening up my rear end links after a swaybar install. By the way, doing the work yourself is really the whole point behind all this fun. Grab a book, get some help, borrow some tools, but do it yourself! Rusty's not much help, actually, and I have to make sure he doesn't fool with the jacks while I'm under there. What am I installing? Take a look through the selections at the left...

A word on warranties is in order, as lots of folks ask about "voiding the warranty" when they consider modifying their car. When you buy a new car, you get a warranty that covers the repairs on the car, for some period like three years. This warranty cannot be "voided" as a whole, though certain repairs can be disallowed. Look into the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)) if you need legal help. You are responsible for any damage caused by replacing parts on your car, though the dealer must demonstrate to you that your modifications were responsible for the damage. 

Obviously, a large part of this site is related to modifying my car. My position on this is that it's a wonderful hobby and I get great satisfaction from doing the work, as well as enjoying the performance. But I caution everyone that virtually everything done "aftermarket" to your car is likely to bring additional problems, failures, and stress to the car. You will not make your car more reliable with any aftermarket parts. If you can't afford to fix these problems, don't modify the car in the first place.

Here's an example: you replace the springs and shocks on your car, lowering it 2", and subsequently you rip off your exhaust system on a speed bump. This will probably not be covered under warranty. On the other hand, if your transmission fails, it will still be covered, as there's no connection between lowering your car and a transmission failure. The Federal Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency may be willing to help in a dispute with a dealer over warranties. SEMA has a more complete write-up on warranties.

The CARB EO# is also an interesting discussion. For the moment, I'll just post this URL, where CARB lists all the aftermarket parts they have approved EO numbers on.

Go-Fast.Org is featured in the January 2002 GM High-Tech Performance magazine, in the Cyber Cruisin' Column by Jim McIlvaine!

October 2003 update - I just sold the Camaro, to move on with another car to feed my track habit - a Radical SR3.

Last update 1/25/2004, David Mills

Copyright © 1997-2004 David Mills, no part of this site (http://www.go-fast.org/) may be reproduced without permission of the author. The author makes no claims or guarantees as to the quality of the information on this site. I'm an enthusiast just like you, and while everything here is correct as I know it, I'm not responsible if your car breaks.