Resurrection

[T-Mill]

Haven't been on here in a while… The 96 Camaro has been in pieces in storage for quite some time and I recently have been looking for a new car, but couldn't find anything I liked in my price range, so I've decided to spend the money to resurrect the Camaro. I'm aiming for a total restoration so that once finished, I'll have a car comparably reliable to a newer used car.

One thing that I've run into is that I've dropped the fuel tank so that I can rust-proof the under body and the tank is showing quite a bit of rust itself. I have some room in my budget to buy a new one, and am just wondering if there are any brands or materials that I should look for or stay away from. I was hoping to use a plastic tank I had from a 99 Firebird, but it seems to be more trouble than it's worth… If I'm wrong about this, please let me know!

I will start getting some pictures together and start a new thread once I make some more progress, to this point it's been mostly tear-down.

projects in progress now:

Engine rebuilt from 99 Firebird
Manual Transmission rebuilt
one piece drive shaft
rear w/ disc brakes from 99 Firebird
abs delete
Poly bushings all around (except Moog solid rubber on the control arms)
1" lowering springs
Bilstein HD shocks
Panhard relocation upper bracket
Adj. PHR with spherical upper rod end
LCA relocation brackets
lower PHR relocation bracket
Jegster tunnel mount torque arm
higher ratio steering rack
rebuilt calipers all around
new brake lines
new fuel lines
B&M ripper shifter
T-top conversion
total custom interior




oh… and new fuel tank...

[ssms5411]

Re: Resurrection

Looks good, except for can you use 99' rear brakes on a 96'? I believe 96' is a 3 channel and 99' is 4 channel, thats the only thing I see that would bring up a problem. I know when I converted mine to 97' rear disk along time ago people said 98+ wouldn't work right with my 96'. Its been awhile so maybe theres a way to do it now, if it can be done I would like to know also. Also good luck on the T-top install, I'm doing mine too, once I find the time to do it.

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

I should have added, I'll be removing the abs since I've always driven cars without ABS and am more comfortable without it. Plus the ABS went out on my car less than a year after I bought it. I'll be installing a proportioning valve, and maybe while I'm at it a line-lock since there won't ever be an easier time to do it than now.

any insight or recommendations for a fuel tank?

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

I have the T-top conversion mostly done, just have to make it look pretty. After this terrible winter we've had, these recent days of nice weather have really motivated me to get this car up and running so I can enjoy the T-tops...

[ssms5411]

Re: Resurrection

I should have added, I'll be removing the abs since I've always driven cars without ABS and am more comfortable without it. Plus the ABS went out on my car less than a year after I bought it. I'll be installing a proportioning valve, and maybe while I'm at it a line-lock since there won't ever be an easier time to do it than now.

any insight or recommendations for a fuel tank?

What problems are you having with the plastic tank?

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

The only thing on the top of my current tank from the 96 is the fuel pump… on the top of the plastic tank from the 99 the there is the fuel pump and a whole bunch of other stuff… the mounting for the fuel pump is different and so are the electrical connectors. A quick search on some part sites shows different tanks for the different years. I'm going to look into it a little more and figure out what all the other stuff on the plastic tank actually is and see if I can retrofit the fuel pump into it and use the wiring from my 96. The plastic tank is in perfect condition and I haven't had any luck yet finding a plastic replacement for my 96, so if anyone knows if there is a way to make the plastic tank from the 99 Firebird work in my 96 Camaro, I'd love to be able to use it.

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

Just found another thread on here where someone says the 99+ is a direct bolt in… am I missing something?

http://forum.camarov6.com/showthread.php?t=105505

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

Okay, so I just took a second look at the fuel tank from the 99 and I think the difference is that the 99 tank has the charcoal canister mounted to the tank instead of in the driver's rear fender well like my 96. Am I correct in this?

If that is the case, my only issue would be to retrofit the wiring, which should be do-able...

[transamtom1]

Re: Resurrection

Looks good, except for can you use 99' rear brakes on a 96'? I believe 96' is a 3 channel and 99' is 4 channel, thats the only thing I see that would bring up a problem. I know when I converted mine to 97' rear disk along time ago people said 98+ wouldn't work right with my 96'. Its been awhile so maybe theres a way to do it now, if it can be done I would like to know also. Also good luck on the T-top install, I'm doing mine too, once I find the time to do it.

My 99TA is or was a 3 channel.

My 12 bolt is a 4 channel.

[transamtom1]

Re: Resurrection

I should have added, I'll be removing the abs since I've always driven cars without ABS and am more comfortable without it. Plus the ABS went out on my car less than a year after I bought it. I'll be installing a proportioning valve, and maybe while I'm at it a line-lock since there won't ever be an easier time to do it than now.

any insight or recommendations for a fuel tank?

Get the 99 and up plastic tank.

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

Get the 99 and up plastic tank.

Somebody didn't read the whole thread ;)

I have a plastic tank from a 99 but it's different from my 96 tank.

The charcoal canister on my 96 is in the fender well just to the rear of the gas filler neck

The charcoal canister on the 99 is mounted to the tank. Does this mean if I install the 99 plastic tank that I can just remove/ignore the charcoal canister that is in my fender well?

Also, the electrical connectors are different on the 99 plastic tank compared to the 96… Do I just need to swap the connection that is on the 96 over to the 99 tank/fuel pump? I don't have the tank in front of me so I'm kind of going off memory, any help is appreciated.

99 tank


96 tank

[T-Mill]

Re: Resurrection

99 connectors
Big one is for fuel pump and EVAP system pressure sensor
Small one comes from the small unit to the right of the charcoal canister


96 connector

[bigbrian442]

Re: Resurrection

Your car has the fuel pressure regulator on the engine, the plastic LS1 tank has it in the sending unit.