just bought an 84z28 that was garaged for 10 years. i don't know much about cars, but i have a huge problem. my mechanical friend was with me when i purchased it and said it only needed a couple things to get it going. he poured fuel down the carb which he told me is normal to get it going after sitting so long. it did start and we drove it briefly a few times just to move it around the property. everything was fine. a couple weeks later we were gonna drive it to a friends house to do some work on it. about a 1/4 mile down the road at about 35 mph, it just shut off. i was idling down the road and had to jam on the breaks HARD to get to stop. it wouldn't start.

we pushed it into the gas station, changed the fuel filter and jumped it. it started and we had to drive it like 25 miles home. it wouldn't go faster than like 35 for a few miles and was very hesistant. it started to pick up some balls and we got it to about 65 fine, then we heard some horrible noises. then it was back to going only 35 and was sluggish. my girlfriend was driving behind us and said she saw purple smoke from the exhaust and nuts and bolts spraying out from under. towards the end of the ride white smoke started pouring out from the drivers side of the hood.

he says it threw a rod and wants to put a new engine in it. it's gonna take me some time to save for that, so i was just wondering if any of you fellow camaro freaks know what's wrong with it and if there is an easier solution than a new motor right away. like i said earlier, i'm not mechnically savvy but i'm gonna learn. i bought the 84 chilton manual and can't wait to get under the hood myself. thanks in advance to anyone that reads. take care everyone.

matt

without looking at the car, hard to say. I can tell you a car sitting up is worse then driving it. I guess, find out why it was sitting for ten years, but I would tend to think that the motor seized. How old was the gas in the tank? When I first started to read the questin, I thought, "clogged fuel filter" then you talked about nuts and bolts falling out from underneath. The first thin I would do, is inspect the engine for visable damage, like a hole in the oil pan or block. If nothing there, try to turn the motor by hand. Pull the spark plugs, see what they look like, same with the bvalve covers. This list could go on on on, kinda like building a car (while I am here, I might as well...). Anyway, welcome the the finest car community on the planet and enjoy your learning experience.

OMG. Did you or your friend check the oil levels before starting it and driving off? Lots of things can happen after that much time. You (or the seller) really should do some basic maintenance after that much time before running the engine.

If your friend didn't think to check the oil before hand starting it, he has no business around cars or helping you spend your money on them. You probably do need a few thousand dollars in engine work now.

You could always take your case to judge judy.

i agree with dnult...even the smallest leaky oilpan drain plug can drain 5 qts in ten yrs...sounds like the lower end went south...prolly was binding up due to lack of lubrication, and thats why you couldnt get any power out of it...internal resistance...DONT let your buddy do the motor...thats a job for a guy with a little more knowledge than an a lube tech...(they dont seem to check the oil at the jiffy lube either)lmao...