My First Camaro is a ZL1 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

NoKids=ZL1 · 03-27-2015, 06:25 PM

So, basically I'd like to introduce myself to this automotive community. My name is Justin and I just recently purchased my first Camaro ZL1 this past Sunday. I was super excited to get into such an historic community as an enthusiast.

A little history about me: I've been building cars my whole life. However, I was operating in the Japanese market. Naturally, as a kid, I was influenced by the whole Fast n Furious crowd. As I got older and more mature/experienced, I developed a passion for the 3rd generation RX-7. I was a rotary enthusiast for a long time, approximately 10 years. The rotary engine still fascinates me and I do enjoy working on RX-7s, since I now know every damn bolt in that car.

Fast forward to now, having been recently divorced with no kids, I've gotten out of the rotary scene and jumped into the Camaro world. I've always been a fan of the late 60's style Camaros. However, everything in between those until the latest 5th generation I haven't been a particular fan of. I will eventually pick up a late 60's Camaro to match my current one.

So, I decided to go big and get a ZL1. I'm used to forums having worked on the RX-7s, since they are a pain to work on if you have no clue what you're doing. The twin turbo system on those cars is extremely complicated. So, I have a bunch of confidence that I can competently take care of and work on my ZL1 without issues.

The details about the car are as follows:

I picked it up with 9200 miles on it. It has approximately 9700 on it now and closing to the 10k mark. The car was a previous repossession and we all know how that goes. I have no history on the car so I basically want to make sure that everything that should be done is performed and the car is in tip top shape.

I have been reading a bit on these forums before this post but I need to read more.

Right now the car needs: An alignment, tires, I want to replace the brakes just because, and probably just some general maintenance.

So, my real question is does anyone have any advice as to what services should be performed? Should I just take it to the dealer to see if all the recalls have been performed and just have them generally take a look at the car to make sure it's performing as it should?

Also, I'm trying to see if I can get ahold of the original window sticker (or a reprint if it comes to that) but since the car was a repo, I have no way of getting ahold of the previous owner, information privacy issues. Plus, I doubt that he kept it anyways.

Thanks guys!

NoKids=ZL1 · 03-27-2015, 06:27 PM

oh, the car is also a 2013 model. I'll post pictures when I can.

Z/28Dan · 03-27-2015, 06:28 PM

Welcome to the club. Ask and you shall receive advice--and plenty of it here! The best place on the web for all things Camaro.

DrkPhx · 03-27-2015, 06:51 PM

Welcome to the world of domestic performance and the ZL1. What an introduction!

revobasher · 03-27-2015, 07:03 PM

Welcome man. Great intro! I also came from import world. Had a couple Evos prior to this. I do miss the sound of a turbo spool but hearings mycam'd V8 makes up for it!

Ex had a 2004 RX8. Had a love/hate relationship with it. Fun the drive but bastard always flooded and as you know starting a flooded rotary is a PITA!

Dutchman427 · 03-27-2015, 07:53 PM

Congratulations on your purchase bud. I hear New Bern is a nice town. My brother was stationed in Camp Lejeune. I believe that is not to far from there. I like the username!

Redlineviper · 03-27-2015, 08:35 PM

Congrats, it's a great car and lends its self to a pretty good do it all car. Great stock power and easily upgradable, great suspension, great brakes, great styling, and a great community of enthusiasts.
Imports are great but there is def something about an American V8. Just regular maintenance and you should be good. Heck, you are probably only a couple oil changes away from new so I wouldn't worry about checking too much. Just drive and enjoy as it is a very tough car.

BRcar · 03-27-2015, 09:03 PM

welcome, your going to love that car. be careful at the dealer, they will change out your switch blade key fob with one that dangles, without your permission.

TX/ZL1 · 03-27-2015, 09:14 PM

Welcome....

lbls1 · 03-27-2015, 09:18 PM

Big jump! Good luck!

flatrockguy · 03-27-2015, 10:00 PM

If you send me the VIN I can run it through the GM warranty system and let you know of any warranty items that have been serviced at any GM facility.

Sven59 · 03-27-2015, 10:03 PM

Yeah what he said, we posted at the same time.

Welcome and enjoy the ride. Your brakes should be good unless the car was tracked. I would have them or you if you choose to swap out all fluids if you don't have the full history on the car. I would just assume it had been tracked and change all fluids. I would just take a look a the brakes, they have been lasting a long time for most members except again if it was tracked. You could also look at the tires and see how they are worn. A lot more tread on the fronts than the rear and either they did a lot of burn outs or possibly drag raced it. Honestly, the car is almost bombproof, treat it right with regular fluid changes and it will perform. Did you get the warranty? You might want to have the dealer check the ECM to see if it has been tuned.

shinzon · 03-27-2015, 10:11 PM

Nice car, I am sorry you have no kids.

Bigtime53 · 03-27-2015, 10:27 PM

Congrats on the Z! You will really like it the more you drive it. Unless you think the car has been driven hard you should be ok right now. I do not know how to do it but I am sure you can get a window sticker for your car from GM. Seems like I have read somewhere on this forum that you can do that. Google your vin number and see what comes up.That is what I would do first. You might get all of the info you need there.

03-27-2015, 06:25 PM	#1
NoKids=ZL1 Drives: 2013 Blacked Out ZL1 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: New Bern, NC Posts: 5	My First Camaro is a ZL1 So, basically I'd like to introduce myself to this automotive community. My name is Justin and I just recently purchased my first Camaro ZL1 this past Sunday. I was super excited to get into such an historic community as an enthusiast. A little history about me: I've been building cars my whole life. However, I was operating in the Japanese market. Naturally, as a kid, I was influenced by the whole Fast n Furious crowd. As I got older and more mature/experienced, I developed a passion for the 3rd generation RX-7. I was a rotary enthusiast for a long time, approximately 10 years. The rotary engine still fascinates me and I do enjoy working on RX-7s, since I now know every damn bolt in that car. Fast forward to now, having been recently divorced with no kids, I've gotten out of the rotary scene and jumped into the Camaro world. I've always been a fan of the late 60's style Camaros. However, everything in between those until the latest 5th generation I haven't been a particular fan of. I will eventually pick up a late 60's Camaro to match my current one. So, I decided to go big and get a ZL1. I'm used to forums having worked on the RX-7s, since they are a pain to work on if you have no clue what you're doing. The twin turbo system on those cars is extremely complicated. So, I have a bunch of confidence that I can competently take care of and work on my ZL1 without issues. The details about the car are as follows: I picked it up with 9200 miles on it. It has approximately 9700 on it now and closing to the 10k mark. The car was a previous repossession and we all know how that goes. I have no history on the car so I basically want to make sure that everything that should be done is performed and the car is in tip top shape. I have been reading a bit on these forums before this post but I need to read more. Right now the car needs: An alignment, tires, I want to replace the brakes just because, and probably just some general maintenance. So, my real question is does anyone have any advice as to what services should be performed? Should I just take it to the dealer to see if all the recalls have been performed and just have them generally take a look at the car to make sure it's performing as it should? Also, I'm trying to see if I can get ahold of the original window sticker (or a reprint if it comes to that) but since the car was a repo, I have no way of getting ahold of the previous owner, information privacy issues. Plus, I doubt that he kept it anyways. Thanks guys!

03-27-2015, 06:28 PM	#3
Z/28Dan Drives: 2013 HWSE Indy Festial #26 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 2,670 View My Garage	Welcome to the club. Ask and you shall receive advice--and plenty of it here! The best place on the web for all things Camaro. __________________ There are only so many days in your lifetime. So get out and drive your Camaro... Dan

03-27-2015, 07:03 PM	#5
revobasher Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Blaine, MN Posts: 552	My First Camaro is a ZL1 Welcome man. Great intro! I also came from import world. Had a couple Evos prior to this. I do miss the sound of a turbo spool but hearings mycam'd V8 makes up for it! Ex had a 2004 RX8. Had a love/hate relationship with it. Fun the drive but bastard always flooded and as you know starting a flooded rotary is a PITA! __________________ -- 2013 ZL1 - Blue Ray Metallic JDP 850 Package 740hp/700tq @14lbs on E85 Build Thread

03-27-2015, 07:53 PM	#6
Dutchman427 Drives: 2012 ZL1 #1329 M6 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 1,040	Congratulations on your purchase bud. I hear New Bern is a nice town. My brother was stationed in Camp Lejeune. I believe that is not to far from there. I like the username! __________________ 2012 Camaro ZL1 #1329 M6 Summit White Built by Mike @ Rapid Motorsports 784rwhp 757 rwtq on 93 Octane ET - 10.97 @ 128 Heads-Blower-Snout-TB ported & prepared by Jeremy Formato of FasterProms http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=395950 Rapid Motorsports 396ci Build https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showt...1#post10321301 10.832 @ 130.99

03-27-2015, 09:14 PM	#9
TX/ZL1 Drives: '14 ZL1 RRM M6 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 471	Welcome.... __________________ ADM ZL 750 PACKAGE...697RWHP/680RWTQ

03-27-2015, 06:27 PM	#2
NoKids=ZL1 Drives: 2013 Blacked Out ZL1 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: New Bern, NC Posts: 5	oh, the car is also a 2013 model. I'll post pictures when I can.

03-27-2015, 06:51 PM	#4
DrkPhx Drives: 2013 Triple Black ZL1 / 2006 TB SS Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: MN Posts: 2,250	Welcome to the world of domestic performance and the ZL1. What an introduction!

03-27-2015, 08:35 PM	#7
Redlineviper Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Orlando Posts: 936	Congrats, it's a great car and lends its self to a pretty good do it all car. Great stock power and easily upgradable, great suspension, great brakes, great styling, and a great community of enthusiasts. Imports are great but there is def something about an American V8. Just regular maintenance and you should be good. Heck, you are probably only a couple oil changes away from new so I wouldn't worry about checking too much. Just drive and enjoy as it is a very tough car.

03-27-2015, 09:03 PM	#8
BRcar Drives: 13 zl1 crt convertible Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: heart of it all Posts: 118	welcome, your going to love that car. be careful at the dealer, they will change out your switch blade key fob with one that dangles, without your permission.

03-27-2015, 09:18 PM	#10
lbls1 Drives: 2002 Camaro SS SOM; 2015 Malibu LTZ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 4,019	Big jump! Good luck! __________________ '02 CAMARO SS SOM; 5.7L LS1/FLS6B '08 TBSS AWD Black Granite Metallic '15 Malibu LTZ 2LZ Turbo *'14 CAMARO ZL1 Blue Ray Metallic*

03-27-2015, 10:00 PM	#11
flatrockguy Drives: 2015 Black ZL1 m6, gone 2012 CTS-V Join Date: May 2014 Location: Metro Detroit Posts: 225 View My Garage	If you send me the VIN I can run it through the GM warranty system and let you know of any warranty items that have been serviced at any GM facility.

03-27-2015, 10:03 PM	#12
Sven59 HAMMER PILOT Drives: 13 ZL1#182, 85 CJ7, 16 Silverado Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 4,386	Yeah what he said, we posted at the same time. Welcome and enjoy the ride. Your brakes should be good unless the car was tracked. I would have them or you if you choose to swap out all fluids if you don't have the full history on the car. I would just assume it had been tracked and change all fluids. I would just take a look a the brakes, they have been lasting a long time for most members except again if it was tracked. You could also look at the tires and see how they are worn. A lot more tread on the fronts than the rear and either they did a lot of burn outs or possibly drag raced it. Honestly, the car is almost bombproof, treat it right with regular fluid changes and it will perform. Did you get the warranty? You might want to have the dealer check the ECM to see if it has been tuned. __________________ "DO YOU WANT ME TO PUT THE HAMMER DOWN?"

03-27-2015, 10:11 PM	#13
shinzon Night Fury Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Isle of Birk Posts: 747	Nice car, I am sorry you have no kids. __________________ 2014 Black ZL1 - Toothless - Previous Lovers :2014 1LE , 2010 2SS RS,2004 GTO, 2000 Camaro SS x 2

03-27-2015, 10:27 PM	#14
Bigtime53 Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 2,293	Congrats on the Z! You will really like it the more you drive it. Unless you think the car has been driven hard you should be ok right now. I do not know how to do it but I am sure you can get a window sticker for your car from GM. Seems like I have read somewhere on this forum that you can do that. Google your vin number and see what comes up.That is what I would do first. You might get all of the info you need there.