dominika

This is my dilemna....
My '91 5.7L Formula Firebird, I love this car, it's beautiful.
I don't want to see it become a heap of junk but I'm on a tight budget(recent college grad).

It has 148,633 miles, no dents or rust, great body.
Keep the car fix it up, or sell it,or fix it up and then sell ?????
Will this car run much longer?
I know I could easily do much of the cosmetic work myself.
I'm a small girl with little car knowledge, I can't afford to have a car stop on a highway at night on me.

So far I know it needs: a Muffler, transmission gasket, window motors, new tires soon, has a new battery but it keeps getting drained (don't know why), partial paint job (manufacturer's goof up BUT roof and hood were redone in '97).

PLEASE HELP!
need your advice.

SOLID LIFTER

I'ld keep it. It's a great looking car.
Formulas rule all!

Leahs88irocz

keep it.

treat it good, fix what needs to be fixed and im sure u'll be alright.

btw...welcome to the boards

OUTATIME GTA

iTrader: (2)

i'm choosing option #1.

keep the car, fix it up. i love seein' a girl in a nice lookin' 3rd gen.

do the important maintenance first since you are on a budget. have the battery/alt/starter checked out. .. possibly the alternator needs to be replaced if it keeps draining your battery.
put a nice flowmaster or magnaflow muffler in as your replacement for a little rumble.

86'Bowtie

I gotta agree w/ the other folks. Keep it! As far as the car's longlivity goes, all depends on how you care for it.DUECE

BTW Welcome!!

dominika

Thanks guys! i feel welcome
Is a car with so many miles a risky investment?
I'm estimating the ESSENTIALS (well... paint job too-im a girl-it's gotta be shiny) to be about $4,000...
any clues for the future of this car... will there always be something breaking on a car like this from 91 with the 140,000+ miles on it??

OUTATIME GTA

iTrader: (2)

depends how well it has been maintained in the past. i'm not going to lie to you and say it's not going to have it's share of hopefully minor repairs as you should expect of any car over 100,000. if you are not good with cars yet, find a good shop that can do a complete diagnostic and checkup of the car and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions. you can get a very nice paint job for 2-3,000 or even less.

chevyrumble83

if u have taken care of that car meaning oil changes done on a reg and what not then it should last alot longer. my friend has a trans am with over 245k on it and still running stong and the thing never left him standing and all he ever had to change was the sarter and valve gaskets oh and tires. all he did was take care of that car. u should keep the car, if u sell it in the end u will so regret it. good luck

langss

Just a FYI. My 86 Trans Am has over 215000 on the clock. Outside of Water Pumps,Alternators,Tune Ups and Injectors the motor has never been touched.
The Transmission went over 195000 and only got rebuilt because it was starting to leak a lot. Outside of replacing things as needed its about as reliable as I could expect from a car thats just short of 20 yrs old and had 2 different drivers.I say keep it and fix it up. Just my .02

dominika

Do you guys know if there are any honest mechanics in Virginia??? Or where could I find them to take a look and give me a rundown of its current condition?

dominika

You guys are heaps of help thanks so much, YOU'RE STELLAR, BOYS (haha!)

Dewey316

it really doesn't sound like you have any major issues to deal with, thats good, when taken care of 200k+ miles is pretty common.

btw, recent grad, female, f-body

damn, too bad you are on the other side of the country.

formularpm

Sell it to me for cheap. You wouldnt believe how hard it is to find a 91-92 V8 hardtop in decent condition, at least in my area.

05kcilS

i own a 91 z28 with about 166+ K on the odometer...
plan on keeping her for a long time.

StreetRoc85 350

Nope its probably going to die any day now. Better play it safe and just give it to me


Seriously, keep it. In a few years thirdgens are going to be "classic" cars. Give it maybe 5 or 10 more years and the value will skyrocket. Mark my words. Look at the first gens, back in the 80's a great looking 68 SS was about $500. Now you cant touch a car like that for under $10k.

As for the reliablility thing, dont even worry about it. If you maintain it, you should be fine. Find a TGO member near you, im sure he will be happy to help you. Id even help you if you didnt mind a 10hr drive. Most people on the boards, especially senior members, are very friendly. It really all just comes down to regular maintinence. That goes with all cars. My iroc had 110k when i bought it. The previous owner had run it into the ground and it was toast. Everything was busted up. When i pulled apart the motor it was obvious it had been overheaded many times on 7000+ mile oil. However, my dads 1928 Ford Model A was well maintained from day one, and to this day still runs and drives great. All weve done to it is rebuild the carburator and replace the distributor. I drive it every day in the summer. So like i say, just maintain it, and it will run forever.

dominika

i love you guys... you ROCK... i'm getting more confident about keeping the car. sounds like the smart thing to do is keep it and be good to it... I was thinking of getting a Nissan Sentra, but I'm not so persuaded into losing my Fbird baby now so easily.
much xo to you guys for all your advice:yourock:

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

1.) Muffler

Easily done at any shop for $60 or so, but it would be cooler just to get a cat-back.

2.) Tranny gasket

Which gasket? Rebuilds are about $900, so it really depends more on tranny performance than leaking.

3.) Window motor

Are you sure it's the motor and not the switch? Switch = cheap, motors are fairly inexpenive, but labor is a bitch.

4.) Tires

I see specials all the time, but for a decent set, I would expect to spend about $300 - 400.

5.) New battery

Probably not the battery, but the alternator. You can take it to any Autozone and they'll check your alternator for free. If it is the alt expect to spend about $100, but often times the guys at Autozone will help you change it in the parking lot, but if not, I'M POSITIVE us guys on here could tell you how to do it, and post pictures and what not, and I'M SURE you could knock it out in an hour or so. Sure beats paying somebody $60 to put it in for you. I mean come on, what is it?. . . like 1 wire harness and 3 bolts and a belt tensioner?

6.) Paint

Depends how far you want to go, but $2,000 will buy a nice one that you won't be ashamed of.

7.) Tune-up

With the wealth of knowledge on here and the willingness of people to help (especially girls), I'm sure we could walk you through doing your own tune up which would save you close to $150 or so, and probably squeeze a horsepower or two out of it.

Anyways, it's something to ponder. You can learn some valuable things on this board that will save you from having to pay for them for the rest of your life.

dominika

That's heaps of help, a lot to be prepared with. My fingers crossed I'm going to start taking out the essentials (get the check-up) take care of the tires etc. I finally found an honest mechanic (or I'll find out if he is) to look at my car. Thanks guys. I hope no mechanic tries to rip me off... I'm reading through manuals and the message board on here about maintenance, I feel I'll be better prepared reading through all your guys posts, thanks a bunch... WISH ME LUCK.

irocbirdbuilder

all the problems seem fairly small got anymore pics of the car and maybe even yourself if you drive em nice they'll last forever my dads modded suburban is pushing 200k no wand the only thing was a fuel pump to go nothing major

chevyrumble83

if u are getting the mechanic to deal with the window issue make sure he tests the switch first before he runs out and gets a new window motor and u dish out more money.
or u can hit up a scrap yard and pull a couple switch out of any thidgen and drop them in your pocket (no one pays for things that small at the yards LOL ) its real easy to change switch just play around with it u will figure it out (be easy on plastic border of switch they brake so easy) or just get a guy friend to do it if u r one of those girl, and if the switch was the issue it cost u nothing to fix it.

keep up the reading or atleast learning about your problems this way u wont be an easy target for rip off mechanics.
good luck

nolanr0413

how bout a pic of you , i can jugde if you should keep the car by how you look .

05kcilS

StreetRoc85 350

Damn you guys need girlfriends

dominika

Meatikis

NCZ28

I say keep it too. If you do decide to get another car, I wouldn't suggest a Nissan Sentra. I had a Sentra for a second car, it left me on the side of the road more than a few times. It is now sitting dead in my back yard with 145,000 miles. My Z28 is still going strong with over 210,000 miles, and I've never touched the motor or tranny. If you take care of your car, it will take care of you.

Benm109

Yes, you should most definetly keep it. These F-Bodies last a long time, a LONG time. My 91 Camaro had 175,000 miles on it until I just now rebuilt it at college. I now for a fact that the engine would have lasted for 250,000 miles if I wanted it to (I got a lead foot). Trust us, keep it.

Leahs88irocz

if ur ugly.....ur drivin a nice car...at least thats the way it is around here.(most of the time) i've gotten excited when pullin up to a sweet car at a light.....only to look over and see some very very old, fat guy.

dominika

i am that very old fat guy.

OUTATIME GTA

iTrader: (2)

haha.

I think I've maybe only seen 2-3 cute girls driving 3rd gens EVER. They don't really appeal to that age group (18-25) as much as the girly mustangs and sport compacts do I guess.

Roads88

Had mine since it was new. Except for a few problems that drove me nuts over the years. Its been a great car and would not part with it for the world.

You do need a good mechanice every once and a while, However.


You might think of that when picking a boy friend.
a gear head could come in handy.


This paint job cost me under $3000 and would have been a lot less if the car hadn't needed to be stripped.

dominika

I've been reading through the forums and found that some people advise doing the prep work for a paint job yourself.... I do a lot of industrial work with strippers/acetone/sanding etc. I know I could do the prep work myself, any ideas about that? Is it worth it to save some money and do the prep work yourself?

Meatikis

yeah, but ive heard of some places that will blame your priming and sanding if the paint doesnt stick... then you're out however much money you paid them + your time prepping it.

dominika

hm... that sucks... i'll just have to kick the poop out of them if they try it.

Meatikis

well let me know if you need my help

Kontrax

i also need my car stripped before the paint. going to cost a damn fortune. my old 305 had 188k on it, i poped the motor out and gave it to some crazy dude who put it in his montie. lol it fired right up. he even used the old spark plugs. i wouldnt worry about the engine at all. just get the exaust done and the alternator checked before anything else.

Scottlb9

KEEP IT!

You don't see '91's and 92's that often.

Leahs88irocz

i hate mustangs. i hate sport compacts.


more then likely they are gonna try and screw u over after they see a girl get outta the car....thats why u gotta watch who u deal with..... u know cuz girls dont have 2 heads...so they dont know what their doin

FullMonte84SS

As far as the engine goes, it can go both ways. A friend of mine has a 87 TBI 5.7L suburban that just hit 317,000 miles(yes that's correct) on the ORIGINAL engine. routine maintenance will go a long way. however, you don't know how the car was treated in the past before you owned it, or how well it was broken in, or how hard it was ragged on. Also, we don't know how much attention you give your car, I.E.driving habits, tuning, oil changes, replacing worn parts before they do damage. It's all very relative. If you're worried about the engine/tranny, have them rebuilt. Small block stock rebuilds are DIRT cheap. The tranny will most likely be the first thing to go. You should take everything anyone tells you with a grain of salt and then guage how much this car is really worth to you and if it's not enough to keep it, then sell it and find something that better suits your needs. good luck.

-Mike-

OUTATIME GTA

iTrader: (2)

yes, but you don't live around here do ya now?

cronsformula350

fix it up, check out my site, and see my formula with 125,000 on it, and it ran like a charm.


my site:
http://members.cardomain.com/cronsformula

dominika

cool, thanks.

dominika

more then likely they are gonna try and screw u over after they see a girl get outta the car....thats why u gotta watch who u deal with..... u know cuz girls dont have 2 heads...so they dont know what their doin [/B][/QUOTE]

Yeah, I've heard horror stories, like a muffler puncture with a screw driver just to get more $$$, oh and the "oh my your filter is so dirty" ... lookin' forward to it aaaaall. But I'm preparing, and I have you guys, HA! I'm actually enjoying the research, tres cool.

chevyboy07 91

didnt read all the comments BUT KEEP THAT CAR!!


that thing is a pretty rare beauty if you ask me!!!


For paint, u can spend uner 2K and have it looking awesome!!!

Especially since it needs little to NO body work from what i can see in the pic.

If you find your way into Florida look up my shop and bring it by. F-bodys are the house specialty.

junkyarddog

The fuel milage might be unfavorable, but the cost of that is more than compensated for if you own the car.

My sister has the same problem, her car has about 150k on it and she's already sunk $100s into it.....shiesty mechanics...Pep-Boys in Salem,NH even broke the oil pan doing a routine oil change, then she had to pay her insurance deductable to have it fixed. Those guys are lucky I was in the Navy at the time, I seriously would've broke that guy's head open with his own wrench.

I would offer a good deal on all of your repairs, but you will most likely find a couple guys here that will do it for free........not because you are a female ofcourse.......it's all about thirdgen preservation

seriously though, you seem to care about the car, therefore you should keep it. These cars have thier own following and always sell for well over book value if you ever change your mind.

my only advice is to PRIOROTIZE, like others have said, some things can wait. I would personally recomend a good security system if you don't already have one.

Even the famous newspaper columnists 'Click & Clack' (Tom & Ray) will tell you, it is always cheaper to keep an older car, no matter what repairs are made....with a few, very few exceptions.

Meatikis

Where in florida are you at? My beast needs a paint job too..
jeez i hate being broke...

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

The Salem pep boys is run by idiots. Absolute morons. Get an alignment done, then check it on another machine. Car will pull hard to the right..

Get your flywheel resurfaced there. Ask them why they didn't use any lubricant.

-- Joe

Leahs88irocz

not even close.


Autozone told me that i didnt have a MAF on my car, i dont think i've ever seen my dad laugh as hard as he did, when i told the kid that i'd be more then happy to pop the hood and show him that i do and after words he can stand in the middle of the parking lot so i can drive my MAF up his a$$

StreetRoc85 350

Hate to stereotype, but most girls really dont care about thirdgens. They are more into the r*ce burner crowd. They just see them as old used cars. Or any old cars for that matter. They cant tell the difference between a 77 vista cruiser and a 68 SS 396 Chevelle. Theyre all just old beat up cars to them. Oh well, I suppose a lot of people are like that these days....

davidb

weren't vista cruisers built from 68-72???