RFR

Howdy,
I'm in norcal and recently found this board. Thank one of your board members who is selling a car on CL,which led me to here. Apologies in advance if I am asking too much or if I come across as a novice newbie.


Here's the deal; In 93 I bought a white with T tops 92 RS. I loved the car but ended up getting it back to the PO after a few months. The reason for this, was the car was registered in Ohio with a salvage title. I could not get the car insured nor titled in CA. I guess this is why the PO was so anxious to sell it to me for a good price. Long story short I got to drive it for 4 months and got a partial refund. Bad deal! Bummer, I liked the car.

Fast forward to today. In my opinion the T Top 3rd gen is the pinnacle of the Camaro line. They should have quit at 92 and just kept on making the same car.............but I blab. In short, 3rd gens are my favorite.

The problems I see are that quite a few are beat to all hell, modded beyond belief and in short, not respected as a classic car should be.

I'll see stuff where the seller is claiming less than a 100K miles yet the engine has been rebuilt..........seems like abuse to me.
I used to have a Porsche 911 and it is very common for those motors to go 300K without a rebuild (if cared for properly)
It would seem that a lot of the previous Camaro owners had little to no regard for the breed.

Currently I am looking for a car, and want to spend tops in the 5k range. (No out of state vehicles please)

I'm looking for something that I could drive periodically from Northern Ca to LA with confidence.

What are some pitfalls? better years over others? parts availability? More desirable models?etc.

I don't want to get into a car that I have to put a bunch of coin into right away.

I have my head set on a white RS with T tops and a black leather interior .
OR black on black. Those are my choices in a perfect world, but I would settle for the grey standard interior. I want one stock, clean and in good condition...........is this unreasonable in the 5k range? I have seen some at dealers for 5 to 6k that "look" good, but I don't trust dealers any more than I trust politicians.

I wouldn't mind a Z28. my only gripe is the fact I hate the rear spoiler. It looks too rice for me. If there was such a thing as the RS rear treatment on a Z28, that would be great.


Cheers, and thanks for reading my babble.
Any advice and input would be welcomed.



RFR

MadCelt

Be patient, try to hook a one owner 'low' mileage car if possible. If it has original paint, no body damage, wheels are original and look good, and there is no rust, chances are the engine bay will be just as clean. EVERY car I looked at this last weekend, first thing I did after opening the hood is look for front/rear seal leaks. Good indication of crappy work if the front is leaking at the oilpan/timing chain cover union... shortcutters will 'force' the time chain cover in/out, and that is simply the wrong way to do it. The rear seal is a good indication of a babied / well mainteained or not engine. Also, gunk. Gunk everywhere, I walk away.

In short, yesterday I picked up a 92 RS 305 Anniversary paint package, 90000 miles, unmolested, all original, old lady owned / driven. It drives like a new car. I paid $3K. I commute 90 miles a day R/T and I have more confidence in this car than the '07 Saturn in the driveway. They are out there, just be patient, look hard, study the ads and don't be afraid to grill the seller over the phone to avoid wasting your time. I looked at several in the $2500-$3500 range I wouldn't give $1000 for. The T-Top cars, biggest find was major rust in the T-Top insets.

Also, watch your engines. A car may sound awesome, even look good under the hood, but a cobbled carb with a return spring that looks like a worn out slinky is always a bad indicator, LOL. Simple stuff can be a good clue. If it doesn't look right, walk away.

RFR

Thanks for the reply, Mad Celt.

I guess patience and diligence pay off. One certainly doesn't want to do an impulse buy on a 20 some year old car.

Yours BTW looks great, looks like a good clean score.

MadCelt

Thankee! Now I just have to find a good paint shop that doesn't try to rip me off. Had an estimate for a block sand / paint on my dimple covered Z28. $3500. Estimate at same shop for paint on completely pristine metal, no dents dimples or rust (the RS).... $3500. Apparently I found a shop that belivieves in one price no matter the amount of work, or else the guy has a gambling debt. LOL!

Brett68

iTrader: (1)

Excellent advice. Another point of inspection for me is the front pinion seal. They can go bad on their own. But they also form a leak on a very hard driven car, usually manual shift cars.

Great Camaro MadCelt. I've been unlucky to find one that nice without a high price.