Corry

Ok, many of you probably already know the story, but just in case...
I started w/ this car thinking it was an LT1....before I knew anything, oh well I got screwed, probably just an l98 and the dude mixed things up. Rear end blows 4x, I finially learn about the 10 bolt buildup and do it. In that time the trans blows, get it "rebuilt" at AAMCO....got screwed again, cause its dead again. All along I have been doing little things as they come along to enhance performance, and go with a plan for the motor. Now I am forced to get the block numbers and find out what motor is in this thing because I needed to know what rear main seal I have. Get the date suffix code of AKJ. 1989 305 TBI. So now I am thinking what have I done to the car, what do I still have to do to the car...
So heres whats been done
4 sets of rear end gears, averaging $1300/rebuild Latest rebuild:
Solid bearing spacer from Ratech
Zexel Torsion Series 3 Carrier
Richmond 3.73's
"Ultimate" Rear end support cover
28 Spline Superior Axle and Gear Axles
Transmission Rebuilt once by AAMCO now dead again
SLP 1 3/4 headers and cat back
Holly AFPR
MSD 6A ignition
Accell 8.8 wires
MSD Blaster SS coil
New O2 sensor
new knock sensor
new Oil Pressure sending unit
2 new TPS
new coolant temp sensor
new heater core.
R12 avail to recharge the A/C (was planning that after spring break)
new EGR valve
New heater diverter valve
TB Coolant Bypass
Headlight motors repaired (headlights flip up no problem)
Needs:
New seats
New Catalytic converter
New transmission (t-56 is sitting in the passanger area now)
Doors need to be re-hung
T-Tops leak
want:
New paint rear quarter panel has little clearcoat, and doors under the modling are rusting
Bigger better motor
Now I am torn, before when it was a 350, and possibly modified 350 I could understand the damage to the rear and the trans....now I am not so sure, maybe the differential housing is warped, maybe AAMCO screwed up the trans....I don't know, and I am quite paranoid. Now to think I will spend $2000+ on the trans, maybe to have the rear go out in another 6 months! I'd also like that bigger motor, and to buy one for the car, well you could buy a whole car....
I wouldn't mind a 4th gen if I could afford one, I wouldn't mind getting an LT-1 in this if I could get it for less than $1700....
On the other hand, this was the first car titled to me....I like that, and I'd miss it, there can never be another 1st...I will be in college for at least another 3 semesters...so until then I can't afford a whole lot. The only reason I have been able to do what I have is my mom has helped, but she's as sick of repairing this thing as I am. I have in my posession now a rebuilt t-56, If I got an LT-1 4th gen I coul put the rebuilt t-56 in it, and sell the used one and make all the money back I paid for the rebuilt one ($1100) But I would be concerned about the rear again, I'd probably have to change the optispark (I have heard so much bad stuff about them) So I really don't know what to do. If you were in my position, and have terrible credit like I do, what would you do? Oh yeah, keep in mind you might be moving REAL soon so you will have to find another job...you are a talented PC tech, and have worked on an enterprise network before, but are certified only in PC repair, not the enterprise networks.

Corry

Thinking about it I could probably part it out and get somewhere btw 1/4 to 1/2 the price of a 4th gen.....and thats a 4th gen from carmax.....(overpriced)...

ontogenesis

don't forget that unless you bought all your parts for your car within about the last week, your not gonna get much over half what you paid for them...

Corry

Well, I talked w/ my mom, who was before of the opinion "if one more thing goes wrong sell it" is now kinda the other way around. So instead, the t-56 is goin in, the seats and cat are getting replaced, and while we put the trans in, I'm going to pull the diff cover and check tooth contact pattern, and backlash. Then put in some new redline oil. (which I gotta go get on order) With the history of this thing I am so paranoid of something else dieing, now, maybe it can all be explained away, so to make sure we'll pull the diff cover and check the rear out. T-56's arent known for dieing...especially not behind a 305 tpi or not. And the motor, what can I say, its a friggen 305! Whats going to go wrong? (Knocking on wood as I write that) And if it does go bad, well I'll be starting now to save for a new motor anyways....$100-$200/month so if I don't quite have enough should the motor go, I'll have at least a good chunk of it...(assuming it doesnt go next month) Other than that all I have to worry about is some idiot hitting me...(again knocking on wood) especially since KBB for the car is maybe $1200.

As far as the parts go, I wasn't looking at after market parts prices, I was looking at like say a fairly freshly rebuilt TPI (as much rebuilding as you can do anyways...which isn't much) the SLP exhaust system, the rims/tires (the crosshatch T/A rims, and new within 3000 miles p245/50ZR16s on the back and the same tire new within maybe 20 miles on the front) A 305 maybe I'd do a rebuild on it....(not expecting much for that even rebuilt), The 700R4 rebuilt, the B&M Shifter, the scrap for the car, the rear axle as a complete unit, and I don't really remember what else because its all slipping away since I am keeping the car lol. I know good 'ol Vader has said it before that the cheapest car to own is the one you already have, and I have said this to my mom before, well she basically said the same thing back to me....I cave in and give up to what she has said, and she basically says no I was right. I dunno, what a weird world. Fortunatly I can still say I'm a 3rd genner, and hopefully for life. I have stated on several occasions that I never want to sell my car, and no matter how bad it gets damaged (assuming it gets damaged after I am out of college...again knocking on wood lol) I will keep my car. I hope to stick true to that.....just the shock of the motor being a 305 and having everything else blow behind it repeatedly.....but I know I'll be flamed again, one of the times the rear was done at AAMCO....that was the set that was in it before the current set. I am also going to look into the class action suit against AAMCO....when my trans was "rebuilt" they said it was better to replace the trans w/ a rebuilt one than rebuild it. They gave me a better price than anyone by about $300 (Thats with the core charge factored into both) so we took it, only to find out something about a class action suit that (I don't know for sure) that they were just finding used transmissions, not rebuilding them and selling them as rebuilt transmissions. So maybe the dead trans can be explained by that, and we all know their workmanship....shouldn't have trusted them for gears, but the thought was I am a good honest computer tech, and was working for CompUSA at the time, if I did it, maybe some good honest car tech good at gears was working for AAMCO...when you're desperate, you'll work for "the company" so....I'm rambling....but I wanted to fully explain why I had even come to the possibility of making the decision to get rid of the car. Just to show it wasn't something I took lightly, or on a whim. I think if you total up the money in it + the $4000 we paid for the car, We probably were well on our way (this was bought in 98) to a new '98 WS6, and now with paying for another trans, and the other misc stuff, even closer. But if you are looking at possibly having to spend another $1000+ next year just to keep your car running, not that new ZZ4 or Accell intake, or new cam, etc, you begin to wonder if its worth it when you have done it basically every year since you got the car....Oh well, I expect that even if the gears are out of alignment it hasn't been driven much, and definatly not far on any one trip (<20 miles) so damage should be minimal.
Well I'm going to stop typing now and consider this a closed deal.....well unless someone wants to give me $13000 or so for my car lol I am not sure I could pass that up in my less than wealthy state lol