Hey guys, This is my first post here on the board and I wanted to ask about the V6 engine for an 88 camaro. I'm 17 and am looking at getting my first car, and I found an 88 Camaro V6 RS (Body/front bumper looks like a berlinetta) on craigslist selling for $1,000. My friend who claims to know a lot about American muscle was telling me to stay away from the V6 model, saying that these models at stock are underpowered and tend to have a lot of mechanical problems. I figured I'd get your opinions about it. I've always like the third gen camaros, but frankly I don't know a lot about the pros and cons of the different engine sizes. The seller doesn't specifiy what the engine size is, but I've read a lot about 88's having a 2.8L. Was this the only size for a V6? *As a side note he mentioned that i'd have to replace the clutch soon. How much is it usually to replace the clutch? As a 17 year old I honestly don't mind how much HP my car has. As long as it drives and gets the job done. I also read that they typically get good MPG. What are some of the cons and pros of getting an 88 V6 Camaro? Thanks, Evan (Sorry if my questions seem nooby )

Pros: easier to work on

CONS: you always get comments about having a v6, and its not that fast

in reality the 2.8 does pretty good, a power house? not by a long shot. but really, its a camaro! i loved mine, in town it drove like a small block, sounded like a small block, just didnt have the power of a good running small block. just remember that the 305's didnt have sh*t for power either in todays standards.

youre not going to win any races, and there are no easy cheap ways to make it fast. but its a cool car. 2.8s are not bad motors imo. some get great gas mileage and some get bad. just search and youll find that out.

clutches are not cheap unless you do it yourself. buy the car and love it.

( look in the spare tire well and check for rust, also the floor boards. the car may look alright from the top, but it might also be rotten under it. )

Good luck.

my first car was an 86 v6 firebird and like you said stock it gets the job done. being only a 6 its lighter and i believe handles better then the v8 (better than the 2 ive driven anyway) but you most likely crave more horse power down the road and will have to decide between the handling of a v6 or the power of the v8. remember the v6 parts are harder to find and often more costly. the 2.8 is the only v6 that came in the third gens untill 90 or 91 IIRC i have not run into to many mechanical problems but then again i have litteraly completly taken out every thing apart in the car aside from the engine and tranny(wanted to change my whitecar with gray interrior to black on black ) i cant sspeak for the automatics but my 5 speed is a blast to drive just keep in mind its a v6 not the 500hp v8 that i drive mine like..... but if you do get it welcome to the thirdgen world

My 2.8 is a blast to drive. Like others said, if you want power, or maybe want to add power later, unless you want to throw in a turbo of supercharger, I would go with a V8. If you want a fun car that, imo, is a very strong engine, that gets decent gas mileage, and is easy to work on, I would go with the V6. It is probably cheaper up front than a V8 as well.

Throw a nice cat-back on it and it puts out a nice exhaust tone. Not V8 quality, but the casual ear can't tell the difference.

The V6 engines that are Multi-Point Fuel Injected do not suffer from the problems that happened to some of the earlier carbureted 2.8 V6 engines. The earlier engines were weaker in a few areas, and all of that was corrected when the changed the induction systems. They changed the motor to a 3.1 liter in 1990 by adding a longer stroke crank and different pistons to the 2.8 liter.

I have a 1992 3.1 liter firebird with an automatic, and I have loved owning it. Sure, there are times I wish that I had more power, but for the most part I have been satisfied with it. It now has 210K miles on it, and a recently blown head gasket is the only mechanical problem I have ever had with the drivetrain in the car. It is my daily driver now, since it can still get decent gas mileage. When the car was newer, I could get 30 MPG on the interstate with it. Last long trip I took in it was about 2 years ago, and I still got over 29 MPG!

If you like the car and don't care about racing or hot-rodding then the V6 will be fine. Get it checked out and make sure it is in good shape and runs good before you buy it. It might also be a lot cheaper to insure than a V8 car. It depends on your insurance company. To the insurance company, a 17 year old in a V8 camaro is an accident waiting to happen!

Thanks for the help guys!
Glad to hear that despite being a smaller engine, it's still a reliable one. As much as I love cars with a V8 engine, in reality its not practical for me. I'd be paying way too much for gas, lol. I live in Hawaii and I'll be doing mostly in town driving because my area doesn't have any major highways or freeways.

Another question, were the 88's all MPFI or were there still carb versions around?

The only thing now scaring me is the price of replacing the clutch, lol.

The car looks amazing in the pics, she's all black and I believe the rims are black too.
Will definatley take it in to a mechanic before buying though

This is not a bash, just what I should have done when I got mine at 18yo back in 06.

Find one that does not need work or needs very little or easy things like hoses and battery, your 17 and a clutch job (unless you know how to do it) will cost you a pretty penny to have done (by teen wallet status). Keep looking out there, a kid near me just bought one for $1500, put new pads and rotors on and drives the hell out of it. Passed emissions and he is happy out driving, while Im still fixing mine...haha, but maybe thats what you want. Just a suggestion to look at a few and maybe even drive a few to see how you like them before deciding. As I bought the first one I saw and knew about, and now slightly regret it, but the guy did let me pay payments on it while it sat at MY house...so it wasn't a big loss (I was paying $150 a week to the guy for the car).

THE MPFI system was put into the cars starting, I believe, in 1986. From that point forward, all of the V6 cars had fuel injection. You could get a carb'd 305 V8 in some cars as late as 1987. After 1987, it was all fuel injection all across the board.

Replacing the clutch shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars. The clutch components won't cost more than $150 or so from a parts house, and the labor to put it in shouldn't cost more than about $250 or $300. You should be looking at around $500 to have it done, assuming that's all that's wrong.

Thanks for the suggestions. I totally agree about getting a car that won't need work. I'm getting a summer job to help pay for everything. I wish I could make weekly payments like that, it would be sooo much better :P Haha.

A month ago a guy had an 89 350 V8 Camaro he was willing to sell me four $1,000 because he was moving. The day I go to look at it, he sells it. Seeing another Camaro here on Maui for sale at that price is great, as there arent too many around where I live.

We have a few family friend mechanics who I'll most likely go to if I replace the clutch. Pontiacguy, thanks for the price quote. I was worried because my dad told me he paid around $700 to replace the clutch on his Toyota 4runner.

I won't be racing it, so I feel relieved knowing that the V6 is still a reliable engine. The guy looks like he takes good care of his, he said he replaced the pads, rotors, wires and cap. He also has new armrests and brake calipers to throw in

As others have said, the engine is solid. 175k+ miles here. No issues.

The more problems are likely to be rust (especially near an ocean!) and a high mileage body (read: flexing and creaking). The rust issue is expensive. Pass if you find anything major. The tired body can be fixed with subframe connectors (~$100), which should be done even if the car is in great condition. It will help with the creaks and rattles, but then its up to you to re-tighten everything down.
Even if you buy a v6, a LOT of parts will interchange such as suspension, interior, brakes, body, etc. So if you enjoy modifying your car, you will still find plenty of ways to go broke customizing a v6 fbody.

Just realize the car is older, and is probably going to perform like it.

This is a great read. My 15 yo daughter has been saving for her first car and we just picked up a 1991 T-top RS with the v6 automatic. I wanted her to have a great-looking car we could modify without the worries of too much HP and temptation. Now it's sitting in the garage ready for a complete makeover. I'm curious what kind of MPG most of you are getting in city driving?

Great find for your daughter!....I make 20mpg in city driving. I drive my car everyday and love it. Im 19 so this is my first third gen. Ive ran into some problems but nothing i couldnt handle or afford yet. Today i just picked it up from my mechanic...he put in a new oil pan and pump and also fixed a trans leak for $150...i supplied the pan gasket and oil pump...he did the trans for free while he was there without me asking....Mazurs in Batavia, New York(great guys...they always take car of me) Sure sometimes i wish it was a v8. But recently i took it to a cruise and alot of people commented me on the car. I spoke to an older gentlemen that enlightened my horizons some.

He said "im glad to see shes still a six"...i said "whys that"....he says "come here boy follow me..."...he took me to about 20 different cars and said "what do you see"....i said "crate motors...350's and big blocks, all with chrome dress up kits"....he said "take what you see here and learn from it"...then he walked away. ....well ive been looking at swaping to a 350 for some time....now ive decided i dont want to be like EVERY SINGLE PERSON OUT THERE. Now ive changed my mind and will now just get the most i can from my six and love it the whole way through....at some point i plan to do a turbo set up just so i can have that little "boost" when i want it.

Sorry about the story....but i think its nice to see that people actually love there six as much as i do. Sure its not the fastest car on the block but it **** sure turns alot of heads and gets alot of complements at shows and cruises....mind you my car is not a show car...has problems...and is stock appearing under the hood except for the intake. I just have come to realize that its not all about doing what everyone else says you should do. Sad to say its taken me 19 yrs to learn that but gotta start somewhere

Thanks a bunch guys,

mtwlkn122 - thats a great story. The frien I mentioned earlier told me that the V6 models had transmissions problems, blaming it on "poor steel" used to produce it. Have you or anyone else had a lot of transmission problems?

I really want to get this car now. I'm a bit short of the thousand and im trying to convince my parents to pick up the slack. I applied for summer jobs but I won't make the money in time to get it. Wish me luck though!

I got mine for 500$ and only put 350$ into it (doing work myself with my pops) to get it inspected and reliable. It was sitting for a while too but my 2.8 was great, it had 163K when I got it and i put 1k on it (beating it the whole way) and it finally spun a bearing. The car handles pretty good for still have the original springs and shocks.

I say get a V6, then if you feel its too slow buy a 3.4L out of a 4thgen and do the swap. its so much better, 200lbs of torque is a true change. Its way more fun to drive. I put one in my bird after the 2.8 quit. I love the car now. I also put a 9 bolt posi with rear disks. I have enough torque now to chirp the tires alittle pulling out if I give it some gas (I have an auto)

Its also still cheap to run and its cheap to insure

Good luck

I'm also now in the process of painting (well prepping for paint) one panel at a time.

700r4 is a tank for the v6. Unbreakable unless you do something stupid. Mine went 160,000 miles on the original fluid. It was rebuild for performance, not because it needed it.

T5 is a little different. It will break under stock v8 torque. With a 6, and someone that knows how to shift, it should be fine for years.

Stop listening to your friend about thirdgens.

Haha, thanks for the reassurance. This has been a great help for me and I appreciate everyones input. Hopefully I'll get it! It's always been my dream to get a camaro and this may be the one. Thanks!

I traded my '95 mitsubishi Eclipse GST for my '92 RS w/ the 3.1L v6. Just shortly after that, i installed the Crane PowerMax cam (.425" lift on Int. & Exh., 272 deg. dur.), Moroso high flow oil pump, TCI 2800 stall torque converter, FlowMaster DeltaForce race muffler, Magnafuel FPR, Aeromotive fuel pump and I ported the intake manifold. All that gave me an excllent increase in horespower and throtle response. I also have alot more done to the rest of the car. Right now i'm just having issues with the ignition timing. when I got the car, I put about $750 into it to get it running right. But, this has been the the most reliable car I have had. and it's also the most fun. It's awesome when you roll up to a stoplight and a punk in a Honda or something thinks he can whip you, then all that changes when that light turns green. lol.

I resent that! The insurance companies are crazy nowadays, huh?

no, they are doing what they need to do to protect themselves. I am tired of seeing todays youth wrapped aaround tree's becouse they have a lead foot and an empty head. Personally my kids won't get thier hands on anything over a 4 banger with no mods until they move outa my house.

You can get goin alot faster in a modern Honda, Focus, Cobalt, than you can a 3rd gen v6 f-body..

I may be 17 but believe I tend to drive a lot safer than most of the people on the highway. You should see how a lot of the tourist drivers and dudes in civics drive here in Hawaii.

As far as speed goes, I don't care if the V6 can drag or not. As long as the car drives its fine. I just wanted to ask how reliable the engine was.

if it's the 3.1, then it's gonna be good to u it u take care of it. I haven't had any experience with the 2.8, so i can't tell u anything on it...

I have an 85 firebird I bought for 1,300 and it runs like a champ, just the idle is a lil high, but I havent had any other problems. I average about 19-20 mpg mostly city driving. Only thing Ive changed since buying it was a shiftercable, and sparkplugs besides the regular maintnence stuff. Im willing to say its more reliable than the crapcivic I had before the bird which broke down 3 times before I sold it. Also my GF enjoys the T-tops more.

UPDATE:

So I saw the car and aside for some body damage everything looks good. He replaced spark plugs, rotors, brake pads, and the distributor cap. All I need is for the car to be registered, inspected by a mechanic, and take her for a spin and I'm sold.

But I am stumped. He claims its an 88 camaro RS. I just read on another site that there were no RS models in 88. On the passenger door there is an RS logo. And for some reason the car has a berlinetta front end. The bumper with the open vents. Did the RS models come with this alternative bumper? Or was it limited to the berlinetta? If im not mistaken the berlinetta was made up until 1986.

I wont be able to go up to his place for another week but I wanted to ask about it here. Thanks!

I owned quite a few V6 thirdgens over the years, The automatics were dogs, the T5 model were more fun but reality was they were still slow. More than enough power for me then though.
As for better handling.. let's see they got smaller sway bars, softer springs and struts/shocks, and taller profile narrower tires. How that = better handling I don't know.
Gas mileage? Nothing great with the V6 cars I owned. My IROC was getting 20/24 before I did the T56 swap. Now I can manage 27 or so highway.
Duarability?? well I had 6 2.8L engine blow up on me. I'd say they were junk. My L98 went 250K miles before a head gasket let go.

If you have a V6 car and runs great and you love your car... great! I hope it last forever and you get miles of enjoyment out of it. Personal I hate the 2.8L
I recently bought an 87 RS thinking I could use it as my daily driver in nice weather. I made it about 2 weeks before I started looking for a TPI 350. The car is currently in my barn, engine and tranny coming out tomorrow. L98 from a 92 TA going back in.

As for the question on the 88 RS, no there were none in 88. If it's got a Berlinetta/Sport Coupe nose on it, then it's probably a replacement. Car may have been in a front end collision and they used the wrong nose. 87 was the first year for the RS in thirdgens, but it was a limited production model.
They didn't start as the base model until 89.

Thanks. So it must not be an 88 model.

The comment on the engine blowing really scares me. The friend I mentioned earlier used that as his reason for why he believes the 2.8 is junk. He went on about how the engines were built of a different composite and called it "cheap steel".

The cars got 116,000 miles on it, and he said its the only car thats never let him down. I really hope it lasts long because I've been selling off a lot of my stuff in order to buy my first car.

Thanks,
Evan

113,000 strong, still starts up even though it hasn't moved out of my driveway in three months, sure the battery may have died but thats for me not driving it. The only thing it needs is a new exhaust manifold.

It's true the auto's are quite slow compared to the manuals which have a bit more pep to them.

Good luck with it!

Cons- The lower intake manifold, like all gm v-engines will leak. Low output from the factory. The iron heads suck and can't be ported much.

Pros- Decent parts availability. Large DIY performance community. Good weight bias & handling. Decent mileage. Popular ECM swaps available.