Hello everyone! I just joined up here, but have been meaning to for some time. The story is this; I found a beautiful 86 z28 at a car lot and have been driving it everywhere, it has a niice suped up 350 in it, and many other cool features. I was falling in love with it, when WHAM 3 weeks later I was hit by some illegal aliens with no insurance. It bent the frame where the bumper attatches, and slightly around the engine. So I was going to buy this 91 RS as a parts car. It has no engine, but otherwise is complete. Now that I see it though, I wonder if I shouldnt just do an engine swap. The problem is, I LIKE the z28 name, and ride. The RS will not be the same or worth as much correct? But the RS is a t top car, and the z28 isnt. I like older models, cause if I move somewhere that has emmisions testing, the 86 will be exempt first. But Id have to straighten the frame. Also, just yesterday the flywheel lost some teeth on the 86, and now wont start well or at all. So I have to pull the tranny anyway to get to the flywheel. What would YOU do?

Here is the z28... as you can see it has a nice hood and spoiler, and wheels, that would look very good on the RS. But will the ride be as good? Remember the passenger side corner of this car is now crunchola, but the hood survived with only a small nick and underside crack.





Here is the RS.

 

without seeing what the z looks like i would say fix it it would be easier and cheaper to make it look good again then to make the rs look as good

 

I wish I had. apparently in the state of Alabama you can be illegal, have no license or insurance, and only get a ticket and be allowed to drive off in your busted old geo metro. In texas theyd have been towed, fried, and deported. I dont know what I am going to do yet.

 

If i was in your shoes i'd swap everthing over to the rs. whatever you feel makes the Z better in the handling department( prolly just the sways), keep those too. Plus these cars are old and the majority of them have quite a few miles on them, replacing worn out suspension components will prolly make it even better than the Z.

I wouldn't want to mess with a wrecked car if its as bad as you say it is.

Not to mention those T Tops. You'll forget about your z, just paint it white!

 

Ill get some pics of it tonight.

 

my camaro got backed into two yrs ago in a parking lot. it took me hours just to get my new goodmark cowl hood to close let alone line up right. and i really don't know what other minor cosmetic discrepencies will give me hell down the road if i plan to restore it. and this is only cosmetic. no frame damage.

I couldn't imagine trying to fix something alot worse!

best of luck! have fun with the swap! I wish my camaro was as straight and clean as your rs, its got what looks to be a perfect shell.

let us know how to goes.

 

haha sorry all the cool parts stay with me. But I will have that set of honey comb rims for sale. Ill also be selling some interior pieces of whatever car is left.

 

hahah i forgot I am not getting the honey comb rims. There was another z28 I was interested in that had them I dont have the 91 rs yet, it will be delivered sunday and I have not decided if I wanna give up the z, but when I decide, I ll get you all a ton of pics. Thanks!

 

Get this, I just talked to the insurance company and they are GOING TO PAY THE ILLEGAL ALIEN for the wreck!!!!!!!!! even though he had no insurance, and I dont get squat!!!! OMG...... I am very very upset.

 

Safeco. Because they say in Alabama, if they think its your fault they pay even if they dont have insurance. what the heck?????????????? It wasnt even my fault but if they think it may have even been close to being my fault, they pay. No questions asked. I talked to State Farm and they said the same thing! I am moving out of Alabama by 2009, back to Texas, lol, which is funny because I thought I was getting away from the illegals there, but no they all came here cause they can wreck into you and get paid!

 

you should have taken it to a body shop to have lined it back up. there pretty much experts on it and it wouldnt have cost that much to pay some one under the table or just to line it up. Then you could have painted it yourself.


Also fix it, the last thing we need is for another third gen to go down.. :-/ I would like to see pictures before you go any further on stripping the z28 down.

heh buy the rs fix it up and driv'her round.

 

yeahhhhh,......texas is where its at!! i dont see NEAR enough 3rd gens here in dallas!! i think i've seen maybe 2 nice ones. bring er on back home, where she belongs!! haha..

and whatever you decide between the z and rs, best of luck!!

 

Well the RS is coming tomorrow and I still havent decided. Turns out the alternator went bad and the battery was so weak on my Z that the gears were catching in it making it sound like a chunk was missing. I even had to move the fan back and forth to get the starter uncaught. I almost went off on the Autozone guy when he told me these alternators, the cheapest reman alternator was 100 freakin dollars. This is a CHEVY, not a damn Mercedes, or Mclaren. Its been a while since I bought one new, but not that long.... Luckily I have a connection for Camaro parts now. A guy out of Nashville named Mad Dog. Seems he has every Camaro part from 82 up you could ever want, and he is where I am getting the RS camaro. If yall want his number, its 615-973-1800.

 

I am fixing the z28 yall I will have some parts left over from the RS, t tops, ground fx, interior, *grey* and wheels if I can find some old ones to go on there. Thanx for all the advice and the poll answers. If you want parts let me know!

 

so your gonna use the rs for parts? I still dont think that would have been the most logical thing to do considering it didnt sound that bad. There goes ANOTHER third gen :-o o well your car your decision.

 

Oh give me a BREAK. This car has a cut wiring harness, rusted battery tray, missing interior pieces, dents, broken plastic, and so on. This car was in a JUNK YARD. Dont get all emotional on me over a parts car. I told you right off I was going to part one of them. I am instead having my z28's frame fixed, which isnt cheap. You should be proud of me.

 

And yes I know the pics are of it in a yard, but the guy that owned it has about 10 of them in his friends junk yard and this was headed there. The only thing I am getting off it besides the front cover and pieces is the wiper assembly and back hatch hydraulics. If you wanna save this car, buy it from me!

 

id say good choice on saving the z but im a z guy as much as a lot ofus would like saving a lot of these cars you cant save them all at least you saved one of them good luck on the rebuild

 

Thanks... and yeah if I was rich I would have fixed them both. Such is life.

 

O yes Im proud good luck with your Z:-)...

 

Looks like I will have the cash to fix the car by next weekend. Meaning in 2 weeks, whala, shiny camaro! Then I only have a few more weeks till I pay it off... maybe 6 to 8.... but anyway yeah, the Z is coming back! Ill try to get pics of it wrecked before I fix it. Now, should I try and fix the front ground FX thats on it, or use the 91 with the holes?

 

Well, the 91 with Aero GFX seem to be in pretty good shape. I think it would look odd with the door GFX from the 86. I say if your gonna use the 91 front end, use the whole setup.

 

Are you sure your Z-28 is really a Z-28? It has an RS grille... I would build the RS using as many parts from the other car as possible. (My .02)
Good luck, either way!

 

Yes, I am very sure, not only did I verify the vin, (1G1FP87H5GL******) but you can tell a difference in the steering ratio and ride. It runs and drives like a 400 hp go kart .

The RS had rust in the battery tray, and the interior needs alot of help. I got the front end off, and sold it to a friend. I dont know if he is going to use it for parts or not, he has a convertible IROC Z he just got for 400 bucks, runs but needs alot of stuff. Top was open in the rain for a few years.

But anyway, I am running around in circles, impatient to get my baby looking good again. I have alll the parts including a brand new fender, sitting here in my apartment. I am going to see if the original front air dam can be saved, if not imma use the 91 style. I have to use some epoxy stuff on it tho cause the 91 is broken in a few places. FUN.

 

My 92 had a rusted battery tray too. All it took was a cheap bottle of liquid and now it isnt just rust. The rest is nothing except the wiring harness.
Sucks that bastard hit you though.Im glad your z will live.

 

Yeah, I just saw the grille and was curious.... Good luck with the build. A lot of people would have just given up on it. I'm glad you did'nt!

 

Well, the car is in the shop, so we shall see how good of a job they do! This is one the very few times I have ever taken my car to someone else to have it fixed If it hadnt been frame damaged, Id do it myself . Ah well. I forgot to get wrecked pics... maybe I can get one from the insurance company. Ill post a few, and I am keeping the dented fender too lol so Ill get a pic of that. Cant wait to have my z back and pretty!