Hey everyone, just wanted to say hi and stuff. I'm planning to get a old firebird or camaro but I'm clueless about these cars. Can someone please tell me how I should go about on a car like this. I know quite a bit about japanese cars but i decided to change for a bit.

 

well is deponds on what you want. i love the 90-92 camaro the most becouse they got new gauges but in 91 the also got new gfx and the option 16in wheels that i think are the best wheels that they ever put on a camaro. but aslo if you could find a 90 or eairler IROCz thoes will strick fear in any one that wants to challenge you.

 

When getting one of these cars I would most certainly suggest the basics to start. Rust, straight body, Good shifting Transmission, smooth running engine, all the options work etc. From there I would Consider what you want to do with the car. I need to say that a T-top or Convertable is not as strong as a hard top, so I would avoid these if you plan on racing.

If you want a daily driver, then a V6 might do you fine, but in my personal opinion I would not go less than a TPI car, just because of the extra power and economy.

I would almost suggest avopiding the 4BBL cars alltogether, and I would think that the Throttle body cars are almost as bad, granted the 82-86 HO 305's are lots of fun. You can do more with a Carb car as far as mods, but the economy aspect turns me off.

When checking the body, be aware of the rust areas, wheel wells, bottom side of doors, etc, under the ground effects etc. Several folks here without a floorpan.

Good Luck

John

 

Why would he want to stay away from carb's cars? A lot of these cars dont have the original setup anymore, and f you dont want a carb, you just eliminated half of your choices. Carb'd cars make more power up top, and are easier to troubleshoot and tune. If you find the right car, get it.

 

get a 90-92 Z28 Camaro and then call me up and tell how much fun they are

 

First, decide how much you can afford to spend. This pretty much dictates what kind of third gen you can buy.

Then ask yourself what kind of car you want.

Do you have to have T-Tops, TPI, low miles, one that doesn't need alot of repair or restoration?

In my case I wanted low miles, TPI, and power options, and a car that didn't need a lot of work.

I started out looking for an Iroc-z, but they were out of my price range. So I settled on an 85 Z28. Fortunately I was able to save some money and by selling the Z28 I was able to buy the car I now have.

Don't be afraid to buy something that isn't exactly what your looking for, you can always sell it when something better comes along.

I should add that I sold the Z28 to a fellow member of this board, and he is really happy with it.

 

Get a good body first. Body work is MUCH more expensive than mnechanical work (as you probably know).

IMO, the best cars are either the 5.0 HO cars (305 4bbl 190hp) or the 5.7 TPI cars (350 Tuned port injection).

I like the 5.0 HO cars because they can be had with a manual trans, and they got some really nice stuff... good, long powerband, 190hp/240ft-lbs, 5 speed, decent exhaust, and the best rear gears of any other 3rdgens. These cars (4bbl cars) are the easiest and the cheapest to modify too. Be careful with looking for these though... not all 4bbl cars are HO cars. In fact, probably 90% of the 4bbl cars you might find won't be HO.

The 5.7 TPI cars are the big brutes of the 3rdgen cars though. 240hp/340ft-lbs torque. These are the fastest of the 3rdgen cars, although a 5.0 TPI/5 speed is close. They cost a little more to modify, but they are the fastest before and after usually.

 

also i for got to tell you to LOOK under the dash! see if they have fooled around with the wiring look for black electrical tape and i mess of wires stuff that does not look right. i learned that the hard way