I have the opportunity to buy an '88 Formula...but I dont know where to post some questions. It is a 5.7 TPI engine. The engine has 30k miles on a rebuild...the guy told me he has the paperwork to prove it. He also put in a 350 Turbo Transmission since the stock one went on it. He has the paperwork from that as well. He said it recently got a heavy tuneup(has the paperwork). It is a red hardtop with gray interior. It has the gray bottom. He said it has ROH rims on it...but he isnt sure which ones. It also has a "hot cam?" but not sure exactly which one. He mentioned something about the rearend being replaced or something but not sure what the gearing was. He also mentiones a hypertech chip. As far as I know the car is in perfect mechanical order and just needs minor body work. He said that there is a small dent behind the drivers quarter panel. Also the front end has chipped paint and needs to be repainted. The guy wants $2000 for the car. I am a little partial to t-top cars since that is what I have now...but I figured that I would be better off with this car over my '83 TA. It sounds like a more solid car with the small amount of miles on it. He said he is getting rid of it due to his new job which requires traveling and he bought a 4 cylinder car for better gas mileage. The only problem he said with the interior was the headliner. Now I am more into Trans ams...but this car seems to be a great buy to me. Of course I would get it checked out by my mechanic...or at least one in the area of him...since he lives a half hour away. I figured that it might be a good idea to make it look like a Trans am...just like how I made my '83 look like an '87. I would eventually put on the grid style tail lights, get the gfx(found a wrecked TA w/all gfx besides front end), get the body prepped for paint by a friend, and then take it somewhere to get a cheap paintjob to hold me. I am only 17 so I am not looking for the best car, but this seems a little too good to be true..even though I dont like the look of formula's (besides the powerbulge hood). I am trying to sell my car in order to snag this one. Does it sound like a good buy? He says he has the paperwork...and I didnt get to go over and see it yet...b/c I dont want to fall in love with a car when I dont have the money in my hand(happened this summer with an '89 t-top 5.7 GTA that I found w/111k miles for $2k) Should I wait and look for a TA since that is what I really want? Or should I settle on this and make it look like a TA? Will I be able to find a TA with that kind of miles for the same price...or at least for a similar price for what I will be spending after I make it look the way I want? Please give me as many opinions as you can. My apologies to the moderator....please move it to the proper board if it is in the wrong one. Thanks.

James

 

ttt

 

Well from a restoration standpoint that car sounds hashed. To swap to a TH-350 he'd have had to modify the torque arm, the driveshaft, the crossmember, etc. If the engines been rebuilt, is it the original or has it been changed? If its not original the car won't have matching numbers. Also if you want a t/a then why buy a Formula? Putting GFX on a formula is kinda like making a convertible a hardtop. Having dealt with several thirdgens I can tell you from experiance that the best ones to deal with are the cars that have the fewest changes made to them. Most peoples project cars are junk. Typically they get pieced together and have a virtual horn of plenty when it comes to problems, most of which aren't visible on the surface. If you just want a semi-reliable beater with decent performance go ahead, if you want something thats going to last and be dependable with possibility to restore later on I'd avoid this car.

My opinion, spend $5000 on a NICE thirdgen, or spend $1500 on a junker and $10,000 making it nice.

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Drew
predatorman@hotmail.com
83 Camaro 5.0L *1995-98*
87 Iroc 5.7L
91 Formula 5.7L 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible 5.0L
91 Firebird 3.1L 17.00@82mph *Gtech*
92 S10 2.8L
98 Grand Am GT 3100
Parts for sale

 

Also how many miles does the car actually show on the odometer? 30K on the engine is fine, thats the engine. But thats only a small concern, if its over 100,000 miles you can assume it needs shocks, struts, bushings, brake work, etc etc etc. That kinda stuff will nickle and dime a person to insanity.

 

Well, do the standard used car checks... don't buy it if: the oil is a funny color, there are big pools of liquid under the car, the underbody is rusted in the wrong places. If you take it to a mechanic and it gets a thumbs up try to take it for a test drive (at least a ride) to look at how the tach behaves (eratic? broken?), look at the gages to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary like say zero oil pressure... one other thing is to see that the engine doesn't vibrate the car. I think that you may be happy with the car, and since it sounds to be a bundle of parts already, I see no harm in GFX etc. from a T/A. See that the rear brakes are inspected too, those can get very expensive! Last but not least, get the best history you can from the owner... ask why the engine was rebuilt, why the tranny went out, why the rearend was replaced. The more info he is willing to divulge the more honest a seller he probably is. Price doesn't dictate how good a car is.

I bought mine for $1300 W/140k and the only repair I've had to make is replacing the rear tires... it came with the edelbrock intake and carb, some sort of performance rear shocks, a Hurst short shifter and my fave... the IROC wheels I've put 6k on the clock and it still runs smooth like silk.

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1984 Firebird - Daily driver, 305 LG4, 3.23 rear, T5 - Hurst short shifter, Edelbrock 600 CFM 1406 carb, Performer intake - Edelbrock Pro-Flow air filter, gutted cat, IROC 16x8 5 Spoke Wheels, AIWA bargain basement (from Sears of course) CD player, Eight-ball shift ****
Check out my ride here


[This message has been edited by ChillPhatCat (edited December 13, 2001).]

 

Too many "He Saids" what do you have to say about it?

If you buy it, be prepared for the typical nickel and dime repairs on a 13 year old car.

Somethings to ask yourself:

His gas mileage is bad?? That wouldn't have anything to do with NOT having an Overdrive transmission would it?

How important are t-tops? If the car is going to sit outside a hardtop will last longer.

Except for the nose, bumper, tailights, and some gfx. the firebird, formula, and Trans Am is the same car.

If you have any doubts then move on to another car. There are good project cars and bad ones, Personally I would pass on this one.

 

He said the original engine and trans blew after he bought the car...so he rebuilt the engine and replaced the trans. The owner before him used it to race and had a bunch of high performance parts on it. He didnt want to race the car when he rebuilt everything so he had the stock parts put in to replace the aftermarket stuff. He sounds pretty honest....but I didnt get to see the car yet. I talked to him on the phone. I wouldnt buy the car before I took it to a mechanic. I am not going to restore this car...it would be my first car(well 1st and a half since I havent really driven mine that much). I really like t-tops..but this one would sit outside. I figured it was in my price range with low miles. He had everything done professionally...it wasnt like everything was done on his own in a backyard project. I cant find a decent TA around the NY area...and the classifieds on here havent been working. What should I really look for? I dont remember how many miles were on the car...I forgot...but I think it was around 90k. I will keep you posted...but first I would have to sell my '83 TA.

James

 

"The owner before him used it to race and had a bunch of high performance parts on it. He didnt want to race the car when he rebuilt everything so he had the stock parts put in to replace the aftermarket stuff. He sounds pretty honest..."

Right... This load of hooeey he fed you is unbelievable at best. No one buys a car thats been modded then puts factory parts back on unless their is a problem with the parts. I'd sooner believe he blew the engine/tranny while screwing around and couldn't fix it right, so he fixed it cheap.

You want to look for a thirdgen, camaro or firebird based on what you like best. Decide what options you want the car to have.
Make a list without thinking about any specific car you've already looked at.
My list read as follows...
L98
16" wheels
ttops
any color other than white
less than 100,000 miles
new as possible

I had to make a concession or two based on what was available. Once you have your list made out start looking for a car. If what you find doesn't match your list, keep looking. From personal experiance, if you aren't happy with the car as it is, you'll probably never be happy with it.

Watch autotrader.com, carsforsale.com, etc. Watch ebay if you like, but keep in mind anything you find you'll want to see in person before you buy it, and shipping a car is $$$. Its not hard to find any car as long as you take your time and have the $$$ on hand to make a reasonable offer.

 

I agree, don't settle for less than what you want. Thirdgens are plentiful and cheap. The only exception to this imho is if you find a deal that is just too good to pass up, like my L03 '88 IROC for $400. I would have prefered TPI but for less than $1000 total I now have a nice daily driver that I've now put over 6000 trouble free miles on, and with minor body work and a new paint job it'll be real nice and then I can keep it or sell it and get something else, whichever strikes my fancy. That car you are considering just doesn't strike me as any kind of deal.


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IROCnRoll.com

Blue502 - 1986 Sport Coupe
Hugger³ - 1988 IROC-Z

 

Drew...the engine blew b/c the first owner raced it and beat on it too much. That is why he replaced everything...b/c all the parts went. He said it cost him like 2grand to do the engine...he has receipts. But I guess maybe I will just look for a TPI trans am...which is very hard to find in my price range...especially with the classifieds on this board being down. I just dont get what is so wrong with buying a car with a rebuilt engine and a new tranny...especially if he has the paper work. So your saying that once a cars engine goes bad that you should just junk it...and that it isnt worth rebuilding the engine? Why wouldnt you buy a car with the paperwork to prove the work was done? I would have it checked out by a mechanic and I do have all the gfx besides the nose available to put on this car. Is there anything that I am missing? But I guess you guys are right about the part on getting a car with everything I am looking for so I guess I will make my list.

So here is my list so you guys can keep a lookout for a Trans am/GTA/Formula:

t-tops
TPI engine(prefer a 350 auto or 5 speed 305...but would settle for a 305 auto if it is in good condition).
The color doesnt really matter to me.
Interior color isnt that important...as long as the interior is in pretty good condition(but would prefer black)
No car that needs a lot of work.

And I cant really spend over $2500...b/c that is even going a little over my budget right now. Keep in mind this will be my first car in a way...b/c I havent driven my '83 that much. That is why I didnt think this Formula was that bad...since it had the engine I wanted, had low miles, was in my pricerange, was in my area...but it lacked t-tops and gfx.

Thanks,

James

 

I'm not saying that a car should be junked if the engine goes. I'm saying that there are enough cars that are all original and that are easier to work with than to justify buying someones patchwork quilt. A car thats always been cared for is always a better investment than a car thats been flogged so hard that its on its second engine and transmission.

 

I appreciate and value your opinion..thats why I came on here to ask for your opinion...therefor I am going to wait for the right car to come along. I appreciate all of your help...and you made me realize that I probably would not have been too happy with the car itself. Please keep your eyes open for a Trans am for me. Thanks.

James

 

ttt

so does anybody know of any '87-'90 TPI TA's or Formulas out there for sale. I prefer a car with t-tops and want either an auto 350 or a manual 305. Thanks.

James