Well, I bought my firebird last week for 500$. Pretty damn good interior, needs cleaning, mint shocktowers and all in all a very solid car. But I was searching the Triad when I came upon a 450$ 5 speed 2.8 car with t-tops. It's quite a ways away, but from what the guy says (which from personal experience isn't very much) but he says it's solid overall, it was on the road last year.

My car needs a 125$ distrib, probably 400$ in tires, all new brakes.. The list just keeps going on and on. But would it be a good idea to strip my interior, sell my car, and go pick up the running one?

 

these cars are all pushing if not already 20 years of age... they tend to eat money. there is no gaurentee that the other car you are looking at is any better that yours. its probably needs the same things, tires and tune-up, maybe a clutch. just no matter what you buy be prepaired to spend a bit of money to make it a reliable driver.

be careful, these cars cand tend to be rusty under a nice interior and paint

 

Well, to be honest, if it's running, it's farther ahead then me. Rust isn't a big deal, as rust doesn't judge whether you pass a safety or not. He also said he parks it for the winter and drives his jeep so that's atleast safe.. But in all honesty, my car needs atleast 1200$ just to get it sub par, which even then it might not pass safety so I'm kinda screwed for that whole thing..

 

It is realy up to you man. If you NEED a car to drive and dont have time to wait then i would go with the running one. If you have time and some money then i would go with the one you have so you can make it into the car you really want.

 

hope it turns out ok for the car

 

If you are worried about expenses and/or working on a never ending project, you should strongly consider not owning a thirdgen. It doesn't matter what it is, or how much it costs you initially, it's not going to be dependable and if you don't have a very firm grasp on how to perform maintenance and repairs on your own, it's going to end up costing you dearly.

Parts have gotten more difficult to find and more expensive in the last few years. The general condition of these cars is poor to horrible. Without work the performance is typically lack-luster, and dependability is a myth.

All that said, the 6cyl's are usually cheaper, easier to maintain, easier to obtain replacement parts, etc... But performance wise they're never going to be anything too impressive. The MPFI 2.8 and 3.1 is pretty comparable to a TBI or carbed low output 305, but the V8 is cheaper to upgrade and responds to modifications better.

 

The expenses don't bother me, I don't care how much money I put into a car. It's just getting the money that kills me. It's a very bad time for Windsor right now, white collar workers are flipping burgers at Wendy's. I'm going to get my '83 running and sell it, and I'm definatly going to look for a car that needs a bunch less.... Refurbishing.. A safety check is about 400$ aswell...

 

The problem is just age and mileage. These cars are getting old enough now and they've been neglected for so long that anytime you get into one that hasn't been regularly maintained you're going to have to completely rebuild the brakes right away, new tires are a must, balljoints, motor/trans mounts, bushings/endlinks, exhaust, interior, weatherstripping, rust, pitted/scratched glass, worn bushings in the rear axle assembly, fuel pumps, water pumps, hoses and vacuum lines, etc... The hours it takes to work on this stuff is bad enough, but the replacement parts and farmed out work (tire mounting, alignments, etc) will run you broke in a hurry.

 

That's why I'm driving to St Catherines. The car was on the road last year, atleast that will save me a safety check.

 

Just found a GTA TA sitting in a guys driveway with 01 tags.. What do these go for in 1/2 decent shape?

 

I wouldn't say ALL third gens at this point could be deemed unreliable. Certainly, any old car can have anything break at any time, but in general it seems like third gens are pretty damn tough cars. My '91 RS just completed a 900 mile road trip all over ME, never once gave me an issue, and returned over 24 MPG to boot, with the A/C cranked

Granted, before the trip I did a complete tune up, fresh serpentine belt, shocks, struts and changed every fluid except the brake fluid. The previous owner (I've only had the car 2 months) already replaced the brake lines, brakes, exhaust, radiator and water pump. Granted, that is quite a bit of work, but for less than $1,500 between the 2 of us, the car literally runs and drives like brand new...squeaks and all

Personally? I drive to Bowling Green, KY every year in September for the Camaro/Firebird Invasion at the National Corvette Museum. Were it not for the fact that the car is not up to snuff cosmetically for the show (interior is clean but a little worn, and the LF corner of the front bumper is scuffed), I would not hesitate to drive this car the 2,400 miles round trip to the show and back, in place of my '97.

Then again, that's just me As for the V6 cars being comparable to TBI cars??? A TBI is nowhere near what I'd consider a "fast" car, but it sure beats my old 2.8 '89 RS. A V6 will not break a 17 second 1/4 mile stock...the TBI is minimally 1 second faster, and I've seen a few period road tests for TBIs as low as 15.7 (Hot Rod test of an '88 M5 TBI Sport Coupe)...

As for you, the bottom line? Make sure its safe, drive it, enjoy it, and do what you will with it.

 

What year and what mileage?

 

yeah, these cars will start to cost. but i love her anyway. fun to drive, handles great, great on gas(LO3), t-tops. not metion, people notice me. i get more stares in my third gen than any other car i ever owned. i have replaced rear shocks, iginition coil, coolant temp sensor, idler arm, centerlink, spark plugs cap and rotor, brakes and rotors. i have only owned the car since may, and i dont know if thats a full list. but my car is well worth it. i love have something somewhat unique, granted they made alot of third gens, but i live in buffalo ny, so alot of them are already in the junk yards (:. thats makes me very sad, i grew up with a 1984 z28 which my stepfather still has. i havent even touched the surface with my car yet. i bought a new headliner, and visors but i still have to finish the interior. then i want to build up the suspension a little, wonderbar better sway bars and strut tower brace. exhuast alone is going to cost me 700-900 bucks. i want headers a 3" catback flowmaster system. and thats not even touching the engine or trans which runs solid, thank god. i would like a better cam. this car is going to cost me thousands, i dont car my life wouldnt be the same without it. people spend a whole lot more than that on newer cars. minivans and sedans that are completely dull, void of anything fun or truely enjoyable. it also gives me something to do. work on the car on the weekends, i think thats tons of fun. my car is very clean so its now struggle to take apart, and when i make an improvement its a sense of real pride. when the car handles better, the interior is improved, or just runs better its a feeling of accomplishment. my third gen is also a great teacher. i have learned alot about EGR systems and other vechile controls working on my car. just my 2 cents.

 

It's a '90 I think... The vin tags were really rusted up, couldn't tell G from 9... But I found out that the guy will never part with the car from a neighbour.. Really nice shape, the only things wrong with the body are the rear spoiler being cracked, and the windows are all scratched up.. Maybe I could go there at 2 in the morning with a tow truck... Hmmmm...

ad356 -> My firebird is just sitting in the back right now, and it's already costed me about 200$... Just to pull it home was close to 80. The next thing for sure is the distributor, as that's only 25$.. Then if it doesn't run, I'll venture out into finding a scrapped z28, and pull the running gear from it.. From there I guess I'll wing it.. Unless ofcourse, I find a running v8 Firebird...