Well guys I've been a long time lurker here and I'm finally going to go check out a 1986 maroon Z28 tomorrow and I'd like to get your guys' opinions on what I'm looking at.

I called the gentlemen today to ask him a few questions and this is what he had to say:

-86' maroon Z28 hardtop
-115,000 - 120,000 miles on original engine and tranny (has been sitting for 1 year, so the gentlemen isn't exactly sure of the mileage)
- carb'd 305
- 700R4 tranny
-Flowmaster Catback
-CD Player
-Almost perfect interior (minus the cracked dash...or course)
-The 305 had a tune-up 1 year ago (sparkplugs, fuel filter, etc..)
-It has one ding/small dent on the driver's side quarter panel
-One dime-sized spot of surface rust above the driver's side wheel well
-The gentlemen says the tranny shifts good and the car has never given him any problems.


Now he said that you have to pump the gas a little bit on start up since it's a carb'd engine....is that correct or does the carb need a little work done to tune it correctly?

He is asking $1,800/obo. I'll try to grab some pictures of it tomorrow to post up, but I just wanted to get your opinions on what price to throw at him and how the condition of the car sounds. I won't know everything till I see it tomorrow, but I'll make sure to post what I found.

Thanks for the insight!
-Luke

 

I bought almost an identical car except in Trans Am form. '86, Q-jet, 305, 101k ... except my interior was trash. Gave $800 two years ago. Mine you have to pump the gas to get a cold start, too. I don't know if that's the norm, but it runs great once it cranks.

I'd say an extra $1000 is worth a mint interior. Good deal. Go for it. Although it never hurts to try and talk them down!

The "one" spot of rust would worry me a little, though. Make sure you get a chance to look really good at the inside of the fender wells and also get a good look up under the car. The T/A I bought was 100% rust-free (it's great to be from the Confederate States of America when it comes to car bodies.)

 

Thanks for the input!

Yes, I'm bringing a small flashlight and have full intentions of crawling over ever little inch of the car.

I'll let you guys know how it goes!

 

sounds real good! pictures please! :-)

 

Well guys the seller was a complete lier.

The car has 166,000 miles on it and it doesn't even start!!

The outside looked nice, but the miles are scaring me away from it.

Oh well, back to the drawing board!!

 

aww that sucks. I feel for you Me and my dad drove to alabama from texas to go pick up a trans am and it said to be 44k miles and it had 144k and had been in salt all its life.. rust everywhere

 

Crap.

Oh well ...

I flew to Chicago one time to pick up a Mazda RX8 (don't laugh ... it was the car my wife wanted). The owner said it was "perfect" many times over. Photos looked good (Photoshop can really do wonders). I bought a 1-way ticket up there and got there and the car was absolute crap. The owner acted P.O.'d when I told him I wasn't taking it (how did he think I felt?). So, I caught a cab to the airport, rented a Cavalier (yeah GM!) and drove 13 hours back home. I hate liars.

But if you haven't figured it out already, thirdgen's are a dime a dozen! And if you have a $2k or so budget, you're in good shape to get a decent car.

 

You can still find some deals out there, You can still find some good 1st Gen deals if you wait long enough... I should have picked up a 1968 396 Camaro 7 years ago for $2K... So if you wait and the time is right you will find one...

John

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys!

I'm sure I'll find a good decent car, even if I have to wait till next year. My budget for this summer is around $1,500 to $2,000, but I think if I don't find a good deal I'll just wait till next summer and get something really nice!

I'm willing to wait a year to get a nice Iroc!!