Hey guys, I was wondering what kind of horror stories you have regarding your thirdgen just after buying em. I'm talking about the kind of scenario where you feel as if you stumbled across a great deal and the engine throws a rod on the way home... or you take the plastic ground effects off and find absolutely nothing underneath em (rust). Or even something like finding out that you purchased a stolen vehicle, etc. etc. etc.

I can kinda relate. I bought my 91 T/A 'vert about a month ago and it ran like a dream when I was checking it out. After putting 3 miles on it, it left me stranded and is now at the mechanic.

And forgive me if a thread like this was already started.

 

I bought a 350 T-Top Iroc (from thesecond owner who had owned it since 1992.). On the way home a wire loom was pushed against the exhaust manifold and caught fire as I was pulling into the gas station. It was a relatively small fire and luckily it didn't seem to hurt anything except the wire loom cover....but none the less it was quite exciting!

 

My dad sold his 1995 Dodge Viper and got a partial trade for a 1988 IROC-Z Convertible.. Black w/ black interior.. I nearly died of excitement when thats what the trade was..

Anyway, we get it home, and he told me, since I have extensive experience changing suspension parts and changing stuff on these cars (Owned 3 since 2005) he was going to leave it up to me to get it safety'd and etested..

First, I decided to do the basic stuff, IE change fuel filter, check the brakes, make a list of what it needs... So I took it for a drive after I put the wheels back on.. Just up the driveway and back.. Turned the car off, went back out to start it a little bit later and it was dead.. It would turn over, but it reeked of gas, 3 days of changing ignition parts, and pulling my hair out, we came across a coolant temp sensor that let it's smoke out.. Changed it out, and the car ran like a top.. With an extra extensive tune up, and a brand new front end...

It also took 4 tries for an emmisions test.. She blew a 220 Hydrocarbon, 175 over the allowed limit.. Anyway, for a 130k KM, TPI 305 'Vert, she's not a bad car..

 

Oh wow! At least the car didn't go up in flames while cruising down a highway or something.

Let me go a little more in-depth with my story.

I bought my 91 'vert off a member of this board actually (which is why I'm SO greatful that I found this board, I never thought I'd be able to find such a rare car for so cheap). I'm live in CT, and I found this car in NH. My dad and I went up just to check it out, since we had to no paperwork to allow us to take it home. We found her sitting on a driveway, kinda neglected (sat for a year). But it fired right up, idled kinda roughly though (consistant but vibrating hard). We took it for a ride. We were impressed, and asked the guy to hold the car for a little while until we had the paperwork etc, settled.
Took us two weeks, but we came back for her. The original plan was to get it registered/insured in CT so we were able to drive it home, but we decided to skip on that so we can find the best possible insurance rates.

You don't know how happy I am that we didn't drive it home... we rented a Uhaul trailer and towed her home. As I said earlier, I took it for a few spins around my neighborhood, putting a few miles on her, when it quit on me. I'd rather have it quit uphill 50 ft away from my house and have the neighbors help me push it back (true story) than have it die 120 miles from home on the highway and pay a fortune to hire a towing company.

It's at the mechanic right now, still getting diagnosed. However it's probably nothing too serious.

Wow I didn't notice until now that I'm rambling on my own thread. LOL

 

Ugh, you don't know how much emissions tests **** me off. LOL
Why wasn't she passing? Was the original smog equipment still in the car?

 

It wasn't really soon in the life of the car but, watch for the eletrical harness that passes thru the firewall, mine shorted big time one day and fried most of the harness, new one from chevy is 450.00$$. Check the gromett on the firewall and look for abrasion on the harness.

 

I think you could categorize my experience with buying an '87 IROC a horror story. Rust, rust and more rust. Alt dying at rush hour in the fast lane of an 8 lane highway. Incurable idiot light. Wiring birdsnests everywhere. The list goes on. But with days like we had yesterday it's all worth it. Link is in my sig.

 

I dont know if mine is a horror story yet or not. I just bought a 91 Z for $2000.00. I was planing on a paint job and some interior work. Now I am doing a full restoration. I found rust behind the fenders....and a few other spot here and there.

 

The car came with a manilla envelope filled with receipts from the previous owner (Parklane Chevrolet in Sarnia Ontario) Everything done to this car, was done at a dealer, with GM Goodwrench parts.. Every bill was for $900-$1500, and as we were going through them, we noticed that since the car was new, he was having problems with it.. For example "Car would start in AM, but not after it was warm) or the previous emissions test sheets showing super high hydrocarbons.. Then the guy would drop $450 to have a conditional pass...

We changed the sparkplug wires, retarted the timing, and dumped a gallon of Methyl Hydrate into the tank, and blew a 47, Total amount spent, around $180...

As far as we could tell from the documentation, the car has never passed an E-test, Ever...

 

I bought my '82 Recaro T/A with a known rod knock thinking it shouldn't be too big of a deal to rebuild the engine. Once I pulled the oil pan I found it full of metallic paste, the entire #4 rod bearing hammered out of the connecting rod, and the crank journal ground down at least 1/8" on the thrust side. Yep, engine is junk!

 

I traded my 1987 GTA with a 350 to my friend for a 1988 GTA that had t tops, manual trans, digital dash, and a 305 TPI. I always wanted that car since he got it, so when the opportunity arose, I jumped on it. About a month or so prior, we had installed a 305 that I had lying around that was good when I parked the car it came from.

I get it home, finish assembly (like putting the headers/y pipe on and finish bolting up the accessory drive). Fire it up, all is well. Then, about 3 months later (if that), it starts knocking. Well, at least I thought it was knock. More on that in a min. But what was known is the engine couldn't keep any oil pressure.

So I pulled that engine out, tore it down to the shortblock, and found 2 rounded lobes on the cam and the #2 main journal completely chewed up. I bought a new crank with matching bearings, new cam, and converted to carb. Oh, new oil pump too. Now it runs pretty good, keeps good oil pressure, etc.

But that "knock" is still there. Come to find out, my passenger side exhaust header is less than a hair away from the frame, so it is hitting it and rattling. So I get to pull that header out and make some clearance for the header now.

 

My red '88 GTA blew both sides of the radiator off on the third day after I bought it new with less than 200 miles on the clock. Does that count?

 

I purchased an '89 GTA which I discovered a couple months later was two cars welded together. The back half was an '85 and the front an '89. I sold it as a parts car.

 

LOL....My Camaro did the same thing right before I took it apart. I took it up the street one last time.....I heard what sounded like a grinding noise/boiling. I pullled into the drive way popped the hood. I started to walk around to the front of the car and BOOM......I took off running, I didnt know what happend. It blew the the tank off the drivers side of the radiator.

 

I thought 82-92 Firebirds shared the same shell ?


I bought my 84 T/A as a long term drivable project.
Thankfully she's mostly original so I only need the hardest to find parts
The four harnesses had been jacked up for the UK homologation and an alarm system so a lot of things didn't work properly. I removed all the crap and soldered the original wires where they should. Everything worked better suddenly

Well, everything was find during five months until the last time I went for a ride. I had done a lot of work just before : alternator rebuild, starter repair, put the original carb in place, put pack some emissions stuff back in place, took the interior apart to let it dry (the insulation was awfully wet), regreased the seat tracks, added insulation where some was missing. She was much more quiet, less smelly and ran way better than before. The only thing I hadn't done was adding some power steering fluid as the level was a bit low.
So on the way it was perfect, except that she was stalling at low RPM (original CC carb with non CC distributor).
But on a third of the way back, I heard a "clong" in the engine and felt that I had no more power steering I thought the PS pump died. It was a bit tough in the roundabouts...
After around three miles, I saw smoke coming from the right of the hood. I stopped immediatly and saw the coolant boiling. I thought it was because I had put 1/2 water 1/2 coolant. It was night so I didn't look anywhere else.
I started the car and continued the trip, three other miles later the smoke was back. I checked the temperature and it was above 260°F. I felt that the dash lights were less bright, and the Volt needle was at 8...
I stopped again in the middle of nowhere, and I saw a broken belt ! This belt was turning the PS and water pump pulley, which was turning the alternator pulley...there was only 10 miles to go.
She managed to start after I let it cool down, not much battery left. I didn't go over 20mph, I turned off the headlights but my brother was behind me in his Porsche 924 so I could see something.
Five miles later at 1:30AM I ended up parking on the side of the road. We tried to fabricate a belt but obviously that didn't work.

On the morning I came with a brand new belt, while my sister calls me to tell me she got a paper from the police and I had to go to the office about something.
I drove back home.

On the afternoon I go to the police, and they gave me a bill for having homemade license plates over the old ones. That was supposed to be a test ride and nobody does US sized plates here at the moment...

What a GREAT night !

That pissed me off so I took her apart to start a partial restoration (new paint, new upholstery and engine rebuild).

 

Why did you sell it as a parts car? It looks fine in that picture. I know it's a franken-bird but still?

Hahaha yup that counts. Was it repaired by warranty or something? And do you still have the car?

 

Bought my '91 for $2500. Dropped about $4k into it immediately after. The trans blew 2 weeks after I bought it, new brakes all the way around, suspension issues, the fuel injectors went sour, I closed the drivers door too hard and the mirror glass fell off, fog lights were missing, a couple of the GFX pieces fell apart, antenna wouldn't go down, etc. It's in WAY better shape now than it was when I bought it.

 

I hope I have better luck than you!

Keep 'em coming guys! These are pretty interesting

 

Mine isn't so much a horror story, as much as its a labor of love that got out of control...

At work, back in May 2006 I took in on trade a worn-but-solid '91 RS with 107k on it. The previous owner had only driven it 30k in 7 years, and hadn't abused it. I remember the first night, driving it home on a dealer plate, I thought "man, what a great car for $1,000! I should buy it, paint the nose (scuffed badly), tune it up, clean it up a bit and run it! I can keep more mileage off my 30th!"

Well, the first Summer went ok...did a full tune up, changed shocks and struts, hood props, lights, random crap. I did a few mods like an STB, SFCs, open element air cleaner...just a nice general clean up of things. It ran great but looked rough...and therein lies the issue...

Late in 2006, my ex-girlfriend keyed the car in 3 spots when she moved out of my house. I already intended to paint both bumpers, so now we add the LR fender and decklid to the list. Fast forward to May 2007...we find some rust on the LF fender...and a little on the edges of the hood. So, what the hell...have the body shop paint the LH side of the car, and hood, and leave the RH side alone. It was painted 5 years back, so it should match ok...right?

Not quite. The new paint was about 4 shades brighter than what was on it (I know WE used the proper GM color!), so the RH side of the car had bright bumpers that didn't match the rest of it! So, we decide to paint the RH side of the car...and what the hell, while we're at it, paint the targa band and all the gfx too, so it all matches, right??? A $1,000 touch up becomes a $2,800 respray...but WOW. The job was/is gorgeous. Well, now the OEM 16s look like poop...so I can either spend $600 on reman OEM wheels, or $750 on 17" TT2s, and my best friend has 17" BFGs that'll fit those that he can sell me cheaper than 4 new 16" tires for the OEM wheels...so why not, right? Add another $1k there...

Now we're in '08. The car continues to puke more and more oil on the ground. Changed the valve cover gaskets...more leaking. Changed the intake...but hey, while we're in there, lets put a Edelbrock Performer TBI intake on it! Plus, the tech doing it said he's NEVER seen a RH head gasket leak, like I thought...it had to be the intake!!! So he replaces that....

It still leaked! Bring it to my shop at the dealership, and sure enough, the RH head gasket is disentegrating into a million pieces, pushing it out the side of the engine. I looked into crate motors, but in the end spend $800 in labor to have our #1 tech replace BOTH head gaskets while we're in there...but hey, if we're going that far, we might as well put headers on it, right? We all know TBIs can't breathe! And it runs warm, so an Edlebrock water pump makes sense...and those Powermaster 200 amp alternators are pretty sweet, and will power my stereo good. Add one of those!

We get it back together, and it sounds evil. Looks even better. But wait...now the STB is ready to whack this new alternator when the engine flexes...so we need to modify the STB! No biggie...body shop can do that!

Now we're in February '09. I gut the interior to Dynamat it, and add a carpet and headliner because, how can it look so great on the outside and a little worn inside? Well, we find that the windshield has leaked for years, causing the driver's floorboard to rust from the inside out...so while it LOOKED solid underneath, it was still punky, and some grinding yielded a few small holes. Well, I've now run out of extra cash to fix this car because sales are slow and my wife and I bought a house. So it sits, and sits, and sits....other than finishing the Dynamat and installing a Clifford Avant Guard alarm...aka the alarm from hell

Until last Thursday. I bolt a driver's seat and seatbelt in it, register it, and bring it up here to the body shop to patch the floor, and oh wait...remember that rust under the t-top gaskets we didn't have the money to fix in '07? We should fix that now! And now maybe, just MAYBE, I can squeeze out the cash to get the headliner and carpet kit to throw it all back together...I have all the stereo stuff.

3.5 years and about $10,000 in work later, we're almost there. Yes, I could've had a clean IROC for this money...but it wouldn't have been as factory fresh, had the mods and stereo I craved, or taught me so much. With the t-top off, gutted inside, I blasted off down the road with a big grin on my face...I love this car. I never thought I'd be in it this deep, but its so gorgeous, and makes me so happy, I don't even care anymore.

Sorry for the novel...but you asked

 

Hahaha don't be sorry! That was very interesting. So did you take your TBI Camaro to the dyno yet? I wonder what numbers it's putting out with the stuff you did with it. Does it feel significantly faster?

 

Well i don't really have a horror story but i did get a good scare. When i went to look at my GTA there was an odd sound coming from the motor. Well, at least i thought it was the motor. I was planning a motor pull anyway so i really didn't care what happened. Anyway i drive the car 40min home and take it to my local shop guy. Well on the way home i learn that due to personal events i will be paying for half my college tuition, well there goes my motor budget. This means that the motor may be staying in there quite a bit longer than i anticipated, now i really do care what happens. So my guy looks at it then tells me i need a new tranny . Well i just learned i don't have the money for that and i need this car on the road ASAP as my previous wheels got passed on to my brother. So i went and got a second opinion and learned all i needed was a new converter, whew, i can deal. So i replace the converter and the rest is history.

 

Talk about dodging a bullet.....
But was the car driving funny or just making noises?

 

The car definitely pulls better. It isn't FAST by any stretch...but its definitely more entertaining. With my tach being off, (currently reads 2500 RPMs at 75 in 5th when I've learned its supposed to be at 1800...common '90-'92 dash problem with an easy solution), its kind of hard to tell how quick it truly is based on street driving. Never been to a dyno. I do thoroughly enjoy driving it around though...its quick enough to keep me amused!

 

Mine was annoying.

I traded a non runing 79 camaro (rusted bad), for a running 89 camaro. I thought I was getting a good deal. Made the trade, and parked it for 2 weeks untill i could get plates for it. Started driving and it was red lining before it went in to second gear. I thought it was low on tranny fluid, so i dump some in. My friend couldn't figger out what was wrong (he had 4 third gens). Months later My brother borrowed it and found that the detent cable had an inch of speaker wire connceted to it. He fixed it and some how lost 1st gear and gained 4th gear (don't know how since it was a 3 speed tranny). Same day, engine fried and rearend went bad.

I only drove the car 8 times within 6 months and I just took it to a junk yard a few days ago.

 

During my LT restoration, I began with the engine compartment. Removed all the pumps and such and then I got to the electrical harness. It had melted on the passenger side valve cover over the years. All the individual wires had their sleeving melted off and blended with all the other wires into one clump. The fun part was removing the melted plastic, finding the wires, and then separating them and shrink wraping them again one by one. Good ol' GM sould have used a better heat resistant wire tube for all those things.

 

keep em comin!

 

Apart from the Camaro story above.... I Restored my 1991 Firebird over the 2008 winter.. It's not perfect, but it's my baby, and that's all that matters...

Apart from the 4 cars it had taken to make this one, it was not a bad car, not a spot of rust, anywhere. It had been in an accident 3 years prior, the frame had been straightened (apparently, I'll get to it later) and new sheet metal was welded in... I did my body work, and some other fun stuff like shift kit, and my POSI rear end.. And ofcourse that 2 1/2" custom exhaust... Apart from failing my safety because of a bad center link, I could never figure out why the swaybar hit the frame.. It sounded like a motor mount when I put it in gear..

So, 3 days before I paint it, I wanted it on the road, I hate trailer, it sits low, and the body work was damn close.. So I had taken it for my safety, and alignment.. It's my dad's cousins shop, really good place, and I trust them.. After passing my safety on brakes, and suspension, the reason it failed was the alignment.. $475 later, I was on my way.. Did I mention the metal rod that moves the slider in the transmission came out after straightening the frame? I had no park, no reverse, no neutral.. Only overdrive.. I drove home praying I wouldn't have to turn around..

So I painted it, bought a new shifter linkage, etested with flying colours, and she's now peeing out tranny fluid from somewhere.. Looks like it'll be an interesting winter filled with more bodywork, and door pins..

This is what she looked like when I dragged her home...


And now.. Took me 6 months from scrap to this.

 

This isn't really a horror story from when I first purchased it, but it is a horror story none the less.

My first Camaro was a white 1987 SC that I bought back in 1994. I didn't know much about third gen camaros at the time, so I didn't know much about the different models. About a week after I got mine my cousin got a 1989 RS and he brought it over. Right away I noticed the ground effects, and I knew I wanted them for my car. My car had some dings here and there, so I was going to save up for a paint job and some body work, so I figured while I was doing that I'd get the ground effects and put them on at the same time.

So I spent the better part of a year saving all the cash I could and the very next summer I had enough to get the ground effects and have it painted. I took it in and had the ground effects installed and got the new paint job. I went to pick it up and it turned out awesome. I cruised it around town and showed it to my friends, who couldn't believe that it was the same car. After a couple hours of cruising around I was sitting at a stop light and all of a sudden I see steam rolling out from under the hood. I looked down at the temp gauge and it was pegged at 260! Luckily there was a driveway right there so I quickly pulled off the street and parked it in the drive way and used the guy's phone to call AAA. When the tow truck got there I told them to tow it to our chevy dealer. After I got home I told my dad what happened and he wanted to see how the car turned out so we went out to the chevy dealer. There sat my car with the two ground effect pieces that cover the rear quarter panels completely ripped off the car and sitting on the ground!

We got home and my dad called the tow truck company and asked to talk to the manager. The manager said that he knew what had happened and that his driver told him they fell off the car. My dad told him that there was no way those pieces would just "fall" off of the car. The manager tried to give my dad some song and dance about how they probably did just fall off, so my dad told him that he would be getting a lawyer. All of a sudden the manager changed his tune and said that he'd meet us out there to look at the car. When we got there he was there and said that there was no way they would have just fallen off the car and that they would take care of the repair bill.

 

Score for the little guys! I'm glad you had that resolved in your favor. But why did the car overheat so badly?

 

Wow that looks great. Any more shots of after the car was restored?

 

Yeah, I think he thought that we were just going to take his word for it. I knew there was no way those things would have just fallen off. The plastic pieces were completely ripped off the brackets, which were still fastened to the car.

As far as the overheating problem, the hose leading from the radiator to the engine split and anti freeze was dumping out.

 

Did they pay for the repairs?

 

If you're talking about the gfx then yeah he said they did.

 

Yep, they paid for brand new rear quarter panel ground effects. They paid to have them painted and put back on the car. I think it's kind of funny that they paid for brand new ground effects seeing that the ones I originally bought were off a wrecked Camaro sitting in the junk yard. They were fine, but I paid a lot less than what they had to pay!

 

Well I got my 350 Bird with great intentions of fixing up the body mainly - getting heat back into it - then start modding it.

However I know so little of engine mechanics it's embaressing - I can change my own oil and thats about it. The most extensive work I've done was putting a Cold Air Intake on my old mustang and my friend's z28 for him. Wooptie doo.

Now 2 months after buying my firebird which I still love to death - still running low 14's - has started smoking really bad. It had a tad bit of smoke at startup which I was told by many was probably just bad valve stem guide seals - and now its smoking at idle too and I'm being told it definitely looks like my piston rings are ruined.

I pretty much am at a complete loss and am helpless - I can't get anyone I know to help me with it and I can't afford a shop bill - so yeah - that's my horror story.

Currently selling it because I have no other real option.
I still love it - has been tons of fun while I had it.
I've tried to read up on it and see if the rings are anything I could fix myself but it simply isn't possible with my limited knowledge and inacessibility to tools.

 

well i dont know anyone with a thirdgen that hasnt had something go horribly wrong lol

In my case i sold my car and bought my 89 RS, which ive still got and i love its been through its ups and downs but i never gave up on it, when i first got it i was in love with the thing, i was 17 and i had a car i'd always wanted, so i took it down to emissions and it failed horribly, did everything i could, changed the oil, plugs, wires, dizzy, used cleaners, etc etc, so then my dad takes it over to his friend whos a tech and he decided to pull off the intake, and clean it of all the carbon, 200$ later my tests came out the same, obviously i was pretty ticked off, i paid 2K for the car, then dumped almost $400 into it and i still couldnt drive the thing! My dads friend told me for $60 he'd take it down there personally and he guarenteed it to pass, so i scraped the $ together and come to find out he used rubbing alchohal.... so i paid $60 for 3 bottles of alchohal... tests came out clean.

After i got that sorted out i was all excited, so i took the car for a spin the next day and bad luck struck again, flat tire... paid to get that fixed, then a week later my pilot bearing on the T5 went to crap and started grinding but at the time i had next to no knowledge of cars so i shelled out another $150 to my dads friend for that. Couple weeks go by and i get this bucking and stalling of the motor, it was insane, she'd die if i didnt keep it alive with the pedal and it would starve for fuel and cause the whole car to buck like a wild horse. SO we re-did the fuel pump (NIGHTMARE) cleared the fuel lines, cleaned the TBI, and then it still wasnt fixed. Turned out to be the FPR in the TBI...which is a $15 kit... Ive shelled out tons of money for my car and im glad about every penny. I learned so much about cars just by owning mine and ive gotta say i wouldnt trade it for a thing

Compared to my friend with his 89 GTA... my car was cake lol bought it with a blown motor... gets it rebuilt, TC on his tranny goes to crap, rplaces it, tranny goes out, sends it off to a shop and apparently he miscommunicated what kind of a rebuild he needed so they did a race setup costing him about $400 extra lol atleast all my issues were small in comparison to his

Honestly these cars are a labor of love and it takes a certain kind of person to own them.

 

That really sucks man... how many miles on it? Does it give a hard time starting when hot?

Hahaha unless you buy a really nice one with low mileage I couldn't agree with you more!

 

I've got a horror story for ya. First off: 1986 IROC-Z 350+headers+flowmaster; also, LONG STORY AHEAD

I bought my IROC in June (peak of summer) for 1500+ trade for my 98 3800 4th gen. My original intentions were to buy a truck (need 4x4 up here in snowy Vermont)...until I saw the IROC in the parking lot. Took it for a test drive, ran like a charm..bought it, and on the way home...stalls out twice. Eh, I was a little perplexed, but it started right up..till it died on me as I was leaving my grandfather's house after showing it off.

Called AAA, turns out, I need a new battery, so my grandfather buys it for me (gotta love grandparents). Still stalls out...horn is broken (already knew that), passed inspection at my mechanic (good friends) on a sympathy vote. Take it to another mechanic in Granville, NY, and we discovered the problems.

Most of my wiring is effed up, cig lighter, door locks, defrosters dont work, oxygen sensors, MAF, horn wires, all messed up. But we left that alone for the mean time...The fuel pump, was on the OUTSIDE of the fuel tank, sending unit wires and two fuel lines were cut, gas tank straps were bad, trans was slipping. replaced pump, lines and sending unit. They kept my car as we tried to track down parts ALL summer. (No time to enjoy it in the summer or anything). As they finish the work, they are about to take it for a test drive, and boom, brake line breaks, then i need wheel cylinders and a backing plate, all that goes on, take the car for a test drive, BOOM brake hose bursts.

$777 later i get the car back, BOOM transmission loses second gear.
buy a rebuilt transmission w/torque converter for 575, still waiting for it to get here, need a new MAF, need to replace alternator and leaky radiator, spent almost 250 bucks just in exterior parts to make it factory correct while its just sitting there, as well as B&M shifter and shift kit.

Bought the car for 1500, put in about 2500 already, unemployed (NOT from lack of trying), full time college student, (thank god for parents and grandparents). car is rusty underneath, (had to weld holes in the exhaust, floorpans will need work, headliner shot/ripped out, Terrible paint job, planning a full restoration. I know alot of you will look down on having mom and dad pay for stuff, but I am literally flat broke from this, I hate being dependant on anybody, but I need this car working, and I can't do it on my own...So when i do get a job, will need some to put necessary parts in my car, and pay back family, so little time for savings.

My car is a horror story. lol and ironically, I bought it to (1) impress a girl, who now can't go a day without making fun of it, so that didnt work, and because my 4th gen was starting to nickel and dime me..go figure. a simple 150 bucks woulda fixed my 4th gen (needed sway bar)..live and learn i guess. oh well, Im excited about my project. sorry for rambling!!

and yes...the car still stalls, just not nearly as much as it used to.

 

Also for my above story...It's NEVER a good thing when a mechanic pops open the hood and says..."What the hell did somebody do?!" :O I am happy though that most of the problems can be attributed to the P.O. rather than the car's age. except for tranny/alternator/radiator. every other little thing is all the PO.

doesnt make it less expensive, but its a little moral comfort

 

I won't congradulate you on your purchase.

However, I have done such things before and I brought my car back from the dead too. Though I don't like rust, I won't fix major rust, I'll find another shell first. My wiring was all messed up too, took time to fix it, but I did.

 

ShootingStar, you have my sympathy. Most of us have been taken on a used car purchase at one time or another, including me.

Stories like yours, and some of these others here, are the reason all of the "How to Buy a Used Car" guides recommend that you take a car to a reputable mechanic for inspection before buying.

Even if you have to pay a mechanic $200 to look everything over and fully test the car, if it saves you from buying a turd (no offense intended to anyone here) and spending thousands that you don't have just to get it into the condition you thought it was in when you bought it, then to me it's money well spent. Cheap insurance.

If the seller won't make the car available for inspection by a mechanic (even with you footing the bill for it), red flags should go up all over the place. You should WALK...no, RUN away!

Lessons learned the hard way usually stick with you for a lifetime! They have with me!

 

i bought my '82z back in 1990,and after driving it in the
rain found water in the RH spare tire well-inspection
revealed the car had once been damaged on the RH
quarter and though they otherwise did a very good repair job,they forgot to weld the inner and outer wheel
houses back together and seal the seam-used about 12
8-32 screws and nuts to attatch and resealed the seam.
repair still in place to this day

 

I bought my 91 Z28 through eBay. I drove 4 hours with my father to pick it up. I had a bunch of CD's ready to listen to for the long drive home. We paid for the car and left. The CD player ate my favorite CD. After the 4 hour drive I put it in the garage and washed/waxed it. The next day I went to drive it and the altenator gave out before I got out of the drive way. But in the cars defense it was a chrome altenator with a brass nut. 2 years has passed and that's all the horror I've had to endure so far!

 

This didn't happen to me but to the guy I sold my car too. Probably because he was beating the hell out of the car. Well, I drove 91 z28 L98 TPI from florida to texas which is about 1600 miles(south FL to West Texas). Car made it up here perfectly ran great. When I got here, I went through some financial struggles and figured the only way to fix it all was to sell my car Long story short, guy buys it from me and blows the rear end less than two weeks later. This happened in Feb. The car has been sitting for almost 8 months now and I am buying it back from him. After he had new header back exhaust put on it. Im paying alot less than I sold it to him for too... YAY.

 

Well I think this thread is the right one for me.
This happened about 6 years ago when I got my first car. It was a 88 SC with a Lo3 (15 at the time and was just starting to learn about car's but I had always wanted a Camaro). I test drove it twice and had it looked over by a local shop and nothing seemed or could be found wrong with it, that is until I brought it home. The minute I got it in the car port I turned it off and heard this loud rumbling. The temp gauge stopped working, so I have no idea how hot it got. I popped the hood to find the overflow tank for the radiator was boiling. I stepped back and half closed the hood and the cap just flew off and my car port ended up in a sea of coolant. The next day while I was waiting for a replacement tank, I got a new thermostat to see if that would help the massive overheating and low and behold one of the bolts for the thermostat housing snapped as I was taking the housing off. The broken part of the bolt was rusted inside the block as I found out after spending a good day drilling and tapping it out. Not to bad for the first two days with my Camaro. It is now awaiting a complete overhaul including a new heart.

 

Bought my 87 Firebird from a guy in Canberra ACT, & brought it home to Wagga NSW. Engine had some run-on & got that checked by a mechanic. Was told the carby needed rebuilding. Got it rebuilt, got hit $300AU. Then was told that the head was cracked Tried to register the car & got a list of other stuff that needed fixing - new tyres, needed a new radiator, e-brake cables, front air deflector & to top it off I needed an engineer's report for the steering conversion, even though the conversion was done in 87 & predated engineer's reports. So I saved the cash, bought the parts I could get (some were discontinued) ,bought a new 350 engine (cheaper than fixing the 305).
I was quoted $600AU for the engine swap & told it would take 2 days. 12 months later it was done & cost me over $1200. Still not registered & I'm out of money.
This year I have some more cash & I go to get it registered. Needs a new exhaust bracket, & a trans mount rubber. There is a knocking from the engine bay (fortunately it was a loose converter, easily fixed).
Had to get a new engine number, had to wait nearly 3 weeks for the engineer to bring back the paperwork. I had bought some sports seats for it & fitted them, then the engineer said I had to remove them because they sat too high. Put the originals back in & sold the new ones. Finally got the report cost $500AU, got the safety inspection done & went to the RTA to register it. Some tense moments when the clerk could not find the car in the database. Finally got it registered.
I have now owned the car for 3 years & I have only been able to drive it in the last 4 weeks.

 

My sister bought an 84 Z28 a few years ago. The car was really clean with no rust or body damage. The interior was a little rough but she got the car for a good price. Anyway, when I drove the car it idled at 1200rpm and was a complete pooch. I discovered somebody took out the E4ME carb and installed an Edelbrock Qjet...so the TPS wasn't there no electronic advance, and all the plugs were laying on the intake. I spent the next few months installing a vacuum advance dist. rejetting the carb down 5 sizes on the primary side, and getting rid of all the hacked wiring. Soon after we got it running right she spun the car into a median and broke the right rear axle. I got all the parts, and of course the bolt that holds the cross shaft snapped off. After I torched that out and got the car running again, the exhaust hangers broke and the muffler started dragging on the ground. Replaced the exhaust with a cat back system, and had to re-jet the carb again, was running too lean. Then the starter fried, the trans pan started to leak, power steering pump started leaking, battery died, and right front caliper stuck..all within a month.
Finally got the car in good shape, got 34mpg on the highway, and was fairly fast for an LG4. 4 months later I get a painful call...the car caught fire. As far as I can tell the float sank on the carb and filled the charcoal canister with fuel. The car went off to the boneyard a few weeks later

 

This WAS my 87 Trans Am.
I was storing my car in my dads barn for the winter and I was going to pull the carbed 305 out and put the TPI back in. The barn tuned out to have some wiring problems.

 

If you buy enough of them you'll have horror stories...

I bought a 86 T/A several years ago. It was a WS6, LB9/auto, all original with a bunch of old documentation. Two days after I got it, the 305 started knocking. Three engine swaps, and as many transmission swaps, plus a ton of restoration work and new parts, I finally gave up and sold it. I still made a profit, but I had the car for 3 years and put in many hours, and never really got to drive it.

Several years before that, I bought a 91 Firebird 3.1L/Auto. After chasing a wiring problem, and faulty injectors, the transmission went out. Within the year after the new transmission, the fuel pump went out. I spent a year fixing mechanical failures every few weeks. After that I drove the car daily for three years without a problem. I sold it and I still occasionally hear it's still going.

The problem is these cars get used hard, and most aren't maintained well, or at all.

 

bought an 87 trans am 305 TPI. 3 days after i bought it the water pump went out and then 2 days after that i was getting code 34 then replaced the mass air flow sensor and am getting code 33. Checked the wires and couldnt find anything wrong then sprayed the whole engine with brake cleaner and didnt find a vacuum leak. so now i dont know what the problem is and really havent been able to drive it because it doesnt want to go when u push the gas. SO for now i got a 1200 dollar yard peice.