Hi all.. just some quick questions.. Ive been looking for a while to buy another camaro. I had one years ago before I new anything about cars. First off, Im looking for a toy. I have a regular car already. Ive been looking around for something cheapish.. that I could drive but slowly work on, but noit a huge project.

The main requirements Ive wanted was a v8, t-tops, and manual. Ive had a hard time finding all three.. lol..

What Im looking at now is a 92 5.0L 305.. Physically its in ok condition.. dent in drivers door so handel is off and i need to fix that and one t-top is duck taped all up.. doesnt leak but looks like ****. olther than that its in decent physical shape.

it had an eddlebrock intake, and stage 2 headers/exhaust. from what i understand those are the only mods that have been done. It has very high milage 200,000. since i dont know the total history of owners I can only assume its been beat on at some point. It is an automatic which i wasnt thrilled about but it'll still be fun.

Ive been able to negotiate to get tthe guy down to $900. For the proce Im thinkin its worth giving it a shot and worse comes to worse I play with it for the summer.

Main concerns are the engine. The cosmetic stuff I can work on over time. Id love to swap the engine out for a 350 but Im not going to be able to do that kind of work anytime soon. How much more life could i really get out of a car with 200,000 miles on it?

 

Hard to say I know my 305 was running pretty good with over 200k on it. But thier ia no guarantee about mileage.

 

Sounds like a good price for that one. I would obviously open the oil cap and look in the head with a flashlight to see if it has a lot of sludge. That helps to know if the oil was changed often or not. Another is on a cold start up does it smoke and just generaly how does it sound and drive. Those are a few things I look at before buying. Good luck!

 

Yeah pretty much. If it runs and drives okay on a test drive then most likely its a decent car. These tbi engines are pretty solid. They usually have the same problems. The fuel pump goes out, the ignition control module goes out. VATS system failure. Random coolant leaks due to the car being 20 years old! But if you can drive a car for 3 months with no problems then have to sink some money into it to keep it going. it is better than putting out 500 a month for a car payment.

 

I bought an 89 with 160k miles

When I removed the heads I saw that the cylinders had a very large ridge. The block needed to be bored.

The guides in the heads were shot as were the seals so a complete rebuild was in order.

The engine ran with no knocks but it did use oil.

What you don't know about used engines

how many hours are on it? Forget the miles, what if it was all city driving?

Did they run cheap gas?

Did they flush the cooling system with regularity

was the oil changed regularly.


It sounds like you are looking for a sub $1,000 car but don't have the funds to perform major fixes. At least understand your situtation and don't be disappointed when the thing breaks down.

 

Thanks for the replies.. Yeah, I was ready to go pick it up yesturday but the guy says he cant find the title as he just moved amd hes going to order a new one today and hold the car for me.

yeah, I know you never know when your buying a used car and honestly I tend to think that it hasnt been maintained tip top. The kid selling it is in college and lost his license.. thats a small red flag for me.. lol

But for the price (900) Im kinda thinking as long as the bodys nice which it is and it starts and stops and go's, its not a bad deal. I figure I can start swapping stuff out and making it what I want over the next year or two.

This morning I just saw another ad for an 87 a little more money but I just sent them an email whats are your opinions given the very little information in the ads? I supose Im looking for more personal opions of the two cars since I know there isnt much info.

It might sound silly but I like the looks of the 92 better but the 87 is a 350 and 5speed.

I posted pics of the cheaper one with high milage in the first post

heres the one I just found: Ill get more info later if he replies to my email

http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/cto/2396635147.html

 

I got my 305 TBI about 2 years ago.

By now I have spent $1500 on the engine and another $3000 on brakes, suspension and generic bits and pieces.

The engine has 110k miles on it, will get new heads and camshaft as well as various other wear and tear pieces next winter.

Also, expect that you have to replace the exhaust. Probably want to go from the headers back on a TBI. That's another $1000.