Helllo all, first off lemme say what a great board this is... Have been readin up for about a week or so and decided to register... I also have a few questions... I was looking to buy a camaro(93 and up LT1) and in my search stumbled upon this black 91 Z28 auto along with T Tops and with 81k miles... What made me even look at this car was it looks... First off the paint is all glossy with no dings/dents(mayb repainted or fixed?) It has the ground effects as well which just make it look sweet along with tints.. Upon closer inspection everything appeared to b ok... The rims are pretty clean and shiny with no dulling or scratching... Guy is asking $4000 or OBO... Now I know it has a 5.0 V8, what does it run stock? Aside from that what are major things to look for aside from oil leaks etc etc? What are some major problems on these cars... Guy says he has all records etc etc... Well if all goes well Ill buy the 91 instead of the 96 MAYB... Alrite thanks in advance for your help ...

 

It'll run anywhere from high 14's-low15's. Can't think of anything specific you'd have to check, look at everything.

 

i believe the 5.0 autos are good for 15's...

unless you particularly like this car, might want to hold out for a 5.7 auto or a 5.0 G92 5spd.....either of which should have you in 14's...

 

Cool thanks ... As long as I can smoke ricers I should be good... Plan to mod along the way as I earn and learn more... Now I plan to use this car as my daily driver for college and live in Chicago so itll see snow as well... Would u say its a reliable car for college? I know its no Honda but still... As long as I can get 3-4 years outta I should be good, though I bet itll run alot more... And what are some mods you would recommend as I get the car?(trying to get into the 14's for now that is)
Thanks once again

 

it's a used car, and sooner or later you will have trouble with it.

it will be most reliable if you leave it STOCK, and the previous owners have made no modifications. On the other hand, if you lift the hood and find wires spliced, vacuum lines capped off, and just hack work in general, don't walk - RUN from the car. Now granted you could put on a catback and not hurt reliablity, but the more you change the more you run the risk of something not working out correctly. If you maintain it right and don't beat on it, it should be plenty reliable. I had a 71 camaro for my college years, and it only left me stranded once because a spring inside the holley mechanical fuel pump broke. had the engine been stock and not needed the extra flow of the aftermarket fuel pump, i probably never would have been stranded at all.

the only typical problem spot i can think of would be the tranny...that is probably the most common, expensive part that fails. otherwise at 81k you're looking at shocks, struts, do a complete tune up, etc. etc..

if you don't beat on it a lot (maintain it, stay away from the dragstrip and street racing) it should be fine. but if you plan to race it, modify it, stuff like that, then your odds are not as good.

if reliability is critical, then just enjoy the car as it is, and do the racing and modifying thing when you have a daily driver or don't need the reliability

also, my snow experience with my 71 was quite interesting, lets just say snow tires are your friend and that if the car has a posi, the rear end will come around any time it feels like it.

 

how long would u say tranny usually lasts? And how much would it run for new shocks, struts? I ask so I can take that off his asking price... I asked if T Tops leak and he say they only leak when it rains REAL hard... And thats been like that since he bought the car... In normal rain he says its ok... I guess main mods ill do then are intake, exhaust(MAYB headers)... I jus love the roar of a V8...hehe... Hmmm not beat on it... Thatll b kinda hard cuz gotta admit I beat on cars alot, yet take good care(change fluids on time, polish/wax every week, wash ALOT etc etc)... Yea I have experience with RWD in snow with a 97 crown vic and so far so good... I guess its all in driving slow and learning to turn etc etc in snow... Thanks alot for your input uve been very helpful ...

 

These cars hold up great, even with lots of mileage. It all depends how things are for that particular car. If you do some light mods there should be no BS. Drive it and look at all you can, if its in good shape it should be a buy.

 

Remember to look at the fluids yourself, before buying it. I didn't, and just took their word for it and got a nice little surprise with the transmission. I mean, this person preemptively changed the water pump and rotors, but never changed the tranny fluid in 67K miles. Needless to say, I lost 3rd gear 10K miles later.

Also, check out the back of the valve covers and see if you can see any oil. These centerbolt valve covers tend to leak there. It's not really that big of a deal to fix, but you might be able to talk him down some cause of it.

One reason for the paint still being shiny is that it might have been hit. Ask him about that as well; I didn't, and when I put on my steering brace, I noticed that it didn't quite line up (i.e. being previously hit on the front right).

And finally, since it's time for a tune-up, I'm sure you might be able to talk him down a couple of hundred $. Just explain that you don't know sh*t about cars and that you're going to have to pay someone to do it for you (when in reality, you're going to spend all that saved money on a MSD tune-up).

Oh yeah, don't forget to check the tires. I did and noticed that 2 of them needed replaced so I was able to talk him down $250. Besides, he probably has some H-rated pieces of sh*t on there anyways, which of course have to go.

Hope this helps.

 

Sounds like a good deal, just inspect it thoroughly and follow these guys advice.

 

His asking price isn't really that high if the car is sharp and clean, so i woudn't go trying to take every possible expense off the price.

as for the trans, it seems like the average failures happen in the 90k-125k range. When I bought my 91 5.7 z28, i had to put a tranny in it within a month. 86,000 miles were on it at that time. I would have known had i test driven it properly - as in, FLOOR it in first and let the car run through 1-2-3 floored. this might make the owner very nervous, but if the tranny has shifting problems, you will find out.

 

I would make sure of the following things:[list=1][*]It doesn't overheat[*]No shifting & Shifting problems[*]No MAJOR rust problems[*]That the A/C & Heater Work[*]Brakes & Tires are in GOOD condition[/list=1]

 

K cool thanks for all your help guys ... Im gonna go test drive the car in 2 hours or so now... Yea I was worried about an accident, carfax didnt show anything, but then again carfax doesnt show everything so coulda been repainted or in an accident... Tires seemed to have ample thread left, dunno if H rated... So I guess Ill check all the fluids, and floor it hehe... So basically u want me to floor it from a stop or red light as if I were racing rite? And if I notice hesitation/shudder/slipping, basically tranny is messed up?
Thanks

 

good luck, everytime i went to test drive my cars each owner had different reactions.

1988 iroc-z 5.7 103,XXX he went with me he told me all his stories and stuff about the car (original owner). he said lets have fun and i did, we hit mutiple lights so i could test the brakes real good, and also any drive train problems buy running through the gears a couple of time. real strong running car. i bought it on the spot.

1988 formula 350 111,XXX miles i had the second owner in the car and my grandfather, we had alot of fun also, alot of random wot's and hard braking and corning. i also bought that on the spot. strong running

1991 formula 350 62,XXX miles second ownere in the car also my grandfather, no fun at all but the owner was telling me about the history and his random racing. i put it in first gear at a light and he told me to put it back in drive. i thought he had something to hide or he did not like the fact i was testing driving his car and his wife is making him sell it. well i eventually bought it on the spot after a hour of talking/ test driving.

even though the 91's test drive was not fun, its the fastest and in the best condition compared to the other cars i had.

 

One thing to ask for is if the heater core has been replaced recently. This is one thing our cars are notorious for. If the car was a sweet deal like this one seems to be I would still buy it, but it would give me an idea of what is ahead of me as far as work.