So this is what I'm looking at:

Its a 1987 Camaro IROC-Z for $1500

-350 bored over to 355
-cam from a 327 corvette with 375hp
-fuelie heads (dont know specs)
-5-spd trans w/new clutch (possible 3.45 gears?)

The guy got the car from friend who built it. The block is from an old truck. He's not entirely sure on what all else is done to is becuase he didnt do it.

How easy would it be to freshed up the motor, because I'm not to trustworthy of the guy selling it. He said it needs a new paint job and the interior could use some work, which is to be expected. He also said that for some reason it wont start now. He parked it about a month ago and it drove fine then but now it won't even turn over. He replaced the battery and still nothing. If I buy it I would have to fix that then probably rebuild the motor.

What do you guys think? Sound like a decent deal or should I just look somewhere else?

 

I wouldn't spend $1500 for a car that doesn't run.

You should be able to find a nice V8 3rd gen for under $2,000 all day long.

FYI - I just paid $1600 for my '83 CFI w/ 115K miles, and there's a '88 IROC-Z for $1800 down the road from me for sale right now. I bought the '83 because it was identical to my first car, although it's getting a makeover in the engine department.

 

I wouldnt pay 1500 bucks for someone elses problems. Everyone always tells me to sell my car because i can always buy another one dirt cheap (my camaro sits most of the year with no money for mods). Its hard to explain to them how hard it is to find one that isnt hacked. Personally i wouldnt pay more than 500 for a car anyone has tried to modify unless they can assure me that everything was done right. Which would mean at least 30-45 min of hard grilling for me to be satisfyed?

 

In my experience:
"Needs paint" means lots of dents, flaking clear coat, faded, scrapes, etc. Often disguised as "could use some paint".

"Interior could use some work" means ripped seats, cracked dash, pulling apart center console, burned/stained carpet, sagging headliner.

"Won't turn over, I just drove it a month ago" means TAKE THIS HEADACHE OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY! No one in the right mind would just have a car not start, try a battery, then give up and sell it. It could have ran like crap all along and he finally decided to park it and sell it.

So basically bad body, interior, and engine. The car was definitely neglected, which means there could be alot of issues and relability problems. Tell him $1500 when it runs well and you verify its a 350 (bored over could be BS for all you know). If you like cars and engine work and its not a DD then I'd consider it, but its too screwed up for a reliable car without alot of work.

 

1. Everybody bores a 350 when they rebuild it. It becomes a .030" over 350, not some other motor. Think of it as a 350.

2. If there is ANY ONE CAM NOT to include in a motor that's supposed to run good and be fun to drive, that would be the one. I've thrown several copies of that crappy 151 cam in the garbage. I think one of them might have had a little packet of cam break-in lube in it. I'm glad the cams are gone, but I sure do miss that break-in lube.

3. The old heads without bolt holes WILL NOT accomodate late-model accessories. For the amount of money and trouble you'll go through trying to rig something up, you can get a set of TPI 305 or 350 heads that will run about the same after porting, and you can bolt on a few minor little things that you might like to keep... like, maybe, an alternator.

4. 3.45 is kind of a highway gear; but it could be alot worse. Don't expect the T-5 to last long, especially not if you beat on it (clutch dumps and speed shifting). If you treat it like there's an egg in the middle of the driveshaft, because there is, it will last ALOT longer.

Josh's comments are right on the money. You've evidently not had too much experience with buying used cars. You gotta learn how to interpret all those phrases you always see, and turn them into the truth. Like, "maintenance-free" really means "never been maintained"; "low mileage" means "never runs"; "always garaged" means "never has run"; etc.

All in all, it doesn't sound like a good deal; and I don't think much of the plan either. If it was me I sure wouldn't buy it; and even if I could get the price down to where I would buy it, maybe $500 or so, I wouldn't do what you're talking about doing.