Ok, I have a 90 rs camaro 3.1 v6. It has a bit over 90k and I have only driven it in town which is 35 miles p hr for the last few years and I don't drive it that often. It has always been a smoker when I rev it up but when I let off the gas its ok....Lately its gotten worse and I have noticed some performance issues...it doesn't seem as powerful. Is it worth fixing? I love my car but I don't have a lot of money left to put into it. Lately I just feel like its one project after another...I spent 500 bucks putting a new ignition in just a few months ago because it wouldn't start. Just let me know what I could be getting into. Thanks. Any help appreciated...

 

what in the world did you buy for $500 for an ignition system on the car? a set of taylor wires, cap & rotor, a high output coil and ngk iridium plugs only ran me about $200 for my 305!
but to answer your question, if the body is in good shape and you don't have much rust if any at all yeah it is definitely worth fixing. but you need to find what the problem is. when it smokes is it a black dirty smoke or is it blue?

 

The answer to your question lies within your goals. Are you looking to have a V8 one day? or just a reliable good looking car?

Try putting a can of "restore" in your oil. It is basically liquid zinc, coats your cylinder walls to get rid of imperfections and restores compression and helps seal leaks and smoke. It's $5, it is not a miracle, just a band-aid. It helps.

 

do you know from experience if that stuff actually does any good?
just wondering

 

I've tried it in motors that were begging for a rebuild, and it won't do a damn thing for one that's too far gone. It sounds like he's getting massive blowby under power, which adds up to worn cylinder bores and/or piston rings. None of the supposed "miracle additives" out there can build the cylinder walls or piston rings back up. The only other cause would be excessively worn valve guides, which requires a good old fashioned rebuild on the heads at least. $500 for the ignition stuff???

 

I have noticed a different in other cars. I have 30k on my engine in my bird so I have no need for it. IN my eclipse it quieted the lifters substantially. At this point it is only $5....

 

well the 500 ignition bill was for the labor also...alot of labor apparently...I was expecting less myself but the guy said he would have to pull my column apart to fix and it was time consuming....I did not know how to fix myself so I could not do it...As for the smoke it does have a tinge of blue but it also can be black and nasty too. I know after starting it up from sitting it will actually blow black smoke out but lately its just leaving a nice trail when I hit the gas. The body does have some rust and the underbody also, not as bad as some I have seen but it is not mint. I love my car but I am not loving the money I have had to put into it lately.

 

well your problem would be mostly paying others to do the work on your car, i can understand taking it to have the column done, i had to take my car to someone to have that fixed, but replacing ignition components is rather straight forward and you should have done it yourself to keep your costs down. you might be better off swapping in a better motor out of a newer vehicle. or just selling tha car and buying something else. personally i would spend the money and swap in like a 3.8 v6 out of an s10 or something.

 

I bought my formula with a 350 tpi and 5 speed for $1000. It was a great deal. Rear disk brakes... etc..

It needed some minor work and now I have transformed that car to a monster.

All you need to do is shop around.

 

it could be the valve seals, or the piston rings...

does your car run like a half quart or more between every oil change? or do you never check the dipstick

 

I do have to add oil between oil changes, about 1 quart. It does seem though if I let it idle a long time in the winter i need to add more. I have thought of engine swap but was not too sure on the cost.

 

cheapest thing to do is buy another car and part out the one you have.

 

Yeah, as cheap as thirdgens are nowadays, especially a V6 one, there's really no point in dropping all your cash into a rolling money pit. The only time I could justify that is if you happen to have a rare, one-off type of car. Sit down and do the math, figure out how much you'll need to spend on it to make it a good, reliable car, and make your decision from there. It sounds like you're burning oil (blue smoke) due to engine wear, and the black smoke would indicate something wrong with the fuel system, such as running excessively rich (dirty or clogged injectors maybe).