Our cars our beautiful machines,, no doubt about it! Even today we still look modern and cool as can be. BUT as far as overall problems we fall very short! For example,, starting problems ALOT, cooling system issues, sensors here, sensors there!!! and that stupid little computer pretty much has a mind of its own!!! My first 3rd gen was an 85. Nice ride, really fast, but only went 85 mph. My recently purchased 89, an awesome looking car if I can only get it to run as good as it LOOKS!!!

Again these are only my opinions, but I'm frustrated looking at my ride sitting there and asking myself If I should have just got that 5.0 or that early 70 Camaro!

 

Just be calm and take each issue slowly. Buying a 20 year old car isn't something that you can be impatient with. Regardless of what you get, be it an 80's Mustang or a 2nd gen camaro, your going to run into issues, that is unless you can afford to spend quite a bit of money for a restored one.

Our cars do have their problems, but each older car will. Get past the knee jerk reaction and then make a plan. Cars are big projects and they take time.

 

When I got my iroc I blew a intake manifold gasket, alternator and a sway bar link in the first month.

Its an old car but I figured stuff like that would happen but hey I get to drive around in a really cool car and I figure its worth it.

 

i had my car for 8 years and have only been able to drive it about 7 months total with about 5 grand in work and parts for it, so i know all about the problems. I just recently restored it in one big time consuming shot but now im glad i kept it, and jus remember the only good thing about ford is that they circle all their mistakes, i wont say nothing bad about the camaro

 

Its easy to really rag on the 3rd gen if you want. I've let out more profanity trying to get the interior on my car in decent shape than I ever had in my life. At one point I was trying to consider how much drugs it takes to design a car to be held together with so many plastic clips...

But in my experience with other cars, other things annoy me too. I don't even wanna get started on early Ford fuel injection. That cost me the pain of a tetnus shot and weeks of frustration just to get the fuel pump to work part of the time. And a Nissan I recently worked on confused me on how the body held together at all...

Short story is, cars are made by people, people make mistakes. Give those cars time and it all looks worse. Part of the "fun" of having these things is making it better. I was smiling ear to ear when I got done putting interior pieces in my car, because it probably looks better than it has in 15 years.

The issue at hand is not what brand of car you start with, its the age of the car you start with. If you really want to see a frustrating project, come visit my '69 Caddy.

 

Its almost 20 years old and its bound to have a few issues. Don't think that the Mustangs and older Camaros are any different. It takes effort to keep older cars running well. The majority of the problems people have can be fixed pretty easily.

 

I think the main problem with third gens is you either have to have a firm understanding of the ECM and sensors, know someone who does, pay someone who does, or have patience and come to this site...

 

Most of the problems are because people drive the cars into the ground or abuse the crap out of them, modify them without knowing what they are doing, my car is 16 1/2 years old, about 200,000 miles and has NEVER left me stranded, I've fixed the alternator and starter a few times , water pump, and radiator, just normal wear out stuff, and still have the original clutch. I'd have to say it's the most dependable vehicle I've ever had.

 

These cars respond very well to basic mods. You just need to understand what works and what hurts, and there's plenty of knowledge base here to keep you pointed in the right direction.

My Camaro has pretty basic mods, and really woke up. Mileage isn't quite as good as it used to be, but is still tolerable.

I had Berlinetta #1 and the '57 at the track this weekend. Somebody made a comment about the '57 must be fun to drive. Funny you should say that, I said, because I was just thinking as I drove up to the track in the Camaro that it is a lot more fun to drive than the '57.

I suppose if I spent a little time & money on the '57 to make it more driver-friendly, it could be a lot better, but at least for now, it's no contest.

Racing them - well, that's a little different story. . .

 

My 1983 Camaro was bought by me, brand new off the lot and for the very
reason you stated...when the '82's came out, that Camaro design, sleek
and beautiful with that slanting hood and rear spoiler got my attention and I had to get me one. I passed on the '82 Berlinetta I was looking
at and the following January made eye contact with this black and
silver '83 Sport Coupe, had all the bells and whistles I was looking for:
T-Top, 5-speed, Z-28 Instrument Panel, Cassette Player...
(lol, yeah I know..I don't think the CD was even invented at that time)

Anyhoo, long story short...the biggest problem I've had in all those
years and the one thing that gives me pause every time I use the
clutch is the Z-bar, that bar that attaches the clutch to the Firewall
(or something like that, it's "way back there").

You probably never heard of the Z-bar, I know most mechanics that I took
the car to when "the Z-bar went out on me" weren't familiar with it.

Don't know what it looks like? here's a pic of one of mine that needed replacement:



So far, I've had to have three(3) of those replaced and it's a b**ch for
the mechanic to get to. What would happen is the joint where the "T"
forms that right angle gives out and the part loses function and results
in my not being able to shift gears. The last one in the car now is about
three years old and it had that joint reinforced by additional soldering
before installation...so far so good, but it's like I'm waiting for the day to
come once again where I engage the clutch only to have it lose resistance
and it's function and feels mushy as the clutch pedal sinks to the floor.

Other than that, just normal wear and tear and the occasional clutch,
water pump, Alternator, belts, tranny service, etc...and oh yeah, a rear end...
but hey, things wear out as the car gets older but overall, I've been quite
happy with mine.

But, with all the negatives that can be said about the 3rd Gen, it's still one
fine automobile with a modern design that was attractive then and still is
to this day, and one I'm still happy to display even now, 25 years later.

Gene

 

I just had a coolant line rupture, and I didn't realize how bad it was till I popped the hood, started the car, (to find the leak) and got sprayed with near boiling coolant.

As ticked off as I am, if I'm not getting rid of mine now (and I'm not) any car deserves some patience.

 

The biggest problem is the fact that many previous owners ignore many problems.

You start troubleshooting a problem and find a mess of schize. The tpi engines were relatively simple motors. There are far far worse. I almost puke I get so mad when I have to work on my buddy's talon. Could be the beer too. ?

 

None of the "complaints" listed here are because it's a 3rd gen. Those are general problems with automobiles, and as some have said, caused by lack of basic care and maintenance more than anything else.

Since we aren't really addressing any specific tech issues here, time for Mr. .