Savage388

I've been wanting a third gen camaro for a while now and I'll be purchasing one this spring when the snow thaws up here, but I'm really looking to get a fairly solid car for cheap. It will be a daily driver in the summer so I need something that runs but I'm more than willing to put some work into. What are big indicators of a well taken car of third gen and one that's been abused mechanically, and how many miles are too much no matter what? What are the most common rust spots of a neglected third gen? I'm looking specifically toward a 5 spd car around 87 if that helps any. Also, what would be the best trim to start out with if I wanted to go down to VIR for the occasional track day? Sorry for all the questions I just want to know what I'm looking for, and sorry if this is the wrong section I didn't see a general question section.

86_irocz-28

To start with a z28 or iroc would be a good platform to start with for occasional track day or if your planning on doing suspension and engine swap even a base model would work as far as mileage goes i wouldnt go more than 160k maybe 180k if its been well maintained(oil change every 3k,plugs, wires, air filter.) For mechanical the trans should shift good and firm engine should fire up right away not miss fire or back fire open the hood listen to it at idle then rev it a little if the current owner allows you to listen for any ticks/knocks in the engine then step to the back and have the owner give it a little gas listen to the exhaust for any holes or back firing through the exhaust if the owner stats that its a posi jack the rear up(always take a jack, battery, jumper cables, and tools) make sure the rear is stable put it in drive make sure both tires move. As far as physical appearance while under the rear look under the rear for any rust wheel wells are notorious for this then move to the side jack it up if neccesary to look under the car check for rust this will tell whether the car has been driven in the winter(salt+snow=rust.) If its a ttop car check the headliner see if it sags, feels damp, seems moldy, or if theres just no headliner look for rust youll be able to tell if the ttops leak. Its always good to find one with a straight body if possible. If your wanting a great condition body(no filler, bondo, etc..) theres two ways to do this the old way-take a magnet with you gently set it on the car in random areas probably every two feet along the sides if it doesn't stick its most likely had work done to it. The new age way they make an electronic device that will detect whether its metal or not. Best of luck on a purchase of a third gen.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Check driverside floorpan, bottom corners of firewall, bottom of doors, and front door jambs, lower rear portion of the fenders, and the front lower portion of quarters, especially the passenger side as thats where the spare tire goes. These are the most common spots for rust. And if it's t-tops check for leaks.
Also check the door gaps, that is a good indicator of whether or not the body is straight, although on thirdgens you have to take that with a grain of salt as the doors are both heavy and long as hell, so they tend to sag, check that the hatch closes correctly and is lined up decent, check the hatch struts aren't dead, same for hood. If its been sitting check the tires for dry rot and or flat spots, look the exhaust over good, check the vacuum lines(if you touch them and get black on your hands they need replaced), check all the fluids, listen for noise from the rear when driving.
Mostly the same as what you look over on any car, but with more emphasis on looking for rust, body damage, and wear items. Also look over the brake and fuel lines.

TreeFiddy

Check that the frame isn't broken from metal fatigue where the steering box mounts up, common enough problem with these cars esp the earlier ones.

Get the owner to spin the wheel a quarter turn in both directions while idling, while you watch the box for movement. It may flex a little, but a broken frame rail will be obvious.

Savage388

Thanks for pointing out common places for rust as I asbsolutely hate the stuff. How often are the t-tops known to leak, and would I be better off trying to find one without them?

Ronnie Brennan

Your probably better off asking that question the other way around. How often are the t-tops known not to leak......

Savage388

Oh, I see. So for a daily driver I would have better luck staying away from the t-tops.

Richboll

Don't forget that a 3rd option is a convertible I've had a number of T-top cars and some have leaked and some haven't. Pay attention to the condition of the gaskets and the areas around the openings. Make sure that the gaskets aren't torn up or too badly compressed and look for the things mentioned by 86_irocz-28. A lot will depend on the honesty of the seller. If you do get a T-top car remember to periodically condition the gaskets if the tops won't be coming off often or for long periods of time. I have seen the gaskets stick to the T-top and tear when the top was removed. Go through the information on this site to help verify and authenticate your planned purchase. Good luck and welcome to the club!

danziger

The rear-most wheel-well fender lips tend to collect moist grit and will often rot/rust. The polyurethane wings (if there are any left) tend to rot. The metal trim on the hatch will rust and the rust will collect in the drip wells on either side of the hatch opening.

Overall, 3rdGens aren't really too bad considering that they are basically 30+ year-old technology/build quality.

Savage388

So the hatch is another big thing to watch for. I don't like having a convertible for track days, and honestly they're usually a good bit more expensive than a coupe. All that extra money could buy me some nice parts.

el_muerte

Pick up a V8 model, even if you're planning to swap the engine out. It is a lot more work to install a V8 in a V6 or I4 car than one that came set up for a V8.

Best trim, IMO, for a tear down the quarter mile in a stock configured '87 is a 5-speed IROC, hardtop, no A/C, G92 axle, manual windows, manual seats, manual locks. You're ruled out of a 350 by going with a 5-speed, but the LB9 with manual transmission received a hotter cam (10 hp and 35ft-lb less than the 350) than the automatic, and the G92 axle gives you a 3.45 rear end ratio... I think that'd be just as quick as a 350 with automatic and a lower rear gear ratio, and you get the manual transmission. It'll be roughly 100 lb lighter than an automatic - without T-tops and A/C, you're looking at a curb weight of around 3250 lb. Of course, this becomes entirely academic as soon as you decide to upgrade anything.

torque_is_good

you need to determine if you want a vehicle which has been maintained (subjective at best) or has been beaten and understand the HUGE swing in price

If you have $1,000 to spend you're getting a beater which needs $$$$$

heck, 4 new tires and brakes will set you back a pretty penny before you even get into mechanicals


so, if you are looking for an oceanside home and only have $200,000 it ain't gonna happen. If you have more than $3,000 then you will get a 3rd gen in decent shape. Over $5,000 and it will be in real good shape inside/out

your expectations must match your wallet

good luck

Savage388

Well I I should have around 2500 or close to 3k when I tally it all up so I'm figuring that i should be able to get a car with a solid body that hasn't been completely beat. As long as I can find something thats low on rust and drives decent so I can drive it daily while I work on it I'll be happy.

Firechicken86

iTrader: (1)

Not necessarily true all the time, I bought my firebird for 1100, it does have 200,000 on the clock but the engine is in near perfect condition, interior just needs a few fix ups

Project 3.4 Camaro

Also not necessarily true, my 96 camaro with 204k on it ran great for a week or 2 and then snapped a connecting rod cruising down the highway in 4th gear. Imo, once a car gets over 120k or so, or 10 or so years old its a crapshoot, granted not all models are created equal and some will tend to go further, interestingly enough there seems to be a lot of 4th gen fbodies with 160k+ out there.

Firechicken86

iTrader: (1)

That's also down to how the po treated it.

torque_is_good

if you have $1100 to spend you are going to get an $1100 vehicle

when you start going above $3,000 with 3rd gens you can begin to have expectations. At $5,000 and above then the bar is higher

it sounds like you bought an $1100 vehicle and it's a crap shoot regardless of what the seller claims

at $5,000 you want to see documentation of the rebuilt engine and tranny, the interior had best be good with no tears and the tires don't need to be replaced. The exterior should also be good.

The OP claimed he wanted reliability and frankly, you must pay for that.

I bought a $500 89 RS.

After restoring it I sold it. All mechanicals were rebuilt, interior replaced and upgraded to leather and repainted exterior


my sale price reflected all of that and the buyer had high expectations and is not disappointed

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Buy the beater and spend the rest of your money (and lots of time) rebuilding it on your own. The only way to ever have reliability is to do it yourself, IMO.

85Irocket

I would also look at the engine wiring. An engine swap is not a bad thing as long as it's done right, but for some reason people love to hack the wiring on these cars. I'm all for getting rid of what you don't need as long as it's done right.

88FormulaKiller

iTrader: (8)

wow, $3000 for a DECENT third gen? wtf do you guys live, around here 3rd gens are fairly cheap, hell my last 88 formula i bought cost $500 w/100K miles on it, minor rust and went 3 years with just oil changes. I cant grasp the concept of paying up the *** for a thirdgen, i mean if we're talking a low mileage all original zero rust car or an LSx swapped car such as my own then yes but the prices for these cars outside the NE region is ridiculous.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

agreed, i see third gens for sale inthe $500-$1000 range that are still running and have mainly surface rust, which can be dealt with. $3k gets you a < 100k mileage car with recent replacement of wear and tear parts.

88FormulaKiller

iTrader: (8)

heres my more contructive post...

For T-Top cars, i agree with the leaking, check that first and foremost. If the owner says "oh it only leaks a few drops when it rains" those few drops could have been going on for 10+ years and the thing needs a floor or two. Listen to the engine for any unusual noises, rapping, knocking, or prominent valve train noise. Have them start the car and watch what comes out the exhaust upon first start. With the car running, try to ask as much about the car as you can and Let it Run, see if it overheats or stalls etc. Check the Fluids. Check the rear wheel wells for rubber, you never know, the owner might have found of the tranny was junk and said F it, im gonna go do some do-nuts and then sell to some kid for $3000. When the words "daily driver" comes to mind when buying any older car, you should be inspecting all the daily wear items and their operating functions to be sure you dont get a "daily pain in the ***".

Just my 2 Cents.

Savage388

Around my area in PA they use salt a chemicals on the road heavily in the winter so the only cars that don't need floors or massive rust problems are stored in the winter so owners ask quite a bit more even with 100k plus miles. So 3000 buys half decent car in my area or i could get a better car out of state if I want to travel. I really don't know why prices are so high around here.

Firechicken86

iTrader: (1)

How can you claim that I bought a "crap shoot" vehicle when you haven't even seen as much as a picture? my brother in law is a mechanic and inspected the whole engine bay and said that everything is running better/in better condition than most vehicles that age with that many miles on the clock. Not to mention that when I went to go get air car or emissions testing, the guy was shocked at how well it did and said he's never seen a car of that model do so well before. All I'm saying is, you're not always going to get a crap vehicle if you pay less. Sometimes you can get lucky, as for me the guy wanted it gone just to get money as soon as possible so he can pay for medical bills. That's a bold statement you made and with not much evidence to back it up.

86birdt/a

try to stay away from a ny car as some owners drive there 3rd gens in the winter and the salt eats them. i looked at an 89 rs camaro and the whole drivers side floor board was shot the rear suspension was rusted away from the mount under the back seat. yea the car ran great but it needed more work the i thought it was worth. the t-tops on my 86 t/a dont leak at all maybe im lucky i dont know.and theirs minimal rust on the body/floors and it sat outside for a year uncovered. the best i can say is check craigs list in your area and in the southern tier of ny, as clean cars do appear form time to time. good luck with your search

Savage388

sorry for resurrecting this thread but i just have to update, looked at an 86 trans am today, 383 5spd, with no rust good paint and a complete interior in good shape, picking it up Saturday if all goes well. one little quirk though, the key only works when the tilt wheel is the whole way down so do would i need a new column or is just something simple? i mean its not a deal breaker by any means especially at this price just wondering if its a sign of bigger electrical issues to come. everything else works well on the inside btw

TreeFiddy

If the key turns ok but the engine won't start, prolly just the ign switch needs a small position adjustment on the column.

Savage388

ok good to know i just cant stand electrical gremlins, honestly for 2500 dollars i couldnt be happier.