Hello everyone!
I'm thinking about buying a 89 trans am with (apparently) broken connecting rod bearings. Do I have to lift the engine out or is it viable to change the bearings with just dropping the oil pan and going from there? Any wild guesses about the overall state of the engine if said bearing(s) are on their way out? I'm thinking, best case scenario, changing the bearings without lifting the engine and enjoying the car for 10 years. Now would be a perfect time to shatter some dreams, go!

Sounds like the engine needs to come out and be torn down for a full rebuild.

Aand this is what I pretty much figured would be the worst case scenario. In all honesty, I don't think I have enough mechanical knowledge to pull that off. It's not my first time wrenching cars but still. Thanks for the response!

If you've had bearing failure, the rod and maybe the crank are damaged. Bearing failure normally means a lot of heat was created. The crank may be scored and the rod end is probably heat warped.

With a failed bearing, you'll have bearing material in the oil galleries. The proper fix is to strip it down for a good cleaning and replace any damaged parts.

For the cost to do a proper repair, it's probably a lot easier and cheaper to just buy a replacement engine.

Agreed. Swapping would be something I'd be somewhat comfortable doing myself. The problem is with the asking price of the car and new engine it just doesn't make any sense anymore. The combination would be far too expensive. It's a shame really, it looks to be in darn good condition with WS6 suspension and rear wheel disc brakes.

If you don't mind what is the asking price? What condition is the rest of the car in? My 124k 305 bird was 2 grand flat. Needed tires and a battery but it is still running proper.

Tell whoever you are negotiating with exactly what the posts say on here. Let him know all the work that needs to be done. If he won't budge or the price isn't right, pass on it. There are more of them out there!

Exactly

When buying and you don't think the price is good enough, offer a fair price. Don't lowball unless you can justify such a low price to the seller.

If the seller doesn't like your offer, walk away and check back in a couple of weeks. If the car hasn't sold, give him your offer again. If he wants to sell and you're the only one interested, he may eventually sell it to you for what you're willing to pay.

Basically even if the engine currently runs, it's still going to need a new engine to make it worth while to own. Price out a stock replacement engine before making an offer. If you're going to do the swap yourself, it may take a few weekends before it's completed. If you have a shop do the swap for you, it could probably be done in a day. Budget the cost of labor even if it's your own time to do it.

I don't live in the states so the price doesn't really matter in this context. I'd have to a currency conversion for you guys and even after that the price would raise some eyebrows here. As an example, the absolute lowest price I've seen on a 3rd gen was a tad over 3000 dollars. 3rd gens are quite rare here.

For the price of the bird in question (only the car in it's current state) I could buy a decently kept 305 camaro so like I mentioned, I'm not going to bother even thinking engine rebuild/swap in this case. It just doesn't make sense, even with a lower price and swapping it myself. That being said it's unlikely I'll buy a 305 so I'm just looking for another 350 3rd gen at the moment.
Someone with more disposable income will make a great car out of it I'm sure.
Thanks guys