So i was thinking of Getting a third gen for a daily driver,

Like buy a cheap one for 1,000-2,000 and drive it like that and fix it up along the the way, Unlike most of you guys here, i'm not looking for power. I like the looks

-How do the V6's go up against the 305's and 350's as for reliability?

-Im leaning to Something fuel injected, or should i stay with the carb?

-Looking at 90-92 Camaros and FB's they seem more "Built" and "Reliable" from what ive seen around here in Minnesota, RS's are everywhere

Yeah, i know about the "Bad in the snow" "Slide all day" "You should get a corolla" blahblah

But i'm sick of driving my dads Turbo Regal, he wont let me touch his GN

I want to hear your feedback on my questions! thank you

 

My 87 is a daily driver here in Australia - 305 carb. Reliability is ok - just remember theyre getting old. This isnt a huge problem in the States however down here waiting for parts to arrive is pretty crap and in the last 18 months i reckon its been off the road waiting for a part about twice.

They are oldish cars with oldish car problems, theyre also oldish car fun! With fuel prices in the states i'd probably look for a 350, parts are cheap as are the options to play around with them.

if we had that sort of pricing to buy them here- id buy 3 and stick them together!

 

A decade + ago my friend daily drove a 92 vert V6 auto for years it was fairly reliable no major issues.

 

Not gonna lie man, these cars are not very reliable. Like was stated above, older cars with older car problems. I've had mine for 4 years and I've put 20-30k miles on it. Which is great and everything if you're just taking it out on weekends, but it was supposed to be my DD. I gave up on that idea after the second transmission failure and got a second car for my daily. Might have been a lemon, idk. Not that you CANT find a good one out there, just expect a lot more work than oil changes and tire rotations.

 

Thisisodd,
Hey I use 88 IROC Z Convertible for a daily driver, 305 TPI with 700r4 trans. Very reliable, I rebuilt both the engine and trans 11 years ago and it still runs great and does not leak. I drive it everywhere, got it with 68k before I rebuilt engine and trans (original engine that had a spun bearing) still original engine. Now have over 200K. It is an oldish car and I am a maintenance horse, I purchased the IROC (bought it from one of my brothers and I am third owner) for $900.00, and including the engine and trans rebuild I have slightlty more than $6000.00 after owning the car the past 11 years. I drive in the snow and ice and the only time I do not drive it in winter is when snow is simply too deep here in Colorado... I grew up driving rear wheel drives in high elevation (7000+)and snowy climates of Flagstaff AZ-snows tons there. Yeah reliability is not an issue and the V8 will be more fun than the 6...

 

If your car wasn't reliable then you got one that was beat to **** or someone never really maintained it. My 89 GTA has over 200k miles and I drive her daily back and forth to work and never did I have an issue. The Chevy 305/350 small block is a diehard motor. Keep the oil changed and maintain it and they run forever. Hell I had an 85 305 with a leaky intake gasket and that car drove for five years!

They are VERY reliable. It's all about maintenance and upkeep. Parts in the states for the 305/350 are readily available and easy to get. Even some dealers still have parts too. As for body and interior? Well there's a wealth of places online from Classic Industries to Hawks Thirdgen where you can get basically anything you need (for the right price of course).

They are not the best in wintry weather, but I have a trailblazer for when the white stuff really dumps on me. I also don't drive her in the salt (live in Pennsylvania myself) because I don't want to have the body rust out on me.

Be careful what you buy and CHECK EVERYTHING! You are buying a 25+ year old vehicle so expect issues that come with something that old.

 

I'd Trust the last 3rd gen V6 RS as a DD but power is gonna suck bigtime.

Just hope there's enough freeway traffic to allow a 0-60 time in 20 seconds.

As for a 305 V8 RS, I recommend that more for a but more power, fuel efficiency isn't gonna a huge diff but save for a maybe 3 more miles in the city with the v6 auto combo.

With the v6 5 speed and pure highway cruising you might see 29 miles per gallon.

But in the city like Los Angeles with a red light every 5 blocks, stop & go traffic and even gridlock freeways that quickly turns into 17 miles per gallon at best.

These cars have a relatively short gas tank capacity at 15.5 gallons. So it gets empty rather a day too soon.

My 2nd Gen 1976 Trans Am has a 21 gallon tank. So it doesn't seem as quick to refuel based on my own short driving trips.

Theyre Reliable if given basic maintenance when the time demands it. Instead of waiting, otherwise the problem & cost will grow later on when you need it in an emergency.

I've never had a v6 camaro, I've driven a Metallic Blue '92 305 RS belonged to a neighbor, it was reliable.

My own '92 Z28 5.7 owned by another friend, but he beat it up, enjoying burning rubber, all original.

I baby it, it runs & drives but needs new u-joints on driveshaft, it makes a "Clunk" sound everytime you shift from P into Drive.

Engine has never been rebuilt, has 192,000 miles

Original Fuel pump went out, and had to be replaced.

 

Eventually you'll miss the turbo Regal, unless you get a factory-dual-cat version, and end up doing a swap. Since there's a GN, the turbo Regal becomes fair game. So you should get one the same year as the Regal.
T-tops weren't common in other cars, so they are sort of the character of our cars. Those who intend extreme performance builds avoid them, but they are more common, and cheaper. But if they haven't been replaced, there may be floorpan rust.
The '91s and '92s are more commonly spotted mostly because they are newer. That's it. Production numbers were really low. The '92s had glue added to the body seams, along with the pinch-welds. They were final-testing for the new 4th-gen '93s, which used the glue instead of pinch-welds, but this made the '92s extra heavy. Are they any better? Probably not, because by then, all the tooling for the rest of the car was all worn out.
The 3.1 is relatively reliable, the V8s are as good as it got. But for a car that looks fast to not be able to move makes you look silly and feel frustrated. Skip the 3.1 unless you know the turbo 3.8 is getting swapped, and even then, better to start with a factory TPI version.
Most of us buy the best one we can afford, or save up for what we like best. These days it is more like jumping on any one that becomes available and isn't too far gone to save.
Finding an older one in nice condition will cost more. But if you will be doing the swap, you at least need '89 or older, for emissions legality after the swap, even if emissions aren't yet being tested for registration every year, in your area.

 

I tend to agree, i dont think anyone is doubting the reliability of the car, its the external factors and the choices made by previous owners that define whether its a piece of crap or not. I reckon even my 305 is borderline indestructible from an engine perspective, and a well maintained TH trans will go forever. These forums have plenty of info about the common things that go wrong with them, budget for them, keep up with regular maintenance and youll be fine.

 

I'd Recommend you buy this one if you can get to Maplewood Minnesota.

It's exactly like mine. Definitely top of the line for 1992 and all the bragging rights that goes with it

1992 Z28 5.7 TPI Hardtop 245hp/345 Torque 25th Anniversary Full Power Options except t-tops, All original clean title.

But unless you live in Dry Los Angeles weather that's a good thing not having to worry about old rotted t-top weatherstripping leaking.

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/r...888648690.html

But since you said you werent looking for power, it might not be for you.

I dont know the mileage, gotta call the number, but if it's over 100k miles I do think they're asking too much.

Mine is the same and has 192k and I've seen 4 others like mine sell for between $3,000 to $5,000 in 8 years with similar over 140k Miles including already a rebuilt Engine.

 

A 20+ year old car is a terrible daily driver.
Can it be done? Yes.
Is it a good idea to force it? Absolutely not.

 

At the $1000-2000 price point, your money will go further for a V6 car vs a TPI V8. As for reliability, you may be safer with an older carburator version vs 1980's fuel injection, plus the maze of electronics and vacuum hoses.

Either way, none of these cars are going to be utterly reliable based on their age. The engines can last quite a while, I got 230,000 miles out of my original 2.8L V6 Auto 1985 bird. The real culprit here is age, complexity of components, and wear. Some parts are going to wear out from use, some will wear out from time, and some are just early designs that aren't as resilient to either.

I love having a thirdgen as a second car...but it's not what I'd be using as a daily driver if I could avoid it.