Hey everyone, Im thinkin about buyin camero. My dad recomended the 3rd gen because most of em come cheap and can be upgraded to perfomance like levels. I found alot of info from magazines and the internet about them but im still confused of which year/model/motor is a good one. Im thinkin mabye a 305? a TPI? or iroc?? I really have no idea... I dont want to spend mor than $2000... im only 17 and dont work a hellavalot any/all feedback is greatly appreciated!

P.S. I didnt know which forum this post should go into, so ill probably post it in a couple others to

 

welcome......... i wish you well in your search for the ultimate street machine. For 2000 i imagine there are plenty of 85-87 iroc 305's to be had. If newer is for you, then some 88-90 tbi cars are within reach. I would also suggest the 3.1 f-bodies. These give you all the performance you will need for now, and cheaply. Furthermore, you will have plenty of upgrades to help you "bond" with it. Realize these cars are an obsession, and many around here are devout follwers.

Lastly be sure to steer clear of CAMERO'S. Those SINGAPORE throwbacks are nothing like a CAMARO.

 

well first off do you want more of looks or motor? if you want looks I'd get like a 90 camaro 3.1, if you want motor go with a 350 tpi or carbed. the carbed will be a little easier and cheaper to get running 12's or so. also a good idea is to get a car with a 305 in it that is straight. later on you can make it fast by dropping in a 350. if you have any questions let me know,

 

Haha, not expecting much out of your car, eh?
I'd recommend buying a 350, it'll save time later. Might cost a little more, but its worth it.
Check out Firebirds, too.

 

Personally if you want performance stay away from Camaro's that have the LG4 and LO3. I would say try to get a 350 obvisouly but there a few 305 TPI that can run. Also, get an '87 or later model. I believe part way through the year if not the whole year, some internals were changed in the auto tranny making it a little better, that is of course if you want an auto. Word of advice, take your time and research these boards and ask a lot of questions. When I was looking for a car I knew squat about 3rd gens and it showed. I was under the impression that I was buying an '86 IROC 305 HO, of course now I know there were only 74 of those produced. Plus I got the weaker tranny as well and the horrible LG4 motor. However, I doubt you'll find any 350 Camaro's with less than 150k miles under $2500.

 

Yes, definatly research the subject...

87~88 and later would be my suggestion... they look better and some parts were upgraded to make them more powerful... plus there were no LG4 motors to get sucked into... everything 88 and later was FI...

If you're looking for any kind of performance, or even a performance sound... get 8 cylinders... if you're only looking to buy a Camaro for looks, 6 cylinders are fine... Don't get me wrong I'm a V6'er myself and they can be little devils under the hood, but 8's are alot more so...
'
Spend alotta time researching, and alot more time looking for te car -you- want and don't just settle on anything, and you'll be good to go... Snow + Rain can be tricky, but treat 'em right and have some confidence and you'll fine and happy...Trust me

 

DO NOT GET A 2.8L V6! i'd go with a 350 tpi or carbeb. if you can find a 3rd gen with an lt1 get it, just so long as it isn't rusted to ****. try and check the frame underneath if you can, to see if it was in an accident.

 

Good luck finding an LT1 motor in a 3rd Gen, let alone one for around $2k.

 

When I went hunting for my 350 Iroc, everyone I looked at was wrecked at some point in its life, and I don't mean a fender bender. My advice is don't buy the first car you see, and you are better off getting a clean straight car that may not be exactly what you want than getting a car with all the options that has been ragged out. You would rather spend money swapping cams than swapping out carpet because the old owner spilled his coffee on it.

Check out traderonline.com, and some of the other camaro message boards for sale sections, camaroz28.com, sethirdgen.org, nethirdgen.org, 3rdgen.org.

 

best motor combination (in my opinion.. ) is an 305 5speed.. that way u already have the 5 speed so u don't have to convert an auto matic and a V8... (can't get a 350 with a 5 speed... unless somebody did a swap to it)
t-tops are nice.. make your car a bit less structurally strong.. but nice on a sunny day, crusing and picking up chicks.. be wary tho.. some of them leak badly (i was lucky.. didn't look at them and they turned out to be water tight) look for nice straight lines in the body.. check for puddy.. check the VIN to see if it was in any accidents (i dunno if you can do that in the USA.. but up 'ere in canada we can).. cracked dashes are pretty common.. (so i've seen) check the wheel wells for rust.. under the doors, door jambs.. open the door and look at where the hinges are.. check them..
most of them are a bit wobbly.. should let this affect u'r decision in u'r car.. but.. if there's two of them in close contest..
what else... underbody.. check for rust there.. under the back seat and under the floorboards where u put ur feet..

(and don't limit u'r self to camaro's.. because.. firebirds are nicer! )

 

Get an 87 or later so you can get a V-8 roller motor. I can't wait till i get a roller 350!

 

For $2,000 your not going to get a very good car. U would probably have to do alot of work to it. What kind of performance are u looking for?? Is there any particular style of Camaro u like more than others??

 

Wow, i got replies! Thanks for the welcome Ill take something that growls over eye candy but nobody wants a dinged up lookin POS! I was thinkin of goin w/ a 350 in the first place and I guess that would be the way to go. You could do lots of upgrading/work to a 305 but it just wouldnt be the same.

ok, so v8 over v6, 87'-92' are better years stock, no LG4 motors (which were killed in 89' right?), 350 over 305... but what about the TPI versus Carb? any pros/cons?

IROCZTWENTYGR8 - 2,000 does see a bit limiting and i could go to 3,000 if i just work harder. I know there are some nice cheap ones out there though just waiting for me to find em...

You guys have been great! ill definitely check out those urls BitchinCamaro

 

I think LG4s went away in '87 I think.
TPI vs. Carb

Well, '87 and later I'm not sure if they had carbs in '87 not sure when the total switch to FI occured. TPI you can squeeze better gas milage out of, carbs are easier to work on.

 

If you travel to New England and time soon you could get one for about 2/3 the price a Camaro cost in the West. I was recently in MA-RI, a couldn't believe how much cheaper they were there!

 

I bought my car for 1200. Only real major thing it neede was a cat. And i decided to go and buy a new exhaust for it. Now im in the process of just fixing the minor things.

 

2000 will get you nothing where i live, good third gen camaros sell for 4-7 grand. firebirds more. (good is v-8 even 305, good body, decent paint, 89+) if your not lookin to modify and arnt addicted to performance a tpi 305 is good, no first hand for v6s

 

No, I wont be traveling to New England any time soon... lol. What is a CAT? I learned that in the 89's there was a "Dual Cat" in the 350 TPI that made it more powerful. So what is it and where would I find it .

Also were would the VIN be located? Im thinkin somewhere under that hood? And i wanna learn how read it also (i.e. the 4th digit is this, the 8th digit means that, etc.....).

 

Cat is short for catalytic converter. Used for emissions purposes.

The VIN will be located on the driver's side down at the bottom of the windshield.

The 6th digit is the engine code I know. But on the home page of thirdgen.org there is a VIN decoder.

 

I believe the 8th digit is the engine code for the VIN.

"8" is the L98(5.7L) tpi engine
"f" is the LB9(5.0L) tpi engine
"h" is the LG4(5.0L) carb engine
i think "o" is for the L03(5.0L) tbi engine...i think...

 

never heard of a camero, but i knwo a few camaros. Ya the cat is like the little muffler looking piece of crap hooked up to ur exhaust on teh interemediate pipe the runs from your y-pipe/manifolds to your muffler.:lala:

 

You're right it's the 8th digit.