Some guy is selling the following Camaro for $500:

1989 Auto IROC Z with the H.O. TPI 305 VIN
140,000 miles
Front left Quarter is smacked-wheel well is still okay
Front End is a little torn, but he has a new front end
T-Tops
New Rear Tires
Driver Seat Has a little damage
Seller Claims to have rebuilt 350 in there now

1. How can I tell if it's a 350 or the stock 305 from the outside?

2. Even if it's the 305 and it runs okay, is it worth it? I Blue booked it at 1,600+ with no powers. Also, my friend works for a body shop----he has a 82 IROC which will soon have a 500 HP carb 350------and another friend is a good mechanic at a shop I used to work at.

I did a CARFAX check and came up with 17 fkags. I will be looking at it again tomorrow, Monday, 10/10/04. Considering all of this, I'm thinking I'm gonna buy it if it runs right. What do you think? Any comments are appreciated.

C.P.

 

For $500 you can't complain to much.

 

That's what I'm sayin'. For 500, I don't think I can lose. I didn't see any rust, even underneath. It's got 2 flats up front, but the last inpection was good until 04/04, so that has to say something, right? The rotors looked a little rusty, but if it's been sitting since April or so, I can understand that.

 

So does anyone know how to visually identufy a 350 from a 305?

 

OK, I'll comment. 82 IROC??? No flippin way, they wern't made until late in the 85 model year.

For that price I'd see about taking it out for a drive and put it through its paces, make sure the trans shifts properly and firmly and the engine isn't acting up.
Even if it has the 305 dual cat TPI engine and if everything else checks out it would be well worth $500.

 

Sorry about that. It's a Z and it's actually an 84, not 82. The original VIN was the H engine, but like I said he's gonna have the 5.7 soon. He's talking about $2,000 for Aluminum heads, 6 angle valve job, super thick rockers, some extreme type of comp cam...If you don't believe me, I can send pictures . My mistake on the original info though. I'm going to check out this 89 IROC right now. I'll let you know what I find.

 

Here's the breakdown:

Body:

A rust spot about the size of 3 quarters on the passenger door

Paint is faded, spotting of rust here and there, but no big deal

The door trim strips are missing

The body kit on the right is hanging a little and is cracked underneath

The front tires won't pass inspection, but like I said, I have someone who works in a shop and...



Interior:

The interior driver door handle assembly is not connected on the tail end of the door

The light panel Just under the tach and speedo is missing

Headliner is gone

There was a little chunk of the dash goner ripped out.

Driver seat is a little ripped in 2 spots, but not to bad

The wasn't a radio in the dash, but there was one on the seat

Drivetrain:

When I got there it was started and running. It idled okay and sounded good, but didn't have the gargle of a 350

When he shifted it into drive it kind of struggled for a second, but once be blipped the gas a little it was okay.

I was only able to drive it around a lot, so I couldn't check all of the gears, but it tok a little long to shift. Once it did, it shifted pretty firmly. I checked the trans fluid and it was at the end of the stick, about a quart low.

The engine seemed pretty responsive and never stalled or hesitated. He says he put a 350 in there, but I'm not believing that. The fluids weren't too bad. It was running hot though.

Other:

It has a fiberglass hood on it. He also has a 2.5" cowl for $400, but I could give a f*ck about that. If anyone is interested, let me know.

When we popped the hood, a lot of the electrical looked ghetto rigged with wire caps and that type of sh*t. I didn't think to check the serpentine belt either.

It had the IROC rims and they loooked like they were in pretty good shape. I figure that's a couple hundred right there. Plus the rear tires were new.

The front fascia and left quarter were beat up a little as I had mentioned, but he has the front AND 2 left quarters. one was in the car.

The brakes definitely seemed mushy.

The exhaust manifolds looked pretty rusty

I didn't hear any creaks clunks rattles, etc...

There was one major problem though. When we shut it off to check the oil and other fluids, it wouldn't start back up. No cranking or anything. The battery was good and my friend said it strated up the first time without much problem, no sputtering or cutting out. I'm thinking starter, coil, ignition module...

What do you all think? I honestly could care less about the appearance of the car, especially the interior. Plus there are a few junkyards around, so I can probably clean a lot of it up. I'm thinking about offering the guy $400 if he gets it started, adds a quart of trans and I make sure it shifts okay.

Anyone have any final thoughts?

 

if u can get it for $400, then i don't see why you would think twice about it. even if the car were useless, a new GM 350 block is over $500 anyway. check the casting number on the block to confirm it's type.
the fugged up wiring would scare me thought, ESPECIALLY when there's stupid crimp thingies in the mix... the GM sensors use a 5V signal and any artificial resistence is gonna skew the accuracy sent to the ecm. plus... it makes it look like crap.
the no start problem is probably easy to fix.
worst case senario, the car is a total POS... but hey, at least you got an entire parts car for $400

 

4-500 would be good, seeing as it ran. The trans is the only worry I'd have, well that and the hacked up wiring.
For the no start, if you go back and it still won't start, try smacking the starter with a hammer a couple of times and see if it will crank over then...if it does it is starter time, no big deal.

If you do buy it, the first order of business is changing ALL of the fluids, filters, bleeding brakes (and getting all of the old fluid out), tune up and then try it out again.

One other thing to look at, did the check eng light come on with the engine off and key on? If not the bulb may have been removed because the light was staying on, indicating a problem somewhere and it was easier to remove the bulb than fix it.

 

hey, good call on checking that SES light Morley, never would've thought of that. man, if that happened to anyone, talk about a " "kinda feeling.
You might also want to check that all the paperwork is in order for the car, not a salvage or stolen er nuthin like that.

 

Thanks for the input. I was thinking it's the strater, but I couldn't get to it underneath the car, or through the hood. Where is the Chk eng light on the panel? Like I said, it was missing and there are only bulbs in there. I told my friend to offer $350 as is and I'll pay to get it towed and fixed-----------AAA and my friend. The guy's boss wants it off the lot, so I said I'd take care of everything by Thursday. We'll see if he bites. As for the paperwork, as long as it's not stolen, I think it's still cool. If it is stolen, I'm taking that sh*t right back. I'm definitely not going down for that one!

 

The guy isn't even considering negotiating, so I told him I'd give him $500 by Friday if he got it starting consistantly. My friend is saying he can't get it done until Saturday. We'll see how this one turns out.

 

The check eng light should be the middle one on the RH side of the column.

 

Thanks. I'll check that the next time I see the car. Also, is there any other location for the casting number besides in front of the valve cover, behind the alternator? I obviously can't get to it there becuase the alternator is in the way. I'm almost positive the guy just cleaned up the valve covers and didn't swap a single bolt in there.

 

The VIN on the car is 1G1FP21F7KL138441. Is it possible to tell if it has a LSD from this? Is there anything else you that you can find out form the VIN besides the type of engine?

 

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