First of all I'd like to say hey to everyone I used to post here YEARS ago when I had my 87 IROC. My email address that I use now is different from the one I had so I reg'd a new name. Now as the name indicates I have a 1995 Trans Am which has been a FABULOUS car, but I think I may sell it. Here's my reasoning...plans are for 2007 to get the wife a good used G35 coupe. At that point I would trade in my Trans Am which would probably bring 5k trade (actually it'll bring about 3500 at that point but they'll compe the other 1500 off the price of the car more than likely). We'll have roughly 6k to put down leaving us with a difference of 5 or 6k to finance. My car could be sold now for probably 7500 to 8000 (I had an offer in april for 9k) maybe even more. I can then pick up a good condition TPI 5 Speed car (camaro) or a 5.0 Mustang for about 4k. Then pocket the rest of the money for the G35 in a couple years. I'm hesitant about the F body because on my previous car I replaced the radiator and the transmission (but it was an auto) and have been out of the loop for a while. I'm wanting your opinions on the TPI 5 speed cars in terms of durability and reliability. This vehicle would be my daily driver (roughly 6k miles per year) till the wife gets the G35 at which point I'll probably drive my toy and the Rav4 and alternate between the two. I knew I could get honest opinions from you guys and I would like to hear them.

 

Although they only come in auto's, I would suggest an L98 (350) car. Because switching from an LT1 to a Lb9 is ludacris.

 

Haha yeah thats what everyone says, and mine is a strong LT1 car. I refuse to own an auto, I plan on never owning an auto again. I hate them...

Thats what is tough about this, I can keep my car and probably wind up without a toy of any kind in a couple years and that would SUCK. Or I can sell it now and get a 5.0 or an LB9 car. The F body looks fabulous and handles well, the 5.0 car is a better straightline car and hella fun to drive. But thats why I'm here, you guys will give an honest opinion. The guys at corral for the most part dont, although there's a few good apples over there.

 

or just do the LT1 intake swap to get some more power.. i just did this and damn my car is like a banshee

 

Did that help quite a bit? I'd suspect you gained some serious high end power.


But guys what do you think? Do you think I'm making a mistake going after a 3rd gen or a 5.0? Am I going to be able to have a reliable car that wont fall apart around me?

 

I don't see anything wrong with owning an older car as a daily driver. Two years ago I had an '86 Cutlass Salon with over 100K as a daily driver, and no issues with it. Last year, I had an '87 Monte SS as a daily driver, car seat in the back for my son and everything. No problems with that one either.

It's all about maintainence. As long as it's been taken care of, you should have no trouble, especially only driving 6k a year.

 

So if I find a well maintained vehicle TPI of course you think it'll be a good daily driver?

Now it's been a while, is there any year TPI car thats better than the other in terms of reliability and performance? Seems like from 87 to 92 there were consistant updates to both the 350 and 305, camshaft revisions and similar things made about 5 or so hp more per year fi memory serves me correct.

What kind of mods should I consider acceptable without having to worry whether or not the car had the crap beat out of it?

 

I have a Lb9 5 speed car and drive pretty much everyday atleast 70 miles until it starts to snow....I have not had a single problem with my car that me and my dad have not been able to fix ourselves and its plenty quick stop light to stoplight and the fuel economy is pretty good...

if at all possible try to get a speed density car (90-92) since those had most of the "kinks" worked out of them by those years

As for modding try headers a cat back and gut the intake and see how you like that if you want more just do a search or lurk around the boards to see what other people are doing to their cars for ideas

This is my opinion coming from a totally broke 18 year old college student

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd look for the most original and lowest mile car I could find in your price range. The less mods, the better, if you're gonna drive it daily. I would recommend looking for a '90-'92 car just for ease of maintainence (no MAF, no cold start injector BS = less stuff to go wrong). And, a G92-geared LB9/ 5-speed car can turn respectable times for a 305. My buddy has a loaded t-top '91 Z and has run a best of 14.6xx on his stock 305. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, mid 14s aren't fast, but it's damn respectable for a stock 305.

 

14's isn't bad at all. I thought they went away from MAF in 88? Whats this about the cold start injector? That went away after 89?

 

MAF was on all tpi cars until 90. 91 is when first SD became avail.

89(I stand corrected) i beleive was the first year w/o the (9th) cold start injector.

91-92 305 5 speeds are the most sought after 3rd gens, for a good reason im sure.

I wouldnt buy a car with anything more then exhaust and simple cai mods.

Look for somethin with low mileage, but unfortunately every one of these cars @ this point has been owned by a kid who's driven the snot out of it.

MAF equipped cars never gave me a problem so dont shy away from them for that reason alone.

The biggest thing though is to find a seller who really doesnt want to sell... While this'll hit you in the pocketbook harder earlier, you Know theyve babied it, and taken much better care then the guy who's dying to get rid of it. A great deal rarely is...

Anyways good luck

 

Well too bad you dont live in Minnesota I run into 91-92 3rd gens kinda often and a few have been 5 speeds often times for no more then 4k

Hey now I dont like that comment about "kids" driving the snot out of them, every thirdgen that I have seen owned by someone my age has ALWAYS been much better taken care of then some old guys Iroc. Heck I dont let my dad drive my car becuase he beats the freakin hell out of it.

 

Seems like the consensus is the cars are reliable so long as you dont get one that was literally driven to death.

The big trouble now is going to be finding one.

 

My '88 Iroc has the cold start injector, I was under the impression all the MAF cars had it, and it went away when the SD system was introduced.

 

whats the deal with this cold start injector? My 87 had it and I never had issues with the car starting except when it was baking hot outside, seems like I remember that being because the starter was located by one of the downpipes off the manifold? Starter would get hot and then not start for 10 or 15 mins.

 

How hard is it going to be to perform basic maintenance on a 3rd gen? Ignition swaps, header installs, spark plug/wire changes, radiator changes, things like that? The LT1 is a bitch to work on...I remember my 3rd gen being a lot more friendly...

 

Dakota, the '89s have MAF, and no cold-start injector. That's the code I'm running on my Monte now, because I had an issue with my cold-start not working.

6Speed, general maintainence stuff on a 3rd gen is relatively cheap and easy; brakes, radiator/cooling system stuff (especially if you get an '88-up car with the serpentine belt!), and all the sensors are easy to get to and change if necessary. I've never done plugs/wires on a 3rd gen, so I dunno how easy it is to work around the strut towers, but it can't be worse than an LT1 4th Gen!

 

Learn something new everyday . Just wanting to chime in, because I know my '88 has got it. Also don't know why it would be considered less reliable/desirable, never had a problem with mine....going on 130K.

 

That kids comment is just a phrase, im 19...

The only maintenance issue ive had is changing plug #7 i think just have to get under the car. Header swap is str8 forward with edlbrocks anyway. Remove steering shaft and drivers side slips right in. A/c's a little in the way on the pass side but thats ok who needs a/c, i was able to squeeze it in from underneath with a/c still on. Ignition/ all that is right there in front of you.

 

I need ac it gets warm in oklahoma


If I could find one of these in good shape I'd probably buy it. Finding it is the hard part.

 

i'd do it,get the most out of your ride now,pick up 88-92 305 5spd car reasonable and be ahead of curve,my 89 was a daily driver,good thing was it had almost no options,and if A/C isn't a big deal for you.that was the only thing i had problems with,the mileage was pretty good(3:08) rear 5spd car can get close to 30mpg highway driving,and if drove calmly over 20mpg in town,just wishing my 92 didn't have the problem it's having now

 

1990 is SD..

 

Its like a broken record in here....I pretty muched answered his question right here
Just save your money and do some searching you will find what you are looking for eventually

 

Are you really getting 30mpg? Thats impressive my LT1 would get about 30mpg when it was stock. I was also getting about 20 in town. Now though with 3.73 gears and the fact I dont drive as much I tend to drive a little harder so my city mileage is about 16 mpg. Highway is still about 26 though

Whats wrogn with your 92?

AC IS a BIG deal for me.

 

Header install, not easy, but ALOT easier than a 4th gen. Ignition is failry easy as far as the wires go, but with stock manifolds, the plugs are quite hard.

 

Everything on my camaro has been easy to replace/fix even the plugs and clutch master cylinder which everybody complains about just be creative and its not hard at all

 

Huh... guess i screwed up twice, teach me to not post on no sleep.

How warm does it get in Oklahoma? Mid cali There are a few weeks in dead of summer that its nearly 110. Atleast 105 anyways.
I use 60/2 a/c. 60 mph 2 windows down. Thank *** my interior is tan!

 

It was 105+ for three weeks this year, with heat index between 110 and 120. Humidity is crazy here...I can't do no ac, just refuse to do it, i did it in my 87 z28 and it was HORRIBLE

 

Hey i was just reading this post and i figured id throw in my two cents i have a firebird that i was planning on selling sometime in the near future for some extra money that you might possibly be interested in I have a 1987 pontiac Formula with a 305 TPI and a 5 speed and while i would say its safe to say its not in the condition you are hoping for that would not be to hard to accomplish as of right now it runs perfectly basically a complete restoration of the motor and trans and the underbody of the car is clean enough to eat off of however the bad part is... The vacum on the car is a little "loose" or at least thats how my father explained its behavior but i havent done anything to it yet because i dont know wether or not to keep it in and the interior basically just needs seats (has one junker in there now for driving purposes) rug, center console, gauge lights dont work, and body is waiting paint Flat black now im not trying to "get rid of the car" as much as im trying to let someone finish what i started but i would be willing to negotiate a price under 3,000