Well I am saying good bye to my car, The transmision wouldnt shift out of park (700r4) so I had it towed to cottman and they said the transmision had to be takin out but it would ruffly $400 to fix..Well I received a call and they said it needed to be raplaced and it would be over $1000 and I said great now's a perfect time for the manual swap and he said that it wouldnt work and the rear end wouldnt catch the clutch and then I said what ever.... and now I am donating the car to one of those places I payed $400 all I ever had was problems with it needed a new ecm to get it home, and then replaced the cat, and had a dynomax catback installed. all in all Im about $1500 down and I have over $800 in parts that cant be returned down the drain as well, the car needed new paint, and was actually on the way to the painter's when I got stuck in park so Im actually thankfull I had this happen now then later but If it would have happened later I would have gotten a $200 tranny and tried to put it in my self even though im not good with wrenches (the most I can do is spark plugs and oil changes)... well thanks for showing me some love and I will still post hear, just wont own a third gen, Im saving up for a car that better suites me either an Ls1 trans am, First gen, or a charger ( not the 4 door )

Matt

PS I am not changing my mind Nor will I fix my car because ever since I purchased it I wanted a different car and ragged on the 305 (and I Have/had one)

 

I wouldn't be buying a 1st gen if you can't even work around the problem of sticking another transmission in your current car. You'd be doing a whole hell of a lot more work to a 1st gen or spending a load of money on one finished.

 

Thats the only drawback with old cars: age.

If you take on any sort of classic car your going to spend some time, or money, or both.
Some cars are money pits, its the luck of the draw and mechanical things in general.
These cars are probably getting looked after more now, then when they were brand new. You honestly think the average person with a new car even checks the oil regularly, most of my customers cant find the dipstick, or even the hood release to go looking for it. [i'm glad or i would be unemployed].
But the problem is, even though the motors and boxes are strong enough for years, a lot are getting to the end, wear and tear, previous owner neglect, hard use, take your pick, its either spend, or move it on.

 

I can beleive it too! My transmision was never worked on at all in 21 years not even maintaned thats what the man said at the shop I checked the fluid about 3 weeks before this happened and it was good

 

dont give up,

you may be mad and/or depressed righ tnow and rightfully so, but if i were you id go get the car back and park it for now and later on look for a good used tranny and put it in taking your time or find a relative or someone you knwo with their own garage and they will help swap,\

no big hurry

wil be worth it in the end

imho

400 or 1000 is a rip off, they want to make $$ ignore them,



\
but then im a total cheapskate when it comes to vehicles and repairs, i perform ONLY all of my own work/repairs and spend only if necessary, only buy new if absolutely need to,
and you know what,, i still think that i spend way too much on vehicles, but then i always have too many at any given time, so hum,,.





you would be surprised what you can run into in this world if you just try and ask around and such

sometimes even from the last ppl/places yo ever expected

virtually ever car/truck i ever gave up i now regret,

its not good...




good luck

 

If you like the body and it's in good condition, keep the car. If you just need transportation, 700R4 rebuilds are inexpensive & reliable (depending on who does the rebuild). If you wanted to give the engine some real muscle, you'd eventually have to replace the stock tranny either way, so this could be a good thing. I'd spend anywhere from $1-2k on a decent higher-end racing transmission. If you don't need OD, you can get a new, strong tranny on the cheap. Even cars that are 2 years old can have major problems -- it really is "the luck of the draw" a lot of times. The best way is to buy from someone you know because in this case, you'd probably have already heard about all the current & past problems.

Cars cost money; whether it be in maintenence or repair, restoration, inital purchase etc...all cars cost money. As long as the body's in good shape or can be fixed properly for a small amount, it's best to stay with what you have. Your statement of not wanting to own another thirdgen implies you feel burnt over the matter. Don't expect things to be any better with an even older car. Even a mint firstgen will probably need a lot of items replaced if they've never been simply because there is a finite lifetime to these things. Rubber only lasts so long even when it's taken care of and I believe ATF turns acidic over time (but I'm not totally sure on this one).

Out of your list, I'd recommend buying a fourthgen from a middle-aged woman who bought the car new. Women tend to not drive as hard as men and as long as it was given the minimal care (oil changes, etc), you're probbaly in for a really good ride.

 

All this precipitated because of what was likely a worn shifter cable not overcoming the detent or a parking pawl being stuck? Both relatively easy problems to fix.

 

Well i think your crazy to get rid of a car because of a minor trans problem. If your on a very tight budget go grab a trans from a junkyard for $100 -/+ and try your luck at that.


My car has a junkyard $50 TH350C in it, its been abused behind a 350 for over 10 years and its still working perfect to this day. Just something to think about!


I also think if your not able to do some moderate repairs on your current car a first gen is going to be a big can of worms for ya.