I looked at a 91 Bird today with the 3.1 . I want to get something to drive to work so I dont have to put mega-miles on my GTA, I also figured it would be a good first car for my son, who will have his license in a couple of years. I know nothing about the V6's , is this a pretty decent engine? It has about 150,000 miles on it , but the car is in really good shape, it just needs a little cleaning up under the hood. If I buy it I plan on leaving it totally stock, I just want to know if this is a good engine or is it prone to any problems. I was in a hurry today so I just looked at it real quick, I will probably take it for a drive tomorrow. Thanks for any info!
This is a picture I found on here of the engine that is in the car.

 

Well leaving it stock will kill the fun… Overall the 2.8 and 3.1 were great engines.. I would look into a dynomax cat back and a K&N Filter…. Then leave it stock till your son can drive it.. Also look into the headers this board is offering well you can get them.. Your son will appreciate that when he is 16..

Also it is a great engine to learn to wrench on…. Buy a ton of mods for him to do and he will learn a lot, get things like:

Pulleys
Chip
MSD Coil
AC Delco Plugs
Accel Wires (Universal custom make stype)

 

That is a nice machine! My mom won an 84 Trans Am in a raffle. Brand new, I wish she would've held on to it for me But your son better appreciate that you are getting him such a fine automobile!

 

Brian K, where are you located in Orlando? I live in the Goldenrod, Curry Ford Rd. area. If this is anywhere near where you live, you may know where the car lot is at that has the Firebird. It is at Conway and Curry Ford behind the ABC, it has been there for years. I know I could get a better deal for cash but I just dont have enough to get one in good shape, and this car is pretty nice, they want $3000 for it and I have seen some for cash in the auto trader for nearly as much. The reason I want to leave it stock is because one thing always leads to another, I would definetly put a K&N filter and maybe exhaust but that is about it besides basic tune-up stuff. I started modding my GTA in November of last year and I don't think it will EVER be done.
Thanks for the input!

 

That 3.1L is a good engine. Not a whole lot of "get up and go..." but durable. I've got 115,00 miles on my RS and it's still running strong. If you get a Flowmaster or Dynomax muffler, you'll add a couple extra horses. I don't know much else about modding a V-6. It's a good car and I think your son will love it.

 

197,000 miles on my 2.8L. (same as 3.1 exept for stroke)

 

The engines in these cars tend to be pretty reliable as long as properly mainted (which is true of all engines). So, if the engine is kept up as well as the car, then i see no problem with the motor lasting more than a nice duration. These cars are also great cars to learn to drive on in v6 form, while if you're stupid you still end up in a ditch or wraped in a U around a telephone pole or tree they're much more forgiving then say a 350TPI car is, and if you'd like ur son to learn how to drive a performnce vehicle the six cylinders make a great entry car, since they do the same things as a v8 model would but normally on a slightly less destructive scale.

 

Darn engine keeps kicking.
I wanted to replace the motor with a V8.

I've had no problem with my 3.1L motor.

 

I have a 2.8L V6 with around 190k miles on it. It just keeps on going, never had any engine problems. These things are like the original Energizer Bunny.

Your son will love the car; he's lucky to have a dad like you.

 

I've got 253,000 miles on my original 1986 2.8 motor; I keep it maintained well. And I still stomp the pedal to the floor... I think that's another key to these motors living so long- they have to be driven, not just parked in a garage for most of their lives for grocery-store runs.

Is it an automatic or manual trans? By 1991, GM cleared up just about all the problems they had when they first introduced the 700r4 back in '83. So that '91 700r4 (if it's an automatic) will be pretty darn near bulletproof as far as longevity goes. The bulk of the "trans life" improvements were done starting in the 1987 model year... in fact, 1987 is usually the "go no lower then" year when searching for a junkyard trans.

 

Hey everyone, I have a 3.1L V6 Camaro RS, basicly same thing u buyin'.... Yeah the engine is strong and has a decent kick to it... I hear alot of people disin' the 3.1 and 2.8's and switchin' to the 3.4's for more power.. But I am happy wid my 3.1.. So far the only run in I have had was the rear main seal leakin'.... Pretty aggravating, but only took a few hours to do... Drop the transmission and put on the new seal... lol wish it was as easy as I said it was... but yeah that's basically all it was... My maro has over 150K miles on it... I had to take it to the shop cause of the previous owners carelessness on putting on the spark plugs, causin' me to buy a new head cause the shop nor I could get the #3 spark plug out... It spins but just nothing happenin'...
I say it's a good buy... And the best thing about it is, if anything goes wrong... They are plenty of room under the hood to work on....

Hey this has nothing to do wid anything but is there any way to cruise control in my camaro???? About how much u think it would cost to have a shop install it or How hard would it be to install it my self???

DJ