Hey guys im new here, and i love these cars.

my friends grandfather has just passed away and he owned a 92 maroon 25th anniversary RS with power everything and t-tops. the only downside is that it is a 3.1 6cyl. i've always wanted the 5.0 or the 5.7 z28, but this car is in pretty good shape and i dont want to pass it up.

so i have a couple questions for you guys and the first one is with dealing with some damage on the underside of the car. Apparently it looks like someone drove it over a curb and fell onto the curb on the left side right in front of the door on the bottom of the drivers side quarter panel causing a hole to rust right behind it in the floor. My father has always said these cars are junk because of their uni-bodies, and i was just wondering how hard of a fix it would be to patch that part of the floor(because it seems like part of the frame connects to that region?), and if the uni-body is really going to be affected by this.

next question is about power adders, i have looked up some info on these engines and it seems its all about the air restriction on them, and you can really only get tourque out of them and not HP. i found this exhaust on summit racing http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

so what do you guys think should i jump on the car? it will cost me less than 1,000 to get and has a nice tan interior with only 95,000 miles.

thanks a lot

 

If you want a v8, get a v8. Sure, a swap could be done later, but isn't always cheap & easy.
The unibody design is fine and has proven itself over the years. That's why every new car made today is unibody. With that said, there are still 3 things every fbody should have:
Subframe connectors
strut tower brace
wonder bar

With those and a new floor pan, it should be better than new.
Might want to get an estimate from a body shop before you get the car. I'm sure you don't want to pay a grand for the car, then twice as much to fix it.

As for v6 performance, it can be done, but its way easier to just plunk a v8 in it.

And welcome to the forum.

 

thanks, i also know a couple of mechanics so if i want to do a swap im sure they could help me out... i just read things about all of what you have to swap with it that concerns me.

i dont have pics of the damage so i cant post them up on here for you guys to look at, but it does seem like i can grind off the rust, or cut it out then patch a plate in place of it (friends dad is a welder)

right now i drive a 92 jetta, so im hoping this car has more performance than this slug. You guys are all in the V6 for the most part. do you like the performance of the 3.1? god knows the third gen at least looks 10000X better.

 

Welding in a floor pan or patch is cake. Bring beer and your buddy will probably do it for free in 10 minutes.

I don't think anyone likes the performance of the v6. We all picked it for various reasons, usually because they are cheaper to buy/insure/feed gas, or we like the handling. I'm one of the nuts planing out a forged bottom end so I can sanely slap a turbo on down the road. 350 hp and sub 3000 lbs are my goals, and I believe its more easily done with a v6.
Stock, these cars are dogs. Best combo is a 3.1/5-speed, but even that will get beat by a 4-banger Altima.

 

Haha, you will get beat by the Altima. You'll be first off the line and start to pull away, but then you'll go into the nothingness above 2600 rpm's. Personal experience, believe me.

Nothing wrong with the Dinomax system you're looking at there. Probably the most popular exhaust for the V6. It'll help open it up on the rear end. Build a CAI and you'll be flowing alot better than stock. Doing so will help decrease the nothingness above 2600 I mentioned earlier.

If the rest of the car is in good condition unde 1K is a great deal! I paid 2K for mine, not knowing all the problems it'd have.

 

The 3.1 is a good engine... they will last a long time with proper care. Just don't think that you are going to have yourself a racecar with it. If you want to improve the power, a V8 swap would be the most common way to do it. There is a lot more potential in the V8. That being said, to do a V8 swap properly is NOT EASY! There is a lot of crap that has to be changed for it to be done right and be as good and as reliabile as a factory V8. I never plan on swapping to a V8 in my car... I don't want to follow the heard.

If you like the car, and decide to stay with the V6, you can always add a turbo down the road, or nitrous, or a bunch of other stuff. You can hot-rod the V6, but it won't be as easy as hot rodding a V8.

Main point is: Get the car and enjoy it for what you have... if it isn't enough power for you, then either mod it or sell it and buy yourself one with a V8 in it from the factory. If you find a thirdgen that has a good body, good paint, good interior, and low miles, it is probably worth grabbing for the price you stated. The newest of these cars is now 17 years old, and ones in decent shape are getting fewer and farther between.

 

1,000 is not bad for a camaro. Like above the floor is pretty easy to fix
I will say also that yes the V6 is not a powerhouse but I do find it fun to drive. Yes, there are poweradders (Headers,Turbos,N2O) check this thread out. I just wanted to also point out that there is Dynomax Super Turbo Exhaust Systems pretty much the same exhaust but a heck of alot cheaper.
You said you know a couple of mechanics, they could help you drop a V8 in your camaro down the road if you wanted to.

 

yea i was wondering about that... is the ss flow one like 150 more expensive because the muffler is stainless steel instead of aluminum? i looked at the stats and they seemed the same, i just figured if it was almost double the price there had to be something more than just the stainless on the muffler

 

That's all I could find out, people say the Dynomax Ultra Flo SS is loader but I don't think I've ever heard the Turbo, could be a chance that there is a different sound but that's it for 130 dollars more.
Also the thread below is good for ideas and there is a sound clip of the Dynomax Ultra Flo SS
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/5...6-exhaust.html
Quick link to soundclip

 

yea its looking like the super turbo for me cuz of price... i could always get high heat paint and paint the muffler if i felt inclined to.

i can't wait for this weekend, it should be when i know for sure if im getting it. all i've been doing is research and planning for upgrades and visuals, i just love the look of these cars.

 

I have 2 3.1 cars. I've had no problems with them.
One of them I bought new with 17 miles on the clock.
It has over 162K on it now. Still runs strong. I bought the car to be reliable and insurance being under 25 at the time.

With the little 3.1 I keep up with the big boys V8's But then they decided to slow down going up a hill I was doomed...

Pickup the 92 and find a second car with the 8...