Abbeysdad

First off: Hi all! My name is David and I'm in Central Ohio.

Well my daughter just turned 15 and will be getting her permit in 6 months and said she would love a Camaro. I had not put much thought into it, I figured I had plenty of time and she also is going to pay for part of it.

Then we discovered a 1992 RS with the 3.1 a couple miles from our home. I had told her I would only consider a 6 cylinder for her first car.

It has a 5 speed manual with new clutch, brakes and exhaust, they went back to a dual exhaust but has a leak somewhere in vicinity of the Y pipe.

It has a little damage to left front fender where it meets the nose (the nose has a little damage also here). The paint is peely/flaky. I am not sure on rust because last time I stopped it was up to the door handles in snow lol!

It has a sagging headliner and has 120,000 miles.

Price $1200 and that may be negotiable.

So here are some concerns/questions:
How reliable are the V6's? I am especially worried about head gaskets.
Decent price?
How hard are they to work on in general? I am by no means great with cars, but know enough to get myself in trouble and can do minor repairs.

Now if I end up getting it there will be a little turmoil in the house. My 17 year old son's first car is a 1996 Geo Metro lol! But then again, he isn't into cars and my girl is.

Thanks for any help!

Project 3.4 Camaro

If the frame is good, ie. none to surface rust, and body doesn't have rust holes through it, its probably worth it. These 60/6 engines are nye indestructible, although you are correct that the HGs are a known weakness(If you replace them, put in full metal gaskets and you're good to go, get metal LIM gaskets too)...but probably the only weakness...
These cars are very easy to work on, my 94 buick century, well lets just say I pay other people to deal with that thing........But my Camaro....so easy to work on in comparison...I mean, I've stood in my engine bay before with it in there.
The exhaust leak is probably at the catalytic converter where it joins the exhaust.
The headliner is another common weak spot on GM cars, pretty typical really, especially on T-top cars, but it takes like 5s to rip it out, I'm not even going to replace mine probably.
Hope this all helps, also if you go to the main page and click technical articles, there is a post on how to repair your headliner if its not too far gone.
Hope all that helps, and props to your daughter's taste in cars

jensen73110

iTrader: (4)

My best bud's car in HS was a '92 RS 5 speed. Good choice!
I don't get the head gasket thing, as my car has 180,000 miles and original gaskets. Only repair I've had to do was the water pump at 150k which was fairly easy & cheap (and I'm mechanically retarded). I even managed to stumble through a timing chain swap. This engine is easy to work on, and as mentioned, tons of room under hood.
Decent price, but try and work them down.
5 speed will be great as she won't be able to text and drive!
Let us know if ya get it.

Abbeysdad

Thanks for the replies.

A couple years ago I missed out on a nice '86. Since then I have been keeping an eye out for another 3rd Gen in case one fell into my lap. So when Abbey said she wanted a Camaro, dreams of a dad/daughter project popped into my head! Unlike most girls she loves cars and has helped me on my '86 Dodge Ram in the past.

I'm glad to hear they are easy to work on, I can do water pumps, plugs/wires etc. Even did a head gasket with my brother on the Mopar. Oh he is a HUGE Camaro fan so he is happy my daughter has "returned to the fold".

I'm going over there this weekend to look it over some more providing some of the snow is gone! I'll definitely look underneath at the frame etc, are there weak areas to check there?

Thanks again!

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

That exhaust leak is probably because of the infamous flage donuts at the manifold to crossover pipe connection. I've gone through about 8 of them so far, and I may have to replace another one soon. Being in Ohio, I would definitely look at the floor pans to check for severe rust problems, and at the rear wheel wells as well. I know how you guys salt and sand the roads out there, which is why I say this.

Depending on how long the car has sat, I'd definitely try to get the price down. If the car has sat longer than say a year, you'll want to replace the front brakes ($100), do a full tune up (about $150 for all the parts), replace the battery, and possibly the drive belt. Also look for tire wear and cracking, which are signs the tires will need replacement. Some of the later cars had paint problems, and yours may be one of them. The peeling paint definitely detracts from the $1200 price of the car. As does the sagging headliner and the other interior problems (assuming torn seat covers and such here). I'd try to get the guy down to about $800, depending on the condition of the front brakes.

As for the head gaskets, get a set of FelPro ones and don't worry about them again. Also, pick up a 1992 factory service manual off of eBay if the two of you are going to work on it together.

Abbeysdad

Thanks Maverick!
Update: I went and looked at it in "the light of day" and I am really reconsidering it. It has a major rust hole at the rear quarter where it meets the wheel well, the rear spoiler is cracked on the left side and the trim is falling off on the driver door. I am wondering if the guy side swiped something like the garage. Plus the milage is 16oxxx not 120xxx.

I don't mind something I have to restore, that is one of the things we want to do together, but I also want to avoid a basket case. I will give it a look once the snow is gone and express my concerns. I am think $800 instead of 1200. It isn't like she has to have a car tomorrow, She won't even have her license for a year. If I bail on this there are a ton more out there.

mister_hudson

iTrader: (3)

VOLUMES of detailed information! I also agree with the negotiation approach - depending on what needs to be fdone to tune it up $800 to $1000 sounds like a fair deal!

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Your money is best spent on the nicest car you can find in the beginning. You'll spend more money fixing rust then just buying a nicer car to begin with. $1500 can buy a really nice V6 Camaro.

3.1's are pretty easy to work on. It's a small engine in an engine compartment designed to house a V8, so it's accessible. Parts are cheaper, and easier to obtain because most people don't pick over junkyard V6 cars like the V8s, and they made more of them. They've got all kinds of wear issues, and suffer all the quality problems of a GM vehicle from the early 90's. Over 100,000 miles you can plan on spending plenty of time under the hood fixing problems. I bought my 91 V6 Firebird in 99 or 2000, and didn't even get it driving in the first year. Once I started driving it, the car broke once every couple weeks for about a year and a half before it finally leveled out. Then things only broke every 6 months or so. Most of the failures weren't that serious, but it helps if you know how to drive junk and know to pull over when there's a problem rather then keep driving and let the problem break expensive parts.

Probably not a great choice for a first car.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

The rust repair depends on exactly WHERE the rust is. If it's in the common spot at the top of the wheel well, forget it. You can find a decent one for the same price as the guy is asking. However, if she REALLY wants it, and she is willing to chip in on the replacement of the panel, I'd find out if it runs and how well it runs before I put an offer in. Inspect it well. If the engine runs halfway decent, I would go up to $800, and if the guy doesn't take it, move on. I'm sure junkyards have some better cars than that thing, and probably for half of what he wants for it.

I paid $1000 for mine back in 2003. About the only thing I got out of the deal was a mostly rust free body. I had to replace the engine within a year (partly my fault), the transmission within 2 years of actual driving, the ECM and several expensive major sensors, most of the exhaust, all 4 tires, and the car still needs body work. The work was done rather crappy, and it still needs to be properly painted. The interior still needs a major overhaul, and the pass side rear quarter still needs to be PROPERLY replaced. I know I got ripped off.

:edit: Oh, and keep in mind that mine had 194K when I bought it, and the PO didn't take care of it AT ALL.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Yeah, in hindsight I overpayed for mine too. But on the brightside/otherhand I did kind of want a project, and saving a thirdgen from the crusher is admirable. Of course if that one does end up crushed, it just makes my car one less car common :P

Skyset

For $800 it doesn't sound like a bad idea, despite the rust. Have you taken it for a test drive yet?

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

But, then again, if she is willing to put in as much as she can, it would be even better, because she will be driving something she worked hard for and can be that much more proud of. However, it probably won't be cheap. It all depends on how much the 2 of you want to put into the car. I would get some restoration catalogs (Classic Industries has one you can download for free if you have Adobe Reader) and take a look at some of the parts.

jensen73110

iTrader: (4)

lol, you guys need to stop buying lemons.
I got mine in '99 and it was my daily driver for the next 4 years. I even took in on 2000+ mile road trips. Started every time. No problems other than the water pump at 150k.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Yeah, but what did you pay? I paid $750 for mine, granted I knew it needed some work.

jensen73110

iTrader: (4)

^Ok, yeah, point made. Reliability costs cash money.

Abbeysdad

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4769200...7623470613812/
OK, here are a few pix I took of it today. I spoke with Abbey and She Who Must Be Obeyed (the Mrs.) today and told them we can do better if he won't come way down in price.

Thanks again guys, some great feedback so far. I know if I don't grab this one I can look forward to some help with the car we do end up with!

Abbeysdad

Thanks for the heads up on the Classic Industries site. I started going through pieces I will want to replace and that should really help with the bargaining power.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

I wouldn't expect them to come down too far on the price. In general, if a car runs and drives and looks good from 20 feet away, it's worth $1,000. That's pretty much ANY car. But you can also find people practically giving away nice cars for not much more.

It doesn't look too bad in the pics. It's got some cosmetic issues, but unless they've spent the last 20+ years in storage, these cars usually don't have flawless paint.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

I personally thought the damage was a little worse than that. At the very least, the corner of the spoiler, the left tail light, and the rear bumper cover need to be replaced. That rust on the wheel well is iffy... It's already through the outer skin, but if you catch it NOW it can be fixed with very minimal work, and the car obviously needs paint.

Like I said before, check the tires and the brakes as best you can as well, and hear it run. $1k isn't too bad for that.