Should I buy this 81 z28??? Need some consulting!

My girlfriends mom has been trying to sell her 81 Z28 for some time now. She bought it from her brother in law who had it stored for 8 years. She was hoping to get over $2000 for but no one has bit on it yet, she offered it to me for $1000. I have always been a fan of the 2nd gen cars. It has 68,000 miles, very little rust. I have driven the car before and it runs pretty strong. The interior is all faded, the 4 speed tranny will need replaced, and the rear end will need replaced in the future. I have a 97 Z now and which i was hoping to throw in the LT4 kit and a Mcleod clutch this spring. My question is that are the parts hard to find/expensive for the interior. If I do buy it, the motor will either be a 383, 396 stroker, or try to find a big block. I already have one friend trying to convince me into it. I just don't want it to turn into a money pit like my 79 Jeep CJ7 did (had to sell, dumping too much $$$ into it). Don't get me wrong, I day dream all about the possibilities I could do.

How much do you like your 2nd gen and why?

Thanks for any help.:metal:

i think its a good idea to get one, i bought mine for 2500.00 CDN so 1000.00 is a good deal........parts arent too hard to find, well about normal for any car thats 20+ years old. mine is in pretty good condition, i have no cons to tell you about them, they handle good, great for drag racing and a blast to drive. i got a 79 Z/28 and i spent about 5G CDN on it and got it into thelow 13's and i got it engine dynoed in at 375hp and 400 lb ft of tq with not too many mods.......and 8.5 10 bolt is an awesome rearend, can take 10 sec runs preped properly. very strong car, the only thing id check is the rear frame rails, if their rusted, that could be about a 300 dollar fix, but thats about it.........goood luck, any other questions just let me know;)

Well, if ya want my $.02.............
If you want a toy car, 2nd-gens are great................as you can tell, the purchase "Price Is Right", and parts for them are dirt cheap (IMO, especially compared to 4th-gen parts...............OMG:rolleyes:, I don't even want to go there!:(). Stuff like engines (and components, ie: cams, heads, pistons), headers, wheels & tires (since 15's are more common than the 16's, 17's & 18's everyone puts on 4th-gens) are so much cheaper, and since the "electronics" on them are very minimal, they're simple to work on as well....................AND, in regards to working on them?? It's so much easier than working on a 4th-gen (or even 3rd-gen) since they're a lot bigger and there's a lot more room under the hood:bow:. FWIW, I loved my '81 Z28, and in hind-sight, I wish I had have kept it, since by now it probably would have (or could have) been an 11-second car!!:( (especially since it was already capable of mid-13's, and in the 2 years since I sold it, I've learned so much more about cars.................and I can afford more!!;)).

The only drawbacks to 2nd-gens are the interiors, which are very "dated", and don't have all the creature comforts we've come to expect from newer cars (especially late model 4th-gens) like standard A/C, leather, more comfortable seats, nicer overall fit & finish, and as well, carbureted engines are much more "finnicky" to get running and working good (although, you don't have to worry about ECM's and such).

There are advantages to the older cars.............like "blue 79 Z/28" said, the stock rear ends are actually pretty strong (much stronger than the new 10-bolts anyway:rolleyes: ) and the transmissions (except for the 4-speed Saginaw) are stronger than the new ones (well, I guess the T-56 is a good tranny, but the old autos are way stronger than the 4L60E).

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying another one (except my dad already has a '73, and I've got my '02!!;)). But be prepared, if you do buy it, you will spend money on it!:D

Hey I have a 4 speed saginaw and the thing runs great, I even power shift it ;)

I'll second what Capn Pete said. You WILL be spending money on it. My first car was an 81. I loved the little cowl flaps that opened you you floored it. I've owned every body style of Z28 and if you set it up right its hard to beat the way one of them looks. And the potential is unlimited. I had alot of trouble w/ the electric windows in mine. The heavy door curse is especially bad on these cars. I own a 95 Z, a 96 Formula WS6 and a 68 Camaro that runs 10's. But I's still looking for a Charcoal Grey 81 Z like I use to have. I say if it's in good shape and you can afford it. BUY IT. Have fun man.

Originally posted by coxz28
I loved the little cowl flaps that opened when you floored it.
Hey, I forgot about those flaps...........they were cool!:D
I own a 95 Z, a 96 Formula WS6 and a 68 Camaro that runs 10's. But I's still looking for a Charcoal Grey 81 Z like I use to have.
3 sweet F-bodies?!:eek:....................and I thought I was lucky to have one!:rolleyes: ;)
Originally posted by pacesetter
Hey I have a 4 speed saginaw and the thing runs great, I even power shift it ;)
I know they're not that bad of a tranny, I've just heard that they don't hold up as well as Muncie's or even the Borg-Warner T-10 when they're bolted to really radical engines (ie: >400HP).

Thanks a lot guys, you got me sold on it. I just needed some extra coaching. I might be getting some bad news tonight. I talked to my girlfriend last night (I work out in Philly during the week, the car is located near Altoona, PA) and I guess someone was coming to look at it last night. The guy has a motor and a tranny and is looking for a car to put it into. I have my fingers crossed that he doesn't buy it.

Thanks again!

If I do buy it, the motor will either be a 383, 396 stroker, or try to find a big block.
:bow: 383!!! :bow: (although, a 396 SBC would be cool too.........I've just never known too much about them??).
I guess I forgot to mention that my '81 had a 383, and I loved it!!!!:D When I first put it in the car, I was running with 2.56 gears, but with the torque, it pulled like a bat-outta-hell, and yet up top it felt like it would wind out forever!;) Then once I switched to the 3.42's?! H:eek:ly Shyte!!!!:metal: I remember finding it so cool that I could break the tires loose while on a roll around 40-50mph!!:D..........AND, that motor wasn't even really wild............it could have used way more camshaft, and better heads too:rolleyes:.

Just food for thought!:cool:

Hey capn pete, i saw your pics of your car, lol i got the same rims on my 79 Z/28! only my car is blue with black interior :D

Originally posted by blue 79 Z/28
Hey capn pete, i saw your pics of your car, lol i got the same rims on my 79 Z/28! only my car is blue with black interior :D

Heheh! Cool!:D You have a sweet looking car man! And besides the rims, you've got a couple other things I had as well: TH350 and 3.42 gears to name a couple. I wish I had have kept my car though..........if it had a stall converter and stickier tires, I'm sure I could have been running in the 12's as well, but noooooooo, I had to be 18 and stupid and decide that I wanted a f'ing truck instead of my Camaro?!:mad:

Damn, kids are stupid!:rolleyes: :D

(at least I've smartened up and bought myself a nice car to make up for the '81:cool: ).

BTW: "john97z28", do you know if you're definitely getting that car yet?? If I were you, I would!;) Then you can have the best of both worlds.............a nice fuelly 4th-gen, and a sweet, raw horsepower, ground shaking, get the f### outta my way kinda looks 2nd-gen!!:D

IF the body is good and you like those cars go for it, but you will probably end up putting a decent amount of money. Also, thoroughly inspect it for rust. On older cars, it is possible the car was repainted over the rust or it could have a lot of bondo.

Good news, the guy never showed up and the car will be mine. Thanks for all the info! I'm thinking about a 383, vortech heads, long tubes, and 3 in. flowmaster for starters!

Originally posted by john97z28
I'm thinking about a 383, vortech heads, long tubes, and 3 in. flowmaster for starters!
:bow: :bow:

I've heard some good things about Vortech heads.........and I saw a '72 Camaro, 355 SBC w/Vortech heads, camshaft unknown!;), and a 4500RPM stall w/4.56 gears run an 11.99 at the track one time (all N/A) so they must work well:cool:.

Well, congrats on the car, and happy modding!:)

Hey blue 79 Z/28,
I have a 79 Z with all the options, Power locks, windows, etc. I am rebuilding the whole car, and going to paint it Candy Blue, and I am putting all the original decals back on in silver/charcoal. I am building it for a Street/Strip car (75-80% strip). I am rebuilding the 350 in it. I want to run high 11s with full interior and all motor. My goal is about 520 hp/490-500+ lb ft, on the 350. if you have any thoughts please let me know.

thanks,
Jason

P.S. Good luck with your new 81. :D

Another Quick ? for you blue 79,
You opened up the scoop... did you drill it out or remove that cover from in the scoop and cut it out from the bottom of the hood? Also, Did it actually work, I mean did it help? Does it pull air in? I heard that it is stail air right there, but the hood on the 4th gen. SS Camaros is in the same location and the same height.

thanks again
Jason

Originally posted by DooSPX
I am building it for a Street/Strip car (75-80% strip). I am rebuilding the 350 in it. I want to run high 11s with full interior and all motor. My goal is about 520 hp/490-500+ lb ft, on the 350. if you have any thoughts please let me know.

Sounds like its gonna be one fast ride, my car had all the power options except power doors and air conditioning. what you want to build outta that car is exactly what i want to do, so suggestions will be easy:D for the 350, i would go with a 4 bot block to start with, i had mine previously bored out to a 355 (.030) personally im going all forged internals, scat crank, eagle rods, and srp pistons. i dont think sitting on cast stuff is worh the risk. now comes the most important part.......you need to find yourself some sweet flowing aluminum heads like AFR 190cc or Trick flow specialties, or Brodix etc. a nice big single plane intake (i got a vic jr.) and a killer valvetrain.........to get that kind of power, its gonna need a nice big hyd. roller, or solid roller cam really good push rods and strong roller rockers, to keep everything in line. for the cam anything around 245-255 deg. at .050 on intake and exh....................500 lb ft is gonna be mighty hard to get outta a 350, im shooting for about 460 lb ft a 383 would give you a much better tq number and about the same hp, but it will be at lower rpms. im personally going for some revs:D so im going to 7000+rpm with it. so a 383 wont do that easily..................as for the rest of the car make sure al the necessary things are beefed up like rearend tranny etc. dont want to be breaking stuff after all that money is spent, i know i dont ;)

Originally posted by DooSPX
Another Quick ? for you blue 79,
You opened up the scoop... did you drill it out or remove that cover from in the scoop and cut it out from the bottom of the hood? Also, Did it actually work, I mean did it help? Does it pull air in? I heard that it is stail air right there, but the hood on the 4th gen. SS Camaros is in the same location and the same height.

thanks again
Jason

oh ya thats another thing i forgot to mention in my above post, to make that killer motor your gonna need a cowl hood cuz theres no way its going to fit. as for mine, i couldnt really say if it made a difference or not. when i modded it i cut a square hole in my hood below the scoop as big as i could without hitting any hood bracing. and i took the metal panel off the fiberglass scoop and then it can be dremeled out and filed smooth. and then painted around the hole in the hood and the inside of the scoop so it looks dark in there so you cant see the colour of the hood etc. i HAD to do this mod cuz my old motor had a performer RPM intake on it with a 1 inch carb spacer, and combined with only a 2 inch element it stuck out of the hole about a 1/4 of an inch. so i wouldnt be able to close the hood till the hole was there. to make the "ram air" truly affective is to have a carb base plate with a foam like surrounding so when you close the hood it seals around it so the only air going to the carb would be from the scoop. but that would only work at the track cuz i wouldnt reccomend driving around the street with no filter

any more Q's ill be happy to answer ;)

Originally posted by blue 79 Z/28
Sounds like its gonna be one fast ride, my car had all the power options except power doors and air conditioning. what you want to build outta that car is exactly what i want to do, so suggestions will be easy:D for the 350, i would go with a 4 bot block to start with, i had mine previously bored out to a 355 (.030) personally im going all forged internals, scat crank, eagle rods, and srp pistons. i dont think sitting on cast stuff is worh the risk. now comes the most important part.......you need to find yourself some sweet flowing aluminum heads like AFR 190cc or Trick flow specialties, or Brodix etc. a nice big single plane intake (i got a vic jr.) and a killer valvetrain.........to get that kind of power, its gonna need a nice big hyd. roller, or solid roller cam really good push rods and strong roller rockers, to keep everything in line. for the cam anything around 245-255 deg. at .050 on intake and exh....................500 lb ft is gonna be mighty hard to get outta a 350, im shooting for about 460 lb ft a 383 would give you a much better tq number and about the same hp, but it will be at lower rpms. im personally going for some revs:D so im going to 7000+rpm with it. so a 383 wont do that easily..................as for the rest of the car make sure al the necessary things are beefed up like rearend tranny etc. dont want to be breaking stuff after all that money is spent, i know i dont ;)

Thanks, I am going w/ forged rods and pistons and GMs Forged Steel Crank. For the heads I was thinking about the Vic. Jr. SBC heads and a Vic. Jr. Intake, but for the cam, I was thinking about Comp Cams 288R or 300R and 1.6RR . I am going to run 4:11 gears w/ posi and rear disc brakes. and a 3800 or 4000 stall. Am I correct at guessing my power will be made from about 3000 to about 6800+ rpm. since you have the car too... I am running with full interior, you think I should run 205/60/15 on the front and MT ET Streets 30/11" on weld racings Pro Stars? You think high 11s is possible with that?

thanks,
jason

i'd go with the bigger comp cams one. but your combo looks tight, with that setup and some driver skill low 11's will be in your sights =) those tires will do just fine, im running 28x10.5 MT's i can't wait till the new racing season comes around, my car will be done by may and im counting the days! lol let me keep me posted on your progress, and maybe we can share ideas and thoughts in how to go fast:D

p.s. what kind of rearend are you going to be running?

Originally posted by blue 79 Z/28
i'd go with the bigger comp cams one. but your combo looks tight, with that setup and some driver skill low 11's will be in your sights =) those tires will do just fine, im running 28x10.5 MT's i can't wait till the new racing season comes around, my car will be done by may and im counting the days! lol let me keep me posted on your progress, and maybe we can share ideas and thoughts in how to go fast:D

p.s. what kind of rearend are you going to be running?


Thanks Blue. what size cam to you think I should go with? As long as I can still drive it to a car cruse or what not. Dang, you really think I can hit low 11s even with the full interior. Sweet!!!
I will keep you up to speed on my car. Please keep me up to date on yours as well. Thanks for your help.

well, as for cams go, im going with the crane powermax #118521
its got 244 deg int. and 252 deg exh. at .050 a lobe seperation of 112 deg for my NOS :D and a .543/.561 at 1.5 ratio i wouldnt go any smaller then that if you want to stay in the 500+hp range aim for that or a bit bigger and it will be fine, as long as good flowing heads are on it. compression ratio for that cam is advised to be around 10.5-12.0:1, im going to be running 10.5 so i can stay on pump gas, with out pushing detonation.

Originally posted by blue 79 Z/28
well, as for cams go, im going with the crane powermax #118521
its got 244 deg int. and 252 deg exh. at .050 a lobe seperation of 112 deg for my NOS :D and a .543/.561 at 1.5 ratio i wouldnt go any smaller then that if you want to stay in the 500+hp range aim for that or a bit bigger and it will be fine, as long as good flowing heads are on it. compression ratio for that cam is advised to be around 10.5-12.0:1, im going to be running 10.5 so i can stay on pump gas, with out pushing detonation.


Yeah I want to have 10.5 compression so I can run pump gas too. what about a cam that has 255/255 at 1.6rr w/ good heads? you think that can keep the 500 hp 350?
thanks

for sure:D

I own a 81z it has a 350 bored 60 over flat top piston 10 2 1 compresion 202 valves and a 501 501 lift cam it rocks ;) i owned lots of Z and i like them if the frame and body are good u should buy it specialy at that price mine needs paint but if i was to sell it i would still want 4000 for it cdn good luck:metal: