Shockwave

Gentlemen,

Today may be a great day. Today may be the day I own another F-body for the first time in 11 years.

My old '89 Formula 305 TBI had the hot-start issues...other than that, I'm a bit foggy as to what I should be checking for. The car in question is an '86 Trans Am with what appears to be the LB9 305, Automatic Transmission. How well do these engines hold up to higher miles? What should I be looking for?

And if any of you can run a carfax VIN for me, that would be superb.


Craig

85_305

I would stay away from a 305 auto.. they are kinda sluggish unless you put money into it. 305-manual or 350-auto is the way to go! Prefferably TPI, carb if you can manage. I would stay the f*ck away from CFI and TBI. 305's are built to last. My 305 had 200k on it before i rebuilt it. It would still chirp third gear. Only reason I rebuilt it is because I had a LOT of money (the whole rebuild+chassis+tire upgrades cost 1k$), and wanted a fresh motor Hope this helps some..

You have the 190hp, 285ft/lb 305 TPI motor. Couldn't get a standard in that year/motor Trans Am. It will be quick though. Just a lot quicker if it were 5spd

Marc 85Z28

As a moderator I'm surprised you haven't done a search... There have been multiple threads on this.

But most of the major stuff you want to look for:

Rust, duh
Rear upper shock mounts - look for metal fatigue
Frame cracks around steering box area
B-pillar cracks at rear of door windows
T-top bar for rust, and floorboards for water damage
Transmission slip on the 2-3 shift at or near WOT

Those are the often overlooked and very costly issues. Anything else is common sense mechanical type stuff that applies to all cars, that any attentive buyer normally looks for.

How well do the engines hold up? They're SBCs - enough said.

And like 85_305 stated, you might be a little disappointed to find that the car you're looking at isn't much quicker than the TBI 305 you owned in the past

85_305

Sorry the deal fell through Craig. But like i said in the lounge-post.. check ebay out. There are some SWEET deals on third-gens on there!

5spd. Probably a TPI 305. MAYBE TBI. Needs paint.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...spagenameZWDVW

another sweet Z
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...spagenameZWDVW

350 tuned port leather IROC
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...spagenameZWDVW

Keep looking man. GOOD DEALS on ebay!

87LS

I would also say when you drive it to listen to the rear for whinning
there should be some, but GM put a real POS in the 10bolts these years.
Everything else mentioned is very true as well...

ws6transam

As a long-term owner of a third-gen, (I've had the same one since 1990) there are a few things that you want to look for:
1) rust under the plastic shrouds in the front fenderwells. This strut tower rust is very hard to repair.
2) rust in the rear quarterpanels behind the driver and passenger doors. Again, a hard repair.
3) front suspension rebuild. It's only a $400 repair, but if the centerlink, idler arm, end links, and ball joints are shot, it's a good bargaining chip. I'm on my third center link.
4) T-top rust. Not an easy fix, but what isn't?
5) transmission mount and engine mounts. If the car is more than ten years old, these parts PROBABLY need replacement.

Note that 1982 has slow engines and odd transmission combinations, 1983 has the same, but the better T5 and 700R4, 1984 is a crossover year for the 700R4, 1985 had tuned port injection and a pretty quick 305TPI, 1986 had a weird crossover engine, with flat tappet cam and one-piece rear main seal, plus a smaller cam than 1985. 1987 is when the TPI350 came out and GM finalized their WS6 performance suspension. 1988 is okay, but in 1989 we got bigger rear disc brakes and 28 spline axles in the 10-bolt.