jasonwinn

Hello!
I am looking at gettinga 96 Camaro Z28 w/ Vortec Engine and the T-Top.

It's a friend of my moms, the friend is the original owner and has kept it in pretty good shape. For most of its life the seats have even had seat covers.

It has 133k miles on it, good interior, no rips no tears, no major engine problem.
She said they put in a new radiator, new A/C and a new power window.

I talked to a few people and they thought it was a great deal.

I hear that engine seems last forever? Just what I heard from a few people.

They are asking $3500 for it. It has a few dents which I could probably fix myself.


Would love some advice on if you think this is a pretty good deal.

Also, one thing I like that I see in alot of the new cars is that Tip-tronic thing. Anyone know how much time/money it would take to install something like that in a camaro or if its possible? I like the idea of being able to do manual when I want :P



PS. One thing I noticed, is there is a ton of room up front! I'm 6 2 and it seems like any car i get in, my knees are banging on the dash. I couldnt believe how much room there was :P anyone else notice this?

Jason E

The engine is actually an LT1, not a Vortec. Vortecs are only found in pickups. The traditional small block Chevy Vortecs ran in 305 (5.0) and 350 (5.7) sizes from '96-'99, when they were replaced by GMs new "small block" engines, which are called Vortec in the trucks as well.

Your engine is different. The LT1s were used in '93-'97 Camaros and Firebirds, '92-'96 Corvettes and '94-'96 Impala SSs/Caprices/Roadmasters. Do a search on here, and I'm sure someone made a post regarding the differences between an LT1 (which is also a 350) and the Vortec offerings.

As for the engines, they do tend to last a long time so long as they are not neglected and/or significantly abused. The price seems pretty good for a '96, so long as the dents aren't too big. Good luck.

jasonwinn

Thanks for that clear up! shows you how much i know

One dent is about the size of two gas caps, and the rest are about the size of a quarter. Most of them are fixable, except the large one is missing some paint.

However, I wanted to get it painted anyways so i'm not too concerned about it. And the dent I think we could fix with some tools at work.


Do you mind answering my question on the auto/manual tiptronic thing?

Z95m6

Sounds like a decent price. I have no idea what a tiptronic is so i can't comment.

jasonwinn

Well it's just the brand name I think for whats in the new cars.

basically it allows you to have the transmission in auto, but my moving the stick to the right, you can shift up or down.

Not sure what the real name of it is.

pHEnomIC

http://4l60-e.com/ will have a type of triptronic, not worth it imo. Its unneccessary with an auto. I can downshift mine if i want and 1st and 2nd gear hold really well. Best to just leave it in d or od for racin.

Strahley

If you have a normal automatic, don't worry about rigging up a way to manually shift it. You will not be any faster vs letting it shift itself. Toss it in drive, stall it up, and let her go. Get a good sized stall converter and you will see a big difference in how the car feels, if you aren't happy with how the factory stall works

The only time you should manually shift an automatic is if you have something like mine where you are forced to do it

captskin

Sounds like you have a good find, Jason. Mine is also a '96 with T-tops, just over 101,000 miles on it,and I bought it last year with about 86,000. As for the motor lasting forever, as long as you take care of the motor, anything will last forever.

mvnatedog

If you are planning on getting the whole car painted, expect to spend a few thousand bucks to get it done right, unless you've got some connections. Might want to factor that in to your budget...

jasonwinn

First off,

Thanks everyone for all the great advice so far.


Good to know. No matter what car I get, I was planning on new tires, paint, rims, stero ect.

Main thing I'm looking for is a reliable motor

jasonwinn

Also, What are some recommended websites for buying camaro accessories? Might want to add leather seats, new shifter, headlights ect :P

Z95m6

The best resource for parts is this forum. I've gotten my hood, spoiler, rims, interior, lowering springs, CAI, headers, catback, heads, cam, and just about every other part off of here. You can get some killer deals on here if you take your time and shop around. Just research the seller before you jump on a great deal.