Hey guys, Ive been off this site for awhile, I had a '95 formula, gave me problems and I cursed gm cars for the past couple of years..
Well now im getting back into the F-bod groove and need to know if the
'98 LS1s had any kinks being that it was the first yr to come out?
Here are my options: '98 Camaro Z28 auto, 84k miles, g2 air intake, flow masters, ---$6500 firm

Second choice: '00 Z28, 104k miles, auto, stock, $5000 ( maybe obo)

They are both black with SS hoods and spoilers.

Which seems to be better to with... im thinking the '00 just incase the '98s had some issues..

Let me know, im trying to fly out Sunday to go pick up the '00.

(P.S.... How much maintenance is needed after 100k miles? Do the alternators, starters, etc start going out around this time?)

 

5 grand sounds low for a 2000 even with 104,000 on the odometer. If it's the real deal I'd say jump on that 2000.

 

Both are real good deals. Just ask yourself if you want to pay an extra thousand dollars for 20,000 less miles.

Good luck!

 

If you plan on doing any modding in the future, stay away from the 98.

 

Elaborate.

Nothing wrong with 98 cars at all. There are a few minor issues, but an LS1 is an LS1.

 

98 is the fastest year of the LS1's from what i hear.
i'd get the 98 cause of the less miles.

 

I would get which ever car is nicer overall. If they are in the same shape then I would get the one with less miles. Like said above, there is nothing wrong with 98 LS1 cars.

 

The oil pumps are crap. Want to do a head swap? Virtually NOBODY makes a perimeter bolt performance head. That means you need new valve covers and new coils. Want to get that head and/or cam swap running right? Good luck - the 98 PCMs make tuning a nightmare, especially with more radical setups. All the sensors are bastard year sensors, which can create problem at the parts counter. Pistons rings and connecting rod bolts are inferior to the 2000 and later LS1s. I know there are more that I can't seem to remember at the moment...

 

Well, if your going to do Heads/Cam your going to be changing the oil pump anyways.

You can pick up cheap coil brackets/valve covers to mate to your new heads. Nobody ports the factory castings anyways.

The tuning is a bit more "touchy" but can be tuned just fine if you know what your doing. HPT has some new software out that is really good.


Rings?

To my knowledge, 98-99 uses the same bolts/rods

Still not enough to justify not buying a 98 IMO

 

Even if they were the same price, I'd still buy the 2000 with more miles on it fro many of the reasons mentioned above. Also as sated 5K is cheap, I'd get a carfax BEFORE you go to see it.

-oil pumps were better in the newer LS1s
-piston slap was less of a problem in the newer LS1s
-The 98 PCM was a bastard child
-2000+ had better stock manifolds
-The earlier cars had oil usage problems (some in part to the piston slap)

Re'

 

Carfax both cars.

Look at both cars.


Check the maintainence of both cars.


Go with whichever has been maintained.

Either way it's an LS1. With or without EGR, it doesn't matter.


Look harder at the 2000, just because it's newer without the first year release...

But get whichever is in good shape.

 

Which ever one is nicer. That 2000 seems too low to me and might have underlying issues with it. There is nothing wrong with a 98. If your gonna mod it don't matter anyway, cuz your gonna replace all that stuff with better parts anyway. And tuning aint that bad either. I'm tuning my own 98 and it seems to be going fine and i have never tuned a car before.

Either way they are both good deals. And i would pick which ever one is in the best shape overall, regardless of miles or year.

 

Thats a new one to me too.

Go with the 2000 for the above mentioned reasons.

 

I would also lean towards the 01-02 as the faster ones off the floor. But Ive also seen a few from previous years that seem to break the rules for factory speed. The freaks are out there.

 

They are all basically the same once you start throwing aftermarket parts at them.