I looked at a 1993 350 LT1 AOD w/ 77,000 miles. The car is exceptionally clean inside and out. You could eat supper off the engine. New Z-rated tires, new battery, and new water pump, otherwise I do not believe any original parts have been/needed replacement.
The seller is asking $6,000.

Things I noticed:
1. Brakes (supposedly just had a brake job done) sucked even compared to my 1992 Camaro.
2. The car felt sluggish for 275 HP, however, I am comparing that to a 1985 Vette AOD 350 TPI (230 HP) 3.08 rear gears w/ 47,000 miles that I test drove about 15 minutes before I drove the Z. I was expecting the 93 Z to be faster than the Vette due to HP difference. The 1993 Z felt like it wanted to run but seemed choked, so to speak. Even in mid-RPM range where the LT1 induction should have come alive compared to tuned port injection on the Vette, I dunno! fuel filter, cat converter?

I believe the Z is a good buy, what do you all think?

 

I have a 93 Z-28 for sale too. I live in Charlotte, NC. If your interested send me an email.........Boeing717Driver@aol.com

Just a little info, 113,000 miles but dont let that scare you. Its a very well taken care of car. I posted info on the car a week or so ago............look under heading " I am thinking of selling my 1993 Z".................

Price is very reasonable.

Jeff

 

Here is the link for my post on our 1993 Z mentioned above..........

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...hreadid=148639

I hope that works.........

Jeff

 

I did not see a price.

 

Any input on original post would be greatly appreciated? I am going back to drive the Z again today.

Thanks
Chris

 

Just my opinion but 6g is alot for a 93.
I test drove a 93 before my 94 and it sucked. The car had 70k on it and no power.
I went and drove the 94 with 32k on it and it was a nite and day diff.
Not saying 93s are bad or anything I just think thats too much for the car.

 

i liked my 93 when i had it. $6000 is not too bad, but you could talk him down. It sounds to me like the power loss is the opti-spark going out. The reason i think its that is because you said that he replaced the water pump and usually when the water pump goes out it leaks water on the opti causing it to go out as well. Tell him you will give him 5500 because you have to replace the opti.

 

Like you mentioned it could very well be the cats... I had the same problem and then finally it just wouldn't run after 2-3 minutes.

 

BUY THE 93!!!!!!!!! You'll be VERY happy with her! If you're wondering why your car feels sluggish, it could be a couple things.

1. Cat Converter - Easily taken care off with a pry bar and some wrenches! Makes the car sound A LOT meaner (especially when you throw a cut out in the mix!)

2. Basic Tune-Up - Go ahead and have this done to the car when you pick it up. All the plugs / wires / filters. Everything.

3. Gears - You may have highway gears back there. Swap in some 3.42s and you'll be a lot happier!

The 93 motor is a great motor, I love it! If you ever have an SES light, you can flash your computer and get it yourself, no need for a scanner! I guess I'm just biased....But if you like the car, GET IT! You'll be satisfied with the Speed Density LT1!!!!!!!

 

If you're planning on just doing a few bolt ons to the car, then 93s are fine. But, if you're going to dive a little deeper into the mods, then you may be better off with 94 or 95, if you can find one for the same money.

I love my 93, but with all it's holdover and 1-off parts (being the first year of the new body style), sometimes it can be a real PITA.

non-vented opti on 93 and 94.

93- Non-E 4L60, which means you cant electronically change the shift points. You need a governor spring/weight kit to mechanically make shift point changes. The kit is cheap, but there's no set formula, so you have to use trial and error, based on weights and spring tension, to find the shift points you want.

93- Computer uses chips - you'll need to buy chips or cut your own, instead of using LT1 edit.

Fuel rails on the 93's are a poor design. There are 3/8" copper return lines inside the rail bodies, which displaces much of the volume. This can definetly hamper flow and fuel distribution.

There are more differences between the 93s and the later year models, but the above differences are the ones that have given me problems.

Of course, the 93s are still great cars, if you dont mind a little extra work (and money) at times. There's even a support group:

http://sdf.mogmhp.com/index.php

 

best car i ever bought mine has about 70,000 miles and its so easy to work on. my friend has a 93 firebird with 163,000 miles all stock runs awsome the only thing major that could go wrong is the tranny the rest is just bolt ons under 300.00 for the part.

 

Thanks for all the input folks. Keep'em coming. Great board. Yes, I like the car, she is exceptionally clean and has been well taken care of.
Yes, the only additions if I buy the '93 would be 1 3/4" headers (which mfg?) and complete exhaust, 3.42's, possibly porting the plenum (if it needs it, not sure if any gains, I'm familiar with TPI but not LT1 induction), temperature controller if '93s are like my 3rdgen Camaro ie fans kick on at 220 F, and of course, basic tuneup ie plugs, spark plug wires, fuel filter, oil change, etc. Car will be a semi-daily driver, no trips to track.
I like SD setup versus MAF.
I still can't get over the sluggish feel w/ 275 HP.
Thanks again!

Oh yeah, I like the color, I do not see many Maros' this color. It is listed as Medium Quasar Blue according to the owner, but looks more like a dark grenish/grey, hard to describe. The black top is barely noticeable with this particular body color.

I may offer $5500 today. Right now I have him talked down to $5800. The original asking price was/is $6500, not $6000 as indicated in my initial post.

 

Sounds like a car that has been well cared for, and the low miliage is very appealing. I wouldn't worry too much about the sluggish feel, that's something a basic tune up will probably cure. If it doesn't... I'd look at the cat. For what you're wanting to do with it, I don't see how you could go wrong. If you can get them to take $5,500 ... EVEN BETTER!

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide.

 

If you like it, that's all that matters. Sounds like a great car, especially with the rarer Blue color, too. But I certainly think you should offer $5000 for it that way you could go up $5500 and hopefully get it for that.

I definately would tell him that you'd have to change the Opti FOR SURE if it wasn't before. Also, is it leaking oil out the back of the intake? Common for LT1s. Check and use that as bargaining, too. You'll only have to change the gasket, as far as I know.

But for comparison, I bought my '96 Z28 for $6600 with 81k miles on it. Fully loaded, M6, hardtop, factory chromed salad shooters, charcoal leather interior and dark purple metallic exterior. Excellent overall condition and starting in 1996 the LT1s were rated at 285hp for two cats as opposed to just one previously, and also for the addition of the OBD-II ECM computer, too. I wanted to have a '96 or '97 personally for the mods, as well. There's plenty more items out there for these years.

By the way, how many owners? Clean Carfax? Any warranty work/service history paperwork? Any other paperwork with it; original sales paperwork, window sticker, manual, etc.?

 

You'll be happy with it. I own two 93's right now, and love them both. Granted, it's a first model year, and you have to deal with the little nuances of that first year, but it's worth it. The fuel rail problem sucks, but check out the speed density board that speedmiser posted a link to, there's a great thread in there about the fuel rails and such problems. The chip thing for the computer isn't that big. Alvin at PCMforless.com does outstanding chips, I have one in both cars. I heard madz28 or something like that does good work too. Nice thing is that you don't have to deal with a MAF, the vented opti conversion is not a hard thing to do, and you gotta love the fact that the trannys are geared a little steeper and the rear is only a 3.23 or 2.73. Throw 3.73's or 4.10's in there and scream!!!

There was also a thread on here a few days ago discussing the batch fire system on the 93's vs. the sequential port system on the 94+ cars. Conclusion was the the sequential port system was only any better for VERY high horsepower applications, and was not noticabley better within normal people expense. So don't let that worry you.