Ok so I am going today to go look at a 95 Z28 that is just over 108K, it is a friend of a friends car and the story goes he NEVER gets on his car my very good friend can vouch for that and his dad is a mechanic and whatnot so it's been very well taken care of and stored for winters, he's lowered the price for me, simply because he knows I will build it and he wants to still see it.

Now the engine I'm not so much worried about, my mechanic will look at it after I look at it and drive it. So today I'm going to go test-drive it, and look it over myself, anything in particular I should look for?

I know how to drive a stick and whatnot but they have all been ****ty *** trucks with so much play in the shifter you'd think you were shifting with a Twizzler Licorice Stick. The only "sports" car I have driven thats been a Manual was a 94 Mustang Cobra (my friends), and I gotta say it felt beatiful. It felt ROCK solid, no play whatsoever, you could even hear it click and lock through the exhaust and road-noise as it went from 1-N-2-N-3, it was such an EASY car to drive gas was stiff and felt like it had a greater "input resolution" and the same can be said for the clutch, and the power felt great as well. Thing is they are (94-95 Cobras) rated at 240HP and 285TQ but they will dyno just about that rating at the wheels. So we will get along side each other and punch it a few times. Just to see how she does, but thing is even though the Z28 is rated higher, the Mustang is under rated and has stuff done to it (Intake, MAF, TB, Header, X-Pipe, Dynomax Mufflers) So the he should probably pull on me, what do stock LT1s dyno at? Also has anyone ever driven a 5.0? and felt how the trans was, thing is I'm getting such a deal on the car, that i don't wanna expect the trans to be pristine and feel beat up when in actuality the trans might not feel as tight as a Cobra's in the first place and have that deter me from the car, get what I'm saying? Really the main comparison will be how I do against my friends Mustang Cobra, since we will just even up from a roll and punch it, this should give me a decent idea of how powerfull the engine is (compression), what kind of the shape the trans is in (in case it's beat up) and what not, so if all goes well today, then I will most likely have a mechanic look at it in the following days then own it in about a week.

So in short:

-What should I look for problem-wise/what could lead to problems
-How should I do on some playful jumping around with my friends Cobra?
-How should the tranny feel (6sp)
-Anything else?

PS. My friends Cobra went 13.9@99.3 with just intake,TB,MAF and on worn out street tires. Maybe that gives you a gauge of how fast he should be around

 

The Z28 will be around 13.9-14.0 ~100. Stock. But as far as things to check, make sure it isn't clunking gears around, make sure the window motors are fast if it has power windows, make sure the power locks all work and everything. Basically check to make sure all of the power features still work. As far as driveability, make sure when you're idleing that feels strong, and not trying to die or anything like that, no bucking. Just a nice smooth idle. Get on it from time to time to make sure it can pull in the higher RPM and doesn't stumble or anything. Basically just check the basics as you would with any other car and you should be fine. Make sure the engine bay is clean etc. etc.

 

install a cutout on your stock exhaust if you like the tips for less than $50 and your car will sound like it has headers. depending on the mileage of the car the opti can crap out at some point. those are kinda expensive, but really the only thing that might break. use synthetic to make sure the engine stays clean.

 

Ok so I looked at the car yesterday and we took it for a little spin, it felt powerful but I though it would have been a little more throw back in the seat, but my friend who drives the cobra sat in back for some launches and said it felt good. I popped the hood and had my friend watch the engine as I started her up, he said the engine didn't shake at all upon startup, no squeling pullies and it startup in less than 2 seconds, the idle was good felt strong, revved it as it was parked just to watch the idle go back and see if their was any bouncing or bucking after revving, none at all. The drive, the tranny felt good, nice and stiff, clutch and gas felt good as well. Check the t-tops the clipped in and out smothly, locked up nicely and didn't budge when I tried shaking them, the glass was also it great condition, no noticeable nicks and cuts in the T-top glass. Interior was good well taken care of, the only thing that kind of annoyed me was when I closed the driver door, it did the whole rattle thing, but this is not a luxury car so I really am not concerned, I might sound deaden it later on.

So now I have some new big questions.

I have to take it to a mechanic to look at it.

-Any specific mechanic to take it to, my whole family is a Ford (Booo) Family so taking it to him I think is useless

-What about chevy dealership mechs, I don't want them to wreck the car and come back like, ya it needs this, this, and this. How risky do you think it is?

-Also I am buying the car so when I take the car in what should I tell them, should I tell them what to look for, or tell them that I might be buying it and I need them to look it over.

Any and all help is appreciated as I am really excited about this car!!

 

were the windows rolled down at all when you shut the door and it sounded like it "rattled"? i know mine sounds really bad when the windows are down and you slam the door shut. you have to close it gently. since the window is so long i guess its not horribly easy to stabilize it inside the door.

i think there are shops that will offer a comprehensive check for several things like checking fluids, checking brakes, checking the clutch or just about anything they could fairly easily see. i dont know how much you want them to check or what you expect they might find, but i dont think you want them to like pull the heads off and take a look inside or anything. you might be able to get an extended warranty through your bank or through a dealer if they will certify it if you are that concerned.

anyone is going to try to upsell you whether its Kwik Kar Lube or the Chevy dealer. "mmm yea you have a carbon buildup in your throttle body, we can flush that and flush your radiator while we are at it, those are both $69.95 a piece"

 

Bump, where should I take the car to have it insepcted? Any honest places around SE, MI Livonia/Plymouth/Canton/Ann Arbor area?? I'm worried about having a mechanic **** it up so he can get money.

Thanks

 

Ttt

 

Some info that might be of interest to you.The lt1 which you are purchasing is rated at 275 hp@4000rpms and 325 tq@2400rpms.The car you are planning to buy should dyno around 235 to 245 hp at the rollers.The 6-speed typically dynos about 10 hp higher than the automatics due to the gearing and other reasons.The 1995 camaro received an optional monochomatic roof and a vented opti spark distributor.

 

Ok so I took it to a mechanic yesterday and had him check it out, test drive it and inspect the vehicle for leaks, suspension braking, etc. And he said the car looks like its been well maintained, handles well drives well, runs strong, and has good power, so this just verifies what the owner has said, it's been babied and taken care of.

Now as to what needs done, the serpintine belt was cracked and he said it would need replacing in a little bit, the the intake manifold had a slight seepage of oil, which he said "was about average for the mileage on the car (110K) now he got back and looked at it and said it needs a new gasket, now the thing is the oil on their was pretty old looking, but for some reason there was a couple fresh drops on the outside, this I'm assuming was because he did wind the car out to check for high RPM misfire and what not, feeling if the car fell flat on its face or something, which of course in turn causes the oil pressure to rise. Is this a common LT1 engine problem, any estimates on what a new gasket would run plus installation? Also the other thing he said was the clutch felt like it might need replacemeant, which he assured me again was typical for a car with this mileage, but he said he wasn't positive as he rarely gets manual transmissions in so he wasn't sure if it was him or the car, he said something about taking it to a transmission specialist and having him look at it, and then something about new disc and resurfacing the flywheel. I was already planning on putting something in there with a little more grab anyway but I don't this to be a "tip of the iceberg" problem for the tranny, he also said there was about 50% life left on the brake pads. Recent new parts are new waterpump and new drums and pads I believe about 1 year ago, car's been stored winters, so thats the story, 110K stored winters, well maintained and babied and he wants 6K, so what's the game plan fellas?

 

bump

 

LT1's are notorious for leaky intake manifolds because the EGR on the back of the manifold dries out the silicone which cracks and starts leaking oil. It's not a big deal to fix, just take a couple hours and about $25 bucks. Sounds like the clutch probably has a little chatter in it. Not a big deal if you keep the pedal pushed in. If you like the car, and you feel comfortable, buy it and enjoy it.

 

You think 110K is ok? I will lightly race it, nothing major until it's paid off I need it to last me around 2-3 years or like 150K and then after I have some money save I'll go for a 383 then spray the 350 till it blows then throw in the 383. Think it's run for a while, how is the reliability on LT1's? This particular one has been babied to hell and well maintained.

Also

-Prices+Labor for new clutch


Thanks hopefully I'll have an LT1 in my garage shortly!!!

 

If the car has been that well maintained, then you shouldn't have any problems. A friend of mine has a 93 that ran for 195k miles before it blew, and he raced it every chance he got.

 

What do you think the cost of parts+labor for a new clutch would be?

 

That's going to depend on the clutch you want. You can probably get a stock replacement clutch installed for $4-500 bucks, a street twin will probably be around $1500 or so installed. I think I paid right around $750 for my Spec stage 3, $450 for the clutch, and $300 in labor.