I’m interested in purchasing a Camaro but I don’t know which year… I’ve heard 1996 SS’s are awesome and a reasonable price…. I just turned 16 and I currently have a 1995 Nissan Maxima (pimped out) but, I want some real power. I was going to get a 1998 Corvette but the insurance for a 16 year old is outrageous! In 2 years I would be able to buy another vette just with the insurance money! Friends tell me that I can buy a 1996 and have a engine swap and put a LS1 (corvette) engine in it. My question is… Would it be possible? How much would it cost? Would it be beneficial? I’m really stuck in a jam here… any help would be great. Thanks!

 

Depending on what you want. If you plan to mod it, it has been said the 95's LT-1(corvette engine), responds better. If you're just wanting stock power, 98+ LS-1's (corvette engine), will do the trick also. If you are just wanting to pimp something out, get a Honda. J/K

 

getting a 94-97 and putting money it to that engine will get you a lot more power than the cost of changing it to a 98+ls1 eninge. Plus a the older the car the cheaper the insurance. I would recommend maybe a 94-95 and then doing some mods to it.

 

I doubt insurance on a V8 Camaro would be much less than a Vette, since insurance is based on the car's power, age of driver, claims made on that type of car, etc. Good luck.

 

What about a 96 SS? Im paying like 2500 for insuarance a year right now.. Ive been told its alot lower to go with a 96 Camaro vs a 98 Corvette....

 

I've heard many times that Vette insurance is generally cheaper than F-body insurance (conisdering same driver age etc...)

Good luck on finding an insurance company to insure you at a reasonable rate, over here I couldn't get insurance on a V8 till I turned 19 (clean record, no accidents) unless I wanted to pay ~400 a month. No thanks!

 

hrmm you think a 96 will be that high? Im paying $200 for insuarance... and thats bc my parents are on it, our whole house is on them,and we've been with them for a long time...

 

Do some searching around on this site and others.. I don't think you fully understand the differences between models/years.

First of all camaro and firebirds are the same car under the skin.

Second, the Fbodys (camaro/firebird) have the same powertrain (engine and trans) as the corvette. The corvette is a two seater and has a better suspension design - IRS.

Third, all fbodys from 93 - 97 have the LT1 engine block.. the SS's which are available in 96 and 97 have a slightly modified LT1 engine called the LT4 - if you buy a car and plan on keeping it stock then the LT4/SS will be a better choice but once you start modifying the engine that it doesn't matter if you have the LT4 or LT1 and the LT1 is much cheaper.

98 and newer Fbodys have the LS1 engine which is completely different from the previous LT1 engine but is identical to the corvette engine. Again camaro and corvette have the same powertrain - the earlier corvettes have the LT1 and the later years have the LS1.

Do a search for LT1 vs LS1 and you can see the strong points of both. The LT1 is cheaper to buy and to modify. The LS1 is a hotter engine outta the box. Once you start modifying either engine though things get close and either one really makes for a great performance plateform.

No, it is not worth the time, energy, and money to put a LS1 into a LT1 car. For the amount of time and money invovled you could make a killer LT1 that would walk all over 90% of the LS1's out there.

If money is no issue (which it doesn't seem to be since you plan on buying a corvette) then the LS1 camaro/firebird would be the way to go.

I hope that clarifies a few things for you.

And what're you doing with such a fast car anyways, you're only 16.. sheesh. I'm 20 now and had to start with an 83 ford ltd (based on the fox plateform ironically ) Maybe you should stick with that maxima for at least another year.. you may be looking for trouble buying such a fast car now - I know I would have been in some serious **** if I would have had this car 4 years ago (I've had it for almost 2 now) and I always considered myself a responsible driver (1 speeding ticket ).

Anyways, it's your life man. Good luck with the fast car.

 

wow thanks for the info. Anyone no any sites full of camaro literature that i can read???? (Need to get my **** straight)

 

If you pay $200 now for your pimped out Maxima per month, I'd hate to see your rates on a V8 car. You might want to just pick some anonymous cars, and find out what your rates would be for them, like a 97 Vette, 97 SS, 97 V6 Camaro, etc.

 

V8 Camaro/Firebird insurance is higher than a Corvette due to moron punk drivers wrecking them... the sheer quantity of wrecked f-bodies at the salvage auctions is saddening.

-Michael