Hi I am looking into getting an LT1 powered F-Body and I was hoping some owners could help guide me as to specific things to look for when trying to find a good used 4th gen Firebird, or Z-28. I would prefer these options.

T-Tops- heard of some weird leaks issues?
6-speed these seem to be harder to find

I prefer the look of the Pontiac F-bodies generally, but there seems to be 2-3 Z-28's for sale for every firebird I see on autotrader.com.

Any advice would be most appreciated,
Thanks in advance

 

Basically the main problem areas are optispark and intake leak.

Optispark is the distributer, and can be sensitive to water. 95+ LT1s have an updated opti with a vent. Some peoples optis have only lasted around 50k, while some have well over 100k. I have and original opti and its still kicken at 93k, Knock on wood.

The intake manifold has the tendency to leak oil after a while. Not a big problem but something you should be aware of. If left unfixed for too long, oil may drip down and attack the clutch, therefore leading to some damage.

Definetly get a 6spd, you wont regret it. Autos can be made to be faster and more consistent on the strip, but theres nothing like down shifting a few gears.

The t-tops on my Z do leak a little. But thats only when a stream of water is being pounded against the weather stripping. You can usually fix many of the window leaking problems by adjusting them correctly.

LT1

 

Defintately do take into consideration what naaz said. I would say if you are pretty interested in one, take it to a mechanic and pay the money to have them check it out. Also, make sure you drive it cold too before buying it. And try to test it as much as you can, because some people might put some knock stopping stuff in, and it only lasts like 30 miles, and you don;t want to find out the engine is knocking after you have paid for the car.

This is actually just about what happened to me. I had maybe put 400 miles on my car since I got it, within about 4 days, since I had to drive to a different state to get it. Then the first weekend I had it, it started to knock, so I had to get a new engine. Although you can't really prevent stuff like that, do as much as you can before hand.

And if you are looking at both Camaros and Firebird's, I always thought Camaros had was more appearance mods available, but Firebirds look a little more stylish stock. So if you want to do a lot with the appearance, you definately have more choices with a Camaro.

 

1) 95's seem to be the optimal choice for pre-LS1 car because it's the first year with the improved optispark (venting) and the last year with OBD1 PCM (96+ have OBD2 which may be more difficult smog restriction wise)
2) Check the window opperation, the motors get slow then stop with age, and are worse when it's hot out.
3) Heater cores sometimes plug and stop working and may develop leaks if left clogged too long (easy to flush)
4) Vehicle Anti Theft System (VATS) sometimes prevents your car from starting if resistor key or ignition contacts get dirty (VATS is easily bypassed with resistor same as key value)
5) Tranny mounts tear easily on manuals, easy fix
6) ??? Not much else, there are tons of mods available for 94-97 and you can pick them up cheap ($4000-$6500) I picked up my Red 93 Z28 in excelent condition for $4K and love it.

Good Luck

 

Thanks for the input hope to get one soon hear.