I found a couple of V-6 '95 F-bodies that I'm going to take a look at this week. I've never dealt with the 6-bangers before, just LT1s. anything in particular I should know about them besides the usual F-body things?

 

I'd try to find one with the Y87 package, but I'm not sure if they were out in '95. The Y87 has rear disc brakes, quicker steering and basically the same suspension as the Z28.

I had a 97 Camaro with the 3.8, 5M and Y87 package and had virtually no problems for the entire 9 yrs I had it. The only thing I can think of was that the power steering whined a little bit.

 

I'll check the option codes when I take a look at it. not really a major concern, but what kind of fuel economy did you get?

the main car I'm considering has 130,000 miles on it, body supposedly in good condition, interior not so much. probably replace the seats and shampoo the carpet. has new transmission and clutch apparently, guy says he has most of the receipts so I'll look through those before I commit to it.

 

I don't know exactly what mileage I got but it was WAY better than my wife's 2006 Grand Prix w/SC, and WAY, WAY better than my current Z28. I loved that car and actually wish I had it back over my current LT1 Z28, which has been trouble prone.

 

I have had my v6 98 y87 for 2 years now.

Since I have bought it this is what I have replaced:

Brand new 3.8 motor installed by Whitmore Chevrolet (Aug 07)
Brand new Jasper 4l60E transmission installed by VA automotive (July 07)
Brand new MagnaFlow exhaust catback w/ hi flo cat (July 07)

New set of 3.42 gears a little over a year ago (twice, first go around they didnt realize i had a bent axle)
Brand new ATE rotors + HAWK HPS pads 3 days ago

Had hood and rear bumper repainted when I bought it in Sept 05

Added all mods in my sig over the period of time I have owned it

New DS window motor, clear corners, new trunk latch (only because 98's didnt have the spring), still have the original. Did the mod today in fact.

New headlight on one side when I bought it, old one was eewie lookin.

I actually went through all my service records on it since I bought it, originally paid $6700 for it and it had 65k on it,

and i have put over 10 grand in it, mostly due to new engine/trans. I should be driving an SS for that much, but you live and you learn and I'm only 19. The car had 112,xxx miles when the engine blew (due to an improperly installed thermostat by Patrick Chevrolet) of course they wouldnt take credit for it without a lawsuit, and I didnt have time for that. It now has about 1000 miles on the entirely new drivetrain.

So I paid 16k for a (basically) brand new red y87 v6 camaro.

My interior is in awesome condition though, with the exception of the headliner. When you take the t tops off you can see where they rubbed it, but I think that is normal?

I also paid $600 to have a professional frame shop straighten out my frame.

the frame of the car should look like this:

----
----

mine looked like this

\---
/---

someone rear ended it before i owned it. But they did the best job anyones ever done on my car. Its perfect now.

So yeah V6's are expensive to keep up with too IMHO. Especially if you are OCD when it comes to your car, like I am. One little nick or scratch makes me angry.... hell I should be one of them Vette owners... :P

Ill sell you my car if you want it. Everything is perfect on it now lol minus where my bumper got scuffed

 

If you can find a '96+ in your price range, I think you'll find the 3.8 to be a much better powerplant than the 3.4, and with much better aftermarket support too.

Unless, of course, you're looking at one of the rare 3.8-powered '95s from California....

 

When I sold my 98 with 60K last year I was getting a consistant 22-24 combined driving! worsts were 18-19 in winter when I would need to warm up more, Best 27-31 trip. My GTO only manages 17-18 the same route.

Spark plug wires were the only issue I had, They tend to get fried coming off the top of the engine routing around the big headers, it's a tight on the side compartment. I bought some heat wrap and helped solve the problem.

Try to get a 96+ with the 3800 over the 3.4L

Look for a Y87 car, Dual exhaust, LSD,3:42's, Steering ratio, it should of been on them all of them IMO, I didnt have it on mine so I wouldnt make that a deal breaker.

Making me wish I had mine back

 

My first car is either going to be the family Corolla, or a 4th gen 3.8L V6 Camaro!

Much safer than the 3rd gen I want, and probably more fun!

 

A Corolla or Camaro They dont compare on ANY planet!

 

too late. the only 3.8 I found was, I thought, in worse condition than the '95 3.4 I picked up. Of course with 20/20 hindsight, that is definitely not the case

I was planning on replacing plugs/wires anyway, then it picked up a miss after about 10 minutes of driving, went ahead and replaced the coils/coil module. Nope, miss was still there. Found out about the intake gasket problems, figured that might be the case, took it to a shop here in town I've had good luck with. Before even looking at the intake, they find the discharge side of the radiator cracked as well as a sticking thermostat. So I'm at almost $1000 and it could still have the miss

 

And if you want one of those, go ahead and buy mine

Seriously, a 3.8 (IMO) is a much better motor than the 3.4. I'd personally look for 96 and up V6's. And if you have the budget, you may consider a '00 and up for the tubular manifolds, instead of the crappy logs (exhaust manifolds). Unless, of course, you plan on adding headers in the future.

 

They do when one is free and one I have to pay for!