ML808

Hey everybody,

Well i'm looking for 3rd gen trans am. And i need some opinions on

whether i should get this TA. I found a someone who is selling a 1986 trans

am, 5.0vL 4-barrel H.O. V8 (L69) (5-speed , 26 were built) for 2200. I'm

looking to use this car as my primary one but im wondering if its going to be

more trouble then its worth. The car is in good shape but it was

discontinued because of fuel vapor lock (boiling) problems. I'm worried

about the fuel boiling. Is it an easy fix ?,would the car be worth buying ?

and will it be reliable?

yo soy el warg

I would buy it since the vapor lock problem is an easy fix. The car is rare enough that it is a good buy unless it is a rust bucket. Look at it in the regular problem areas for rust. If you don't find rust and it runs well, then buy it.

ML808

thanks for your response just wonderin what would i need to fix ?or how much would it cost to fix?

KNBlazer

it should have received a fix from the dealer and or built with the revised parts... you should either have a blower that cools the carburetor or have an in tank assist pump...

JT

iTrader: (1)

Have you verified, with the VIN, that the engine is the L69? I've seen many sellers refer to their 5.0L as the "HO" version when it was just the LG4.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Let's get right down to the underlying and probably most important part of what you're asking... You're saying you want to buy a Thirdgen to use as your sole mode of transportation and you want it to be reliable.

My answer is No. In general Thirdgens are NOT a good choice for your only vehicle and they're not reliable. Before a couple hundred teenagers hurl virtual rocks at me, let's look at this a little more in depth. You're talking about a car that's 20+ years old, and likely most of that time it's been at the end of a lead foot. It's extremely likely that lead foot has been attached to someone without a huge income that has let the preventive maintenance slip. Assuming it has been maintained, there's still a lot of age involved.

There are exceptions, but in general what you want to do is a bad idea. If you don't have a job, school, or other obligations it might be OK, but you'll still spend a lot of time fixing a car like this. If you have to do it, I'd honestly recommend a 88-92 throttlebody injected 305 car, or a V6. From what I've seen they seem least likely to leave you stranded, but they're also worthless as collector cars and they're slow as can be.

I'm also with JT on this... Chances are it's not an L69, verify the VIN before you buy it because it's "RARE".

yoshirocks702

A third gen is probably not the most reliable choice, if you want reliability get a 5th gen lol but 3rd gen's they are fairly easy to work on compared to other cars. I have an 84 L69 and i havent experienced the vapour lock issue yet, and i dont have the blower on the carb, but even if it does happen, like the above it should be a fairly easy fix.

But the best thing you can do is buy a good thirdgen, a well maintained, well kept, clean car is good way to avoid lots of headaches.

Plus how cool would it be to drive around in a TA all the time

welchk85

i drive a 90 maro with the v6 i use it as a DD and i love it, the v6 has enough power to mess around when i want and it also saves me on gas prices as i live in ny and traffic sucks it does have little problems from time to time but most of them are easily taken care of with general maintanence.

built91Z28

My opinion is that I am done with F-body's as daily drivers. I had a 96 Firebird and I have my 91 now. I love having my Camaro now as a weekend car so that if it breaks, oh well. I still have a car to get to work and wherever else. My GF use to drive a 91 Camaro also and loves having a new car as her daily driver. Also if they really did only make 26 of them do you think thats a car that should be driven daily?

ML808

Thanks for the info everyone,

im buying the ta from the first owner of the car.it has 107,xxx miles on it. And is a smog exempt car, so i would never have to smog it.. (im not 100% sure why). Im going to check out the vin. does anyone know what numbers i should look for?

KNBlazer

This is because this car is considered now a senior citizen... there is a cutoff period of which cars are no longer required to get tested...

ML808

I live in CA,im pretty sure the car has to be at least 35 years old in order to be smog exempt.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm#BM2535

FlamingPhoenix

Vin code 8th digit "g" is the l69

KNBlazer

then if that's the case of you living in CA, and the car being registered in CA... then the only logical explanation would be that the vehicle is registered in a county within a zip code that does not require emissions testing...

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

And there is nothing "High Output" about an LG4.

KNBlazer

hahaha... you obviously haven't owned an LG4.....Damn emissions are freakin' HIGH OUTPUT to the max...

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I've owned an LG4 car.

hardon85

I agree completely on the reliability aspect of this purchase and I have been in your shoes and no mater how much you love the car, when it constantly breaks down or even has little issues you will grow to hate the car. Also I don't know where you live but if it is anywhere that gets snow in the winters I have to tell you these cars suck for going through snow. Quick story I had a 4th gen that I didn't plan on driving in the winter when I bought it, unfortunately I bought it in October and in January I couldn't take it anymore I had to drive it so I went to back it out of the garage and there was about a 12" drift right outside the garage door which I have never had a problem in the past with any other car, anyway I backed the car out and got hung up on the drift and after digging for about 45 minutes I still couldn't get the car out.

It's stories like this (and I have many others) that will make you hate the car. Add in the breakdowns (and yes they will happen as there are sensors rubber gaskets and seals that if not worn out yet they will be) also even my 4th gen would leak when going through a car wash it wasn't a big deal since I always had something with to suck up the water but this car was 3 years old and with yours being almost 25 years old leaks are inevitable unless ALL the weather stripping has been replaced recently, that also well it doesn't seem like a big deal now you will grow to hate. Also I'm not sure if you're a teenager or not but your friends will laugh at you when this car does break down and love to rub it into your face how your car is a POS (again I've been there).

I hate to discourage anyone from buying a 3rd gen but (and please don't take offense to this) if you are looking to buy a $2200 car for a daily driver I'm guessing you don't have a whole lot of extra money to stick into it for repairs.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

Solid advice. A buddy of mine bought a thirdgen as a daily driver and the damned things radiator cracked in the first 24 hours of owning it. We fixed that and then it went 24 hours and died on the highway. Brought it back to my place where we had to diagnose a myriad of various problems. The battery died among other things. The transmission pan gasket decided to let go parked in front of my house. Then the damned thing spun a rod bearing after that. Among other things the engine is being rebuilt, the exhaust system needs to be replaced completely, the transmission needs work, it needs tires and lord knows what else. My buddy is over 2k in the whole and spent $1300 for the car in the first place. He's drive the thing for less than a day and owned it for 4 months or so.

If you want one of these cars as a daily driver you need to spend money on a better car and then be prepared to dump a ton of cash into it in order to make it reliable. You'll need to replace end links, ball joints, bushings, shocks, fuel filter, air filters, oil, gas, bulbs, switches and lord knows what else. It always seems like that whenever anyone buys one of these things.

KNBlazer

again ladies, we're talking about a 20+ year old car... Previous owners may or may not have kept the routine maintenance up to par, which is why some of us 3rd gen owners are paying out the wazoo on parts... some probably in labor as well...

My bird has a recently rebuilt engine, rebuilt 700+ Hp Tranny...

lifetime warranty

1. radiator
2. ecm
3. alternator
4. water pump
5. air pump
6. power steering pump
7. starter
8. shocks/struts (monroe)

.... need to swap a couple of taillight sockets though... so really it isn't that bad...

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

When I got my Formula most of the suspension bushings were shot. I've also got work to do in the steering column, I need to replace the shocks, fix a couple electrical issues, etc. I need new brakes. If this was my daily driver I'd hate life right about now.

RED_DRAGON_85

hi,
just popping in to say i have an 85 IROC as a DD, and its not terrible.
you just cant work on it like you would like to because you need it to get around.
i might have gotten lucky, but IMO, its no worse than any old car.
my first car was an 84 Caprice Classic
then i started driving my dads old 83 S-10
when i left for college, i brought the caprice with me
finally i got the 85 Camaro and it was my DD
for about 3 years i had both the caprice and the camaro, but i had to sell the caprice due to not being able to maintain two old cars lol.

KNBlazer

These cars at this point in time are meant for people that know how to turn a wrench or two from time to time... not for someone that is barely gettin' into the 3rd gen world... .02

travis401

iTrader: (1)

I had my 91 Camaro as a daily driver for about 8 months....then winter in WA rolled in. I drove it 1 week then went and bought a 4X4 for the snow. The 90+ fuel injected 305s and v6s seem to be more reliable than the older cars, but not by a lot. If you got time money and dedication, you can make one reliable. But it will pretty much require rebuilding the entire car.

L69norm

The problem occurs after you park for about 30 mins and then try to drive away. It bucks like crazy for a few minutes then clears after about 15 mins of driving. It's from heat buildup under the hood.

For earlier cars with hood scoops, a DIY cheapie fix was to remove the fresh air intake assembly and let the hot air vent out through the hood scoop. Also, certain brands of gas were a lot worse than others.

The 86 doesn't have a hood scoop. I don't know if anyone had luck opening up the (fake) hood vents. If you can find the right brand of gas, you might not even experience the problem

F41eatsFords

If you're willing to learn anything and everything about working on cars, these aren't bad DDs. Mine only had 35k when I bought it, but I had to replace tierods, hoses, fuel lines, brake lines, exhaust, etc, etc. All fairly minor things as they went out. Took me 3 years tough, before I trusted it on our Family's annual trip to PA (8 hrs). It's also good up to 6 inches of snow easily (more ground clearance than a 4th gen). However, First chance you get, BUY A BEATER CAR!! These things love to rust, especially in States that use use salt by the quarry-load, lol! I live in the Detroit metro area, I know.

KNBlazer

I hear Detroit is a good place to golf this time of year, ....

F41eatsFords

Haha, yeah; spring should be here around the time I head out of town this June

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

I delivered pizzas in my RS... it had 178k miles on it when I bought it. I delivered pizzas in it for 2 years with the TBI 305 and never had any serious problems out of it.

But now it's been completely redone and it's retired to garage queen status. It makes me sad but Ive got too much invested in it to commute it.