tcg23

Since there will be no general car related channels on this forum, I may be posting this in the wrong spot.

I am looking at buying a 1986 Chevy Camaro Z28. The car has 145k miles on it, but the engine, suspension, and brakes have less than 15k on them.
The owner bored the engine out .030, new internal engine parts from mogul. New shocks/struts, bushings, front rotors, hotshot headers with borla exhaust. There are other modifications that were made but I didn't write them all down.
The body is in excellent condition, no rust, it was painted about 2 years ago. It has a 5-speed manual transmission. The engine is a 305 ci V8 LG4. I've verified the VIN, the engine, and car type match up. It's not a bogus Z28.
I drove the car yesterday, it's excellerated quickly, tranny feels good. None of the gears grind.
The engine compartment is in very good condition.
The owner said it was rebuilt 2 years ago from the frame up.

The interior has not been restored, which shows. The plastic is dry rotting, the carpet could be replaced, etc. I can redo the interior, which I probably would anyway.
The car's A/C blows cold, but the A/C does not push you back in your seat. No power windows or locks.

What do you all think?
-TheComputerGuy23

P.S. Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place.

Mikes86SC

Depends on asking price, and does he have receipts for all the work done?

tcg23

The previous owner, I believe, is the one who did all the work.
I can feel the stiffer suspension, so I don't doubt the work done on the suspension.
The engine looks rebuilt, I will ask him if he has proof of the work.
He told me he has owned the car for a year and most of the work was done 2 years ago.
He is selling it for $4500 dollars and I can prolly get it for $4k.
He is selling it because he already has 5 cars and this would make six. He said if her were a little younger, he would keep it.

When braking it does pull a little to the right, like the right caliper is tighter than the left. Once I tap the brakes the pull gos away. The pull is not strong enough to pull me off the road and it is barely noticable.

Like I said, the car is in great condition. I am going to call him tomorrow and ask him to hold the car, saturday I am going to take it to my dad's place and jack it up, to take a look at the underside.

Thanks...
-TheComputerGuy23

tcg23

I think I am going to buy this car.
Does anyone here have a 86 Z28, if so please let me know what you think. I am going to look at this car once again on saturday and I will probably buy it then.

Any and all input is appreciated and needed.
-TheComputerGuy23

89RsPower!

price is a little steep...

tcg23

even for all the work and parts put into it?
I figured I couldn't buy all the parts put into it for less than the car itself, plus I would have to put alot of man hours into it.

New suspenion, new engine parts, new brakes, new exhaust, headers, throttle body and air intake.

I am gonna call him and ask him to hold it, I think I am going to buy the car, I think the parts and labor put into the car warrant the 4k price tag.
It's alot cheaper than the 20k Nissan SE R SpecV I was looking at, plus I can just write a check for this car.

-TheComputerGuy23

flyway190

I'm going to have to agree with 89RSPower!. Kelley Blue Book values that car at $1,620 in stock form and excellent condition. Just for kicks I punched in 15k miles and it cranked out $2070. It may have some upgraded parts, but I don't see $2500-$3000 worth of modifications in your description. I also don't think that the engine being rebuilt is necessarily a good thing. My '85 305 was just starting to show signs of dying at 200k miles, I wonder what that car's been through to have messed up the engine at less than 145k? Be sure to get a complete list of the modifications he made, this is crucial to knowing how to repair and upgrade it. In my opinion, a car is more valuable if it has been left stock and doesn't have any modifications.

To put this in perspective, I bought my car for $1400 in '99. Everything on it was stock, it had about 120K miles on it, good paint, nice interior, no mechanical problems, fully optioned (power locks and windows, power seat, cruise, etc.), no electrical problems, and ran great. It only needed $400 worth of exhaust work to pass inspection.

I suggest you keep your options open and see if you can find a better deal.

MikeZ28

iTrader: (1)

If its an 86Z it should have power windows and locks. Unless it was an early built. I have an 86 and love it. Its a good car plus you can easliy drop a 350 in.

I would go for it.

gmgod

$4500 is too much, if the suspension and engine re-build is legit I'd pay $2500 MAX. Just for a comparison I bought my 87 for $2000 with no rust, rebuilt engine, no past frame damage,decent paint and decent leather interior. It is also a legit L98 car. The 92 I bought for $1000, it has a flawless interior, no rust, no past frame work and it is a legit factory authorized vert LB9 car. It did have a dented drivers door though.

tcg23

Well I do know that the only reason to bore a block out 0.30 is to clean it up. That means the engine was in rough shape but it was rebuit along with everything in the engine compartment.
I am not shopping for a Camaro, I am looking for something better than my 90 Civic w/ no AC that just hit 200k miles.

I just called the owner and asked him to show me proof of the work done on the car. Also, I have setup a time with him so that I can jack the car up and take a look at it.

There are no electric doors or windows, I verified the VIN and this car is a valid 86Z. The A/C blows cold though, the sound system will need to be replaced along with the interior.

I might be able to drop the price to 3k on the merits of all the work needed on the interior.
Even with the engine rebuild, new throttle body, new intake and exhaust, it's not worth 3-4k?

There's a street corner near where I live where everyone puts their used cars to sell. I was looking at a S10 for $3800 bucks, but I saw this camaro. I fell in love with it.
I'll see what I think once I find out wether the work was actually done on it and once I look at the underside.

Thanks for your input..
-TheComputerGuy23

flyway190

What has been done to the intake and the carb? Also make sure that the carb is computer controlled and the distributor is not vacuum advance. Does it pass emissions tests?

Also, does Hotshot even make headers for Camaros? I suggest you double-check that.

fakeyankee

I would try to talk the guy down alittle more. Show him the blue-book value and compare that against his repair/replace $ figures. If the guy is not a dick-head, i'm sure he will work with ya and be fair. If not, it's just as easy to walk away. Either way dude....it's your money and for the sake of saying, There will always be another car that you'll "Fall in Love With" !!! Just my 2 cents worth. Good Luck !!

Mikes86SC

Kelly Blue Book value of my 86 IROC is $2360. TPI, t-tops, p/w, 4 wheel disc, 3.23 posi, 83k miles.

tcg23

The owner said that it did pass virginia inspection. He said it has a holley throttle body with a aftermarket intake.

Hotshot does not make headers for a camaro, there are some aftermarket headers on it, plus borla exhaust.
I am going to talk to him more about what specifics are on the car.

Thanks for all your input, more needed.
-TheComputerGuy23

flyway190

Be aware that the computer that came in the car must have both the original computer-controlled quadrajet and the original computer-controlled distributor hooked up correctly in order to function properly. If the carb was replaced with a Holley, the computer will not function properly. Check for black electrical tape over the check engine light. For proper operation, the car must either use the computer with the original carb and distributor, or have the computer removed and using a non-computer controlled carb and a vacuum advance distributor. For more info, do some research on the Carburetor board about mixing carbs and distributors, replacing the original carb, and removing the computer controls.

tcg23

This car came with TBI, I thought that didn't require a computer?
I am thinking I may have confused hotshot with hooker headers. I know the car has borla exhaust and I can 'feel' the new suspension parts.
I think if I mention the KBB price, I might be able to drop the price to the 3k range.

-TheComputerGuy23

flyway190

TBI is fuel injection, and definitely requires a computer. LG4 cars came with a computer-controlled Rochester quadrajet carburetor (except Canadian versions). In '88 LG4's were replaced by LO3's, which were TBI 305's. They did not make thirdgens with TBI 305's in '86, though the throttle body does look similar to the ccc q-jet and uses the same air cleaner. The obvious difference is that the throttle bodies for TBI have two large cylindrical injectors right in the middle.

tcg23

I looked at the VIN and all it states is that the engine is a LG4. I wish it gave me more information. I am at work right now, I am going to call him and ask him all these questions about the work done on the car.
Thanks..
-TheComputerGuy23

fakeyankee

The VIN # doesn't mean he has that motor Dude !!! When I bought my 87 T/A my VIN also stated I had an LG4.........After some deeper research into the motor and a bunch of help from the thirdgen guys, I discovered I had an older LM1 350 for a motor !! Just another thing you might want to think about. What you read and see is not always what you get !!!

89RsPower!

fakeyankee good point.. sounds like you lucked out.. but i mean worst case senario is that it is in fact a 305.. passing a v6 off as a 305 would be one hell of a feat hehe

tcg23

Well, I called the guy again and I was told that it was sold.
Atleast I don't have to worry about it.
I am not shopping for a camaro, I am looking for something to replace my 90 Civic w/ 200k miles and no ac.
This camaro would have been nice, but now i am back to the drawing board.
Thanks for all your input!
-TheComputerGuy23