uchi

hey guys, im gonna be inthe market for a 95+ trans am very shortly and im wondering what kind of things to look for when buying one. mechanical, body,etc. ive got no experience with these cars so i dont even know where to start. thanks

myk

iTrader: (4)

Any chance you could get at least a '98 or newer?

uchi

well id prefer an ls1 but its gonna come down to what i can find and what i can put aside money wise. i love the way the ls1 body style looks over the lt1.

so 98+, what shoul di be looking and listening for when i go to check one out?

davidv

checking out an f-body in my opinion is the same as checking out any other car. you should look/listen any wierd noises when turning on the car, test drive see how the car feels. on the body.........well look for any dents or check if its clean title. thats what i look for whenever purchasing a ride

Bluebird5.0

iTrader: (7)

If you go with a 93-97 with the LT1 make sure you look out for water pump leakage. I had a 94 Z and didn't know about the whole opti-crap thing until afterwards and my water pump was leaking so it was an immediate $500 extra bucks to spend replacing that. Also, the rear main seal was leaking terribly. I assume the person before me beat on it a lot. It ran great and looked good but seemed like it was going to take too much work. I didn't even keep the car a whole year. I upgrade to the 99 TA and haven't had any problems since. I bought it with just under 100k miles on it and have put on about 25k miles. The LS1 has been great.

Happy hunting.

7901 WS6

iTrader: (6)

The question is also. Do you do your own work on you car(s) to save on labor costs. Lt1s can be expensive when work needs to be done to them. Unless money is not a factor for you.

tuske427

iTrader: (1)

Having owned a '95 T/A I don't think they are nearly as bad as it's sounding from these posts. Of the LT1 cars I'd take a '95 over any other year (93-97) because it's still OBD1 and the '95 received the vented optispark. (the early ones were potentially problematic as they were not vented and if moisture collected there was nowhere for it to go, and would cause problems) LT1's can be built up just like any other engine and can run very strong.

One other thing about the earlier 4th gen Pontiac F-bodies is that they would originally either come with all season radials or z rated tires. This option either gave you a speed limiter and a lower numbered speedometer (115 mph odometer- 108 top speed) or (155 mph odometer- no such speed limiter). In 1994 Pontiac marketing came up with the "Trans AM GT"- an option above the base trans am. The base T/A came withthe lower odometer, plus a base firebird spoiler. Fortunately, they only did this the one year. Not a huge deal, but if I had a choice, I'd want the higher rated speedometer.. any aftermarket programmer can rectify the speed limiter for the base T/A ('94 and '95.) I'm not sure about the '93's. they may have had a removable chip?? If anyone knows please confirm.

However, if you're not saavy with a wrench then definitely get the best/ newest car you can up front. If you can afford an LS1 car then I would agree to get it (as opposed to spending less/ getting less). Chances are it'll have less miles, need less repairs. You'll start with a higher baseline level of power, as well as have more choices in the aftermarket for speed parts, and they'll only get cheaper as time goes on/ people make more parts available. Not to mention the LS1 cars have better brakes and the aluminum driveshaft. However, all of this is easy bolt on upgrades for the LT1 cars. Same for the WS-6 springs and front swaybar.

Unfortunately, the LT1's were around for a relatively short time and have become overlooked by the LS1 so the support for them just isn't as great as it is for the LS1 engines. This is a downside to the LT1 engine. This is not to say there isn't support or no following for them. It's just less than the LS1. A good thing if you're not a "me too" type of person.

As with any car, like mentioned above- check it over thoroughly. As a "sports" car they tend to be driven harder than, say, a cavalier. Look for evidence of repair. misaligned panels, paint over spray, waves in the body, etc. Check the paperwork. If the interior is beat chances are the car is beat. If it's well taken care of, it'll show. when you drive it feel for vibrations, when you hit the brakes listen for chatter, vibrations or pulling. If you're not confident in doing this yourself then take it to a mechanic and have them check it over. some may charge you a nominal fee, but money well spent rather than buying someone elses problems and paying for bigger repairs later on. If the seller won't agree to this (letting you take the car to a mechanic) then move on.

I hope this helps.

uchi

lots of great info guys thanks alot. im quite comfortable with a wrench in my hand. managed to put together a 97 cavaliuer that handled really well, was turbocharged and had a fully built motor ontop of a shorter geared tranny and all the other goodies, msd, alky injection, and before all that she was a nitrous ****.

are there any typical spots that i should check for rust? im gonna keep my eyes open for the perfect ls1 but id prefer to not have to deal with a car thats been abused through winters through its life.

thanks again.

another quick question, stock 1/4 mile times of both an m6 ls1 and mt1 powered car. im talking bone stock with a good driver behind the wheel. im not that much on drag racing as i prefer to turn but having a car that can get ahead of the guy beside me is always a bonus