kyle91z28

iTrader: (1)

Right now I currently own a 1991 z28 350 L98 bored .060 over, K&N air filter, ORY, Catback, ported plenum, BBK throttle body, decent stall converter, and a really sharp chameleon paint job and the engine has about 62,xxx miles on it. I originally thought that the 3rd generation was my favorite, but now I am really starting to love the 4th gen f-bodys. I really like the 93-97 camaro style, I like the 98-02 also, but my favorite style i'd have to say is the 98-02 trans am. The LS1 seems to have so much more potential than the l98 or lt1.

What I really want is a decently fast street car that can beat the majority of cars from a roll or stop light to stop light if need be. I also want to be able to take it to the drag strip and run some decent times, and I want to be able to drive it everyday. The camaro I own now I run 9.00's consistanly in the 1/8 mile, with a best of 8.96. Pretty quick, but this TPI doesn't feel as strong up top as some of the LT1's and LS1's I have driven. I also would love to have a 6-speed, yes possible with my L98 with a conversion t-56, but I don't feel like going through that trouble of converting over to it.

Now, if I were to sell my 91 z28, I could probably get about $6000ish out of it. And with the job I will be getting when I turn 18(which is in 9 days) I could probably save up some money to get a pretty good 4th gen. Now, I have heard of some 98 z28 camaros with about 60,000 miles going for the $9000 range..is this correct? I am looking for a car with less than 70,000 miles on it. The majority of LT1 camaros that have less than 70,000 miles in my area seem to be going for about $7000-$8000. Now would it be a better idea if I were to just use the 6000$ I get out for a nice chunk of a down payment on a decently priced LS1($8500-$10500)? To leave me left over with about $2500-$4500 to pay off, which probably wouldn't be too much in monthly payments. All of this would be going through my mom's name, she is a 51 year old woman with a clear driving record, the full coverage on my current z28 is only 32$ a month, so i'm not really worried about high insurance. Except the bad thing is, my license is going to be suspended for 3 months for speeding(when i was going with the flow of traffic) and illegal squeeling of tires(accident, but i live in a small hick town). But I will still be working in these 3 months that my license is suspended, which would give me some time to set back some money. I am only going to be bringing in about 850$-1000$ a month, and will be splitting an apartment down the middle with a friend in the near future, so atleast 400$ of my money a month will have to go to the apartment and food. Leaving me left over with about $500ish. I need some info on what payments would be on $2500-$4500, and how well does an LS1 camaro run with 50,000-65,000 miles? Yes of course i'm going to end up modding this camaro once I get some money set aside.

I need some input because this is a pretty important decision.

kyle91z28

iTrader: (1)

Any experience or things I should know about, or just any input would be very much appreciated, thank you.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Kyle, save your bucks and keep the '91 for a bit . The later F-bodies are pretty high insurance-wise.At 18 with a temporarily suspended liscense, you would have a hefty payment.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

I pretty much agree with badjuju. I made some mistakes getting a more expensive car with higer insurance right out of school. Although I learned a lot, I've got a little too much debt for the moment.

As far as L98 vs LT1 vs LS1 - well, if you think 9.00's are quick in the 1/8th, my SS went a best of 8.62 @ 85.1 with just a lid, catback, and gears. That's not even that great for the mods I had. Think about it - what other car could you get for under 10 grand that could go 11's with just a cam swap and bolt ons?

2K2WS6TA

iTrader: (2)

This is just to give you another option (if you haven't thought of it already) Swap an LS1 into your 3rd gen, you get the power of an LS1, and the $32/month insurance of a 3rd gen, do the swap while your DL is suspended for 3 months (it's work but it can be done in that time frame)
Frankly with a suspended liscense you are going to raped on the insurance (even if you have it in you moms name), add in the rent/food and whatever else, there isn't going to be alot left for car payment, gas, mods, plus going out with your friends. IMO you'd be better off keeping the 3rd gen for now and saving some more
BTW don't discount the L98, you can make them pretty quick (12.12 1/4 mile time sound quick to you? ) Surf on over to
www.thirdgen.org and have a look around (that's the LS1tech of the 3rdgen world)
Good luck

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

They don't have the trap of a LS1 though. While 12.1 is surely quick, it's probably trapping only around 110. It would get raped on the highway.

2K2WS6TA

iTrader: (2)

True TPI is all in by 4500, but given that he wants to take on cars from stoplight to stoplight, and have a descent 1/4 mile time, a TPI car is one of the better ones for stoplight to stoplight, and a 12.1 is a fairly good 1/4 time (I'd be happy with it myself ) plus if he gets the itch for some high speed, slap a stealth ram on that 350, and it'll run up top

bad0211secws6

iTrader: (6)

just get some afr heads and a tpis mini ram with a matched cam and youll be happy.
you can even throw a 125 shot at her after the mods !!

Racehead

JMO, but never refer to your own mom as a "woman" lol !

Sounds to me like you should wait until you're in your apartment and your job for awhile to see how much excess $$ you actually have. Only then will you know were you stand on extra car payments and stuff. Just my experience on the matter.

zamboxl

iTrader: (1)

dude i have a totally clean drivin record and i have been driving since 16 now iam 22 when i got my car i was 20, with a perfect driving record my first 6 month i still payed $320 a month now after like 1 1/2 years of insurance with the same company my payments are down to $200 but thats as low as the yg ona go for now so ins will be expensive.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

This is what he wants...

Cheapest and easiest - LS1.

I too owned a L98 (89 IROC), but after owning 2 LS1 cars, I'd stick with the LS1.

cyphur

iTrader: (10)

LS1 hands down. More potential and more out of the box. I wouldn't trade mine for anything except an Abrams tank.

kyle91z28

iTrader: (1)

I'm not worried about the insurance at all because I wouldn't actually OWN the car, my mom would. My friend has a 1995 LT1 and he has lost his license before just like i am going to and his insurance is only like 40$ a month, because he goes through his parents. I also want an every day driver car, this L98 isn't getting **** for gas mileage(less than 200 to a full tank). Not to mention the LS1 cars ride a lot better on these crappy Illinois roads, my car is like riding in a sled.

Also, I will be making about $9.50 an hour and the $850-$1000 was a little understatement, i'd probably most likely be bringing in $600$-700$ checks every 2 weeks, so more realistically about $1200 a month. Now if we get the apartment we've been looking at $500 a month paid utilities, that'd be 250$ a piece for us. So then if say I use another 200$ a month for food, another $250 for car ****, that'd leave me with about $500, so I think I SHOULD have enough money to handle it. That gives me $125 a week for gas, havin fun, etc.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

$125 won't be enough each week for gas and fun. Been there, done that. Counting on living paycheck to paycheck is not fun. Either get the car and live at home or forget about the car.

Redneck Z

iTrader: (3)

I must say Kyle, judging by your posts you are very detail oriented. Maybe you have what it takes to keep a close tab on your spending and afford an LS1. Take it from me though, when I was 18 I pinned myself down to the wire as far as finances go, and it wasn't fun. You won't like the feeling of barely scraping by, just to drive the car you want. If you can afford an LS1 though, I think the answer is obvious, duh?!? lol

BOBA_VETT

I've owned an L98, LT1 and 2 LS1s.

The LS1 has been the funnest out of the box.
The L98 was the easiest to work on, but was limited when trying to build an "all around" package (street, strip, freeway, stoplights).
The LT1 is a happy compromise between the two, if you're planning a swap.
If you're planning on just getting a new car, go for a LS1. You can pick up a 98-99 TA for pretty cheap or if you really look around, you can pick up a 00 WS6.

kyle91z28

iTrader: (1)

Yeah it would kind of suck just barely scraping by, but if I were in a hole, my mom would definately help me out. 125$ 10$ a day gas =70$ a week, plus about 55$ left from that for fun, its not like i'd do much anyways besides drive my car and play basketball. This is all assuming that my car is actually gonna cost me 250$ a month, which I don't think it will. I mean, how much can payments be on like a $3000? I had my mom see what the insurance would be with our current insurance dealer and it was 62$ a month for full coverage. I think i'd be able to manage for the time that i'm paying off the car, then once that is over i'd be home free(assuming its not a lemon).

If this were all to backfire on me and the car is a piece of **** or I can't handle it, I would either sell it or just get a second job, part time. I do have a beater(1991 lumina with a shitload of miles) that could probably hold me off if the car is a lemon. Either that or I could just take a bus lol. I won't be going to college until next fall, so I would have time for a second job if I needed it. I can't stand being home anyways, maybe i'd be better off this way.

I'd like to have an LT1, but there aren't any around here for less than $7500 with decent mileage, so I don't see why not springing for an extra 1500-2500$ and just get something I can keep for awhile and be completely satisfied.

kyle91z28

iTrader: (1)

Was just checking autotrader.com and saw some trans ams with like 65k for 8500-9000. This is a lot cheaper than I expected, I was assuming like $10,000 for a 98 with decent mileage. Looks as though I will be after a trans am after all.

Redneck Z

iTrader: (3)

I payed $8,000 for mine.

kyle91z28

iTrader: (1)

Yeah but how many miles did it have on it?