Looking to at This 1998 Camaro..Have Questions
11-23-2006, 03:00 PM
#1
12 Second Club
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: kentucky
Posts: 689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looking to at This 1998 Camaro..Have Questions well im in the market for another fbody and i came across this one ..the car has a clean title and has 120,210 miles on the car but supposedly has a new crate ls1 motor in it tha has 5k on it .Well i contacted the car lot and he told me the previous owner has a shop that does custom work to cars and it was his car and he put a Corvette ls1 motor in it to freshen it up and because it has about 40 more hp than a stock ls1 fbody... 
well to my knowledge the ls1 in the vett is the same as in the camaro or trans am aint they..just being they rated the vett higher and it being quicker due to being lighter? The car is in great shape inside and out according to him ..but i cant se someon buying a crate motor for 3-5k then sell the car for 6,700 seems odd to me so if you know anything i might be missing fill me in even if it is a stock ls1 motor seems like a great deal to me thaugh he even said he wold come down to prolly 65 or 6600 on the car if i was interested
well to my knowledge the ls1 in the vett is the same as in the camaro or trans am aint they..just being they rated the vett higher and it being quicker due to being lighter? The car is in great shape inside and out according to him ..but i cant se someon buying a crate motor for 3-5k then sell the car for 6,700 seems odd to me so if you know anything i might be missing fill me in even if it is a stock ls1 motor seems like a great deal to me thaugh he even said he wold come down to prolly 65 or 6600 on the car if i was interested 
11-23-2006, 03:08 PM
#2
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (16)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Woodlands, TX
Posts: 516
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yea your right tha doesnt makes sense to buy a brand new engine and put it in the car which is valued at 7k.... but then again, maybe the old one blew and he replaced it and fell short of cash for other dept..
anyways, check the vin on the block and check it on the DPS....if it checks out to be a old motor then i wouldnt buy it... but if its a acutal new crate then id think about buyign it..
another thing to consider is that the transmission hasnt been replaced, and depending how hard he drove it i would think about saving some $$ a few months later for a new Tranny.
same as rear end...
if i were you, id take the car to a shop have them run as many test they can on it, hook up a tuner to it see waht codes are thrown...etc....
buying a car is a serious thing, so beware!
happy turkey day, and good luck with your purchase of a LS1
anyways, check the vin on the block and check it on the DPS....if it checks out to be a old motor then i wouldnt buy it... but if its a acutal new crate then id think about buyign it..
another thing to consider is that the transmission hasnt been replaced, and depending how hard he drove it i would think about saving some $$ a few months later for a new Tranny.
same as rear end...
if i were you, id take the car to a shop have them run as many test they can on it, hook up a tuner to it see waht codes are thrown...etc....
buying a car is a serious thing, so beware!
happy turkey day, and good luck with your purchase of a LS1
11-23-2006, 03:12 PM
#3
12 Second Club
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: kentucky
Posts: 689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
well were would i go to check the vin number on the block to make sure it is a new crate motor .is their a website i could enter the vin in to see ..ya i am aware of the miles on trans ,and rear end but my plans were to have the trans built and stalled with either 9 inch or a 12 bolt with some other mods nothing to crazy .But im goin to try to go look at next day i can get off work .Bad thing about working were i do is we are open all year and only one day off for christmas..but i figure if i can talk him down to about 6200 and sell my trans am for 7500 then i can have a good start on modding this next one .
11-23-2006, 03:38 PM
#4
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (16)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Woodlands, TX
Posts: 516
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
im not 100% but im sure you can call carfax or some other company and get a vin check on it...
every motor i think comes with a vin, or some proff of transfer, so there should be a record....
also run the vin off the cars windshield and see if it has records of a motor swap or anything resulting a motor swap...
every motor i think comes with a vin, or some proff of transfer, so there should be a record....
also run the vin off the cars windshield and see if it has records of a motor swap or anything resulting a motor swap...
11-27-2006, 06:28 PM
#5
I don't think the LSx blocks have vin #'s. Pretty sure you can put any other LSx in there and be "parts matching"
if it was an LS6 crate then yeah it makes more HP, but the LS6 heads will have "243" stamped into them. CHeck the front right drivers side. If they are 853 or 241 it's a regular LS1, the 241 being the better and more current of the 2. 853's are on the 98 originally. If it's a regular LS1, then it's the same being a vette or a z28/TA engine. If it runs strong, has no leaks, doesn't smoke, is clean in and out, and carfax says no major body damage.. sounds like a pretty good deal. These motors run well over 100k miles if taken care of.
edit: also, the 98's have perimeter bolt valve covers, the 99+ have them in the middle.
if it was an LS6 crate then yeah it makes more HP, but the LS6 heads will have "243" stamped into them. CHeck the front right drivers side. If they are 853 or 241 it's a regular LS1, the 241 being the better and more current of the 2. 853's are on the 98 originally. If it's a regular LS1, then it's the same being a vette or a z28/TA engine. If it runs strong, has no leaks, doesn't smoke, is clean in and out, and carfax says no major body damage.. sounds like a pretty good deal. These motors run well over 100k miles if taken care of.
edit: also, the 98's have perimeter bolt valve covers, the 99+ have them in the middle.
Last edited by Asmodeus; 11-27-2006 at 06:33 PM.
11-27-2006, 08:21 PM
#6
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2004
Location: East Bay, Ca
Posts: 679
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Get a Pre-Purchase Inspection.
Take the car to a local trusted Chevy dealer, or an LSX speciality shop(if possible) and have them look the thing over inside and out. Should cost $100-$200 depending on where you live. It is well worth it, if the car checks out, or even if it doesn't(minor issues, etc) you can either walk away or use the PPI resluts in negotiations.
Take the car to a local trusted Chevy dealer, or an LSX speciality shop(if possible) and have them look the thing over inside and out. Should cost $100-$200 depending on where you live. It is well worth it, if the car checks out, or even if it doesn't(minor issues, etc) you can either walk away or use the PPI resluts in negotiations.
11-27-2006, 08:25 PM
#7
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2004
Location: East Bay, Ca
Posts: 679
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
BTW, this car looks to have headlight covers, tint, and 20in rims on it...
I would check things like panel gaps, how well the doors open and close, etc as well. This helps indicate how the car was driven. Large gaps(or tight), basically uneven, non uniform gaps and poor fitting doors=accident or beat on.
A new motor would help in reagards to being beat on, but it won't help the axles, rear end, transmission, suspension, etc.
Bottom line: drive the car and see how it looks/feels, if you like that then get a PPI, any dealer worth its salt will allow one, and if they won't walk away.
I would check things like panel gaps, how well the doors open and close, etc as well. This helps indicate how the car was driven. Large gaps(or tight), basically uneven, non uniform gaps and poor fitting doors=accident or beat on.
A new motor would help in reagards to being beat on, but it won't help the axles, rear end, transmission, suspension, etc.
Bottom line: drive the car and see how it looks/feels, if you like that then get a PPI, any dealer worth its salt will allow one, and if they won't walk away.
