I was IMO lucky to find a single owner 2000 T-Top Silver WS6 Automatic 68K miles last month, and today she arrive. This is my 4th, 4th Gen F-body, but fist T-Top, the other 3 are Verts. This is also the oldest of the 4.
With in 2 Minutes of Driving her, I could tell, that my '01 is showing some age. The Steering and suspension felt so much tighter, and it is all original. This '00 is running 315/35ZR17, where my 01' is running 275/40/R17. Never run tires with wide before, would it make that much difference?

Other then the Standard issues of, When will the Taillights, Dashboard and Door Panels will go bad, is there anything Else I should know about this car?
Genssi LED Headlights will be installed tomorrow. I find these Shar Superior to the LMC Truck Conversion kit. I was never able to get the HID Halo to fit properly, in the '01, maybe I will try again, now that I do not have to drive her daily.





Sadly, after the last 2 hurricane, my Beloved Daily Driver 188k miles, a 2001 WS6 Vert M6 took a lot of water damage. She was in a shop having having work done due to the Power Steering Cooler leaking. The Shop got hit hard, and loads of water got in her. She is going to get fixed, just going to take some time. I had already decided to spent time on my 68RS over the next couple years.

 

are those knock off vette wheels ...9.5 wide ?

 

I was told the car of all original. Now that I am looking more closely, you may be right. I will look into that. However they look a lot like a set on eBay (Hawks Motorsports page) stating original.

 

Definitely not original wheels and those rears are 11 wide, nice car either way though.

 

No, the rear tire width has nothing to do with it. The answer is most likely here:

The additional 120k miles is why the '01 feels less tight. Also, there may have been suspension upgrades to the new-to-you 2000 car that you aren't aware of.

Definitely not all original. As mentioned above, those wheels are absolutely not stock, they are reproduction C4 ZR1 wheels. These were never offered from the factory on any Pontiac model, and they were never offered in that size on any Camaro model either. The WS6 center caps are interchangeable because the center hole is the same size as an earlier original WS6 wheel, but don't let that fool you. Those wheels are most definitely not stock to that car.

 

Thank you for your input. I am not arguing, I am asking. I purchased my '01 with 88k miles on it. It must have been driven hard as, it never felt this tight. A few years ago, I did install UMI Pan Handle, Subframe Connectors, Sway Bars (front and back) Koni Shocks, but stay with ACDelco Springs, as I need the ride height.

As for upgrades on the new car, I will look deeper. Here are a couple shots from underneath, Delivery driver did not want me underneath his trailer, so I was limited on angles. I do not see anything that stands out.

 

Nice find! That's cool that you have had so many 'verts in the past. Sorry about the hurricane damage.
RPM WS6 is correct with his assessment of the ride/handling difference. I always wonder if I should get a full suspension treatment with new shocks and all the replaceable parts. I've had a few maintenance type things done over the car's 85k miles but I wonder if it is worth it the way I drive now. Very little spirited high speed driving and mostly just 'topless' cruising here in the mountains. I do have much newer and lower mileage rides than the T/A, and the handling difference is there, but certainly not extreme by any means.

 

Love Driving with the top down. Here is Florida, my top is down 9 months out of the year, 5:30am drive to work, top is down. I just do not put it down often in the summer months of June, July and August.
While I was in the Corps, properly body alignment was drilled into me for distance shooting. These last of it kind Firebird/Trans Am, is just like that. The car truly feels as it was designed around my body type. I doubt I ever own another car.

 

I would approach this as a full restoration project and assume that nothing has been maintained properly. I would flush all fluids (fully), drain the coolant, (fully, by removing the pugs in the block) get rid of the P/S cooler, etc.

You still have the deCarbon shocks on the car. It must bounce around like a hooptie. (I would anything but grandma-style driving until those are replaced and the suspension has been fully gone through.) Whoever had that car didn't know how to properly maintain it.

^ There are good and bad parts of this. You'll have some maintenance to do but there is no way they PO could have driven it aggressively! (Those shocks would have put them into a telephone pole.)

 

Looking at the undercarriage pics, I can see that the rear portion of the exhaust is also not original. There is a piece of pipe welded between the muffler and the driver's side tail pipe that is not original. This is often done when the factory tail pipes are retained but a smaller-than-stock muffler is welded into place (such as a Flowmaster). Regardless, that area of the exhaust was modified at some point for some reason.

Beyond that, the rest does look stock to me.

I still have the stock deCarbons on my '98 as well. They only have 19k miles on them, but are obviously 26+ years old now. Believe it or not, they are still doing quite well. I do some spirited driving on occasion with this car, and they handle much better than most folks would probably assume (definitely not bouncy). Of course, they are nothing like a good set of high performance aftermarket shocks, but they haven't really deteriorated much in the last couple decades that I've owned the car.



I know what you mean about fitment. 4th gen F-bodies (and 3rd gens aren't too far behind) fit me like a glove, literally as though they were designed for my body type. Best fitment of any vehicle platform I've ever owned.

 

Agree, nothing in the rear suspension looks modified to me, down to the zip-ties on the brake cables.

Same here (ex 24K mi here), have higher priorities elsewhere.

 

You and your car are not a valid litmus test for the North American cohort! Although your car is meticulously cared for and garaged from any harmful element, I still fear for your safety on this one. Even with outliers like your shocks, I would not trust 25 year old shocks coming from an unknown P.O.

BTW - I just came across the perfect website for the deCarbon faithful! You can put a sticker on your glass: https://www.isaydingdong.co.uk/oursh...De-Carbon.html

 

Nice addition, and congrats on the purchase.

 

As Always I appreciate you input. I do think you missed some of my comments, comparing the 2 vehicles though. This 2000 drives stiffer then my older '02. The 2001 has had the Full Suspension was rebuilt. All that is left is replacing the Rack and Pinion and PS Pump. Now that I have the second car, I have time to get to it. I want to rip out the carpet of the '01 and ensure the hurricane did not destroy the floor boards.

That said, for the 2000 I have an Appointment to have the Transmission, serviced late on the 27th. Ordered the Upper Radiator hose today. Already have the Hoses and Cooler for the PS in the garage to install.

Complete Side note... Odd as it may be or just I am use to it from driver a Vert for over 15 years, the Vert seems to have better Read Window Visibility (top up) then the T-Top. Of my 4 2000-2002 Firebird/Trans Am's I have owned, the 2000 is my only non vert.

 

I definitely appreciate the concern, but I've owned enough dinosaur land yachts like my '74 Oldsmobile that I'm pretty good at handling body roll and other such slop from cars much heavier and bigger (and much older). Even with ancient deCarbons, this Camaro handles like a NASCAR compared to my Cutlass. I won't even tell you how old the tires are on my Camaro...then you'd really worry!

This is likely another reason why your new-to-you 2000 T-top car feels so much stiffer...because you are used to convertibles.

 

That's interesting you feel that way as I think the visibility is awful. Looking out the sides is horrible as well and I'm wondering how much longer my 70 year old neck can stretch and look so hard. The mirrors aren't enough in some instances.
My Mustang 'verts (I've had 3 over the decades) have been better and even my German cars were better when I owned them, despite the rear plastic windows.
Of course 'topless' driving' remedies all of that.
Photos taken on the Tail of the Dragon.


2001 T/A


2007 GT/CS


2014 GT


1995 911


2002 Z3

 

I'm also thinking the springs on the driven car are worn/soft and expect they would have a greater feel for the street dirvability.

 

Wish I had replied earlier, been overloaded with the new Soccer Season.

Thank you for observation of the Fat Rims. Wheels are not something that I ever messed with, just always used stock. Would either other you be able to direct me to a good thread or site to get more knowledgeable on them. Rather not go to a Tire Shop and get scammed, on something I do not need.

Presently the Rear Tires are Nitto 315/35/ZR17 with 5mm of tread left. The fronts are BF Goodwrench 275/40/ZR17, 6mm tread.

Having now put 1000 miles on the car, I am not sure I like the grip of the rear wheels. That or something else has been done to the Car. With Traction Controll Enabled, if I gun it, the Rears slide a lot, also taking corners hard, compared to my '01. This new car is Auto, where the '01 is Stick.

So the question is do I have 9.5" or 11" rims on the rear? What would my tires Options, be? Florida Heat, want to get some good touring tires.

 

I had a similar issue on my 99 when I first got it. I couldn't really punch from a roll on dry pavement without the back end trying to kick around on me, and from a stop it would start wheel hopping something awful, felt like it was going to throw the axle out from the car. The tires were worn out (more than yours, mine were at the wear bars), the LCA bushings were falling apart, and the shocks were about dead. I put new springs, shocks, LCAs with relocation brackets, and panhard (to recenter it), and got new wheels/tires, that solved it.

Lately the back end is getting a little happy again, but I think the tires are just getting old and hard.

 

Definitely going to put some new Shoes are her, to start. Just need to make sure I get the right ones. Do I really need 315.... What are the benefits and draw backs in Florida. In Colorado, I found fat tires, to provide worse traction in the snow. That whole physics thing of pounds per sq inch.