cuisinartvette

Looking at 2 cars
1 is a 3 owner 89 ta very very clean 100k, asking 4200
AC stopped blowing cold recently, says when its cold the car runs rough til warm (coolant temp sensor or?) Trying to get an idea of cost on repairs, and if what hes asking is inline or high. Paint is fresh, nice grey int

Other car is an 88 Z28 or so he says. There is no vented hood, not sure on front bumper and has TBI, says its a 350 but who knows. Asking around 3500. Say its a fake is this overpaying? Open to it as I know TBI are simple and usually trouble free but...
Car is white with 1 grey stripe at the bottom with 1 thin black stripe separting it all.
Im not an expert but looks like a regular sport coupe or could the car have come this way? Low miles seems priced ok. New AC
(there was an awesome 5 spd car avail but wanted closer to 5k)

Just looking for a clean sound driver without spending a ton thats all dont want to have to rebuild or restore anything just something to drive while I get my current DD sorted out, if its good then keep it as a backup, if it doesnt "fit" then Id resell. Leery of TPI cars the ones Ive dealt with are a pita until you really go through them

Thoughts, feedback other things to look for? Familiar with TPI cars but not the Camaros those yrs in general and their differences.

Know these have iron heads, do they have roller cams-

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

Got any pics or RPO codes on the 'Z28'? that would end all suspicion.

The first one sounds worth it, might be able to get it for a few hundred cheaper.

cuisinartvette

Will see if I can get some pics of the 88 "Z".

Was there just one opening on the front grill or a small secondary one below it?
Gotta run to an appt will put up some pics when I get back

They both look clean, the TA paint is new...not a fan or red and has higher miles but is very clean

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

Id probably go for the trans am. maybe it hasn't been messed with as much as the supposed Z28.

scottmoyer

The 88 with a flat hood sounds like a sport coupe with the L03 V8 engine. Look for Z28 on the SPID label. If there is Z28, then it's an IROC-Z. If not, then it's a Sports Coupe.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Sounds like it might need injectors. Doubly so if they're original to the car.

There are no 88 Z28s. It's either a Sport Coupe, or an IROCZ. If it's an Iroc it'd be a bit hard to miss the louvered hood and monochrome paint. If the groundfx are silver and the hood is flat, it's a fair bet it's a coupe. Some of the 88 coupes also have the short "wing" instead of the usual Z28 wedge spoiler. Nothing wrong with coupes, there's not much difference between an 88 coupe and a base 88 Iroc, but if it's not a Z28, it's not a Z28.

TPI isn't any more complicated than TBI. In general TPI is a better system.

cuisinartvette

Heres both of them. Wonder if he just picked it up to find out its not an IROC or is it? LOL.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ctd/5066008209.html

and the TA
concerned the compressor accumulator may need replacement?
Only got lucky once on "needing freon" theres usually a $ reason why

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...067869025.html


Thoughts on both?

Know theres some bennies to the TPI but if I were to pick one up as DD or pt DD it will stay stock Ive learned my lesson ( have no garage now so it HAS to be reliable and simple). Current DD is shot, havent worked in months just dont want to pick up a roach.

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

TPI vs TBI - I would go with TPI - TPI is more power and better gas mileage if its stock and hasn't been messed with

With the TPI, the factory injectors were a known problem and replacing them isn't too difficult, just time consuming

cuisinartvette

See the advantages of both but (no offense to anyone) a stock motor of either config is real slow to me. However if its just something to drive to work they all stay stock anyways so it would be "just a cruiser".

When I really look 90% of these cars out there are hammered and screwed over 5 ways from Sunday, the 5.0s too. Remember driving these cars brand new.

scottmoyer

The Camaro is a Sport Coupe. There seems to be a demand for the smaller rear spoiler today. I had one similar to this in 1993. I replaced the hood with an IROC-Z hood, painted the headlight buckets black and replaced the rear spoiler with the regular spoiler. I left all badging to show the car was still just a Sport Coupe, but the one I had was fully loaded and was a nice daily driver.

Both cars look clean, so I don't think either one is priced out of line. Even for the car not being an IROC-Z, it's a nice car.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Yep, that's definitely an 88 Sport Coupe. The dead giveaways are the silver ground effects, and the rear spoiler. The wheels, emblems, steering wheel, all confirm that it's just a Camaro.

The Trans Am is a much cooler car. The wing should be body color, and the hood bird wasn't used in 89, but it looks decent. First it's a Pontiac, second it's a Trans Am not a base model, third it's TPI. I'm a bit rusty, but I would imagine that if the wheels are original to the car it's a WS6 car vs maybe F41 on the Camaro. Either way, the Trans Am is something more than the Camaro.

There's really nothing more complicated about TPI. Figure the TBI uses most of the same sensors, two injectors instead of 8, no MAF sensor to deal with but that's hardly a selling point. TBI = peanut cam, restrictive air intake, crap engine, crap exhaust, soft suspension, etc etc etc.

Buy the T/A and fix accordingly, or hold out for a better Camaro. The T/A is a better buy any way you look at it, much more car for just a little more money.

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

^^ what he said. I didn't want to be the one to say it cause I am overly byist towards trans ams.

But yes it is the better buy

JT

iTrader: (1)

The 1989 Trans Am doesn't have the fender vents. So have both fenders been replaced? Minor detail, but the hood bird is not factory for 1989.

A 1989 Trans Am with the 5.7, which you should verify via VIN, is not very common like the 5.0. That 1989 was also the year you could get the 5.7 and T-Tops from the factory on the Firebird side makes it a better value to some.

If it's the 5.7, it requires WS6.

kymmee

Both cars look nice. I am partial to TA's, so that seems like the better deal, since Pontiac is no longer producing cars. Also question the steering wheel, that looks like a Formula steering wheel, but maybe the experts could chime in on that. The 5.7 can be verified by the VIN.

JT

iTrader: (1)

The steering wheel looks correct. It has the 4-spoke steering wheel that was like the Formula also had. This one looks to be leather as I believe I see the seam on the bottom of the steering wheel in the picture. That would likely be correct because it has the deluxe interior.