The Josh

Ok. I am thinking about trading in the pickup for a 2001/02 Trans Am. Are they good cars? Could I count on it for 150k miles with the proper maintanence?

Thanks in advance...
:hail: The Josh

ede

yes, yes

zippy

yes, yes, yes

bad84z

Nice car man. Oh sh*t, that wasn't the right response. It should have been.
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes

BikertrashDude

yes yes and yes
oh....yes

AJ_92RS

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes


I wouldn't try to haul 2 tons of gravel in the Firebird though.

I had a '94 Z28 6spd at one time.
If it wouldn't have been so "blah" looking (the Geo Storm on steriods look) then I'd still have it. It ran 14.5 ET bone stock, bot 28MPG on the highway, and rode like a dream. And it was certainly a lot less headaches then the car I have now is. Needless to say, it could run circles around the car I have now, and that was just the LT1.

IROCThe5.7L

14.5 dosent seem to healthy for LT1

Chrome.45

Whatever happened to it???
did you get rid of it?!?!

The Josh

The car I am actually looking at is a white 2001 Trans Am Ram Air. It has 10k miles on it. The dealer is asking 26,5 but I can get that down some. It looks like it is brand new...

Sound good?

Oh, it has the 6-speed tranny. Are there as many mods for these cars as there are for the third gens?

Thanks again...

FyreLance

Trans-Am Ram-Air.....


:: rams the air with a pelvic thrust :: Heck yeah, I'd get one.

FLYNLOW92rs

iTrader: (53)

There really isn't much to think about here......DITCH THE TRUCK AND GET THE RAM AIR......

AJ_92RS

Maybe you missed the "bone stock" part.

That was at 97 MPH.... I had a little bit of a traction problem. That and I had 150lbs of stereo stuff and I'm not exactly a feather myself. 240lbs after taking a dump.

AJ_92RS

Get the Skip Shift Eliminator!!!!!!!

I can't tell you how many times I'd pull out into traffic and about got rearended because of that damn skip shift thing.

I couldn't goose it in 1st because of traction, so I'd feather the throttle to get out on the road, then I wanted to throw it into 2nd to get up to speed. Uh uh... didn't happen. That sucker forces you into 4th and going 15 MPH in 4th is never good. :nono:

So I renege on my "bone stock" comment. I did get that. It was ~$35 and took a whle 5 minutes to install and was the best/safest $35 I ever spent.

AJ_92RS

When I bought it (1996) it was about $16-$17K. I traded in my '90 RS and put down another $7K to get my payments to $200/mo. I told the salesman I wasn't gonna buy it unless the insurance was cheap enough. I had just turned 25, and that's supposed to be the breaking point (i.e. cheaper).

He called an agent he knew and got me $150/mo full coverage with $250 deductable. About 6 mos later..... it went to $260/mo I called the insurance company to find out what was going on. They said the agent had me down as "married" and they found out I wasn't!!! The frikkin bastard lied!!!

I couldn't afford the extra $110/mo AND keep my house, so I had to sell it.

IROCThe5.7L

It was just that I seen LT1's go 13.8-14.0 stock. But traction probs and weight will do that to ya.

tjnapster

Yup. I love my LT1, if I could afford an LS1, it would be in my garage

Chrome.45

i heard the LT1's are hard to work on, since half the engine is behind under the dash?? is that right, cuz it shure looks hard
and i heard you have to pull the engine from under the car instead right out of the engine bay, cuz ive been thinking about a 4th gen too, like an LT1, but, it seems too much stress to work on

Viprklr

iTrader: (5)

www.ls1.com
www.ls1tech.com
2 sites that'll help you out with the 01.
I have a 00 TA M6. It is more fun to drive than my 92. But then again driving stick is always more fun.

Yes, the engine does come out the bottom. Sucks that you'd need a lift to pull an engine.

Get the LS1!!

AJ_92RS

You actually saw it? Or you saw it in a magazine? Magazines use corrected times, with 150lb driver's, with brand new tires, and as little weight as possible, and they make 20+ passes, etc, etc.

There were two other Z28's there the day I ran at the track who had mods done, and I was pulling the best and most consistant times there. The closest to my time was 14.7xx. One was an auto and the other a 6 spd.

Plus it was a 95* day, 95% humidity, and you have to take into account head winds, crosswinds, etc. Plus the strip I was at is in need of a MAJOR overhaul.

Do you think I can come up with anymore excuses??? :sillylol:

RJR99SS

i've done quite a bit on lt1's in camaros. they're not TERRIBLY hard to work on compared to other newer cars. Air tools are a must, a well as a healthy tool box of swivling sockets.

But if you go at it with a hand rachet and a $30 craftsman socket set you're out of luck...

IROCThe5.7L

Seen it. Also my buddy just got a bone stock 95 z28 convertable this year. His best time was a 14.2 with a 2.1 60 ft.


Usually all the non convertable ones I seen went very low 14's - high 13's.

Chrome.45

i dont think i even have that

well, maybe
but yea, ive been thinking the same, like 3rd gen or 4th gen LT1
but see, i could get an LT1 and have $$ left over for bolt ons or i could get a 3rd gen and basically have enough $$ left over for an engine swap and and anything i want to do
soo...i dont know also..i saw a car in the papers, its a 78 camaro with a rebuilt 454 for 6000, it looks nice but is it worth it? thx

tjnapster

A couple of things:

Yes, the LT1 is hell to work on. Just changing the plugs and wires on my '95 Formula took all weekend Then you have the costly Optispark problems on '93-94 models which are non-vented...

On G-Tech Pro, my car ran 14.1 stock, and its a HEAVY Rag-Top. After light mod's like reprogramming and porting MAF, SLP Ram-Air, Flowmaster, my time dropped to 13.8 with a Zero-60 time of 5.7 sec's, consistently. However, I have raced a couple of LT1's since and lost to all of them. Hence, the garden variety LT1 you come up next to at the light is going to modified well below the 14.0 mark... Trust me.

If your already sold on a LS1, then the 2001 your looking at is a great choice. The later the year the better, usually.
If an LT1, get a late model '95-'97 only. These models had dual cat's, giving 285HP, or 305HP with Ram-Air. Do not get a '93 or '94 as they were prone to Optispark problem.

I am now selling my late model '95 Conv., if your interested. See my siggy for info and URL for Pic. Asking $10,500.00/Neg.

AJ_92RS

I don't think you know what "bone stock" means. I'm not talking just the motor...... I'm talking everything INCLUDING the tires.

I had the original exhaust, the original air filter (well paper anyway), original EVERYTHING!!!!! No K&N, no Flowmaster, no synthetic oil, no MODS AT ALL!!!! Plus it had 47K miles on it with no tuning, no tuneup, nothing but oil changes. The only thing done was the antifreeze was changed.

If you think that the cars you've seen run those times are 100% stock, then you're wrong. The best time I ever saw a magazine report (corrected of course) was 14.2 ET on a bone stock one. IIRC, that was Car & Driver, with a ProStock drag racer driving.

dunerida82

Forget the 4th gen. There all owned by chicks. If you wanna keep style and your masculinity, get a third gen. :rockon:

IROCThe5.7L

Well I can vouch for my friend. His 95 convert was bought from an old couple. It has 14,000 miles on it. I am 100% Positive EVERYTHING is stock (Of course we checked it out). And his 1/4 of 14.2 could have been better if he launched it better. You cant go by everything you read in a magazine.



I agee! :hail:

AJ_92RS

WOW!!! That's good. What was his MPH?

That goes to show you the manufacturing tollerances that all cars have.

zippy

i went 13.99 on a not so nice track with a 2.2 60' time in my 94 when it still was stock to the point of paper air filter and conventional oil. my 94 was a z28 m6. didn't get to take it back out for the last set of mods, but that's what it ran in stock form. i have an article with a 93 formula which went 13.87 with popular hot rodding testing it and it was just a stock test vehicle.

MdFormula350

go for it !!

JulieGTA

Since I'm the only gal around here, I got to say, Hey! And I was beginning to wonder, maybe all the guys are driving imports now, and left the good cars to us chicks, cuz whenever I see a 3rd gen at the light, half the time its a girl. )¦¬þ

89transam

Dont buy it that is a terrible deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...875284706&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6427

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6427

Or even something expensive is still cheaper

:hail: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6427

Viprklr

iTrader: (5)

14.2 stock? I beat a 96 LT1 at the track on a 93 degree day with a 14.4. His MPH was higher but I just got there sooner

I love my wife. She's had a 3rd gen and 2 4th gens. Can you guess why I married her?

I like 3rd and 4th gens. 4th gen Camaros are chick cars. 4th gen non ram air birds are boys. 4th gen ram air.......that's the way to go if you have to get a 4th gen and want to keep your masculinity.

dunerida82

Its necessary to get a third gen to save the male species. :rockon:

RJR99SS

honestly....i've only seen one girl driving a 4th gen. i've seen THOUSANDS driving mustangs though. who cares who else drives it though? if you like, thats all there is too it...