Buying my first F-body

Hey folks, I'm turning 18 soon and I think its about time that I buy my first car. I've been rolling in my parents cars for the last couple of years and I think its time that I get something to call my own. Thats where The F-body comes into play. I'm looking at LT1 camaros, so my question you you guys is what to look for when I buy one of these cars. Any info you guys can provide would be great, typical problems, when components typically start to fail, and just any other info that is worth thowing out there. Thanks for all the help.

I just picked up a 94 Firebird and one thing that I should have done is spent a little more time under the car looking for signs of leaking fluids and rust on parts.

Granted I only paid 2,000 for it with an ok motor and tranny under warrenty from a rebuild company.

Take your time and do not rush to much on your purchase from the excitment. If you can find someone that knows the cars to go with you makes it so much easier.

Same rules apply as buying any car. Look for leaks, loose components, over all cleanliness, and that everything is properly routed. When you test drive the car work it pretty good to be sure the engine and drive train does not make noise and that the motor is strong.

Yeha, I'll be bringing my dad with me who knows quite a bit about cars, and I'm a bit of a gearhead myself. It basically sounds like the typical things that you would look for when buying a used car. So there are no major issues that these cars tend to have?

the worst thing these cars usually have is the opti. haha

Make sure that LT1 can still knock your socks off with torque...really plant you in your seat. And you should be able to spin the tires right off if you try. Nothing worse than buying and then not realizing the true torque of the LT1 cuz it isnt running right/failing.

Other than that look for something cheap to get into at first. I wouldnt be afraid to start low end to give you the usual LT1 learning curve. You can usually find a decent LT1 for less than 5K depending on year. I bought my first f-body, 94 formula (first car i bought), and was very happy that i bought lower end and older as i learned sooo much and now have upgraded to a 00 formula and can take better care/repair of her.

1994+ uses MAF and has its benefits :thumbsup: 95+ i believe used the vented opti..also a good thing.

Do a lot of searching and researching before you buy. this site and others are a great resource to just cruise around in for hours. you would be surprised what you can learn. Hope this helps :popcorn:

Oh and if you think you have seen most of this site and its information...look again. the stickies at the top of each subforum are a great start. :LS1LT1flag:

Yes, vented opti is nice. It cuts down on those scary stories.

With this economy you can get F-bodys so cheap, most were secondary/weekend/toy cars and that is the first thing to go when money is tight. I wouldn't pay over 3k for it unless it was a very low mileage car.

i bought mine right before my 18th birthday man. Be sure to do a lot of shopping and don't get over excited about the first deal you find. I love my car and i plan on keeping it a while, but if i had waited about two months i would have got a car with fewer miles in better shape. Also as 95z said, these things are at a retarded low price wise. You can usually pick up a camaro cheaper than a trans am as well or at least they were when i was shopping. I would get a 95+ prolly go for 97 because it was really the best year for the lt1, i dont know if you can drive a six speed or not but it makes these babies a lot more fun. Also depending on how well the car was treated things can start failing as early as 100k miles, but if well maintained then they can really last a while.

Id shoot for a 95 which is the first year of the vented opti. 93s are different from the other LT1 cars in a lot of little ways, 94 has a non vented opti.

As far as rarity's go, purple is a rare color, but that maybe un-important to you.

(Model Rarity)
Z28 = Formula = Trans-am > SS > Firehawk

I would personally set aside a grand for common problem areas to get it into tip top shape.
(plugs, wires, opti, waterpump, power windows)

Good Luck!

Ummm that should be Z28 > TransAm > Formula > SS > Firehawk
A lot more TransAm's rolling around than Formula's. In some cases, like 97 for instance, over 3X as many.

I was denoting > as having a "greater number". In my eyes, as far as rarity goes, Z28s/TAs/Forms are all pretty common, while the Firehawks and SSs are rare, the hawk being a bit more than the SS.

2381 SS's as opposed to 2576 Formula's in 97 for instance. OK if you say so. There are WS6's to consider too :D

Yea but there are 93-95 formulas, and no ss'es, right?

True, No SS from 73 to 95, point taken

Thanks for all of the input guys, its really appreciated. I have spend the last couple of days just going through all of the info on here, lol. I found a 97 Camaro that only has 67,000 miles on it for a little under 5k. Auto trans, so After I get back from vacation I might go take a look.

That sounds too cheap for that low of mileage, make sure it's not the second trip around the odo.

I was thinking the opposte, offer him 4,200 or so lol.

Book value it quite a bit higher with that mileage

Book value it quite a bit higher with that mileage

I guess so, a loaded one books a little over 5k.

That sounds like right about the correct price....for a v6.

I recently found an 01 SS with 124k for $5500. Looks pretty mint...

There are plenty of good deals to be had out there right now. Lot of people just trying to get some money in their pockets.

Buy one thats stock or very close to stock (like a catback) or something. That way you'll be happy with what you do to it. Also grab a carfax for it.

+1 on the Carfax

One car I looked into had a clean paper title, but at some point someone had registered the car in a diff state and 'forgot' to mention that it was a salvage vehicle. Guy selling it thought I was lying to him to try and get a lower price haha

Hey guys, forgot all about this thread, but just to give you an update, the car sold before I could get a chance to look at it, going to look at a black 95Z with 95k on it for about 5 grand on Tuesday. I'll let you know how it goes, and I'll post pics If I do buy it. Shes a real beauty.

still take your time and any questions come back and ask. dont buy than ask!

Well, it looks like shes a go. Test drove it yesterday and it seemed like it was in good shape, right after that it went to the shop and they gave it a pass. Looks like I'll be buying the car this weekend. I'm really excited about it.

Congrats!

Thanks 95, I'll try to get some pics of her up soon after I pick the car up.

Thanks 95, I'll try to get some pics of her up soon after I pick the car up.

congrats man, i bought a 94' firebird in senior year of hs. it was the most fun ever. nothing better then doing smokers everytime i leave the parking lot.

Well I bought the car got it home and put in the new water pump. The car is fantastic, Needs a few other minor things, but for the most part she's a real beauty. I would post pics but I'm not 100% sure how to do it. Anyone willing to guide a noob through the process?

Go down into the quick reply box, click on the go advanced button, then attach image. It may be easier to just get a photobucket account and post the link to the pics too depending on how large they are.

Glad to hear its all good!

Ok well here is teh car. Sorry about the delay in between posts, I have been really busy lately. But, she's a real beauty.
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/blackZ95/Picture788.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/blackZ95/Picture784.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/blackZ95/Picture786.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/blackZ95/Picture785.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/blackZ95/Picture787.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/blackZ95/Picture789.jpg