LS1 noob..looking to buy a 4th gen

[shadow09]

Also posted this on ls1-tech but nobody has said anything.

Im looking to buy a 4th gen particularly 98-02. I found one on craigslist about an hour from where I live. Its a 2002 Z28 ls1, silver, t-tops, black 17x9.5 Z06 rims all around, 275/40/17 tires all around, has 111,xxx miles, lowered with lowering springs, welded-in subframe connectors, lower control arms, and a panhard bar, built transmission and a 3600 Stall Circle D Converter

Pacesetter Long Tube Headers and Y-Pipe with 2 cutouts and a bullet muffler on the end.

VRX5 236/238 .601/.605 113 LSA Aftermarket Cam with Upgraded Comp Valve Springs and Hardened Pushrods.

SLP Air Lid with K&N Filter and Smooth Bellow.

New NGK TR55 Spark plugs with NEW Spark Plug Wires.

3.42 Gear Rear End out of a manual car.

Went and looked at the car..he let me test drive it and it drove really well I actually liked the auto trans even though I prefer manual. Headers are kinda looking worn out, leather has a tear but not too bad I could live with it, has an aftermarket radio but the rear speakers weren't plugged in for some reason.

Did a carfax report on it and has had 5 previous owners, has been in a couple accidents, a lot of the car is now fiberglass with new paint, something is wrong with the factory alarm system that the previous owner had to bypass the computer so now the car has a push button start along with a killswitch (idk how the guy did it)

I offered the guy $6500 and he was fine with it but i told him I would get back to him with the final answer. I was wondering fellow 4th gen owners opinions and anyone with a lot of experience with these cars/engines, should I buy the car or move on to another one? Thanks!

[White_Knuckle_Tight]

Personally, I'm a little weary when people have done a lot to a car, cause you never know who did it, or if they knew what they we're doing. I'd look around and see what else I could find, but that's just me.
I guess after some of the "mechanics" I've run into, I don't like to take chances

[305pride]

is the craiglist link still up?

[305pride]

u have a 5th gen and u also want a 4th gen? just curious

[shadow09]

Originally Posted by White_Knuckle_Tight

Personally, I'm a little weary when people have done a lot to a car, cause you never know who did it, or if they knew what they we're doing. I'd look around and see what else I could find, but that's just me.
I guess after some of the "mechanics" I've run into, I don't like to take chances

Yeah the main thing I was worried about too was the 5 previous owners thing and not knowing what each one has done to the car..but idk its a tough decision that's why I wanted to ask here and see what people thought. Thanks for your input.

[shadow09]

Originally Posted by 305pride

is the craiglist link still up?

Originally Posted by 305pride

u have a 5th gen and u also want a 4th gen? just curious

Yeah the Craigslist link is still up Im pretty sure..and yea the 4th gen would be a commuter to and from school. Nothing wrong with owning 2 Camaros

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1782494492.html

[305pride]

Originally Posted by shadow09

Yeah the Craigslist link is still up Im pretty sure..and yea the 4th gen would be a commuter to and from school. Nothing wrong with owning 2 Camaros

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1782494492.html

looks nice, but why cant you commute with the 5th gen? you dont wana put miles on it? or for gas mileage or something? cos i think the 5th gen ss has better gas mileage. i wouldnt mind showing off the 5th gen at school lol

[Fotowns Finest]

have a trusted pro look over it, and see what he/she/most likely a he says

[shadow09]

Originally Posted by 305pride

looks nice, but why cant you commute with the 5th gen? you dont wana put miles on it? or for gas mileage or something? cos i think the 5th gen ss has better gas mileage. i wouldnt mind showing off the 5th gen at school lol

Ha trust me I would love to show it off cuz all there is at my school is Mustangs and Challengers..but I go to the University of Houston and it's in a bad area so I would rather not let anything happen to my 5th gen. Such as dumb drivers door dinging my car, keying it, etc. Im pretty sure the first thing that's going to try and get stolen are the rims and yes I'm trying to keep the miles low as well. Almost had it for a year and still haven't put 4k miles on the car.

So I would rather just buy a 4th gen to use as my commuter and no im not worried about gas mileage or anything like that I can deal with it.

[shadow09]

Originally Posted by Fotowns Finest

have a trusted pro look over it, and see what he/she/most likely a he says

Don't know any pros ha got any suggestions?

[White_Knuckle_Tight]

Originally Posted by 305pride

looks nice, but why cant you commute with the 5th gen? you dont wana put miles on it? or for gas mileage or something? cos i think the 5th gen ss has better gas mileage. i wouldnt mind showing off the 5th gen at school lol

Same here, maybe it's just us, but if I had a 5th gen, she'd be gettin some miles, lol. I like showin off, hehe

[305pride]

Originally Posted by White_Knuckle_Tight

Same here, maybe it's just us, but if I had a 5th gen, she'd be gettin some miles, lol. I like showin off, hehe

lol yea, but i understand that he doesnt want anything bad to happen to his 5th gen. if u got the money to buy a 4th gen then go for it. i love my 4th gen. but its getting old and idk if its dieing on me. i'll just try to keep it alive as long as i can. or maybe im just over reacting and nothing is wrong with it lol

[White_Knuckle_Tight]

Originally Posted by 305pride

lol yea, but i understand that he doesnt want anything bad to happen to his 5th gen. if u got the money to buy a 4th gen then go for it. i love my 4th gen. but its getting old and idk if its dieing on me. i'll just try to keep it alive as long as i can. or maybe im just over reacting and nothing is wrong with it lol

I'm the same way with every vehicle I drive. If some little tiny thing goes wrong, if it runs just a wee bit too hot, I freak out and try to fix it, lol.

[02 WS6 TA]

5 previous owners, accidents, modded, and from Texas? Shi... Offer him $1500.

[Mr_Draco]

My issue with it is the electrical.

When people do their own electrical in a car you don't know what they did and most people don't know what they are doing. They could have cut a wire that shouldn't have been cut, spliced into a wire they shouldn't have, be overloading a power supply, or back feed into a circuit that shouldn't be active. If you have any issues you can easily spend what you're buying the car itself for fixing what they did.

The fact that the alarm no longer works and they forgot to hook up the back speakers show to me that whoever did the work didn't know what they were doing.

Imo, I would look around for another car and avoid this one.

[305pride]

Originally Posted by White_Knuckle_Tight

I'm the same way with every vehicle I drive. If some little tiny thing goes wrong, if it runs just a wee bit too hot, I freak out and try to fix it, lol.

and its been super hot here. it shakes when i start the car a little bit but then goes away. the other day my car was over heating but it just needed some more coolant. lol i gata find that leak. i had a huge leak but replaced the radiator and its good now but it seems to still have a tiny leak.

[Fotowns Finest]

Originally Posted by 305pride

and its been super hot here. it shakes when i start the car a little bit but then goes away. the other day my car was over heating but it just needed some more coolant. lol i gata find that leak. i had a huge leak but replaced the radiator and its good now but it seems to still have a tiny leak.

sounds scary. so far my camaro run perfect, at least i think...i cant think of one thing to gripe about, other than it runs really loud, but only bcuz i think theres an aftermarket exhaust on it...a stock v6 3.8 is only a single exhaust, right?

[305pride]

Originally Posted by Fotowns Finest

sounds scary. so far my camaro run perfect, at least i think...i cant think of one thing to gripe about, other than it runs really loud, but only bcuz i think theres an aftermarket exhaust on it...a stock v6 3.8 is only a single exhaust, right?

yep, i think i wana put dual exshausts in when i get the headers. if my cars gets any worse i'll probably forget about the headers and buy a new car. idk what i want tho. i want a 2010 camaro but i need to save up for that. if i needa car right away, then im looking at a gto. if not that probably something more affordable

[JHL88]

Originally Posted by 305pride

looks nice, but why cant you commute with the 5th gen? you dont wana put miles on it? or for gas mileage or something? cos i think the 5th gen ss has better gas mileage. i wouldnt mind showing off the 5th gen at school lol

really? my 98 LS1 auto got better gas mileage than my LS3 does. and after selling it i wish i had it back, it was truly a great car. idk, maybe its just an LS1 thing...

[305pride]

Originally Posted by JHL88

really? my 98 LS1 auto got better gas mileage than my LS3 does. and after selling it i wish i had it back, it was truly a great car. idk, maybe its just an LS1 thing...

idk i forgot the numbers and im too lazy right now to look up gas mileage. lol i should go back to studying for my chemistry test :-P

[02 WS6 TA]

Originally Posted by JHL88

really? my 98 LS1 auto got better gas mileage than my LS3 does. and after selling it i wish i had it back, it was truly a great car. idk, maybe its just an LS1 thing...

They vary a bit, but for example (depending on tune loaded) our '00 M6 car will get roughly 24/28, the '00 A4 car 20/25 (3800 stall and #42 injectors however) on average. Of the 3 LS3s I've tuned, they get pretty darn close to the same numbers, mods taken into consideration.

[Revo1]

Just know if you ever go needing for an idler pulley for your LS1, GM discontinued that part. Mine's getting loud and can't find one anywhere...

[305pride]

Originally Posted by Revo1

Just know if you ever go needing for an idler pulley for your LS1, GM discontinued that part. Mine's getting loud and can't find one anywhere...

dont they sell that at like advance auto parts?

[Revo1]

Originally Posted by 305pride

dont they sell that at like advance auto parts?

Advance? Haven't seen that one

[White_Knuckle_Tight]

Haha, 305, Revo's over in Cali...(I think) they don't have some of the thing we have here in the east. And vice versa. For example, over in Cali, the Hardee's chain is called Carl's Jr.

Tune in next time for more useless facts, only on Camaro5!