zx1216

How much longer is this motor going to last? I am thinking about buying it from my uncle. He takes realy good care of his cars and when i touched the paint once he yelled at me. He is the original owner so i doubt the car has ever done a burnout or beat on. The car is in excellent condition and has a m6 with tan leather. The car is all stock and has new tires and breaks. he wants $4200 for it so i might buy it but the miles making me ify. Most of the miles are highway though as he went back and forth from wi to idaho many times over the years.

jasons93z

these motors last a LONG time if taken care of. Take it for a test drive and see how it runs. 4200 sounds like too much to me though

zx1216

Yea i'm going to look at it tomarrow and i might take it for a drive, if he lets me When ever i see him at my grand ma's house we would talk cars but he wouln't even pop his hood. I 'v never even sat inside it.

chevyboy_z28

go ahead and buy it, beat the hell out of it until it dies, fix it and beat the hell out of it some more . that virgin car has been sheltered all its life, prolly never even seen the other half of the speddo, if the price isnt an issue then buy it, any problems you may have will be a cakewalk with this site!

zx1216

Yea, i think it has been "driven" but not abused. He says he cruses through wyoming at 120 but who knows. If i sold my 79' i would have 4k after buying the car so if, or should i say when she blows i'll hit up a little 383 action with heads and the whole deal.

Antz97ZNJ

Depends on how the cars was taken care of...that is quite a few miles though

chevyboy_z28

youve got the right idea though, get all you can out of it then stroke it out (if thats your thing), but dont pronounce her dead before she even gets sick (i.e. early rebuild)...my grandmas got 90 yrs under her belt and shes still pullin...not sayin shes anything like an LT1 !

PurplePonyEatr

If taken care of, about how many miles before a rebuild is necessary?

NeoSNK

LT1s have gone 200k, I dunno what the record is. So it should last another couple years yet.

CamaroRob97

I think ur in a tough situation! I mean if its been babied and relly taken care of , as it sounds and the interior is good as well, try and offer him like 3800 cash or so, i mean hes ur uncle and all. The motor does have some miles on it definetly! Find out what hes replaced on it. Then find out what needs relacing( i mean EVERYTHING!) subtract that from from the intial cost and look at ur figure, offer that. If it needs nothing and is ready for autocross maybe 4k would be fair. Ask ur self "do i have the resource to do an engine rebuild" Look for other cars in ur area with the same price see what condition they're in, look at their miles. Familarize ur self with thhe LT1 engine, so that if and when u decide to mod it or rebuild it u won't be surprised and/or caught off guard. Remember that the Opti spark is unlike an ignition system in a SBC ever! When was the last time the Opti was relaced? Does it leak anything? and how much $$$ will u have left over after u buy the car, will it be enough for a reuild and mods?? If theres one thing in the car realm if learned in my 20 short years its that this game cost $$$ especially if u don't always have it!
Hope this helps!

zx1216

Thanks for all of your help camarorob and every one else. If i get this car i would sell my 79, so after buying the car i would have around 4-5k. My parents are splitting the insurance with me but i still have to pay 550 every 6 mo. (18 year old with a racing ticket) I also will be going off to school this fall so i will need to save around 1-2k for spending cash/ gas money. All said and done i could put 2-3k into the car for mods/rebuild if needed. Last summer we rebuilt my 350 so i could handle that.

What do you guys think, should i:

sell 79 and buy 95 z-28 or

keep my 79' and buy a junker for 2k for school/work
p.s. i pay 170 for 6 mo because the 79 is my "pleasure vehicle"