considering buying a TR (LT1 owner)

P

phancom

New Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2002
heres the deal. im 19 and just about to start a second job.
i own a 93 trans am and have been very dissapointed with it. all ive done is put money in it and it still isnt running right. im frustrated behond belief and im not sure if i want to keep it or not. from reading around online, ive seen that TR's are much cheaper and easier to mod and maintain. i would have to sell it, from which i would expect around 7k or so and this is what i would have to work with to buy a new car. the TR would be my daily driver to and from school and work and would be used very little throughout the winter. what is the best conditon/mileage TR that i could afford? would it be worth the trade? how reliable are they? i would be modding it some in terms of turbo, injectors, chip, tranny upgrades, etc. i would be looking at the 86-87 year range and would love a GN, if possible.

any and all input is wanted.

thanks, i really appreciate it. (from a frustrated car owner)
 
Well if you want headaches get a GN. Don't get me wrong I would not trade it for anything, but they can be a major pain. I would not trust a GN to be a daily driver. They require a lot if attention but can be reliable if kept close to stock as possible. JMHO.
 
Well any car that gets tweeked will give you problems, seems to be the nature of the beast. A GN/Ttype can be used as a reliable daily driver if maintained, if you beat the crap out of it you will spent more time and money that you can find. This Cars are loose in the rain and snow. just so you know. Hang out with the local GN club guys and get to know the cars. Have fun with what ever you do.

Jim
83T-type CarbHotAir daily driver in rain, ice,snow (take that you Garage Queens) :p
 
I hope this doesn't sound too negative, but...

If you think an LT1 is bad, then you haven't met the LC2. She can be a tempermental, disappointing little beast. You really have to have patience, knowledge, and $$$ to tame her. It seems like every once in a while, she'll throw you a bone, a nice number or street race win. Then, the next morning, she won't start, for no apparent reason at all.

Then again, maybe I'm thinking about my last girlfriend? ;)

Seriously, these cars do take a lot of patience, understanding, and $$$ to keep running. Reliability is not their strongest suit. The upside is huge, however (116mph in the quarter with bolt-on's, not many cars are going to do that). If you want to go fast cheap, I would consider looking somewhere else. Not trying to be a total bummer, just laying down some truth.

Good Luck, whatever you decide,
 
no, i wouldnt be beating on it. a few times down the track. it would kinda be my project car. all my money or most of it would be going towards it. i dont have a problem with something i have to work on. id probably be doing most of the work myself.
 
lt1

I just got rid of a 95 Z28 and they are a bi*** to work on. I bought both with 60,000 miles and the T has 130000 and the Z had 130000 and had lots more go wrong with it. Both can be a pain at times. If it is gonna be a driver get a lower mileage one.
 
Re: lt1

Originally posted by ITSAV6
I just got rid of a 95 Z28 and they are a bi*** to work on. I bought both with 60,000 miles and the T has 130000 and the Z had 130000 and had lots more go wrong with it. Both can be a pain at times. If it is gonna be a driver get a lower mileage one.
Click to expand...

man, i know what you mean. i was hopin i could find one with 80k or less. with my 8k price range, is this possible?
 
i was also thinking.....

would it be a good idea just to find a body and then buy an engine and tranny, build it up the way i want and drop it in?
 
these cars can be just fine, just don't go all out mod wise if you wanna have it as a daily, just a few bolt ons to run 12s in race trim should be nice if you can keep the mod bug from biting. The cool things about GNs is that you can actually tune and tinker a lot more unlike lt1s, this can be a good or bad thing depending on the out come of your tinkering ;)
 
Do not buy a body, and throw a motor in it.
I did that, and to an extent, I regret it now.
It would have been a lot cheaper to buy a whole car.
Only reason I did it was sentimental reasons (grandpas car).

I also drove it daily for a long time. Not a good idea.
The first couple times it throws you, you might get back on. But it will wear very thin being a daily driver, and you might grow to hate it.
Once I got "real" and got a reliable driver, the Buick was a lot more fun.
My advice to you, since I just went through what youre considering...
Get a cheap reliable driver. Something like an old caprice or truck. Drive that daily. You should be able to find one cheap enough. Then, if you have your heart set on a TR, buy one with what you have left over. Buy the best you can afford. Mod as you can afford it later on.
 
I might be able to help you on this as i am 20 years old going to school and working part time afterward. I bought my GN this summer and to tell the truth i havent had any major problems with it. however, even minor problems can be expensive with these cars, and thats not even including the gas youll have to be putting in this beast. contrary to popular belief, when not driven completely ont he highway, these cars will struggle to get over say 17 mpg when tuned properly. Another thing ive noticed is that its just not a very fun car to drive everyday. it will nto feel as fast as your lt1 simply because of the turbo lag consistent with normal driving. In orer for these cars to feel fast all the time, you have to drive them pretty hard, once again cutiing into that major gas and repair expense. dont get me wrong, i like driving it more than any other car ive owned up until this point, however it jsut wouldnt be my personal choice after drving one for over 400 miles a week for the past 4 months now to drive one everyday, they are better suited as weekend drivers and track cars. all said and done, if you really feel you want one that badly(like myself) go ahead and get one, jsut realize though that you will probably enjoy a TR more once you are settled and able to have one as your second or third car.
 
i disagree wtih the statement not as fun as the lt1, see the v8s ive driven, (our 468 chevelle , 94 Z, 00 Z) do not have the same feeling at part throttle as ours do, ive let my friend with 69 vette drive our stockish 86 GN and its amazing how the GNs just stretch their legs at part throttle wtih only a couple pounds of boost. other than the initial lowend grunt from the v8, they are dogs unless you get into the throttle and get some timing in there. turbo cars have great passing power at part throttle as well with just a little tap of the throttle the boost will rise a little and you'll rocket past what evers in your way. The fbod may handle better but i think the GNs are just as if not more fun to drive. This does not neccisarily apply to big convertored turbo cars because a lot of them are not very fun. You are right about the gas mileage, i get 12-14 in the 87 and 15 -16 in the 86 in the city and i am pretty boost happy.:D
 
if your not happy with your current car because of engine troubles, why not just buy you a new/used bigger and badder engine to take its place :D

not sure where abouts in PA your from, but if your around the levittown area and intrested i have the perfect guy to do the job for ya
 
thanks for the replies.

dont get me wrong, even though i cant get my car running the way it should, i still love it more than any other car ive driven. ive thought about building up the motor and everything but it would just be cheaper for me to buy a TR. i cant do much tinkering at all without spending hundreds of dollars. because it is an older car, i would also be saving money on little things that go wrong as well as the insurance. parts for a TR are much cheaper than for my t/a. with that extra money, i could be using it to put back into the car. i just cant seem to get ahead with mine. corvette motors are unbelieveably anal.

i also would not be putting on alot of miles. school is only 9 miles and work is shorter. gas is not really a big issue. ive been getting like 100 miles to a tank out of mine for a long time with its problems. im sure it would be better than that.
 
I've had TR's for daily drivers almost all the time since '89. My '86 GN is out in the parking lot here at work right now. I think they make great daily drivers. Just learn all you can about them and make friends with other local TR guys. Ones that go to the track alot are more likely to know more about working on them, usually (but not always). If you can't figure a problem out yourself then ask others that have been there. If you can't get local help then there's always this site to go to for knowledge.
 
With several negative responses, I want to chime in. Really, the reliability of any car depends on previous maintenance/usage and your own mantenance. This months marks 2 years in my TR. I bought it with 155k miles, all original (as far as I know). Now I have driven it 20k miles as a daily driver and spent perhaps $600 on unexpected repairs, the biggest of which was a transmission pump at about $450.00. That was the only failure I have had that required towing. Other repairs required were heater core, ......hell, I can't remember others, but they aren't a biggie. I drive my car generally easy, but I can't keep my foot out of boost for more than a day or so.

Remember, there are good apples and bad apples. Just be smart when shopping. I drove many TR's with fewer miles that were REALLY sloppy compared to mine, so lower miles don't always mean better car.
 
I love driving my 86 tr everyday.Theres this one light on my way to work were somebody always trys to roll up in the right lane and jump ya ,SURPRISE ,see ya! Also merging onto the highway ,you know when your rolling down the ramp and the guy in the lane steps on it so you cant get ahead of him,i like to look over and watch him dissapear out of my window.I also like how quiet they are (relatively),silent but dedly. Buy a complete car dude so you can get at it .goodluk.
 
thanks for all the input guys.

im really going to consider doing this now. i just have one last question.

how easy is it to obtain parts at local auto parts stores for basic maitenance? ive found places where i can get aftermarket stuff but how easily accessible are factory or factory clone parts?

is there anything else i should consider?

thanks again
 
Depends on the parts.
Remember, these cars are still 16+ years old.
Some of the incidental stuff (plugs, wires, belt, O2 sensor) can be had at the local parts place. However, there are a lot of parts that will have to be searched and hunted down, either through this site, others like it, or from our vendors.
Things like the coil pack and the MAF are getting harder to get. There are a lot of aftermarket replacements, but they tend to be of inferior quality. A good MAF is so hard to find, so many people are looking for ways to change the stock setup (MAFless systems, LS1/LT1 MAF translator kits, etc).
The stuff that is common between TRs and regular Regals will be easy to find. The parts that involve the unique drivetrain will be tougher.
Ask me how I know...:D
I did a swap from 307/3speed/2.14 gear Regal to full TR drive. Just in sourcing the parts, I can tell you they are getting harder and harder to find. And, when you do find them, the price keeps going up.
Not that I am trying to tell you not to get one, I am just playing the devil's advocate here. At least you are close to work/school so you can get there easily when (not if) you have a problem.
Good luck with your quest!
 
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