I found a 1996 formula for sale on craigslist. Guy is really desperate, he's asking 3100 OBO, car has 130K miles on it, 6 spd. He says it has a fresh engine rebuild(no documentation). Car has headers, cam, short shifter, and full dual exhaust.
He says everything is in great working condition. He says it is overheating though..had his buddy traced it down to headgaskets. He is desperate to sell it. Interior looks great, exterior is in amazing.
So, whats it worth and how much do you think it'd cost to replace headgaskets?
Should I just avoid it totally? The whole engine rebuild seems fishy to me, but for the shape it's in..let's say the motor is trashed. What would it cost to get another motor in there?
3000 seems like a good price.
ask him who did the rebuild and ask him about the rear end. those 10 bolts are junk
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99redz24 wrote:3000 seems like a good price.
ask him who did the rebuild and ask him about the rear end. those 10 bolts are junk
He said a friend did it, he's only had it 2 months. Guy keeps telling me to just give him a price and we can work it out...He seems really desperate. Tempted to offer him 2200 or something like that. I still have to see it though, it's an hour away, could see it as early as today if you guys think it's worth it.
never hurts to go look... id say go take a peek at it and see what its all about
Just to clarify a Trans am is not a Formula they are two seperate trim levels of the Firebird. The Formula throughout Firebird history is usually the same engine/tranny/suspension as the trans am just without the luxury options and a lower price tag. In many years also faster than the trans am due to the lighter weight in not having all power options. For instance a 1989 Formula 350 will smoke a top of the line GTA.
96 assuming the engine is stock would make that a 275hp LT1, the WS6 optioned cars had the ram air hood and different exhaust and were rated at 285. Formula WS6 cars are def worth grabbing up, much less common than a Trans Am WS6.
Mechanically speaking as long as the engine has good compression you can fix the issue with getting the headgaskets redone properly. The gaskets themselves are about 100 bucks for the highest grade MLS. You will of course need new head bolts as the stockers are torque to yield and are junk once you pull off the heads. Head bolts are about 20 bucks. You will of course need to drain all oil, replace oil filter, drain all coolant. So to replace those things you might be talking another 50 bucks. So total parts cost about 170 bucks. My best suggestion find a gearhead buddy and bribe him with a case of beer, maybe two.
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
A "fresh rebuild" shouldn't be blowing head gaskets, that should be a massive red flag
it might have a fresh rebuild, by someone that didnt know what they were doing
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
How do you know that it doesn't have cracked heads or a cracked block? If it was just a simple fix as the head gaskets don't you think he'd fix it himself or the guy that rebuilt the motor would warranty the head gaskets and replace them....
I wouldn't pay much more than 2 grand for it. You can find a decent lt1 6 speed car for 3-5k, and not much more for an ls1 car which is way better than the lt1's.
I had a 96 formula convertible and it was a fun car, but a complete bitch to work on.
Robtco99 wrote:How do you know that it doesn't have cracked heads or a cracked block? If it was just a simple fix as the head gaskets don't you think he'd fix it himself or the guy that rebuilt the motor would warranty the head gaskets and replace them....
I wouldn't pay much more than 2 grand for it. You can find a decent lt1 6 speed car for 3-5k, and not much more for an ls1 car which is way better than the lt1's.
I had a 96 formula convertible and it was a fun car, but a complete bitch to work on.
Very valid points..which is my reason for being hesitant.
I don't know where you guys find all these cars for cheap...I've been checking craigslist 5 times a day minimum for 2 weeks(checking a 200 mile radius) looking for anything from a civic to a fox body and I haven't found anything worth what these guys are asking.
I wish I could take it to a shop and have someone I trust check it. If it has cracked heads or a headgasket both would show poor compression checks correct? But both would have very different price tags. And Like Robtco said, they are a pain in the ass to work on.
i got my 98 LS1 for 9000 with 80,000 miles on it. just got to keep checking.
also try autotrader.com
Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
doesnt matter, fresh rebuild or not, whether they know what they were doing is junk, dont buy it. for that price you can find a high mileage ls1 and "refresh" it. to be honest, dont waste your time with an lt1, you will be more disappointed than what its worth.
the LT1 isnt a bad engine. do a LT4 conversion and get rid of the opti-spark bs and you are set
Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
buy it like the motor is blown, lowball.
maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow....... but some day
stock gt wrote:buy it like the motor is blown, lowball.
The car sold before I could get out to see it. Been working 55-65hrs a week recently so I haven't been able to look at any of these cars I really would like to get into. I missed a 1999 WS6 Trans Am with 65K miles for 5000....
Work sucks.
As Tim stated the LT1 is no slouch at all when you put the LT4 parts on it, yea most people are pro LS1 and with good reason it is a better engine, however all other things being equal you will spend about 5k more for a bird that has one
ive been seeing quite a bit of 98-02 trans ams on ebay in great shape going for 9-12k, firehawks as low as 14-20k, you can find a 93-97 Firehawk sometimes for even less than 10k which is a real steal because they will be the most valueable of all the 4th gens
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
