Hi, I found someone selling a "1981 V6 Camaro" with 97k miles for $2000. Saw some pictures, looks to be in good condition, haven't seen it in person yet. He says it runs fine, just needs a standard tune-up.

Is this a good deal? Does it seem legit? Do you think a car this old really only has 97k?

Thanks guys!

 

No way we can tell, of course it could be real and it could be 397,000. What are your plans for the car? You are talking about a 3000lbs car with 110 Hp. About the only thing on the road you are going to out run is a scooter. If you are going to swap the engine then all that matters is the body. If you want to drive it as is then you need to get the car checked out by someone that knows what they are looking at.

The 3.8 V6 either the 229 or the 331 are solid engines but at 34 years old it could need anything or everything. If the car has been sitting for a long time stuff could work great today but gaskets will start failing once you start driving it daily.

Up in the north it can be hard to find a original car that does not need a lot of rust repair. Since the door hinges like to sag it is common to get leaks at the top of the window. This would cause the floor to rust out. Once that starts it can spread to the frame pretty quickly. I can remember sending a 1979 to the scrap yard in 1989.

 

Ok thanks for the advice! So you're saying this car isn't that great in terms of performance? Do you think it's worth the money if it's in decent shape?

I use to work with embedded systems; is it possible to alter the CCC so it doesn't limit the performance?

 

I doubt anything in the electronics is limiting the performance as much as the V6 is limited. It's going to be a heavy car with an anemic engine regardless of programming. If you like the style, and it runs well, and performance isn't a priority; then it's worth looking at. If it looks clean enough and rust free, to really be a 97k car, then it's a decent buy. But it depends on how straight, rust free, and true it really is.

 

The car manufactures at that time were really struggling with how to meet emission and try to get decent fuel mileage on engine that were designed in the 60's. Their go to plan was to drop compression and drop weight. So the parts in the motor are as light as possible. Low compression means no power and light weight parts means if you add power things will break. There are those that do upgrade the Buick 231 but that one would be on the early side which means it needs everything upgraded to do anything to it.

I remember driving these cars when I was a mechanic. I can remember when you slammed the pedal to the floor the only thing that changes was the sound the motor made, you did not really "feel" the car go any faster. I had a 72 with an I6 (straight 6) it had a lot more pickup then the 3.8's did.

If you are looking for a car that is fun to drive keep looking.

 

Thanks guys, you've been extremely helpful and illuminating!! I think I'll continue on my original path of being practical and buying a truck, unless I find something truly exciting