The Z28 name is legendary. To you guys, these are just badges. To me, it tells people that the car has got a V8 and that its not just a base Camaro. It tells others that its a totally different animal than the base V6 Camaro.

 

I think its great to be proud of your car but to say a car the does not have a 2 inch tall 3-1/2 inch long sticker on side looks boring is just being dumb. I mean sure say your car has 300 Hp and it will run the 1/4 in 13 seconds but to say the exact same car without those stickers "looks" boring that makes you look like one of those guys that bases how a person looks because of the lables on their cloths. Pretentious, thats the word I am looking for. Like your some how better then the the V6 owner. I built my car by myself. NO other hands helped, you wrote a check or borrowed the money. My 67 RS/SS rag top is worth 3 times what your plain jane base model Z is worth but I don't come in here and say if its not a true SS then its just worthless or boring. I could go out tomorrow and write a check for a 2002 SS anv edition but I would not be as proud of that car as I am of my V6.

 

Call it what you want. If the Z28 badges tell others that its not just a base Camaro, I prefer them to be on the car. Are you implying that I judge people by the way that I judge cars? That is so ridiculous, it makes me laugh. Thats like calling me a racist because I only buy American cars. I also don't judge people by the car that they drive, I cant even judge anyone on this forum because we're all behind a computer screen with no face to face contact. So don't think that I'm judging people on this forum, especially those that drive V6's. I am simply comparing cars. I could also care less for the way that one pays for their car. As long as the buyer worked for the money and the seller gets money, its good by me and that person should be proud of the purchase. Last, you're comparing 1st gens to 4th gens in value. Are you kidding me? Of course the restored 1st gen is going to be worth more.

 

Its the blanket statement that V6's looks boring. It gives the impression that your car are some how better looking because your car has a sticker on it. I do not think anyone is going to argure that an LS1 is faster but to say that it looks better then a V6 will just **** off us V6 owners. I am the first person to say if you want to go fast get a V8 but to offend all the V6 owners by saying the V8's even look better is just going to get you posts like this. You can say I think your should get a V8 you do not have to add in because I think V6's are boring.

The other thing is why would you post in this thread at all? the guys is asking for a compairison of 2 cars. Have you ever even driven a 3rd gen? I have, many of them. I know where every bolt is on a L98 Iroc There is no part of that car I have not had apart. I know exactly how they handled when they where new. The only people that are going to spend the money on a nice L98 Z is someone that loves the 3rd gens. I only like the 3rd gen. I bought a V6 4th gen. Why, 30+ MPG, up to 200K on the drive line, Rear wheel drive. What other car has that?

 

Haha, my dad owns a 3rd gen and yes, I've driven it. He owns a 1983 Z28 with an L69 and a five speed. Its sits in our garage everynight next to my car. If you read closer, my comparison was between the 3rd gen Z28 or IROC and the V6 Camaro. There was no 4th gen Z28 mentioned in my comparison. The 4th gen Camaro is a boring looking car if its not an SS, thats why I put black ZO6 wheels on mine. Yes, to me the 4th gen V6 Camaro looks even more boring to me without the Z28 badges. I was just stating my opinion and you come out once again, stating your opinion of me. At the end of the day, we are arguing about the way a car looks. A very stupid thing to argue about and get pissed off over.

 

I'll stay on topic

first, the liability insurance is going to kill your parents no matter what car you drive. if your folks own their home, or have any savings, I suggest that they max out on liability insurance because there are drivers that would love for you to hit them and as the owners on the title, your folks will be the first named in the lawsuit. So, put aside what others will tell you about blah blah car vs blah blah car will be cheaper; it's the cost of liability insurance on a young male driver to protect your pareant's asets that will cost a king's ransom.

Now, to the subject of vehicle

I like the looks of the 3rd gens and currently have one apart that I'm restoring (check out my thread). I also have a 95 Z28 as well as a 2007 car with the galloping horse logo.

So yes, I can go fast in any vehicle i wish.

But, be it 3rd gen, 4th gen, Ford, Toyotoa, Honda whatever the same questions must be posed.

How much money are you allowed to spend in total? That includes taxes, registration and any make-ready work that must be done such as new tires, front end alignment, brakes etc.

Do you expect the vehicle to be reliable and will get angry when it breaks or starts acting funny? If so, why are you looking at vehicles that range anyhere from 28 years of age to 9 years of age?

have you or anyone who is really willing to do it for you worked on vehicles before? Do you have the space, the tools? Is your personality that of a patient person or are you of the instant-gratification generation that thinks things should not be difficult?

You need to answet those questions because it will tell YOU which vehicles you should be exploring for possible purchase. It's nice to dream as a kid about a loud exhaust, a qucik vehicle and all those kills you'll have street racing. Heck, my first car had more bondo than metal and was held together on a prayer. My 2nd car I made into such a beast that I waa the gas pumps best friend. I also needed to carry tools in my trunk as well as few extra parts. But it was lud and it was fast but you know what? When i traded it in for a brand spanking new Toyota Celica i was a very happy lad. That Toyota was fun to drive, got good mileage and started every single time i turned the key. I could actually carry things in my trunk instead of tools.

So, if having peace of mind every time you turn the key is desirable then you may want to steer away from 20+ year old cars.

And for personal opinions

Both the 3rd gens and 4th gens are decent looking vehicles. The 98-2002 4th gens have the silly headlights but they do have the LS1. I purchased the 95 because I just liked the lines better. I've put so much money into the 95 that it now starts evey single time and I'd drive it cross country without a thought. But, pay attention to the fact that I sunk money into it and fully expected to have to when I purchased it.

Good luck but if your folks don't go for at least 250/500 liability then they are leaving themselves seriously exposed. It stinks being a parent of a teen driver because the insurance is expensive but it's worse when an opportunistic individual and unscrupulous lawyer find each other after your kid hit their car doing a whopping 12 mph.

 

buffalo, gtfo. you have no useful information

i own a third gen, its the body style i love most. it was originally a 305 tpi car, 2.73 posi rear. it ran the quarter around 15.4 @90 with just intake mods and no muffler. it was stout, but had a few internal issues that wound up with it blowing up. however, parts are cheap and easy to find. theres a lot of differences between each year from 86 and up, and many people may have already changed things around on the car. it was fun though as i could easily pitch it sideways and do burnouts all day. might be why it blew up

 

Yeah, everything I posted was useless. Anyways Mattrow, Torque is right. Anything that you buy will expensive in insurance cost. So you'll want to cut that cost as much as possible. The insurance cost for my dad's 1983 Z28 is very low, so this is a big reason why I would recommend a 3rd gen Z28 or IROC. When I was looking around for my Camaro, pretty much every sports car that I looked at was going to be high in insurance, even a 4th gen V6 Camaro. Microkid is right also, the parts for a small block Chevy V8 are cheap and abundant compared to LS1's and LT1's. If you're thinking that you want to build a V6 Camaro to be fast, you'll have to pour a lot of money into it, in order to make it as fast as a 4th gen Z28.

 

Buffalo the last post and your first post were good and on the topic here, thank you. Like has been said before there are good and bad with both, and at the end of the day it comes down to what you can afford and what you are willing to put into it. Older will usually but not always mean more work and more stuff to break. Newer will usually be higher insurance but less reliability issues. I paid $500 for the car you see in the sig below. Not joking I paid $500 and that picture was taken about 3 weeks after I brought the car home. It had a few issues that I knew about and ones I was willing to accept when I purchased the car. Issues that I had the skills and tools to take care of. About 3K miles after I bought the car the engine let go and I was scouring the yards looking for a new engine. 3 long days and about $700 later I had the car running again just like new.

Like I said and others have said here what are you willing to do? I knew about the engine and I knew that I could change and engine in this car so I bought one cheap that needed an engine. It was a fun job and I will do it again if the right deal comes around. Oh and my insurance on the car is not bad I have full coverage minus collision and it only runs me $65 per month. I earned that rate from driving nearly 20 years with very few tickets (none since I was 19) and being careful enough to never having caused an accident. I have been in accidents, but others have hit me and I was not at fault. The picture of my car in the sig was taken a day before my car was hit and totaled. Look in my gallery and you can see what happened and how the repairs went. The explaination of the accident is there too.

Good luck car hunting

Massey

 

if insurance is an issue that will be driving force in the purchase then compare insurance costs before buying. look the cars over and pick the one that looks the best for you. if you dont like or dont connect with the car then keep looking.