I'm finished with the 95Z. After a rebuild, long tubes, CAI, ORY, 1.6RR's and a tune and busting the tranny a few times, I finally beefed up the tranny and she runs great. When I bought it, I focused on finding a car with a good exterior and interior. I've now begun looking for a 3rd gen with the same criteria. There are several on the market be they RS or Z28 with either the 305 or 350. I understand that neither with bolt-ons will perform like the 95.

I just need a bit of guidance from the 3rd gen vets. Should I avoid t-tops? Do the seats rip in the side bolster like with the 4th gens? How is access in the engine bay? I can't imagine it's worse than a 4th gen. Are long tubes any easier to install than the 4th gens?

I'll probably focus on the 350 in order to have a better baseline.

Any tips or hints would be great.

Again, interior and exterior are my greatest concern but tips with respect to failure points mechanically would be great..


thanks in advance
TIG

 

I used to have a 91 RS.
I wouldn't worry at all about the t-tops, and I prefer them. My car didn't twist, but it was a stock 305. If you're going to be putting in a high hp engine, you might want to consider frame connectors.
Engine access in the 3rd gen is a hell of a lot better than the 4th gen (had a couple also). With the seats, it depends on how the car was taken care of. Mine had 118k miles and the interior was perfect. I'm purposely careful when getting in and out of cars (sit on seat and swing in instead of sliding butt across backrest), knowing how the backrest bolsters can tend to wear fast.

 

engine access is a hell of a lot easier. you can change spark plugs in less than 45 minutes on them. long tubes, rather easy, but be careful as some are designed for full drag cars that are lifted in the front. but in general, they are easier to work on and parts are still aplenty

 

thanks so far. Now the next question and I don't want to start a flame war. What are the major differences between the 305 and 350? It seems that there are more 305's out there. On the LT1 vs LS1 yes there are big differences in the engine. I went with the LT1 simply because I liked the front end better. The 3rd gens have the same appearances but different engine choices

Is the RS single wheel drive and the Z posi?

I'm not looking for an 11 or 12 second 1/4 mile project car. I just want to have another vehicle to take to cruise nights that has a good rumble in the exhaust and some low end torque for around town driving.

 

there are diffeneces mostly around the block and pistons. i think the rods and crank are the same. heads are interchangable as long as as its the same style head (>86 perimete bolt, <87 centerbolt), headers are interchangle, waterpumps, cam, etc. as for the the option of the posi, it all depends on the rpo codes. i dont know which one it is, but posi was availible for both rs, z28, iroc z, and the sport models. there are also different fueling systems avilible. most commin is tbi, i think pre 87 offered the h.o carb, 85 up offered tpi, and there was crossfire injection from 82-84