New to forum. I've been an LT1 B-/D-body guy for a few rides now. I have an opportunity to pick up a '99 Camero 3.8L AT for next to nothing ($100-300) with about 100k and a bad trans. The front paint is terrible, but the rest of the car is decent. Interior has a few replacements needed, but cloth is generally rip-free. I don't even see rust around the doors, shock towers, etc. That's not common here in Michigan. It has been setting about 2 years, so I'll have some fuel system issues. I'll attempt to start it up sometime soon. My 12 YO daughter has been saving up and is thinking about picking up a project car she can work on with me to have ready when she can drive in 3.5 years. So, with all that in mind.

In general I have two options:

1. Work on it with her as far as she wants to spend, then she can decide to drive or sell.
2. Part it out.

Parting it out is a good way for her to learn how cars are assembled and would bring in decent money to put aside for another.
Working on it sounds like it will involve a new trans, new t-top seals, a new DS window switch panel, probably tires (didn't check). I'd prefer to put in a manual trans and will read up here on how difficult that is. May just opt for another AT (think it's the 4L60E, but will again read up here).

So, any advice? Any big Gotchas with the 3.8L?

 

3800 are known for intake gasket. If its not been replace yet it should, if you install a felpro intake kit it will never bother you again. At this point I think most have been changed. Head gaskets also to a muck lesser extent, mostly from a lack of changing coolant. If the intake gasket is replaced and the coolant/oil has been maintained it should be 250,000 mile motor. Many people have gotten more.

Check the floors near the rear seat and the frame rail going up and around the rear wheels for rust.

If I found a deal like that on a solid car I would be temped to head to a junk yard and pick up a used trans with a short warranty ($200-$500). Swapping a trans is not a big deal.. Yes you may get a bad one but swapping the trans a second time is a lot quicker You could flip it, beat it or do a few Lemon races and still part it out when done.

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

 

Good info, thanks. More info. We went and looked it over more, jumped it and it fired up after a few tries. It continued to run well. I'm told it only has first gear, but on the way back across town it shifted into second. I'll look more into that. For now, we'll park it and do a little here-and-there. The front bumper does have a break where it clearly was bumped. All the paint in front is terrible, but the doors back are nearly perfect. I don't see any rust anywhere on the body, and only a little here-and-there under the hood.

It had been parked under a maple tree for the past couple years, so it was full of leaves and goop around the hood, etc. We sprayed it off, wiped off the mildew and my daughter is working on cleaning up the interior. I think she's realizing there's a lot to do, but she has years to do it.

The passenger seal around the windshield was folded up into the cabin and I think that's where it was leaking. We have some moss on the passenger floor to kill and dried up the puddle. It will dry out in the garage and we'll assess actual damage. The seats seem to be in very good shape and everything seems to work. More to come.

 

An I have a happy 12 year old daughter. $300. We’re going to remove the carpet to wash it. I don’t see any real rust anywhere on the body or frame. 134,000 miles.

She thought the t-tops were a big sunroof. I took one out and her eyes got HUGE.

Previous owner doesn’t have service records from before he owned it. Oh well. Fun project.

 

Very nice fined. may be worth it to head over to rock auto and pick up a crate trans once your sure the rest of the car is sold.

 

Going to see what exactly is the issue. Plan to drive it a little in the next few days to see if I can verify. Could be electrical, etc. I know the 4L60E wasn't the greatest, but it accepted way more power than these 3.8s put out for many miles (my last one on an LT1 was at 255k when sold and still runs to this day). I've never had to do tranny work, so this will be a good experience. Every car I've owned had plenty of other opportunities for work, but not trans.

Here's to a new adventure. I've come home from work to find her working on it without me a couple times, so it's a victory so far.

EDIT: WHOA! just looked at Rockauto's transmission cost. We'll probably just pick up a used one if this one is a real problem. I'll be reading up on the manual swaps here too. I looked briefly at the process, but need to decide if it's worth it.

 

Yes many people have got over 200K on their 4L60s but keep in mind two things. 1.) Even though V6 and V8 4L60 have the same model number they are built to application. Meaning the V6 version will have less clutches less or weaker planetary gears and different accumulators. 2.) I am sure there is a better way of saying it but this is mass produced crap, Just cause one trans makes it 250K does not mean they all will, I worked full time as a GM tech doing mostly warranty work. I have seen trans failure with less then a 1000 miles and some fail at the end of their warranty at 100k and just about everything between. Even IF the all trans were "perfect" from the factory all it would take is one over heat while stuck in the snow to cut the life in half.

I think you are going to find a good 5 speed setup with a non-china clutch will not come cheap. These T5's will work in a lower HP V8 with a bell housing change. Hot Rodders ****** them up pretty quick. The best way to buy a 5 speed is getting a donor car.

I would not put a new trans in it either right off, I would put a used trans in then if that fails and the rest of that is in decent shape then do a new one. Even if it only lasts 6 month at least you know what the rest of the car is like.

 

Drove it last weekend about 5 miles and all gears worked. Eventually we’ll drain the fluid and replace the filter. Will check for metal, etc.

Its had a water leak at the passenger window seal for over a year and has been setting, collecting water. My daughter pulled the interior and we vacuumed. Was very dirty plus dog hair everywhere. She did that with l less than 50% help from me and tonight we pulled the carpet to dry it out.

Tomorrow we’ll call our local parts store to see if they sell insulation. We need to replace about 6sqft. Any recommendations? Is it worth laying in some sound deafening material under it? Recommendations for that?

anything else i should he sure be sure to do at this point?

 

Nice and solid floor!

Just the pressure test on the coolant system.

Always check Rock autos web site for parts. If some makes they should have it and their prices are tuff to beat. If you look around you can find 5% off and depending on what you buy that can cover shipping. You to look at hush mat or like product, it goes on like contact paper. It reflects heat and dedans noise. .

 

More updates. We washed the carpet well with a scrub brush and a bucket of water with a mix of laundry detergent and Clorox2. It came out pretty good. We let it out to dry while we went to a birthday party and it proceeded to storm for about an hour. So, the carpet is drying a bit more. While at the party a friend let us know he had a box of the carpet pad he would never use and gave it to us. Pretty great. We considered sound material, but she's 12 and this has burned through her savings so far. Let's face it: it's a t-tops Camaro. It's never going to be silent. If she decides to do that, we can another time. Just not worth the cash right now.

We did find two issues.

1. We knew the car had been in some kind of accident before because the headlights set about 1/4-3/8" to the side. Nothing from above looks bent or creased. I'll check more below as we go. There is also a very small - probably 3" long by maybe 1/8" tall crease in the driver's footwell. Since the car tracks straight, I'm not terribly worried, but will check it a little better before we spend any real money on it. For now, we'll sand that down, put some rust inhibitor on it and throw some primer on it. We'll do the same from the bottom if it shows down there and the paint is cracked.
2. We found two bad seals that leak. The passenger door seal leaks right where the window seal had been shut into it while it set. It's pretty bad. The other leak is the driver's T-top seal. I'm going to see if either door can be adjusted in a bit at the top, which may be enough for at least one of them. If not, she'll buy new seals before we have it in any rain. Hopefully that won't be for a while as it can stay in a garage and we can just drive it when it's nice.