thanx for ur input Gorn
I copied and pasted all this for my own instruction / knowledge

I can type 60 words per min., so it's not much work for me.

I'm a writer of fiction now in this stage of my life.breaks my heart to buy any other car, Gorn, but I may have to choose a more modern muscle car that is younger AND affordable, & pay all CASH - without being stuck in the auto finance grind. an all cash deal for America's true Affordable muscle car and it's not the Dodge Challenger like their Dodge ads speak of, it's really a Ford Mustang 2007 on series.

I wish 'cause the Dodge Challenger recent edition is a VERY sexy beast.

but the true affordable muscle car is the Ford Mustang the used versions can be purchased here in San Diego, Southern Calif. for 11,000 dollars used.

I, too, would buy a 2016 Camaro or at least a 2014 but I have to pay for a Graduate degree to pay for and the rebuilding of my Ok credit to get private student loans for Law School which would total about 100,000 dollars for 3 years of law school at a top notch law school here in So. Cal

 

i put almost 4k into my lt1. thats including a new factory 4 bolt short block i found for 1k. not hard to spend that much.

 

I have a 5k budget for my 4th gen. Got it for $1700. I think I'll be able to get it running and looking pretty decent on that much money. You can't just go out and buy customization and the sentimental value of wrenching on your own car. My car won't be garage kept and only driven on sunny afternoons, so I'll spend that money on making my car "mine"

 

The main reason I do not think it is worth putting the money into one of these cars is because of the amazing deals out there on already built car. In many cases you can be already done cars with very low miles since the builds, you can test drive, for less then you can buy the the parts to do the same build. That does assume the goal is to own a nice car, I know several guys that just sell their cars when they are "done" and move on to the next project.

 

thanks I am just learning to type with 2 fingers, was a one finger guy .for the first 5 years an now just about 10 years I was computer illiterate until then like alot of people self tought on computer ,an was in special ed for much of life but that's ok these days just meens a bit slower I learn the same same as every one else ,when I quit high school in 9th couse they said I learn the same as everyone else ,I later got a ged an scored 204 out of 300,wich was 4 points better then my twin sister who has a realtors licence wich took her 4 times to pass the very hard test ,spelling was not allways my best or English an history ,now history is much more important to me then ever as well as interesting ,math I did well in science too ,wood class I learned to make pipes for some certain things still got a Bi know many people with collage degrees they never used ,an was just a waste for them an not even as smart,not that I am that smart ,one big party ,wich my early life was until 12 years ago ,needless to say I don't drink Alcohol anymore or the other stuff,life allowed me to grow up a little each year an still doesman have these nice cars too ,nice cars in the past were short lived ,when your the life of the party hehehe,no life is a party with out the party

 

yes like gorn I see so many stock 4th gens cheap mostly graigs list ,when I got my 95 z28 in 2007 for $4500,00 69.000 miles 2 owner ,was so clean still is ,theres even better deals,now for guys who want to customize or modify ,then putting money in them is normal ,if you want a stock car yes there out there ,stock was ok for awhile ,now instead of moveing on to another car wich I did a base 3800, great on gas ,its just preference to me couse if we were all the same the world would be pretty dull ,we have all made mistakes we regret ,but we learn from them ,so when I say 10 years from now would a stock ss be fine ,yes ,but who knows ,mabey a mustang not ,who knows ,life for me is one day at a time plans ,how many times do plans not work out the way we wanted them to,like my conversion an engine swap I learned alot an from the forum as well ,that if I kept just a stock Camaro an never joined a forum ,then my knowledge of these cars would be minimal for sure ,still is but knowing a bit more ,an the hands on thing ,like telling people yes I did the conversion with a friend makes one feel a sence of pride an more love for the car ,I have been through hell an back with my 95 an its still road worthy 3 hit an runs 2 bit more bigger accidents ,an its still a solid car .something to work with was best said to me,yes in you area I seen many z28 cars for like $5000.00 with under 100.000 way under ,theres a guy got it worse then you an spending a lot more to fix his z28 after buying it ,an finding many thing wrong with it ,I do remember saying dealer cars are the worst most times,the one the old lady had one owner garage kept probley the best choise ,now I know from my 99 3800 wich I have 3000.00 in it an 92.000,i have done ok but will need brakes soon ,mabey passengers control arm ,will find out in august ,hope to not have to do anything but tires till 2017 will see one day at a time i learned to now bring the 80 point check list with me a small floor jack flash light other tools .an in most states can ask to bring to another shop for pre buy inspection again if they will do it ,an don't want you too run,mine was a slap an stick until we made it inspectable,did not notice the seller took it off just before I left was slick

 

wheels/tires and a decent sand/minor repair/2 stage cut/glaze paint job from a body shop and that $5k is almost if not completely, buh bye

 

He's lucky he's not in southern calif. since he'd have to smog his car legally every 2 years @ $65 every 2 years. and if it doesn't pass California's stringent smog program, he can't register the car unless he gets a new Cat. converter, a $500 part for a 4th gen., AND if something is wrong like the driveshaft is defective on a 4th gen. and it conks out on you without notice like mine did 3 months ago and the car would only go in reverse and not go forward, (real bad prob. cos u think the car is toast, but it's not) that's $630 which includes labor at a shop for a Reman. driveshaft.; it IS a defective part on a 4th gen. Also: if needed A rebuilt trans. might cost $1,500. ( i woulnd't buy a 4th gen. from the used secondary market unless i knew it was only 1 owner and if she was a granny and drove it like a traditional grandma WITHOUT doing an engine compression test either. u can get paint jobs for way cheaper, if needed....he may not need a paint job. The bad thing on a 4th gen. is that a reputable Transmission shop told me that the 4th Gen. driveshaft, a long tube running under the chassis is an inherently defective part that will break down unless you buy one with a new and improved aftermarket driveshaft that was added later by the prior owner. this new and improved drive shaft cost me $630, but will never break down again barring any unforseen crazy circumstances like maybe driving 90 mph on rugged terrain and having palm desert rocks dig into the underbelly.

 

I'll let you know my final bill for getting the car finished up. I'm keeping a spreadsheet so I'll post that up when I'm done with getting it completely repaired and looking nice. Anything after that for extra performance or looks will be on top of that. I paid $591 for wheels and tires; I think I'm doing pretty good on my budget so far. I also just bought a used 4th gen V8 drive shaft to replace the one in my V6 for under $70. Paying $630 for an aluminum aftermarket drive shaft is kind of silly, in my opinion.

 

ahh

I wasn't even considering used tires.

I'm not a fan of used tires. Used wheels, sure

There use to be (not sure if it's still there) a place called OE Wheels or something like that on Ebay where you could get 4 17 x 9.5 wheels with 275 40's for around $650-$800 delivered; bran spankin new