Hey yall.. I just wanted to get your take on reeeeally high mileage cars? I was lookin on craigslist at camaro's and camaro parts like I usually do and see alot of the cars ppl are sellin have 150k to 250k at most usually and are also sometimes pretty cheap due to their higher miles. couple questions about these types of cars:

- How do the LS1 and LT1 fair between 200-400k+ miles? Obviously this is assuming the maintenance items are kept up properly.

- If you kept rebuilding it as necessary and replacing broken engine components as they break.. could you effectively run one of these engines for an extended period of time? I see some people have cars they run until the odometer literally cant go any higher.

-Could an LS1 and/or LT1 possibly run for that long? If not, why?

- What prohibits these engines(or any engines) from lasting that long?

- At what point would you guys say that you would consider one of these cars "on its (figurative) last leg?"

- Also, at what point do you think it would be pointless to put money and effort into one of these cars? For example, an LS1 camaro at 250k, 300k, or possibly even 350k total miles. Even if most of the rest of the car looks relatively good.. would it be dumb to not only keep it but to keep it on the road?

- What on these cars tends to break and be the biggest expense at the higher miles? Im asking not only about the chance for critical engine failure situations but also for the REST of the car like major suspension failure, chassis failures, etc etc?

- In your opinion, just how many miles could you put on an LS1 car or LT1 car before you would COMPLETELY retire the car?

- Despite the higher miles, if I was willing to buy a master rebuild kit for these engines and do the rebuild myself, would I essentially be breathing new life into a 300k miles motor or would the efforts be a big waste of time?

- Are there any reasons why I would NOT want to do a full rebuild on a high mileage car?

- What are the pros and possibly any cons to doing a rebuild?

Im contemplating getting a project car that me and my dad can work on together and spend our weekends tinkering around with. I already have quite a few project cars of my own but I want to get something that would interest us both as he has no reason to want to touch my cars for fear of accidentally breaking something on it which I can totally understand.

I would cover the whole cost myself and surprise him with it but I think if hes monetarily invested(as in, we each pay half towards whatever car we decide on and equally share ownership and the responsibility for it) in it he'll be more likely to be mentally and physically invested as well. I dont want to have to spend too too much and Im not horribly concerned about the condition the car is in or the mileage, meaning Im thinking a little bit "beat up", higher mileage car on the cheap might be what I want to get.. something that IS kind of run down/old with a lot of history. Something I can tear down and rebuild just for the hell of it and to spend some quality time with my dad without having the worry or the concern or the obnoxious perfectionism that I have when I work on my own personal cars. We've been talking occasionally about it and entertaining this idea for a little while and we're even actively monitoring craigslist for the right buy but definitely taking our time about it. Just thought Id ask the experts here what yalls thoughts are on the topic. As always, thanks in advance.. yall always have something worthwhile to say.

 

my odometer displays over 200,000 miles

none of the power-train is original

it's been repainted

suspension parts replaced


interior updated

It's a 95Z and if I were to sell it, I would get nowhere near the money put into it.

But, that's not why I did it.

If you're looking for a daily driver with high miles and for it to be reliable, then that's a crap shoot.

If you are of the mindset to take on a project car and are honest with yourself, and I mean really honest with yourself about your expectations then miles isn't an issue.

If you find a project car with documentation that confirms a recently rebuilt engine, transmission etc, then expect to pay more

If the high miles car has pristine paint and interior, then you'll pay more.

It comes down to what you really really really (did i make my point) expect and does the money in your pocket support your expectations?

I'd hop in the 95Z, turn the key, head cross country without thinking twice about it and it's a "high miles car" ....................but I paid dearly to have that level of reliability

 

Ok so say you came across an lt1 or ls1 with 250k miles and almost no history but runs for a good price or a steal. obviously it'll need work but say the rest of the car was solid. would it be worth it to tear down the engine and rebuild it or at that point would you just go and find another engine for it?

I know you'll never break even fixing up a car but that's not even remotely something in concerned about. This is just about the fun factor of taking something on the brink and bringing it back to its former glory

 

you would be better off to find a create motor or stroke it. cost is more to do yourself usually due to machine shop costs. you will have to have the cylinders bored out and replace pistons anyways so may as well at least go 30 over and get it to 355. cost to have your block done to a 383 right at a good shop runs 3-3500 bucks.

 

when they get around 100.000 if it was like an one owner car owned bye an older person not likely to have beat on it would be good ,at about 100.000 on mine 95 ,yes diffrent engine an tranny ,so I guess my point is when they get around 100.000 there only worth something to the owner ,unless you can find a deal or the one owner that gram drove ,an garaged every year,i got mine 2008 with 69.000 first owner had it for 12 years ,#2 was a collage girl 2 years aprox I think it was driven hard the 2 years before I got it but allways garage kept an still 99,9% rust free ,but I pounded it even though I tuned it plugs wires gear oil ,its the seals I think is the worst part of an 15 to 20 year old car ,so with mine was head gasket did it in,what id did find was that to get 6 years 30.000 miles for my $5000.00 ,it paid for itself an owed me nothing,now it will take about 4 years to say the same about the set up I got now ,to own a desent sports car for around 200,00 a month Is cheap ,just to say if one was making payments ,I seen one resently was red 14000 miles one fender bender minor ,it was showroom even the engine red ,still had the plastic on the floors from factory I meen sweet car $8000.00 sold for 7000.00 you just got to look an save your money ,if you can wait bring it to someone to look at it before you buy it the deal are out there right time right place ,most cars that were garage kept make great resto cars theres tons of them out there ,that car above some would ask the same price for a car with 100.000 ,good luck on that sale right time right place I would have jumped on that an a few more deals I seen ,the 74 pro street was the best one,i have seen since putting $8000.00 in mine ,no regrets though

 

Here is the thing about mileage. You can have a car with 100K and it can be completely worn out. We are talking complete restoration required. You can have the same year make model of a car with 100K and she is ready for the next 100k.

The difference good maintenance and highway miles. True highway are very easy on a car. Motor runs at a nice 2100 RPMs there is almost no stress on the suspension, even the brakes are rarely used.

We can not see into the motor but we can do leak down tests, we can manually verify oil pressure and we can send the oil out to be tested to check the condition of the motor. The LS1 has a weak spot in the oil pump and with any engine a failed fan to thermostat can kill a it, but other then that they can be 300k motor.

 

that's why I like the hour meters on marine engines.

I'll take a car with 100k miles that 80% was at 70mph vs a car with 70k miles where 80% was city driving

 

you just don't know if it was highway or city in most cases ,I got mine with 69.000 ,.did not leak a drop of oil ,but it was my choise to test it hard.e meening drive it hard but maintain it well as possible again I think seal an how old the car is the worst enemy,the car was well taken care for for the most part still being 99.9% rust free,but I drove it hard for those 30.000,i was not suprized I had blown head gasket .just that is was so slow ,couse like said while I .maintained it well ,I.also ran it hard at times ,I did not abuy a Camaro to drive it like grand ma,but keep my speed under .100