I dont know where you live in washington but I have some friends who live in Longview.

 

Did I miss something?
Is the muffler being changed?
I have not read this statement, but just the same, you have made your decision and as said, you will have a nice Camaro. Go for it!

 

I asked them would I lose the "noise" I've been used to when the engine is swapped and he said it would be quieter. It's like waiting to hear if it's boy or a girl. Instead I'm waiting to hear if it sounds different.

 

He must have been referring to the clankity-clank noise from under the hood.
Your exhaust note shouldn't be quieter.

 

Guess we'll see. The motor was a smooth sound.

 

As the flowmaster age their sound can change. Basicly they rust out on the inside and they get a deeper sound. I loved the way my 96 souded when I fist got it on the road. But then as it got older the drone at highway speed started. About a year later the whole inlet pipe pulled out and I could see there was nothing inside. For a year she sound real mean at idle.

Have you gotten a quote yet on the used motor? I know you have a lot invested in the car so far but is I am even close on my estimate is putting a used unknown motor in your car worth when a smaller check could get you this?
95 chevy camaro conv.great car

The reason I shutter at the thought of putting 3K in a 94 3.4 is because I still go to the auction and in the last year I have not seen one sell for over 2K in fact the one I saw at 2K had 70,000 miles garage kept dealer sevices, Mint. Coolant, trans oil and engine oil clean as could be. This was a car you could drive for years and do only basic stuff. I am not a fan of the 3.4 but I was temped to buy it for 2K. If it had been a 3.8 I would have in a second but I doubt I would gotten it for 2K. Most of the 3.4 sell in the 900-1300 range at auction and that is running inspected cars. Anything not inspecter or not running is bought by scrapers.

 

Well that car has a dent in it (lol Mine doesn't). I dont care for stripes at all and I hate convertible camaros (gasp yep I said that) I also dont like those wheels and that is very far from me That car could very well have the same problem as mine. You'd never know if the gaskets were decent or not just looking at it.

I would never consider selling my car so it wont matter what it's "worth". The motor going in was $850 and had 83K on it and was rebuilt and has a warranty on it. It's coming from a pretty reputable place near here that does nothing but motors. Not that it makes that big of difference, but my car is a 95. Oh and I would also have to pay $1100 to put mine back together to get it in "sell" condition. Why not pay a little more to have it put back together with a running motor. That's silly to me.

How long do mufflers typically last? It was put on fall of 2010.

 

How long a muffler lasts depends on how the car is driven. A car the is driven short trip only can go through a none stainless exhaust in 3 year. I use to see it all the time with older people that drove local. Car was in great shape and very few miles and had to have a new exhaust every 3 years. Now if you run the car 20-30 minutes at a time and allow the exhaust to reach full temp and burn out all the moisture is can last 10-12 years.

I wish there was some way other then typing I could convey what I know. I have seen your situation so many times. Some one buys a car that is not maintained. They just keep sinking money into it thinking ok now its fixed. Then the heater core goes bad, another $300, then the Ball joints need done, another $250, then the rack and hose need replaced $550 opps axle seal, $150. At the end of the year they could bought a really nice car. So now they have everything fixed. Then AC compressor goes....

Cars that are not well maintained end up with a ton of issues later in life. The heatercore fails because the coolant was not changed every 24-36 months. the ball joint go because the car was ran a long time out of alignment.The rack and hose fail because the power steering was never changed. Brake are constantly a problem because the brake fuild was not changed now ther is rust in the system. How do you get rust out of a brake system? rebuild or replace everything at the same time.

The key to buying a older used car is finding one that has been correclty maintained and continuing that maintenance. Most systems in a car will last decades if maintained.

I know you would never do it but I would part your 3.4 out to cover the current bill and move on to find a cherry used car some old guy had who was retired and was so bored he like taking the car to the dealer for maintenance even before it was needed. We had customers I used to see every month. They are out there, as a general rule they cost only a little more then a normal car and they are ready for years of real use. I just found a 93 olds for my daughter. 56,000 miles you could eat off the motor. The lady who had it had a thick file all from the olds dealer. Her husban passed away last year and now her eye sight was going. If my daughter does basic maintenance no reason that will not last 5 years. All for $2100 . Ya I know an Olds but they are just starting out.

 

Partially true. You live in the rust belt and your climate is very high humidity area as well as having harsh winters with alot of salt used on your roads. I lived in the Binghampton NY area for years and the rust that cars have on them is insane. I live in a very arid area of the country and exhaust systems can last the entire life of the car. My father has a 99 Dodge 1500 pick up 4x4 with about 135k miles on it with all the original exhaust. Not a single fastener under the car has one bit of rust on it. Its quite amazing actually. My vehicles are the same as well as most vehicles that are from around here and the surrounding states.

 

On the subject of putting more money in a car than it's worth, I guess the next ones to receive an economics lesson should be those of us who like to add "mods" or "customizations" that they'll never get the money back for either. Just sayin!