ok so im about to buy a 96 trans am. its a deal i dont really wanna pass up.. so as im looking at the car, the owner tells me he has a misfire code, the engine struggles to stay running but when revved it smooths itself out. he said he was told it was a lifter. but thinks its the distributor. from what i was told the car has a bigger cam, headers with full exhaust, computer tuned, CAI, and i think thats about it. any input will be greatly appreciated.. the car is beautiful and sounds even better (when running) but i wanna see what im getting myself into before i buy it.. thanks in advance!

 

whats this great deal? whats the mileage and price?

 

forget the mods or hopes for performance

what is the objective of the purchase? You need to be honest. Is it to purchase a vehicle that is in great running shape from day one with no extra money being spent?

Or, are you willing to roll up your sleeves, perhaps have the car off the road for a month and spend $1,000, maybe more to get it back in OK (not excellent) but OK shape?

Oh, do you have the tools/skills/facilities to perform tasks beside oil changes? If not, you must factor in labor.

 

im very willing to roll up my sleeves, i do all my own work. ive rebuilt a 305 ground up, was recently fully rebuilding a v6 camaro, also a 96. 3.8 series 2 . i installed all new clevitte bearings including cam bearing (they were a ***** lol) high lift comp cam new lifters rods piston ring ect. i do have the tools. im looking to get this car running good and dont really mind spending some money to get it there.. THE deal is $1500 120,000 miles. T-tops interior is in great shape. no stains or water marks so the tops dont leak. the exterior is in great shape as well. its sitting on a set of weld racing rims with mickey thompson drag radials.


edit: i was building the v-6 to handle a hefty shot of N2o, let the flaming begin haha

 

actually, thinking about it, my 84 z-28 i had did a similar problem.. after i rebuilt the engine a wire melted from getting too close to the headers. it had nasty misfires and then just wouldnt start at all.. im gunna see if the guy will let me look at the car more closely before i buy it (family friend) so i shouldnt have a problem with that. the worst thing it could be is the distributor right? because it really doesnt act like its a collapsed lifter, no knocking at all. feel free to correct me if im wrong

 

for 1500 i wouldnt pass it up, as long as a little trial and error to get her going right doesnt scare you i say go for it

 

thats what i was thinking. theres no knocking in the engine, and when its revved into higher rpms its smooth and has quick response with a little popping on the decel, id love to get the car and find out the plugs werent gapped correctly or a wire is arching lol.

 

thatd be the day right lol

 

lol yea its never that simple.. im looking up parts for worst case scenerio. and i found some distributors on summitracing. theres is like $250, and the msd is $489 and obviously better. any experience with these? also found an acdelco

 

heres my 79s engine bay... any indication? lol