im looking to buy a 1995 LT1 from a guy off craigslist, in his add he stats it has low oil pressure, at first i thougt well maybe because its an older engine he isent useing a heavier oil due to wear over the years, then i got to thinking it could be any number of things like main bearings or oil pump etc. and i kinda scared myself in thinking it might cost me thousands to fix. my problem other then scaring myself is that the motor is out of the car, i cant hear it run, im going next weekend to look at it then probably buy it and hope luck is on my side it isent something serious....hope u can help cause i hate winging it on big expenses like this.

 

So it has a bad engine and it's out of the car. You can rest assured the engine needs to be rebuilt/replaced. You didn't say how much the guy wants, but $1,000 for that car might be a fair price if the rest of it is in great shape. That's if you can do all the work yourself. But if you have to pay someone, you're going to be neck deep in it financially. You should be scared of it costing thousands, if you have to pay someone to do the work. Scared enough to keep looking for a different car.

 

Installing a motor you did not take out is not an easy task for a mechainc. Most mechanics have a way to remove things that helps them remember how stuff goes back togethere. Unless you or your mechanic knows how everything fits it can be VERY time consumming looking up every clip and wire routing.

For purchasing purpose you should assume the motor needs replaced. It might be fixable but you should never buy something on might. Rebuilding high miles, low pressure motors almost always cost more then buying a remanufactured motor.

 

If the engine is out it was prob removed for a reason. There are plenty more camaros in the world I'd keep looking.

 

Bad idea bro.

 

Unless there's something particular about the body or color of the car that your just head over heals for or unless the car is really cheap your better off to keep looking man. The z28s can be pretty cheap to find a running one but building a lt1 gets very expensive very quick