As the handle implies, I recently picked up a green 1997 RS. I've owned a pile of old cars, but this is a first Camaro.

I already had friends give me grief over it being a V6 auto and not a V8 stick, but they aren't paying for it, and I am. So I got what I got. Yeah, it isn't the fastest thing, but it looks cool and it has T-tops. And it was cheap.

It's surprisingly rust-free for a car in the Midwest. Some little scratches here and there and one small dent. I have owned for a couple of weeks now, and have been busy replacing all the burnt out lightbulbs and fixing all the little mechanical bugs and making it run right. The guy I got it from was clearly not particularly mechanically inclined. Tons better than it was now that I fixed the first half-dozen glitches.

No real plans for it, except to keep taking care of annoyances.

 

hay green97 welcome to the forum. looking good. the 3.8 is actually a great engine and for its year has good power with great gas milage. enjoy the site.

 

Thanks, craby.

 

Congratulations on your purchase.
I have to say, hands down that is one of the two best looking cars on this site!

 

Thanks! Silly impulse buy, but what can I say...

Nice.

I have more scratches, the darkness hides them. Also, my front bumper lip is missing. I am really not sure about replacing it, given how often I catch ground in this town.

 

The pics make me miss my 96 and my 2000. The only real weak spot with the 3800 is the intake gasket. Keep a close eye on our coolant level. If you see it dropping, get it to someone who know what they are doing to check it out. If you catch the intake leak early, it is a relatively easy fit. If it goes too long the engine will not be worth fixing. You can also check the oil. If it is milk shake color, you may be too late.

Chances are the intake has already been fixed. These failed pretty early in the life of the car and any decent intake gasket kit would be a lifetime fix. The 3800 does not like high speed down shifting or over reving. GM auto transmission is not the greatest but many people get to 250K mile and beyond without a repair. 4th gens and if you pound on them all the time they will fail. If you feel anything "not shift normal" you want to get your filter replaced.

I am in no way slamming your 3800. I would buy one in a second. I loved my 3800 manual 5 speed. I it bought with a spun bearing. The girl I bought it from said it ran perfect till her boyfriend borrowed it. I will bet he did something stupid like shifting for 5th to 3rd at 90 MPH. I found a low miles complete engine. Swapping it and I drove that car as my daily for almost 10 year and about 100,000 miles with only maintenance repairs. If you are interested in that kind of stuff pic on the link in my signature for the 96. Don't bother with the 2000 link that turned into a cautionary for daily driving a car you love.

 

I think that's the case with a lot of common defects.

I think the 4L60E gets a lot of undeserved hate. People beat the living hell out of them and they say they are crap for not standing up to abuse. I've had quite a few GM vehicles with some version of it and I really didn't find it that bad.

A 5-speed would have been nice, but they can be a little hard to find. 4th Gens are kind of hitting that stage where they are either trashed or people think they are made of gold. Or both.

 

welcome to the forum