I've been looking for a fun non-winter car for a daily driver to drive for work and on weekend getaway trips that will still get decent mileage vs. the truck, and pulled the trigger yesterday on this 1996 Camaro RS. It has the 3.8 Liter V6 that is 200 HP, and the 4 speed automatic, so it is fun to drive, but should still knock down 28-30 MPG according to the research). The price was right, so we decided to do it. It's a 15 footer, so it looks nicer in the pics than it is, but I won't have to worry about parking lots or leaving it out overnight at a hotel.
It needs some TLC on the interior, and the engine bay has some amount of gunk, so that will give me something to tinker with. It also came with the original set of 17" rims, so I need to look into having the outer edges smoothed and polished from curb rash before putting any tires on them. The rims/tires on it now are 16", so the speedo is off quite a bit.
Oh, absolutely NO selling/trading/etc. impact to the vert, so don't even go there.
dashboard said
May 18, 2014
I like it, great color! That engine is the great grandson of the 225CI V6 that I pulled out of the Buick. Here's the big question......................can ya spin the tires?
SShink said
May 18, 2014
dashboard wrote:
I like it, great color! That engine is the great grandson of the 225CI V6 that I pulled out of the Buick. Here's the big question......................can ya spin the tires?
Test drive tonight confirmed.... yes, big smoky burnouts possible with posi! And that was with the weight of a full tank of gas. That 3.8 is torqy!
Jon H said
May 18, 2014
Was that pine tree air freshener an option in '96? Seriously it looks like a fun car. Talked to a guy in Anoka Saturday night that wanted to sell his Trans Am of the same generation. Nice car, almost went for it.
SShink said
May 19, 2014
Jon H wrote:
Was that pine tree air freshener an option in '96? Seriously it looks like a fun car. Talked to a guy in Anoka Saturday night that wanted to sell his Trans Am of the same generation. Nice car, almost went for it.
Well Jon, your detective skills haven't softened any since retirement to pick out that black air freshener against the dark gray dash! No, it's not OEM or NOS, but it smells better than the inside of a car that's been stored for 3 years and not been driven more than 400 miles in that time.
The 4th gen F bodies are pretty reasonable in price right now, and yes fun to drive. Even with the V6, it's got plenty of pep to get into trouble. It will be a lot funner than driving the GMC back/forth to work. I had the T-Tops off yesterday, and it was fun with the nice weather.
Really the only thing I'm looking to do to it are throw in a cheap stereo receiver with an auxiliary jack for an Ipod (The one it it now hisses all the time over the speakers), and try to find a used set of 4th gen SS Camaro 17" 5 spoke rims/tires to replace the 16" knockoff ones on it now. That way the speedo will work correctly, and it should ride/handle better with a little bigger tire on it.
gearlube said
May 19, 2014
Cool Camaro! Congrats!! Looks like fun. Always loved the T-Tops
SShink said
May 19, 2014
Finally did some research on the options for this RS, and found some pretty cool stuff are on it. It has the 'Y87' package & it has the same steering ratio as the z28 / ta, rear disc brakes, 3.42 Auburn posi rear end, & used to have dual exhaust until the previous owner put a new muffler on with a single outlet. Those 4 items pretty much made up the "performance handling package" as they called it. It had to have different front springs from the z28 or the ta due to the lighter engine.
It also has the 6 way adjustable driver seat, power windows/remote locks, remote hatch release, and leather seating, so it was optioned out pretty nicely.
Derek69SS said
May 19, 2014
Looks like fun.
Maybe we'll see it out at DCTC this summer?
bowtie said
May 19, 2014
Does yours have the decklid spoiler?????
I have an original unpainted one in my garage.......
SShink said
May 19, 2014
bowtie wrote:
Does yours have the decklid spoiler?????
I have an original unpainted one in my garage.......
You mean like the one in the pic?
It's in good shape other than on the top where somebody tried to use touch up paint on a 1/2" long scratch.
bowtie said
May 19, 2014
Sorry, I don't get forum pics at work and no placeholders to see there was one even there.
I've been looking for a fun non-winter car for a daily driver to drive for work and on weekend getaway trips that will still get decent mileage vs. the truck, and pulled the trigger yesterday on this 1996 Camaro RS. It has the 3.8 Liter V6 that is 200 HP, and the 4 speed automatic, so it is fun to drive, but should still knock down 28-30 MPG according to the research). The price was right, so we decided to do it. It's a 15 footer, so it looks nicer in the pics than it is, but I won't have to worry about parking lots or leaving it out overnight at a hotel.
It needs some TLC on the interior, and the engine bay has some amount of gunk, so that will give me something to tinker with. It also came with the original set of 17" rims, so I need to look into having the outer edges smoothed and polished from curb rash before putting any tires on them. The rims/tires on it now are 16", so the speedo is off quite a bit.
Oh, absolutely NO selling/trading/etc. impact to the vert, so don't even go there.
Test drive tonight confirmed.... yes, big smoky burnouts possible with posi! And that was with the weight of a full tank of gas. That 3.8 is torqy!
Well Jon, your detective skills haven't softened any since retirement to pick out that black air freshener against the dark gray dash!
No, it's not OEM or NOS, but it smells better than the inside of a car that's been stored for 3 years and not been driven more than 400 miles in that time.
The 4th gen F bodies are pretty reasonable in price right now, and yes fun to drive. Even with the V6, it's got plenty of pep to get into trouble. It will be a lot funner than driving the GMC back/forth to work. I had the T-Tops off yesterday, and it was fun with the nice weather.
Really the only thing I'm looking to do to it are throw in a cheap stereo receiver with an auxiliary jack for an Ipod (The one it it now hisses all the time over the speakers), and try to find a used set of 4th gen SS Camaro 17" 5 spoke rims/tires to replace the 16" knockoff ones on it now. That way the speedo will work correctly, and it should ride/handle better with a little bigger tire on it.
Finally did some research on the options for this RS, and found some pretty cool stuff are on it. It has the 'Y87' package & it has the same steering ratio as the z28 / ta, rear disc brakes, 3.42 Auburn posi rear end, & used to have dual exhaust until the previous owner put a new muffler on with a single outlet. Those 4 items pretty much made up the "performance handling package" as they called it. It had to have different front springs from the z28 or the ta due to the lighter engine.
It also has the 6 way adjustable driver seat, power windows/remote locks, remote hatch release, and leather seating, so it was optioned out pretty nicely.
Looks like fun.
Maybe we'll see it out at DCTC this summer?
Does yours have the decklid spoiler?????
I have an original unpainted one in my garage.......
You mean like the one in the pic?
It's in good shape other than on the top where somebody tried to use touch up paint on a 1/2" long scratch.