Hello everyone,

I'm going to try to make this as short as possible. I sold my '99 Z28 a few years back as an "adult decision", but I've regretted it since. I've been trying to look around, and see if I could find some busted 3rd gen, or even a rolling chassis. Here's where my question comes in. Where the hell does one go about looking now a days?! All 3rd gens seem crazy expensive, and nothing like what I'm looking for. Places like autotrader, recycler, etc. Don't even seem to list anything older than '97.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, or if I should post in the classifieds, but I don't think I meet the post requirements. It's been a while.



Thanks in advance

Have you looked on the thirdgen.org site:

Third Gen Forum

They are also sometimes posted on LS1Tech forum, but usually those are high-dollar LSX conversions. Occasionally, though, you'll find a 3rd Gen roller as a failed LS swap project.

They also sometimes pop up here, so keep looking.

I did look on LS1tech, you're very right. $$$. I did try craigslist, and it seems that 4th gens are cheaper than 3rd gens. Odd. I wouldn't be opposed to another 4th gen project, but I think I can get a collector plate for a 3rd gen, which means no emissions inspections. I didn't realize how much car pricing has changed in the last 5 years.

Thank you for your input, CrashTestDummy.

Depending on how my finances, and loan apps (for parts/labor) shake out, or not, my 2000 Z28 (1SC hardtop stripped T56, with Koni double adjustable fronts, on GC coilovers, UMI Roto-Jointed lower rear control arms & panhard, and Strano font 35mm hollow swaybar with UMI alloy mounts) might be for sale, and it runs, but it definitely needs new lifters and cam (NOISE!).

Whereabouts in Joyzee are you?? I only moved here from Union County (Springfield) ~3 years ago.

I'm in Northern Jersey. Bergen County, close to the NY border. I actually just moved here from Los Angeles about 2 years ago. I was really hoping for a third gen, so I could register it as Classic Modified, and not have to go through emissions testing haha. That bad?

FYI, as of May 1st 2016 all cars in NJ from model year 1995 and older no longer require any inspection!

Think about what this means, good and bad.

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Inspections/tailpipe.htm

Have you tried

https://classics.autotrader.com/

or race

http://www.racingjunk.com/

Craigslist can be hit or miss if you keep checking you might luck out.

Not sure what part of NJ you are in but I found this.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/5531379760.html

WOW, that is INSANE!!

I wonder IF they will keep updating this law to include the LS1 4th gens as they get older??

This may even be motivation for me to move back into the beach ball's (Christie) state, since long tubes, and NO A.I.R./EGR systems would then NOT prevent you from driving the car legally as far as the state is concerned, but might still be a problem if one gets a Gestapo type cop/trooper during a traffic stop, LOOKING for FEDERAL emissions things to bust you on.

I think they picked 1995 since that was the last year for OBD1. I doubt it will get updated yearly.

That has to be it. In Texas, OBDI cars get a tailpipe sniff on a rolling dyno. OBDII cars are 'plug and play'. Because the number of OBDI cars on the road is so low, it's getting harder and harder to find inspection stations with a working dyno. It's getting very annoying for those of us who maintain and drive OBDI and prior vehicles. I wish Texas would do that.

after 1995, eh!? This opens up so many new LS-swapped doors!!! I think I kind of sold myself on the idea of a third gen, though. I think if I went back to a fourth gen, it would be another 98-02. That front clip has grown on me. Like a fungus.

Also, autotrader only lists prestine third gens going for over $10K. Since when do third gens go for 10k!?!?!?! When I sold my 99 a nice one went for 5, and junk went for under 1,000.

So now I have another question. I have heard that 3rd gens are actually slightly better around the track because of the way the front suspension is set up. Any truth to that? I'm debating an early 4th gen now. Just not sure if there's an obvious advantage to one or the other.

I'd like to do a 3rd gen, because it's just something I haven't done yet. Unless there's a huge disadvantage...

It depends on the level of prep. 3rd Gens tend to turn in a bit better, and tend to be lighter, but the McPherson strut front suspension does have it's limitations. 4th Gens, I think have a bit stiffer body/chassis, out of the box, but tend to be a bit heavier, even with the plastic doors and front fenders.

The shortcomings of each can be overcome, to a point. Decide what you want to ultimately do, and then, really, find a car that's an abandoned project. Building a car from scratch is equivalent to death by a thousand cuts. You'll still be spending money, but the closer to a finished project you buy, you'll get most of the go-fast and safe parts on pennies on the dollar.

Better yet, I've read it more than once on this forum: Buy a Z06 and go have fun.

Now you tell me....where were you a few years ago?

Seriously, listen to that advice. I have a couple threads around here where I ran out of enthusiasm before getting finished with them.

Now I'm on a quest for a fun daily driver type car that I could autocross on occasion.

I definitely never ran out of enthusiasm. I just ended up selling my car because it was the right thing to do.
Do I miss it? Every single day.
Do I regret selling it? Not at all.

People tend to overprice their unfinished projects, and it would be fun turning something into what I want. I mean, realistically, no project is ever finished. I think it would be fun to do a 3rd gen LS swap, get it running, and slowly build it from there.

Heh, I've been at both ends of that process. My 71 T/A, I literally rebuilt from the ground up. It got pushed off the trailer as a wrecked rolling chassis with a truck-full of boxes holding the other stock parts. The money and time I spent on that car I could have purchased TWO new Trans Ams. But I did learn a lot, and got to do a lot of fabbing on the car. That, and the Big Pile of Unused Parts™ I acquired trying different things on that car so many years ago came in handy with the current ride.

Our current CP ride was a prepped-almost-to-the-rules car when it was built, but hadn't been driven in a couple of years before we bought it. We're still trying to catch up to the rules, and have, and will continue to spend a butt-load of money on it. But we didn't have to pay for the cage and initial build. We put new slicks on it, changed the fluids and went racing at the very next event. The 71 T/A was at least a 3-year build before I ever turned the key.

Building is fun, but you don't get to drive it much until you're done. The little crap, like nuts and bolts and wiring and hose and tubing are mostly bought by the other guy when you buy an old project.

yeah, you're right. I do imagine that just an engine swap, and getting the thing road worthy will equate to the thing sitting in my garage for at least a year. I'm not unrealistic. You never know what kind of BS you'll run into, am I right? Bolts snapping, parts being unusable, things not fitting correctly, etc.

Heh, indeed. With the new engine, I figured I'd save some money by sticking with the distributor and carburetor. Now for a LS engine to use those things, you need a Wegner front drive kit. The distributor I _had_ with the old engine was not usable with the new one (the front drive kit uses a Ford distributor). The old carburetor literally peed all over itself when I tried to use it. When looking things over, the throttle rods were flopping around in the base plate, and I don't know why it all of a sudden just flooded the engine. I all of a sudden could not adjust the floats. Soooo, front drive kit, new distributor, new carburetor, and I am probably break-even with a ECU and FI system. The headers had to be replaced, and the exhaust system had to be replaced. In an attempt to make the car pass sound required a larger muffler, so I modified the passenger side floor pan to make room. It all adds up.

Haha yes. Yes it does. No one ever thought this was a cheap hobby, though. I just wish I could find another deal on an engine like I did previously. $800 for an LS1 longblock with 241 heads. 40k miles. Something tells me, that is never going to happen again. Needless to say, I snatched it up and threw it in my '99.

Yeah, you're probably correct on that, sadly enough, since it is SO easy/cheap for them to just do a plug-in check, and STILL get ALL of their federal roadway funding.