So here's my situation. I'm currently driving my mother's old ride, a 1993 Pontiac Sunbird V6. I like this car, and it's been very reliable, but it's got a few problems. There's a major coolant leak, the engine hesitates when stomping on the gas, and it's recently started randomly "going soft" at random intervals - i.e. I'll step on the gas and feel the power fade in and out for a coupe seconds before it really gets up and goes. It also tried to stall out at idle earlier today, with RPMs rapidly dropping to the point where it started to stumble, then sticking high and dropping at the same steady rate when I revved it to keep it alive. It makes a noticeable clackety noise when revved, and using higher-octane fuel did not fix this so if it's knocking for some reason it's doing it quite a bit. The transmission is a black hole into which huge amounts of fluid can be dumped without much effect on shift quality, or fluid level read at the dipstick. Clues? Well, the transmission problems started when the dealer told my mother they were out of the proper transmission fluid, but that ATF would "work just fine". It didn't, causing a slow leak and constant gear grinding that no one could diagnose. That lead to it getting parked for six years with gas still sitting in it, so the fuel lines and filter are probably coming apart. How much of the above are explained by these things, I don't know. To top it all off, there are many other cars that now catch my fantasy. There's a black Trans Am GTA running around here, which is only a new coat of paint on the wheel spokes and an MT swap away from being a car I've fantasized several times about owning. I've taken a shine to the BMW 850CSi, and if I don't blow money on a computer to play BNGD, there is an outside chance I might be able to afford one of the few hundred that were actually imported into the U.S. at some point. I'm even considering getting an 81-85 Chevrolet Caprice wagon and stuffing a blown big block in it, mostly as a thumb in the eye to those cheeky "everyone's welcome in Las Vegas, even straight people!" ads a while back (though the car used in those managed to look far cooler than I think they wanted it to). So, for short, what should I do here? Get the TA and put a real transmission in it? Caprice woodside for the trololz? Save for the Bimmer? Just work with what I have? Or something else I haven't mentioned here? How the bleep do I add a poll to my thread?
You might just have a dirty throttle body. Transmissions should *ALWAYS* be run on transmission oil. Under no circumstances should the dealer have advised an alternative. Drain whats in there, put proper transmission fluid in there. Possibly replace the existing drain plug with a magnetic one (my car has one for the oil sump) As for whether to continue with the existing car or not. Your choice, not mine.
Proper fluid was inserted long ago, not sure if the trans was drained first 'cause I wasn't the one doing it. Not sure if the clackety noise is my fault or not. This engine was not made to rev and I'm afraid my heavy feet may have bent a rod at some point. Not, it also pops and bangs when lifting off the gas at high RPM, which according to my mother (note: I'm 19 and still live in her house) it never did before. Of course, I only ever saw her push it past 5000 RPM once, so I'm not sure what she means by "high RPM".
Not always... Some manuals do want automatic fluid for some reason. In fact my Bimmers filler cap thing says "ATF Only" As for cars... I definitely wouldn't spend money on a trans swap for a 93 Pontiac thing unless it's a dreamcar of yours. They're the same car as the Cavalier right? They can look cool(I'm probably the only guy with that opinion) in a 90's sort of way, but I've heard they're not very good cars.. 850CSis are awesome, they look incredible, but expensive if something breaks, especially when you live in the US... A Caprice and a T/A both just have an American V8 so I'd imagine they're both cheap to repair. Do you want practicality in the form of a stationwagon that's about 5 football fields long, or 80's super cool in the form of a hopelessly impractical Trans Am... And a Caprice wagon is really freaking cool regardless sooo... It would be a hard choice for me, but I think I would get a Trans Am. Unless it's a 93-2002 model, because those are fugly. The older ones are cool. Knight Rider and Smokey and the bandit and all that. If it's a 93-2002 model i'd settle for a Caprice wagon. Wood on the side makes it so much better too.
It is indeed a Cav with a different badge. As for the 850CSi, I guess it's right out then. Considering I'd already have to save quite a bit of money to buy it, parts that cost eleventybillion dollars would be a major problem. That brings it down to the Trans Am (87-90 model, well kept & not actually advertised for sale, so might have to offer well above market value to get the guy to part with it) or the Caprice (surprisingly, no 81-85 wagons on Anchorage CL right now). The T/A would also need a transmission swap because I'm one of those "MT everything" people, while the Caprice would need an engine swap and probably a trans swap too.
Hard choice Practical vs 80's / 90's coolness. Did the police ever use any Caprice wagons as copcars or did they only use the sedans? You might be able to find one that way...
The thing about the 850 though is that if it has been maintained well, which I imagine is quite likely, you should not have to worry about replacing expensive parts. Not to say that it will be impeccably reliable, but as a general rule, cars that have been maintained, serviced and cared for as they should will be far more reliable than a car that has been abused all of it's life. Adding the fact that German engineering is usually a bit above the rest, I would imagine that a well cared for 850 would be a very solid car, and I would be surprised if anything failed on it regularly. When buying a car, always check these things before purchasing, if something seems a bit suss/to good to be true, it probably is. Compared to a 4th gen F body or Caprice, I would highly recommend the Bimmer. It's a much more refined car to begin with, I'm certain that it would absolutely eat the pants off your average (standard) Firebird or Caprice in any sort of performance orientated tasks, plus it has superb German build quality, engineering and equipment. From what I've heard, American vehicles of the 80's generally lack these things... The only reason I would recommend the Firebird or Caprice is if you have a genuine passion for these vehicles, otherwise the 850 will probably be a better investment (especially given that you won't have to worry about subsequent engine/transmission swaps, so long as you can get a manual example) There is always that other option... (they're still rather inexpensive. For now...) I'm very certain that Police only used sedans. They also are all equipped with an autotragic transmissions (because 'Murica), just with a more powerful engine.
I'm pretty sure the CSis were all manuals. The thing I forgot to tell you, though, is that I don't care about refinement. I've got no wife and no kids. I actually want my car to be loud and unrefined and am very, very partial to glasspack "mufflers" (Cherry Bomb, etc.) and I do care about modifiability (even though I'm probably too lazy to make use of it).
A modified CSi will probably have a way lower resale value than a mint stock one. While Bakasan makes a very good point that if it's a good example, you won't be running for parts very often, but it's still a slightly old car and they're very well engineered and refined, full of gadgets. Even if the car is extremely well maintained, it's not like someone will have "maintained" the motors for the electric windows, sunroof, flip up headlights, or any of the gadgets in the dash, because they're electric, and other than cleaning and greasing, it's not a thing you can actually maintain. They just break at some point, and until they do, people won't touch them. Just as an example, a new electric window motor for an E36 is 300 bucks here in the Netherlands... An interior doorpanel for an E36 is like 500 bucks... Simple cardboard or some crap with some vinyl over it. 850s are way more expensive cars in general, so wouldn't be suprised if replacement parts are way more than for E36s... But you can easily get replacements for a Caprice or a T/A in America from a scrapyard and you can reach everything in the engine bay with room to spare... Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have an 850... But only as long as it never breaks.
