I think alot of this is coming from me modding the car. Every part i get is broken. But i do buy used parts from honest SOUNDING guys on here. Its been out of commision for 2 months and when it is running, it sucks bc my slave cylinder is going out and my suspension sucks. I think the rest is the lack of lsx ppl here in arkansas. I dont wanna sell the car bc ive been through so much with it in 2 years but then i do want to sell it bc i know i would be better off. Im caught in the middle. Just not sure.

 

where in BFE are you?

 

I know exactly how you feel! I am in the military and was stuck in the Netherlands for 2 yrs and had 1 of 6 fbodies in the whole country. I got luck and found a Corvette Club and they had a decent mechanic but it was expensive as **** to get any work done.

Now they sent me to Minot ND where the nearest 1/4 mile track is 4 hrs away and the nearest tuner is in South Dakota, Illinois, or Minnesota! I can only access small chevy dealers and they told me an ls6 swap was immpossible to do, it was designed only for the Z06! LMAO!

I have rebuilt my rear end twice, first time with an Auburn posi, this time i went with an Eaton. I had what i thought was a major problem because they diagnosed it wrong. The dealer told me i had a cracked head and that was my reason for over heating. Come to find out aftter 6 mths of haveing -30 degree weather the t-stat was sticking and the water pump bearings where whinning and the pump was leaking. I never knew because the weather was so bad i couldn't tell until it got warm. Needless to say i was so frustrated i went out and bought a 2000 C5 which had always wanted.

I have since gotten the car fixed and love them both. they are totally different animals and i feel the TA is a tad bit stronger in the upper rpm ranges. I found a mechanic that works at a pontiac shop about 40 min away and get pretty good labor rates now.

To make a long story short, these are some of the best bang for buck cars ever made! I posted the question "Has the ls1 lost its street cedibility?" just a take a look at it and read all the replies! Keep your ride, fix her up, and get in a network with some credible people! Do research on their seller ratings and make sure its what you want to do! I love my Vette, but the TA will always be my first love!

 

I live in a rice infested town with one track that is an hr away. The only non ricer cars are Mustangs and they are everywhere by a dozen. Also, all of the tuning shops are Mustang shops anyways. I feel the same as you lots of times.

I'm the only F-Body in my entire area that I know of. There is a guy with a beat down black WS6 that is part of the ricer club too so I dont have much in common with him.

I say do your thing and screw everyone!

 

Pack your **** and move the TEXAS !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Trade it in for an RX-7 and you'll come RUNNING back!

In all honesty, I think everyone here has a certain hate/love relationship with their cars. Most people here have put way more money into their cars than is necessary but its because we secretly love dealing with these problems.

Let's face it, anyone on this forum could easily sell their cars and buy Honda Civics and get from point A to point B for the next 10 years without any problems....but we don't because its what we love.

In all relationships, there will be ups and downs and cars are included under that same umbrella. Keep pushing through it, take the problems one at a time, and remember that its ALWAYS worth it in the end.

 

I know exactly how you feel and have been in your shoes many times. I sold my '69 Camaro Z28 clone about 5 weeks ago and said I was taking a real break from the car hobby for awhile. I sold the '69 since it was basically a $20K toy that sat in the garage and got driven 2 or 3 times per month. I could not park it anywhere out of sight and it had no AC or heat so it could never serve as a real second car. So I sold it, got good money for it, and was happy to see it go. As said above the whole car thing gets in your blood, its a disease, an itch you have to scratch at some point and believe me, you will.

So last weekend I scratched my itch and picked up a friend's '99 Z28 M6 with 185K miles. Some thought I was nuts for picking such a high mileage car but I got it for $4700. It still runs and looks great, its 99% stock, and with the money I did not spend on the car I can spend a little to make it just how I want. First off a full suspension rebuild and upgrade is in the works, got some chrome ZR1s for it, soon to be followed by an after market shifter and an SS hood later down the road. I know I will be putting $2K in to it but to have $7K - $8K in a car that is exactly how I want it and could serve as a DD at a moments notice seemed like the perfect new toy for me.

If you like your TA and if you will be taking a large financial loss by selling it I would say keep it. If you just hate it and can get a decent number on it then sell it. You can always buy another one. Heck, I have owned 4 '69 Camaro's. It sounds like a big part of your unhappiness is where you live. Like many have said above maybe its time to search for a job in another state & city that offers more for the car hobby enthusiast. I live just north of Austin Texas and used to live in the Dallas area. Austin has a good car scene but nothing like Dallas or Houston. Plus you have better weather, access to shops, tracks, and most of all people that are in the hobby. I am member of a great club here in Austin but usually any big city has some good clubs.

Can you sell your car and invest your money in to something more worthwhile, sure! Will you have as much fun doing it, only you can answer that question. Just some more to think about. Good luck with what ever your decide to do.

 

I hit that point a year and a half ago. I sold off my Fox body, and bought a bronco, bought a SN95 cobra, sold it. And then bought a 02 F150. I loved the truck, but I was really missing the power of a V8 sports car. And I had been wanting a LS1 since 01 when I tried to get a 25k bank loan on a 99 SS. I finally got it, in may and I dont care if the car has to sit for the next 10 years. I am not going to sell it. I love it to death. And this is coming from a Ford guy. Dont do it, its really not worth it. You will kick your self the first time you see another LS1 car. I did it when I saw a clean fox body. Its not going to be worth it man. Its you choice though. Just think long and hard before you do it.

 

I used my '02 Z28 as a daily driver for a long time, as did the previous owner. It's been completely stock other than an air lid, muffler, and SS wheels. I received the maintenance log with the car, and between the both of us very little has broken in the 96,000 miles this car has seen. Actually, the only major repairs have been the A/C clutch (bad bearings at ~80k miles), and the water pump (started leaking at 90k miles). Otherwise, nothing but fluid changes, filters, battery and brakes for nearly 100k miles.

On the other hand, I broke TONS of stuff on my old WS6. But I can't blame the car, it was all due to mods I had done and abusive driving/racing. If you want the car to not break, then leave it mostly stock. Reliability on these cars is great until you start with serious mods.

 

If you sell it you will be back, i have done it 5 times.

 

+1. This is the wisdom on the subject.

 

Whatever u do, don't sale it and get a FORD. they break a lot.

 

^^^ lol. Dude I'm up in Kodiak Alaska for a couple years and brought my 99 TA with me and left my WS6 back home in Delaware. It sucks, one car is around 4700 miles away and can't drive it. And well it has started winter up here and no chance in hell can I drive my 99 TA up here lol until the spring. No F'ing way, but am not getting rid of either of them. I have had offers on both vehicles an refuse to sell because I know that I will regret getting rid of either car. If you are selling it because a lack of cars in the area, don't. If still love your car, keep it. You sell it now and the money that you'll be dumping for another one later on you'll never get back either. I have only seen a handful of f bodys up here in Alaska and me getting to the track when its open is a 2 day trip. A day there and one back with a 10 hour ferry ride each way. **** sucks but am not personally getting rid of mine. Do what you feel you have to do fella

 

just keep fixing it. what else do you have to do.

 

Be glad you are working with a popular platform with widely available parts and great aftermarket support. My previous car was a 03 turbo protege that they only made 2750 of worldwide. The transmission wouldnt hold above 250whp fro very long and are about $7000 a pop each rebuild. After $23000 of mods and maintence over 4 years i sold it and bought the ss, the ss runs 1.8 seconds faster than the protege and is a hell of alot more reliable lol. Everyone thinks about giving up, i just realized id miss cars way to much. Luckily i have two 1/4 miles with an hour of me and a good lsx shop.

 

im in south arkansas. and there are quite a few VERY VERY good ls1 mechanics in this area. sounds like your just in a crappy area. then again all of central arkansas is a sh-thole lol. NW AR has a big ls1 following. you just need to find the locations. most people dont leave nextdoor to dragstrips. i had to drive 2 1/2 hours when i wanted to dragrace back in the army.

if you think your ls1 break alot. go run off to a ford,dodge,honda,nissan ect. see how well any of them hold up to modding and driving the car hard. the camaro/birds are one of the cheapest/reliable maintenance cars there are.

 

I agree that the list of things to do seems endless, but I think its fun (as long as it isn't anything too expensive lol). Getting frustrated is part of it, and that just makes it even more satisfying when you finish a job. Like when I was gutting my cats, I broke two of the bolts off (on the same side at least) and had to put new ones in. That was a pain in the ***. Then on the same job I lost my ratchet extension (my bad I guess... ) and had to leave the car on ramps because it got too dark out, then rained the next day. But when I fired it up two days later it was totally worth me being pissed off for two days lol. If you don't like wrenching on your car, I suggest a 2010 model with a warranty. Then you can let the dealership worry about it.

 

i know exactly how that feels. my car was backed into, it took two weeks to get fixed and after all was done it looked like a brand new car and it was just in time for a carshow. then later that night it developed a lifter tick a few days before i bought my eclipse for a dd,well it couldnt pass inspection and took alot of work and time to finally pass.during that downtime i used my parents truck,i got a parking ticket and wen i went to pay it i brokedown. i was at the point where i thought about the pros and cons of a mountain bike lol.