[pippintook]

Hey 79TA455

Not sure if you bought a 4th gen LS1 yet. I live in Ontario (Niagara area) and agree the prices for 98-02 Trans Ams are high in Ontario. Bit of background - I currently own a 78 Trans Am WS6 4spd. Ive owned the 78 for about 16? years. It has w72 motor, ST10 and 3.42s. I rebuilt the 400 WC motor about 14? years ago. Installed summit 2801 cam and headers. Heads cut 0.030? tweaked qjet carb and hei dist- it ran 14.30s in 1/4 around 97mph? This was too slow for me...one lobe went on cam. I pulled motor and decided to build stroker. I kept the WC 400 block...it is at .060 over ...I got stroker 4.25 crank , 6.80 rods, original 6x4 heads done by Dave at SD Performance 260cfm., stump puller roller cam, original 78 intake, original 78 qjet and hei..its a beast !! but I cant get it to hook up I had it Cayuga dragstrip 3 years ago. I ran 13.70 at 108mp. But , i totally babied the Borg Warner Super T10. I was paranoid I would break the ST10. This was on old - zero traction street tires. So, I know with good traction I could get a high 12.
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Now, to get to 98-02 Trans Ams ..I too always loved the 98-02 Trans Ams . I remember seeing the 98 Trans Am at dealer when it came out. I thought it was a great looking car. This was just the base model. Later when the WS6 came out , i thought it might have been the best looking car I ever saw! So since 98 I always wanted a 98-02 Ls1 Trans Am. On and off through the years I would check prices and keep eye out. About 5 years ago I I had some funds. I was trying to find a WS6 98-02 for around $10,000. No luck with that So, about 4 years ago I saw 98 Trans Am advertised on Kijiji (for USA guys , kijiji is like craigslist). One crappy small pic. Ad said car needed paint. It had 144,000km. Price was $5500. It was near me and ad was just up. I went and checked car out. As soon as I saw the car , I knew I was going to buy it. The paint was a bit dull but really was ok. The car had a WS6 hood. Nice 18" chrome 5 spoke rims. 275?40/18 rears and 255/40/18 fronts. It had borla cat back exhaust and KN cold air filter. Nice leather and t-top. Automatic. Good stereo. Not winter driven. Guy that owned it took me for a drive - I was just smiling the whole time. The power was amazing !! I think he had owned it for about 4? years. Guy was not hurting for money. I crazily asked if he would take $5000. He said I was first guy to see the car and he had others guys coming to see the car the next day. So. obviously I said I would give him $5500. I left deposit. He was nice guy and drove car to my place few days later. He liked the Trans Am but was not in love with it.
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As you know, over last few years, 98-02 Trans Ams WS6 cars in Ontario have pretty high prices. Many guys ask $18,000-$25,000. I personally, think many of the WS6 98-02s are way over priced around here. I see 98-02s advertised for these prices. But, I often see the same cars advertised for weeks/months at these prices. And it seems very few really sell. Because I see the ads on and off for a long time. I always wonder if some of these WS6 cars are really selling for these prices.
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The car you posted was a real WS6 I believe. Mileage was a little high - but the price was not that crazy (was it $13,900?). Maybe the guy would have taken $11,500/12,000. Maybe it was a well maintained car. I would have no issues buying higher mileage car if owner can show good maintenance. There was 02 WS6 Trans Am being sold local here about 1 year ago. Asking price was around $8000??. But. ever single panel on car was dented or dinged, wheels beat to hell, interior crap - high mileage - plus other issues...
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Going to USA not really a great option for us right now. I check USA prices sometimes. But, say you find decent 98-02 WS6 for $12,000 USD - that would be around $17000 CAD current ex rate. Then, you are likely buying car remotely which can be risky. Then , you have to go to USA and drive back. So, maybe the $17000 car really costs you $18,500? Which is close to Ontario prices. Myself, I was seriously thinking about buying a 93-97 LT1 Trans Am- the LT1 still nice motor, good power and prices on 93-97 Trans ams a lot better. I was also thinking about a Formula - often see Formuls for better prices - esp LT1s. Myabe also could consider 2010-2011 camaro SS. I just saw 2010 Camaro SS on kijiji for $16,900 - though mileage was high 195.000km. But,that would be amazing car - great power / handling.
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Just few thoughts about 98-02s LS1 Trans Ams. They are great cars no doubt. But, they have flaws too. I had my 98 at cayuga drag strip and it ran solid 13.80s around 99mph? (my buddy was driving the 98 TA while I was driving my 78 TA stroker). This was on street tires with 2.73s. Ten runs it varied from maybe 13.79-13.85? On the highway its amazing, cruises at 100mph very nice Brakes and handles great and when taking it easy, awesome gas mileage. I had to get the 4L60e rebuilt - lasted almost 20 years- im sure beating on it helped its demise. Friggin doors are made out of fiberglass- my window regulator moved - so had to make a small sheet metal plate to hold power window/regulator to door. The headlight motors suck - had to upgrade both motors with good brass headlight gears. I split drivers seat lower seat cover kneeling on seat one day. Replaced that with nice leather lower cover from ebay - around $180/200?

But, I still love my 98 LS1 - I do so little to the LS1 compared to my 78 and the LS1 just keeps making a ****load of power and runs great.

[phil400]

Sometimes I think people forget the point of owning a classic car, I love driving my 78 around, is it the fastest thing? No...does it have abs traction control, blind spot detection blah blah blah, no, and that's exactly why I love it

I heard a this guy on YouTube say, "with modern cars you are very removed from the driving experience "

Its so true, the cars does everything, classic cars you are driving. You have to be aware, not playing on your touch screen going down the road.

The 4th gens are nice cars, would I sell my 78 for one, hell no.

JMHO.

[455firebird1969]

The fourth gen cars are a good mix of power and economy in my opinion. It got hard to get in and out of for me, so my wife started driving my 2000 Formula. Then she found a nice 2002 WS6 TA on craigslist that she wanted, so I bought it for her. I think I paid 9K for it a couple years ago, a one owner car with about 120K. I ended up in a 2015 Challenger, it is easier to get in and out of and has way more room inside, very comfortable for me compared to the forth gen cars.

This picture is after I bought her 2002 TA, next to my 1969 Firebird, and my 2000 that we sold. It had about 170k on it when we sold it, and it ran good, I guess those LS1’s will go 200K and still run good. Good engines.

[66sprint6]

Some of you guys hit the nail on the head when mentioning geographical pricing. Simply put, there is a dearth of cars and parts in our region. So you will pay a premium. Either that or the expense and anxiety of a long distance purchase. When real deals come up, they're gone fast.