In reply to MrChaos :
That is what I'm thinkin'... where the cheap 4th gens at?
Challenge money is a 3400 Camaro with the rear control arms flapping in the breeze.
Edit: probably not for long now that they are getting over 25 years old, meaning emissions exempt. That usually is an instant +20% value adder 
People have been talking about cheap LS f bodies for years. Only recently have I seen them dip below the 5k mark (my self imposed limit for anything automotive hobby related) and those are pretty much just worth the engine. Back to the point, as others have mentioned, the "packages" of the '80s and early '90s are pretty much meaningless at this point. Look for the engine you want, the suspension bits, and rear end. Most things will need to be upgraded or replaced by now anyway.
I have an early 2nd gen Trans Am. When I wanted to start playing with Autocross and HPDE days I briefly looked into modifying it to suit (springs, shocks, sway bars etc.). For what I would have spent on parts to make that work I picked up a 4th gen LT1 instead. Admittedly the 4th gen needed some work - but for me it was a better choice than spending the same sort of money trying to make the 2nd gen handle and perform well.
The early LT1 4th gens are definitely cheaper than the LS's. But I'm not sure if that's due to the facelift, the LS motor - or both. I'm enjoying my 4th gen so much that I'm actively looking for another one for my wife (and I'm looking for an LT1 and not an LS).
MrChaos said:NOT A TA said:Crappy looking LS 4ths are challenge money.
This is not my experience. The cheapest non truck, LS powered cars on FB or Craigslist are really beat gto's in the 6k range. at least in my area. people are wanting 8-10k for any ls powered non trashed anything.
I used to see them on CL here until the insertion fee started. Don't see hardly any 4th gens at all on CL today but did see this for challenge money.
https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/d/fort-lauderdale-1989-camaro/6962992981.html
In reply to NOT A TA :
Yeah, I've been floored by how the CL fee has completely upended the market on super cheap used cars. FB seems to be the place to go for running driving projects now.
In reply to penultimeta :
That has been my experience too while trying to find a running vehicle for the Gambler.
I'm not a competitive autocrosser, so anything I do will be mostly for the fun and cool factor, which is why the 2nd Gen is a bit more appealing.
That 4th Gen Camaro is tempting, but. I'd rather get a slick top, so I took another look and found this.
Then I realized something. My wife would probably love T-Tops, so she can sit in the passenger seat and look at the sky (one of her favorite things to do). As long as they don't rattle and leak, the loss of stiffness won't matter. It made me seriously consider what the end goal will be if I decide to go down this rabbit hole.
The answer is: Fun car that fits everybody in it so we can drive around town in and make awesome V8 noises that might also get used on occasion for autocross. If I can somehow build it for Challenge money, maybe I'll take it there some year.
Starting with an OBDII car might facilitate some drop in options with proper tuning without requiring much other work, but using an OBDI car means it is emissions exempt and all sorts of craziness can happen.
As others pointed out, an LS based swap into any earlier car is probably the best way to get this done, and a 5.3 would still be a huge improvement over whatever lump is in there now.
I think I might do some research on this vs. just jumping in with both feet. I gotta get the truck sorted out in any case.
I've always had a soft spot for 3rd Gen F-bodies. Of course, I was 12 when they hit the market.
Sam Strano used to run and win in a ESP Camaro, so I'd probably go to him first for F-body go-fast-while-turning parts.
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
Research your OBDII options carefully. Went down that rabbit hole with a customer car and it turned into a lot of one year only weirdnesses.
Actually it seems like F bodies from 1995 to 1998 inclusive had a lot of one year only stuff. If I were hunting an LS powered car I'd look for '99-up for that reason, that was where the design was mostly frozen and then there are four model years of the same stuff up to the end of the 4th gen.
I seem to recall reading that the early 3rd-gens are better built than the later ones, because by the time they got around '89-'90ish, the tooling was worn out from making so darn many of the things and GM was getting ready for the 4th-gen so they weren't going to repair or replace any of the tooling.
In reply to NickD :
That's why the 92s were all assembled with structural glue in addition to the spot welds.
A decent '90 is still probably better than a heavily used '83. Just don't expect bolt on aftermarket chassis parts to actually bolt on, because they were probably dimensioned for the early cars before the tolerances all went to hell.
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