Hi dudes.

Im looking to buy an imported Z28 Camaro in the UK around 1993-1996 model.
Im concerned about lack of spares etc in the Uk and was wondering if there are any reliability issues and the main things to look out for on a test drive.
I LOVE American muscle cars and the beautiful noise they make they are rare on UK roads.

Cheers in advance guys

Jay

If you are dead set on those years in particular then I suggest you narrow it down to a 95 or 96. This will get you the vented opti which is a nice upgrade over the 93 and 94's that dont have them. This will save you some labor down the road when you water pump goes out and the opti doesnt pick up all that condensation. In case you dont know what the opti is its the distribitor which is mounted under the water pump on the front of the block. Its also known as the #1 PITA for all the the LT1 engines. If you go for a 98 and up LS1 you can avoid ever having to deal with this part at some point not to mention get a much nicer LS1 engine.

a vented opti is not protected from the #1 killer of opti's
the waterpump

I own 2 LT1 '94s and I used to work in an auto parts store, had a convo w/ a taxi company owner who told me the LT1's never seem to wear out, replace the water pump and opti when needed, do routine maintenance and drive

I have a 96 Z28 SS SLP best car I ever owned the only thing I had tp replace on it's 75,000 mile life is the waterpump and opti and the opti was still good when I replaced it but I figured as long as My friend was replacing the waterpump I had him do the opti(same area). I get 19MPG around town and around 24 on the Highway with an automatic trans the 6 speed manuals do better on Petrol on the highway. The only problem I see with them is that they are very hard to do work on under the Bonnet

I used my '96 Z28SS as a driver for a couple years, then just a weekend long hauler until I sold it... By '95 or '96 the Optispark was not a problem. Today you can rebuild an Opti for a lot less than it cost to replace years before if there are problems. I sold mine with 70k plus on it going on 2 years back and the gal that bought it drives it every day.

I'll agree the design of distributor under the water pump might have been better thought out but how often does a water pump go in a well maintained vehicle?