Hello all!

I am new to this forum, but not new to car forums. Anyway, I just purchased a 91 RS camaro with the 305 motor. The car has 165K miles, but the motor, trans ,and rear were rebuilt at 100k miles. The car sounds great and is virtually rust free. I got it for 1000 bucks off of a friend. My questions are: The motor has an old school throttle body/air filter housing on the top of the motor with the circular air filter, Is that normal on a 91? Is 165k miles high for a camaro and do they usually last that long? The car doesn't smoke or tap and will go sideways if you apply to much right foot! Also, Is it normal for an RS to have a 305? I was under the impression that they had a V6. Last question: I know I may get biased answers being Im on a camaro forum, but are these reliable cars if taken care of? Do they have any nuances I should know about? This is only my third american car. I had a 79 caddy eldorado as my first car and loved it, but I got rear ended horribly in it. I had a 5.0 stang from 92 and loved that for the 2 days I had it until my friend wrapped it around a telephone pole. After all of that went down I got into turbo-charged 4 bangers and had numerous talons and stuff like that. I currently own an 02 subaru wrx with a good amount of work done to it. I like ricers, but respect american cars and I don't act like a typical ricer enthusiast. I come to this forum to learn about my new toy and to possibly make some friends. I understand forum etiquette and wont cause any trouble. I thank you all in advance for answers to my questions and I look forward to being a member here.

Welcome to Team Camaro! Good group of folks here.

The 91 RS 305 was a TBI car (RPO L03), so yes it's normal. TPI (tuned port) was reserved for the Z.

Starting in 1989, RS was a model and not just trim, and all Camaros were either RS (V6 or V8) or IROC-Z. IROC returned to plain old Z28 in 1991 model year. So basically, an RS with a V8 is the base car with the optional V8; 53,040 cars with RPO L03, out of 79,854 RS coupes, so most had the V8.

165K miles is a lot, but if the car was well maintained and has had some key wear items (suspension bushings, shocks, etc.) replaced, all should be fine. Check out the cooling system to make sure all is good there, particularly if it's an automatic (I suspect it is if the trans was rebuilt at 100K); the 700R4 likes to stay cool.

Does the car still have the laminated card stuck in the console with the option codes? If it goes sideways, it probably has G80 (limited slip). If you can find the card and post back the numbers, we can tell you what the car left the factory with.

The car has a 5 speed manual trans. Where would the card be? Is the 305 good for high mileage though? The motor has roughly 70k miles on it and they were about 75% highway. The car was auto at one time according to my friend. It is very easy to break this car loose and it has alot of torque! Im not used to be able to spin the tires as I'm used to awd!

The card (labeled Service Parts Identification, or something like that) should be stuck inside the console compartment lid or in the compartment itself.

As far as 70K on a rebuilt 305, it's not a big deal. I believe the L03 was a roller motor (roller lifters on the pushrods vs. flat tappets on an older V8), so cam wear isn't as much of an issue. Do you have any specs on the rebuild?

It sounds like something has been changed in the engine or the rear axle though. The L03 was rated at 170HP @4000 and 255 ft lbs@2400, and the automatic cars got 2.73 rear gear (manual got 3.08s). The car doesn't have a lot of weight on the rear end, so it will step out sideways, but normally on a stock L03 RS that's really only happening on damp roads or something. If it is lighting them up on dry pavement, it's got some mods.

The health of the engine will really only be known after you've had it for a while. If it doesn't smoke, or use much oil, you're in good shape. I can't recall if the WRX has an "interference" motor or not, where you'd be worried about the timing belt breaking and ruining the engine. The 305 has a timing chain, not a belt, and most often they'll just jump a tooth or something when they get a lot of miles on them; it'll run like garbage, but won't hurt anything.

I thought the L03 was 235hp@4200rpms and 300 ft-lbs@3200rpms? The motor sounds good idling or driving. It has plenty of "snap" when you step on the gas with no hesistation. It is hard to believe though that this 5.0 liter motor has that much less horse than my 2.0 liter WRX. The WRX dynoed 220 hp at the wheels and 211ft-lbs of tq at the wheels. The motor in the camaro has the stock block that was rebuilt. A 5speed trans from another 8cyl. RS. ANd the rear I have no idea. I said it was all rebuilt in the first post but i meant just the motor. The trans was swapped and the rear was swapped. I am just used to japanese reliability and dont want this car to die on me somewhere.

There is a 92 RS in my drive right now with a 147,000 miles on the clock that has only had a new timing chain to my knowledge. The oil pan has been replaced twice because it sits so low to the ground. The first time the pan was off the car had no oil in it as the plug had unscrewed. We haven't touched the bearings in this car so I don't think reliabilty is an issue. Good luck with yours and welcome to Team Camaro!

Jeff

I thought the L03 was 235hp@4200rpms and 300 ft-lbs@3200rpms?

Umm...No! The TPI 305 (LB9) was 205 HP, the B2L/L98 TPI 350 was 245HP. The numbers I posted are right out of Chevy 1991 data, and there's no way the L03 made just under the bigger TPI motor.

Welcome to the "mullet" club (LOL). That's what Camaro owners refer to 3rd gen (82-92)cars as. I have a 1989 RS with the 305/700R4 combo and it has the 2.73 rear end gears. It's my daily driver and it's all original with 207,xxx miles. The LO3 305 is pretty much industructible as long as you maintain it properly. I also have a 67 and a 2002 Z28.

Don't say mullet....

my dad said the same thing except minus the mullet. He said I should get some ac/dc or billy squire albums to rock out in my redneckmobile!