Well, folks, we have now had our beloved 87 droptop for one month. She has just over 100K miles on it, very well maintained miles, a new tranny and rear-end, etc. The roof looks near new to me, too. We have a few very minor issues here:
- climate control being flaky; fixing that next month
- the wierd residue from the droptop weatherstripping
- passenger power mirror doesn't work
- sport seats; most of the power things don't work
- the seats need to be recovered next year at the latest
- the A/C doesn't work; I don't think we're going to bother with that one, as it's not hot enough up here to warrant the $$

That's pretty much the whole list. My buddy had an 86 pace car convertible that was only a couple years old back then. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with the car, even though he had a plethora of issues to deal with. Mostly O2 sensors going bad, the car running rough. But, he also had to rebuilt the engine twice on his nickle. The car was amazing, stunning, a real piece of art. But, I have to admit, his experience scared me something serious.

Well, as mentioned in other posts, I hit my 40th birthday recently and both my wife and I decided to embrace the mid-life crisis head on and bought our car... potential issues aside. We really really shopped, referred to the internet for what to look for, and were very careful in our decision. I think we got a screaming deal, considering typical values of these cars up here...

So, the entire reason for this thread was to tip my hat to GM, yet once again. Even though my friend had a series of really expensive issues to deal with on his car, ours seems to be flawless in the things that really matter. The little issues are more of a "personality" for the car, than anything else.

In closing, I can say with much joy that this experience is turning out MUCH better than I originally imagined it would. I still leave 20 minutes early for work every morning, to take the long twisty roads in, to really enjoy all the work those incredible engineers did back in the 80's to bring us these fabulous cars. I am more in love with it today than I ever have been. Thank you Chevrolet!

 

I'M WITH YOU BROTHER,
I HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO DRIVE GM AS WELL WAY BACK FROM HIGH SCHOOL, WHEN MY FATHER PUT A 327 IN A VEGA FOR ME. EVER SINCE.OH, THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER CARS AS WELL, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS AT LEAST ONE GM IN THE CORRAL AT ALL TIMES !!


HIP-HIP-HOORAY- FOR THE HEARTBEAT OF AMERICA[sm=patriot.gif]

 

*mad applause* Great post, bro!! Back in the day, weren't those V8 Vega's somethin' else? My buddy had a dual 4 hi-rise tunnel ram on one of the 350's we stuffed in one, with a 4 speed and 4:11 POSI. That thing would break the tires loose on the highway in 4th gear, no effort at all. Scared the bejeezus outta me more'n once, too, I might add, but I always left with a big smile.

 

AHH, THE GOOD OLD DAYS !!

BACK WHEN THE ONLY HONDAS YOU SAW WERE MOTORCYCLES !!

YA GOTTA LOVE IT [sm=badbadbad.gif]

 

GREAT thread!!!!!!!!!

TS, I had problems with my '87 work-in-progress A/C as well. A friend of mine cut the hot wire on the relay and ran a temporary wire directly from the battery hot to the relay hot. A/C worked great!

So, a trip to Walmart for 12 gauge wire, a box of connectors, wire house and an in-line fuse all for about $10. I didn't have the time or the patience to trace the wire through the entire wire harness but there is a short somewhere. Saved a ton of $$$. I haven't done the real work yet because there are too many darned yellow jackets right now.

Hope this will help my brother[8D]

Tried to post this earlier but nothing happened[:'(]

 

My guitar playin' bud had a Vega fastback with a 427, dual quad high rise tunnel ram.
We roared up one onramp and down the next. He hung a for sale sign on it and never drove it again. TOTALLY INSANE BEAST!!!He'd sit in his driveway and rev the engine and get the car rockin' on the suspension and the car would almost roll over from the torque. (and it was street legal)
CHEVY, THE ONLY WAY TO FLY!!!

 

If you really don't intend to repair the AC, you might think of removing it. It would reduce the weight on the front end by a noticeable amount (a bit more than 1% of the entire car's weight) which would help in all sorts of ways.

 

I too, have had mine('87coupe) for one month yesterday. .....what a car. And the wayI was able to get it just makes it that much more enjoyable. Been driving it 700+ miles every week. just a joy. like you said TS, the ac on these babies is a little week but you can always go "topless". most things are better topless anyway.

 

Hey Mr. Willis, i know that what you say about the weight of the A/C is true because ive heard it from just about everyone... But something i havent confirmed yet because ive been given so many different answers is, If you just get a shorter serpentine belt that wont go around the A/C would that also make a difference? Say i wanted to do taht instead of completely removing the system? Because i have been told yes and no by many different people. Thanks

 

As always, many thanks for the tip, bro! It's really not that hot up here, typically, and like I said I'm one of those types that says "if it's hot enough for A/C you've got a problem if the roof is up!!!" I tend to drive these things almost perpetually with the roof down, even in the winter. Drives Mrs. TopSpeed nuts sometimes. Anyways, thanks for the tip there, bro, but I think for us, we're gonna go the route of just removing it like Lee said.[8D] *hi5's Superdzzz* You rock, bro!