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I was looking to buy one of these two cars next year (4play)....I was wondering which would be the better buy and what are some common problems. I hear the SS has trans problems- any truth to that?
I have a Caprice 9C1 and a '95 Fleetwood so I am partial to the SS! Both my 4L60E's have performed very well over the years. If you regularly maintain them you shouldn't have any issues. One common thing the B-Body crowd does is put a TransGo shift kit in... which is a very easy ta sk. Another common thing is to swap out the 4L60E for a manual T-56. The newer the model, the better the tranny is simply because they did slight modifications each year. However the tradeoff to '96 is that it is an OBD-II car.
Another common issue with the SS is the opti-spark systems, when require replacing, are a bit of a pain. They seem to last a long time if you can keep the engine dry. Also an error was made at the factory where the rearends were put together and an incorrect differential gasket was installed on a ton of cars. If there is no rear-end sound then its NOT too late to change the gasket and put a fresh supply of gear oil in.
There are alot of aftermarket performance parts for the SS's and you can get these big boats to handle wicked good if your willing to put money into them. In stock form they are great car and get pretty good gas mileage. I suggest you check out www.impalassforum.com and poke around a bit, very knowledgeable people there.
As for the GN... I don't have much experience with them.
The GN by a million miles. Not the normal V8 bullcrap that plagues everything American, more unique, faster, better looking, more exclusive, etc.
Such a hate for the v8... never understood that about some people. I mean the v8 has its applications just like an I4 has its applications. After all, torque is what gets the job done... horsepower is just a nice bonus.
I didn't even vote because these are 2 completely different vehicles. I think the GN will have the better collector value, I personally would prefer a GN, but the Impala SS has it's charms as well.
Being an old-school car guy, I really prefer a 2-door.
Although, for the same money as a good SS or GN (particularly the GN) you could find a C-4 Corvette, with a stickshift, better handling, etc. Or a Mustang. Or you could go on back to the real Muscle Era, 72 and older.
Depends on what you want to do with the car.
Turbo engines require specific care, specific oil (you don't *have* to go synthetic, but I would...) and can be damaged by abuse (particularly running it hard, then shutting down while the exhaust side of the turbo is really hot) (this can be compounded by the wrong oil)
Turbo cars also require some specific driving skills and techniques, not as user-friendly as that big old LT-1. But some people actually *like* a car that takes more skill to drive well.
At the end of the day, I'd buy the car that was in better condition. On older specialty cars, condition is king.
Grand National for sure! Look up nine second Geo. It has a GN motor in it.
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)....I was wondering which would be the better buy and what are some common problems. I hear the SS has trans problems- any truth to that?
