yeah, this is the important difference in years, not the headlights.

v6 is kind of pointless, ideal car would be the WS6 Trans Am with the LS1 but good ones are pretty pricey now

Firehawk

i'm currently driving a 90 firebird 3.1, and it's not enough
and the major point of going up to a v8 would be for the power, 6-speed, and growl
i just know that it seems like models new then 99 seem to have a higher tag
just weird that a z28 is cheaper then the camaro/firebird v8's though
i'd just love to find a car that's both not been modified or run into the ground

I have a 97 RS that I love, good choice

If you want the v8 in that year range, def get a 98-02 Ls1 kicks so much ass.

the lt1 z28s are cheaper because the engine only puts out 275 at the crank. the ls1s are about a second faster in the 1/4 mile and put out 325 at the crank iirc

damnit,now I have to change my pants....so sexxy,

heh, supposedly my 90 only put out 135 stock (of which we have new injectors and chip which probably makes up for the horsepower it lost over the years)
going to 275 is going to be a great increase either way

One is on my bucket list. Every time I find a decent one for sale, it's gone within minutes

thats true, but if you plan on going any faster its kind of limited on how fast you can go. if you ever break 400 hp to the tires your rear end will go pretty quick from what ive read the 10 bolts they came with are not very strong lol. full bolt ons and a build trans and rear end will run you in the high 11's low 12s all day n/a. the 98-02 ran in the 12's stock, higher 12s but still lol. the lt1's are over 14 secs stock. with a 150 shot on a ls1 your going to be running close enough to have a cage put in your car lol

93-97 v8 cars have the optispark distributor, which is a spline drive design. It's extremely water sensitive, ironically located behind the water pump. The distributor is one of the biggest drawbacks to the car. I have a 97 6 speed.
Ls1's have coil packs, and higher horsepower stock. Other than that, and the front end changes, they're pretty much the same. The interiors of the newer cars are a bit nicer.

There is no 3.6 v6 in these cars. It's either a 3.4 or 3.8. Avoid the 3.4 like the plague. The 3.8 is actually a really good motor. It's no racecar though.

Everyone will tell you to avoid the lt1 as well, but they're great cars.. and the opti is not hardly as bad as people make it out to be. Plus imo they sound better than the ls1's. The firing order on the lt1 is eargasm material.

If you're looking at big horsepower then you'll definitely be looking at a better rear end. The 10 bolts they put in these cars like to grenade themselves.

Also keep in mind that 1996 and newer have obd2, while the older cars have obd1.