As awesome as it was my recently bought 500.00 '88 Topaz just wasn't cutting in the comfort dept. Sold for what I paid, and was looking for a Taurus or Lumina, but stumbled across this Z34 Lumina not running for peanuts. It sat for a year. Apparently they only made about 4225 Coupes in '94.

The seller says it just needs a heater hose, There's no water in oil. the rad is low, and it says follow procedure when adding coolant or you can do serious engine damage. It's missing a fan, (uses 2), so will watch the temp gauge! Engine turns over, I just don't want to start it and wreck anything until adding more coolant.

Am hoping the head gaskets will hold. Does anyone know this special coolant adding procedure to avoid doing serious damage? It's Sunday here, or I'd call my mechanic. Thanks :) A.

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You don't want that car.
I'm telling you right now, stay away from the Twin Cam 3.4L. It was a servicing nightmare, the engine was a hard-running boat anchor. Unless that car has a 5-speed it's not worth the trouble, especially if it has sat.

If you have your little heart set on that thing, i suggest that you toddle down to either a friendly Chevrolet dealership and have them print it up or visit W-body.com for all your W-body needs.

I'm telling you... just to change the timing belts, by the book, was a 12 to 14 hour job and the engine had to come half out of the damn car to do it. Oh yeah, that's right. Didn't you know? Oh the engineering clusterfuck that was that engine... It's a 60-degree V6 that has the conventional crank to cam timing chain that DRIVES a timing belt to the cams on either head. Bah.
http://www.w-body.com/
http://www.gmwbody...cf42c815769e3a;www
http://en.wikipedi..._Lumina#Lumina_Z34

not only did the engine suck a fat ballsack, but where the rear suspension bolts to the unibody is prone to rotting, the rear tranverse leaf spring is known for cracking and letting the ass of the car drop to the earth. The front subframes are notorious for rotting where the control arm bolts to it.... are you sure you want to get into this thing?

Thanks for the info Sam,

It's auto, I have no plans to put much money into it. Hope to get it running and sell for a bit of a profit before the next problem. As a possible Plan B though, would a regular 3.4 or even 3.1 fit in without too much hassle?

The guy who wrote this seems to think they have collectable potential? With production numbers that low, he may have a point. The car is quite heavy, 3400 lbs, but 210hp still seems like quite a lot of power, for a mid 90's mid sized car. I'd be fine with about 150.


http://www.autos.c...mina-z34-1991-1994

OMG i dont understand why you guys put yourselves through such misery.

Posted by A. Lien Thanks for the info Sam, It's auto, I have no plans to put much money into it. Hope to get it running and sell for a bit of a profit before the next problem. As a possible Plan B though, would a regular 3.4 or even 3.1 fit in without too much hassle? The guy who wrote this seems to think they have collectable potential? With production numbers that low, he may have a point. The car is quite heavy, 3400 lbs, but 210hp still seems like quite a lot of power, for a mid 90's mid sized car. I'd be fine with about 150. http://www.autos.c...mina-z34-1991-1994

it's not worth even trying to put a 3.1L in it. Also, if the car was a 5speed, then i would be a collectible. Is it a console shift or column shit automatic?

I never had an engine drive me as insane as the twin cam 3.4 I had in a shitty Grand Prix at one point.

Posted by A. Lien Thanks for the info Sam, It's auto, I have no plans to put much money into it.

Good luck with that!

So far my luck is good, lol. It fired up after a few minutes cranking on mostly year+ old gas, blue smoke, then clear. There was some ticking, now gone after topping up the oil. There is no heat, and the coolant in the overflow bubbles and does not go down, even though the rad is low. Maybe an airlock?

Y'all know a lot on here, so thanks for any ideas on those issues. There's no water dripping inside, so maybe the heater core is okay, and it's a valve or something causing no heat.

Sam; it's console shift. Hard to believe they made a Z car with column shift. Dave; because it's fun when the money invested is low. I'm into this car for 350.00. Will put a one day permit soon and get it to the garage for inspection.

i've got the GM catalogs for 91, 92, 93 and 94 and nowhere does it say that the Z34 could be optioned with a column shift.

Posted by Samurai i've got the GM catalogs for 91, 92, 93 and 94 and nowhere does it say that the Z34 could be optioned with a column shift.

it's not worth even trying to put a 3.1L in it. Also, if the car was a 5speed, then i would be a collectible. Is it a console shift or column shit automatic?

Yah, I didn't get why you asked about the column shift.

Bandi, here's a treat for you. Local ad, repainted no rust, needs side window, not running for a few years etc. 1000.00 firm. I might have bought it, but too many cars now, and it could be a long expensive adventure to get parts. Fix it again Luigi :P

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Posted by A. Lien it's not worth even trying to put a 3.1L in it. Also, if the car was a 5speed, then i would be a collectible. Is it a console shift or column shit automatic? Yah, I didn't get why you asked about the column shift.

there were very few 5-speed Z34's made, that's why.

Posted by A. Lien Bandi, here's a treat for you. Local ad, repainted no rust, needs side window, not running for a few years etc. 1000.00 firm. I might have bought it, but too many cars now, and it could be a long expensive adventure to get parts. Fix it again Luigi :P click to view click to view

Beta Spider! Neat!!

I've been looking for a windshield for my '65 Fiat for almost 3 years now. So yeah, parts availability is likely horrible for that car.

The seller is calling it a Lancia Zagato. If these numbers are right, sounds quite rare. It's not the special edition.

I think there's a company that remakes old windshields, but the price is probably high.

'The Lancia Zagato Targa Coupe was designed and modified from a coupe by Zagato. The Targa Top could be put into one of four configurations. From 1981-82, 791 units were built of which 75 were Special Edition.'

Ohhh ok... I do like it.

I found one of those in the local wreckers when I was in high school, and it wasn't in horrible shape. I could have bought it for pretty cheap, but for whatever reason, I just bought the quad trumpet air horns from it.

Deja Vu!

So one the gals in our SAR group, Nancy, has a Lumina. I changed her oil For her actually today in exchange for her setting me up on a date with her friend but that's a different story.

She has the 3.4 Twin Cam. She says she never had any issues with the motor, she has only had the radiator replaced once and the bumper fell off once. I guess she has a lucky model?

Posted by Agent Skelly Deja Vu! So one the gals in our SAR group, Nancy, has a Lumina. I changed her oil For her actually today in exchange for her setting me up on a date with her friend but that's a different story. She has the 3.4 Twin Cam. She says she never had any issues with the motor, she has only had the radiator replaced once and the bumper fell off once. I guess she has a lucky model?

very rare model.
I'm a Chevy guy and even I think that 3.4L TC is an unholy abortion.