Best make/year of a-body

[9heritage]

Is there a previous post/thread for a discussion on this? I have looked and searched but not found one. Thanks.

[1987 Black VR wagon Fam]

Personally, I would have to say the 1987 VR's were the best. But then again, I might be a bit biased.......

[PGuru]

This is going to be a pretty debated topic!

In general, I'd say the best years was probably 88-89, because of the 6000 STE AWD.

[1987 Black VR wagon Fam]

Ok, we have our first 2 challengers. A VR and a AWD 6000 STE. Both very worthy vehicles. Parts availability for either car? Zip, zilch, nadda. Where the VR pulls ahead is in the fact that a part failure will not render the vehicle underivable.
Also, can someone chime in on the production numbers for the 6k? Total production for the 87 VR's are available on the web (can't remember total numbers for the sedans, but there were only 142 wagons. Of which 57 were black and 19 were corvette red.)
Now, no records were kept for 1988 VR's but it's assumed that they made 83 coupes. Of that, only 3 are known to have the coveted 5 speed stick shift. Thankfully, a buddy of mine found one in a you pull it junkyard and salvaged anything and everything that could be saved. That body kit is safely tucked away in our garage, waiting to meet the right car.......

AuSSenseiter

[Keiths1976]

Honestly to be was the 86 Buick century t type lmao but I driven a few of the a -bodies all different years . If you want a cruiser 94-96 has a good suspension . If you want sport and rides and handles go with a 86-90 . Class and refinement is the 82-85 . Then there is David, Mitch lol who has all the above with some turbo mods and all pure enjoyments Lmao haha but realistically these cars you can change there character with a few bolt ons and tweaks so in my opinion they are all my favorite .

[Century7667]

Tough question. The later cars have some nice improvements. If I can modify the car to suit, I really like the '87 Century with the LG3. It strikes a balance for me.

Ken T.

[Moonkilla1]

Century-El-Dorado

This A-Body is unforgettable to me. the pics on post #12 are jaw dropping in my opinion

http://www.a-body.net/forums/showthr...tury-El-Dorado

[a1veedubber]

Depends upon what you are looking for IMO. If you are just looking for reliability the later 92+ cars are probably the best. If you are looking for sportiness the STE AWD is probably the pinnacle, although I would hazard a guess that a 3.8 powered 2wd A-body is faster. My pick goes to the Ciera GT and later Internationals. The 5-speed A-bodies are probably the fastest, but super rare. Personally, since I like the coupes, the 86 Century GS is my favorite simply because I am not a fan of ground-effects.

[Century7667]

Depends upon what you are looking for IMO. If you are just looking for reliability the later 92+ cars are probably the best. If you are looking for sportiness the STE AWD is probably the pinnacle, although I would hazard a guess that a 3.8 powered 2wd A-body is faster. My pick goes to the Ciera GT and later Internationals. The 5-speed A-bodies are probably the fastest, but super rare. Personally, since I like the coupes, the 86 Century GS is my favorite simply because I am not a fan of ground-effects.

Your post got me thinking. Just what does "best" mean? I think you're right, the later models are probably best for day to day cruising, better A/C, quieter, best fit and finish. On the other hand, the rare 5 spd was gone, as was the 3.8. Then there is styling. There I can't decide because I like certain aspects of all of them.

Ken T.

[a1veedubber]

Your post got me thinking. Just what does "best" mean? I think you're right, the later models are probably best for day to day cruising, better A/C, quieter, best fit and finish. On the other hand, the rare 5 spd was gone, as was the 3.8. Then there is styling. There I can't decide because I like certain aspects of all of them.

Ken T.

I'm in the same boat. I like the earlier styling and powertrain options, but the later cars have significant improvements to overall usability. Maybe someday I will throw a later engine in one of my coupes to have the best of both worlds!

[lemons bob]

While never actually having seen one, I kind of like the Mexican a-bodies. The were all under the Chevrolet brand there but they had Celebrities, Cieras and centurys for sale with a sort of taking parts off each other to make hybrid editions like the Chevy Cutlass Ciera Eurosport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__rARwbYqAk

[Drop Top Olds]

As an owner of a 5 speed, 2.8 Celebrity I can say it is certainly fun to drive. I'm not sure my car would win a drag race against a 3.8. On the other hand quick starts from a dead stop yields breaking the tires loose fairly easy. Also quite easy to get 2nd gear chirps. Mine has the 3.6 final drive ratio I think.
In my view the Celeb is non-descript, people don't really pay attention to it. The attention grabbing A cars are the STE, GS or the International.

From the fun to drive department I think the 5 speed is the "boss".

[Century7667]

As an owner of a 5 speed, 2.8 Celebrity I can say it is certainly fun to drive. I'm not sure my car would win a drag race against a 3.8. On the other hand quick starts from a dead stop yields breaking the tires loose fairly easy. Also quite easy to get 2nd gear chirps. Mine has the 3.6 final drive ratio I think.
In my view the Celeb is non-descript, people don't really pay attention to it. The attention grabbing A cars are the STE, GS or the International.

From the fun to drive department I think the 5 speed is the "boss".

I have to agree. The 5-speed IS boss! Too bad the Century GS didn't offer a LG3 with a good 5-speed.

Ken T.