In today’s automotive world, we really are spoiled. You can go out right now and buy a Camaro or Mustang with a V8 with well north of 400hp, and it will be a comfortable place to spend time to boot. Hell, even the four cylinder ones make more power than the V8 ones did not too long ago! Even more impressive: family sedans, and… gasp… minivans, can be had with powerful four and six cylinder engines that will put the hurt on most of the vaunted muscle cars of yesteryear. What a time to be alive! But as you know, it wasn’t always that way.
Let’s rewind 20-25 years in the past. It’s the mid-90’s, and you are in the market for a sporty mid-sized daily driver. You are a GM guy, so you find yourself browsing the lot at your local Chevrolet dealer, and then you see one of these:
Spoilers, scoops, and louvers, oh my!
The Chevrolet Lumina Z34! Your mid-90’s self’s pulse just synced up with the Heartbeat of America. You start checking it out closer, and on paper, it looks decent (remember, it is the 90’s): 215hp dual overhead cam V6, available 5-speed Getrag transmission, 16″ wheels with sporty rubber, and a sweet aero kit with vents, spoilers, and scoops all over the place. Inside, there are sport buckets, a three spoke steering wheel, and a choice of actual colors like Mouse Fur Gray and Parisian Brothel Velvet Couch Red. You can even option it with a Bose stereo that plays CD’s. Fancy! Your mid-90’s self is pleased, and you sign on the dotted line and drive off into the sunset, looking for Ford Taurus SHO’s to battle with on the highways and byways of America.
You have to admit, GM’s styling department was on point with some of their offerings in the 1990’s. Yes, they had made the full transition to the Aero Jellybean styling language that nearly everyone was doing, but check off a few option boxes and you’ll have a sporty looking body kit and cool graphics on your ride of choice. And nothing says sporty like red and black pinstriping bisecting the vehicle!
Fast forward to today, and some look back on this era with nostalgia entrenched in their brains, at least on some level. It’s easy to like the usual performance cars of that era like the Mustang and Camaro, but what about the “also rans” of this era like the Lumina Z34? Is it OK to like these again? Let’s take a closer look at one currently for sale on eBay and come up with an answer!
We found this clean example for sale on eBay, and it’s in great shape. All of the aero bits are present, and they look as cool as ever.
Spoilers, tape stripes, and dual exhaust provided megatons of street cred in the 90’s, and they still look good now. Come to think of it, you don’t really see spoilers on midsizers these days unless they are tacked on at a shady dealership.
As cool as these wheels were back then, I’m not feeling them now. I personally prefer a mesh wheel or one of the directional 5-spoke designs that came on other FWD GM cars back then. That said, these are as clean as the day they rolled off the assembly line.
One thing that can be said about cars from this era was that you could actually see out of them! Look at the low beltline and all that glass. Now people need backup cameras and electronic nannies to help navigate out of the driveway.
Sadly, this one is not equipped with the Getrag 5-speed manual gearbox. This one has the sporty-for-the-time 4-speed automatic with a giant t-handle shifter that lives in a long center console. While not as button heavy as some of this W-Body’s platform mates, you can definitely tell it’s the 90’s inside this car. There’s floor mounted parking brake instead of a handbrake, some rudimentary gauges, and acres of maroon plastic and velour. The best part is the steering wheel. This is the bigger version of the “Sport” whel found in the Cavalier of the same era, and nearly a direct swap for the 3rd Gen Camaro and 1981-88 Monte Carlo. It’s not bad where it currently lives, either!
And here’s where all the magic happens. Under that louvered hood, you will find 3.4 liters of the best “high technology” V6 the bean counters at GM would let out the door in the 90’s. The LQ1 received dual overhead cams, aluminum heads, and 200 to 215 fire breathing horsepower (depending on the year), along with 215 foot pounds of shrub-pulling torque. Back then, this engine was really something. It was built to compete with the Yamaha-built Taurus SHO V6, and they put it exclusively in the W-Body cars like the Lumina Z34, Cutlass Supreme, and Grand Prix GTP. From what I’ve read, it can be a royal pain to maintain. The biggest issue: that giant intake manifold needs to be removed to access the rear spark plugs, making tune-ups a chore. Also, since it was based on the existing 3.1 pushrod engine, they had to work their magic to get those big heads on there. It has a timing belt for the cams AND a chain driven balance shaft. These engines have their fans, but dollars for donuts, I’d be hunting for a 3.8 SC swap or even cobble together a way to get the newer “High Feature” 3.6L V6 in there.
The Verdict: These cars still look great, but like many other products of the time, they are saddled with a weird power plant that has proven to be problematic over the years. Yes, it’s totally cool to like these, but if you were to go out and buy one, that 3.4L under the hood is something to think about. If you plan on driving one of these in anger, think about swapping that bean counter special out of there.
As I stated earlier, the 3.8 SC should be a relatively easy swap, considering how many of those power plants came in later W-Body cars. They are proven power plants that can get the car moving at a pretty good clip. There are other options, like the EcoTec Turbo, the newer 3.6L V6’s found in the late W-Body Impala, and even the aluminum FWD-based 5.3L V8 that also made its way into some of the late W-Body cars. Or, of course, you could just do this.
The best part: these cars are CHEAP. The one for sale above is damn near perfect and is commanding top dollar for a used Lumina: $4999. Local Craigslist hits have serviceable examples starting under a grand. For a weird, sleepy project car, you can’t beat that.
What do you think? Are we nuts thinking these are cool again? Were they ever cool? As always, we welcome you to share your thoughts with us below!
Not for me thanks, appreciate how clean this one is. But in my eyes these come under category (Doris) i’m afraid.
I recently picked up a different performance oriented W-body, a Regal GS with the 3800 SC, and if I needed to replace it on the same budget, I’d probably look for another car with the 3800 SC. It’s very comfortable, decent performance (I was pleasantly surprised that they’d at least made some effort to get good handling, too), fits the whole family no problem, and you can’t beat the price. Just wish you could get the 3800 SC and the Getrag 5-speed (or the later 6 speed from the G6) without playing mix and match with junkyard parts.
Even though I’m not a fan of FWD, the 95-99 Monte Carlo was much better looking than the Lumina. I don’t understand why they didn’t give the MC the Z34 option instead. Granted you swap over the powertrain from the Lumina to the MC but never liked the look of the Lumina. IMO, they should have never made the Lumina and should have used the MC.
They actually did carry over the Z34 when they brought back the Monte Carlo as a 2-door Lumina in 1995, along with the LQ1 engine. Gone were all the vents and flares, though. Appearance wise, it got 16″ wheels instead of the 15″ wheels, and some pinstriping. They switched over to the 3800 Series II V6 in the late 90’s, which carried over into the 2000’s when they restyled the Monte and debuted the Impala.
Why the Monte Carlo SS from the late ’90s never got the supercharger option is a bit of a mystery. Or a case of stupid GM infighting.
The Monte Carlo SS DID get the supercharged option, as well as the 5.3 V8 option.
When I worked for Enterprise Rent a Car out of college in the early 90’s, we rented all of the new W body cars and they were pure garbage, especially when compared to the G bodies they replaced. In out of the shop all of the time, especially those with the DOHC engine, underpowered, seat belts attached to the doors wrapped in a body with lines similar to a bar of soap. The FWD H body LeSabre, Bonneville and Delta 88’s were way better cars.
I worked for them after school in the same time period! Yeah the standard models sucked. Father in law had a Monte with the 3.4 brand new. Traded in in less than a year. Misfire all the time oil leaks and rattles. I considered a Lumina coupe but bought a T Bird instead. Should of had the 3800.
Never mind changing spark plugs try head gaskets just after the warranty expired . It was a good car for the trip thru the canyon to ashcroft raceway .
Robert Freeman had one built a Supermod for Comp way back when. it was an East Texas car & was pretty badass
It was junk when it was new, and it’s junk now.
I bought a 1993 Lumina Euro 3.4 off a buddy of mine for a “24” of Bud. Same engine as the Z34 in a 4 door package and more sedate looking. I thought I was going to fix it up until I popped the hood and seen that he had the timing belt off and the front valve cover off. It became a donor car for my 1990 Gran Prix STE. The 3.1’s made good torque and where a hell of alot easier to work on.
I had two different ’93 Z-34’s in the 90’s, both silver with grey interiors. I really liked them but they were a nightmare to work on, especially the starter or alternator. Even changing spark plugs or the battery was a pain in the @ss.
The engines also developed an annoying oil leak the came from the dummy distributor plug that drove the oil pump. You couldn’t remove the oil pump drive without yanking the head so the easiest fix was lifting it up as far as possible with some dental pick-type tools, slipping an o-ring over it and then tightening it back down.
I read years ago that the engines originally made about 300 HP during testing but GM didn’t have a FWD tranny that would handle the power so they de-tuned them to just over 200 HP. The 5 spd Getrag was only available for one year before they went to the 4 spd auto exclusively.
The getrag was actually available from 91-93. I owned a 92 Z34 and a 92 Cutlass Supreme International with the manual. The Olds was a 4 door. Rare, never found any reports of one in a 4 door, but it was original. Oldsmobile was the least likely to get a 5 speed anyway. I now own a 95 GTP with an oil leak at the oil pump drive and have had it sitting for 3 years waiting to deal with it. I love the cars and this engine despite the problem. I also owned a 95 Monte Z34.
A few corrections:
“that giant intake manifold needs to be removed to access the rear spark plugs”
Nope, just pull the front dogbone and use a 2×4 to pry the engine forward, then use a ratchet, 6″ extension, u-joint, a 12″ extension and socket combo and the plugs come right out. I did it a few times without any issues.
“The LQ1 received dual overhead cams”
TWIN dual overhead cams, an intake and exhaust cam on each head, 4 cams total.
“AND a chain driven balance shaft”
No balance shaft. It was a dummy shaft in place of the cam to drive the oil pump. It had a conventional cam chain and gears to drive the dummy shaft and the belt for the 4 cams was driven off of the front of the dummy “cam” gear.
I have owned and worked on these cars many times. These are not 3.1’s. You don’t just undo the dog bone and pull it ahead. You may be able to reach an extension down there if you do, but you’re looking for trouble. Just remove the plenum, it’s not a big deal. You do not need to remove the actual manifold. People have trouble with this calling the intake plenum the intake manifold.
Also, these cars are dual overhead cams. Each head has 2 cams. 2 is dual. Overhead is referring to just one of the heads.
These Luminas were cool, I test drove one in high school with the 5spd. The Beretta GTZ and Z26 had them beat on styling though. My first car ended up being a GTZ and I still have a Beretta now that I’ve LA1 3400 swapped with the original Getrag 5spd and an EP limited slip diff. Lots of fun.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n232/woody2136/beretta/IMG_0770_zpsdjl2ubaw.jpg
Pretty good following too…this year is the 21st annual Berettafest meet that goes all over the country.
never liked them-never will !!
Damn, I thought I was the only one that still had any interest in these cars. It\’s nice to know that I\’m not the only one with good taste lol..
I bought a black 93 z34 in 2002 from the original owner in very good condition with about 95k on it. It was hundred percent dealer maintained by the original owner.
I still own the car and long story short, it\’s pretty much everything good and bad that\’s been said about the car here, except for the poor unfortunates that don\’t like the car at all. To each his own fellas.
It\’s time for fresh paint but the car still runs well with 170k now on it.
One thing it\’s doing currently is an intermittent rattle in the motor at least sounds like it\’s coming from the motor. Has anyone experienced this with their 3.4?
Damn, I thought I was the only one that still had any interest in these cars. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one with good taste lol..
I bought a black 93 z34 in 2002 from the original owner in very good condition with about 95k on it. It was hundred percent dealer maintained by the original owner.
I still own the car and long story short, it’s pretty much everything good and bad that’s been said about the car here, except for the poor unfortunates that don’t like the car at all. To each his own fellas.
It’s time for fresh paint but the car still runs well with 170k now on it.
One thing it’s doing currently is an intermittent rattle in the motor at least sounds like it’s coming from the motor. Has anyone experienced this with their 3.4?