William Morbid

So a good looking 1988 has popped up in my area for $6500. I purchased an 85 a few months back and have put some decent work into it. It's doing well but still needs a few things (tires soon for one).

With all the "single year" parts I've had trouble sourcing I'm thinking that trading out might be my best bet for a long term ownership. I also think this year is when they switched to aluminum heads. Anyone have experience to comment on 88 ownership, especially compared to the 85?

I'm curious what kind of trouble I'll be trading my troubles for if I get it

yd328

Some of the difference in the 88 is ABS brakes, they have 17" wheels, the dashboard gauges are inset a little further to help with glare so you can read them easier. Theres also the addition of VATS. Those are some off the top of my head, I'm sure others will chime in.
The aluminum heads started mid year in 86.

Gary

TLS_Addict

If your 85 is well sorted and the 88 isn't you will go down the same road to fixing stuff. If the 85 runs well I would keep it. No need to change cars instead of tires.

QCVette

I had an '85 4+3 and an '88 A4.

The '88 has the later offset for wheels which opens up more possibilities. The standard '88 was a 16" x 8.5" wheel with the 17" x 9.5" as an optional wheel with Z51 and Z52.
The '88 has ABS like stated above and vats ignition key pellet security.
They switched to the aluminum heads mid year in '86.
They went to a roller cam in '87.
There were a bunch of little changes too like the support rod instead of the scissors support. I am not sure what year they changed but it may have the later style window lift mechanisms. (maybe someone can confirm what year they changed) It is noticeable the the later style lift works the window faster.
The computer in the '85 is old and slow in comparison with the '88, but for a stock car it probably wont make any difference.
The '85 was the last year without a high mount stop lamp.

In short there are a few changes, but for driving them they are very similar cars and I would make my choice between the two based on condition.

I had my '85 for over 25 years and loved it. However I sold it to get a later one because I wanted some of the later changes (6 speed, R134 refrigerant, LT1/LT4 engine, late seats and interior, analog dash, etc). My choice was also biased to making some modifications and I wanted to start with a car that had more of the parts I wanted to wind up with. I ended up with a '95 6M dark red/black and a '96 6M silver/black.

Good luck with your choices.
My '85


My '88