My 88' has 175,000 on it now and I have given it a hard life, I bought
it with something like 150,000 on it.  She still runs strong with the
original T-5 that has seen better days.  I'm rebuilding the tranny
within the next month or so.

                           ...Ron
--
68' Camaro RS
88' Firebird Formula
00' Mustang GT Vert

I'll weigh in on this one. Well maintained is key. Every "V8 GM" engine I
have owned ran fine without major engine work past 250,000 miles until they
were sold (with the exception of one plastic timing gear). Wife's caddy
still goes from oil change to oil change without using a quart and it has
over 275K miles on it. These engines, if properly maintained, will wear a
body out before they need overhaul. (Charles will probably weigh in on the
reliability of the V6's *g*).
"Well maintained"  is misunderstood by some people.  Most people think it
only means: change the oil every 3000 miles and keep good sparkplugs in it.
It means certain conditions must never have been allowed to occur.
1. Never have been run overtemp with low coolant level or without
antifreeze.
2. Never have been run with a "dirt leak" in the air intake system.
3. Never have been run in over-rich fuel condition for long periods.
4. Never have been run over 6000 miles on any one change of oil, or major
wrong weight of oil used.
5. Never have been run overspeed in excess of 100% manufacturers redline RPM
for any length of time.
If these conditions are avoided the V8 will survive the rest.
If you think the 89 has never been subjected to any of these conditions, buy
it and worry more about when to overhaul the transmission.
p.s. the order of these just happens to be causes of "premature death" order
from personal "auto-psies".