did you see a vacuum modulator? generally the electronic version in the ciera looks like it showed up in 1994, but without looking at the transmission or checking the code on it don't know for certain.
Found a complete good running car with 162,000 for $1100. Probably wouldn't be a good buy cause I can get a rebuilt tranny for 1200, an '87 like you rec'd. That be for a 2.8 right? O'Reilly asked me what engine, 2.8 or 4 cyl.
162,000 and not knowing if it's original or rebuilt I'd pass. an 87 that has been rebuilt should be good, I know lots of folks prefer 1990 or 1991 since they are the last years and all the bugs were worked out of them. I followed the thread on the 4T60 I ended up with and it was rebuilt 3 times before it worked right so a warranty is nice, expecially if you intend to keep it awhile. that was an 88 transmission. I originally put in a 1991 that supposedly had 60,000 on a rebuild and it was a weak transmission. ended up throwing it away.