A friend was checking out a '97 Camaro this week that had the water pump leaking a lot. Apparently, it was really low on coolant, so that it wasn't leaking when he looked.
I don't have the experience with the LT1 engine so I can't remember if these are aluminum in the Camaro or not. His concern was not that the pump leaked, as we seem to know how that goes with the C4 Corvettes, but as to how susceptible the engine is to damage since he has no idea how long it has been low on coolant, how long it is leaking, and so on.
He also thought the leaking pump did a number on the OptiSpark so was surprised it was still running ok.
He said the coolant was brown and looked like there was a thickness to it. Another guy with him was thinking oil, as there was an oil/grey appearance, but then he thought it might be a lot of stop leak instead.
Any thoughts to pass onto him?