I had a 96 corsica with the v-6 and it did the dissapearing coolant trick. was on my way to work, about 40 miles, and before i even got out of town, the temp gauge was pegged. pulled over, threw some water in it and drove to work. went to leave from work, checked the reservior and it was empty again with no signs of leaks. checked dipstick and it was about 3 inches higher than it should have been. towed it home and drained about a gallon and a half of water out of it, then the rest of the motor oil. i was really suprised that it didn't hurt the bottom end but i guess i got lucky. put some new 'upgraded' uper intake gaskets on it and sold that shit first chance i got. drove the car for about 15k miles and still made 300 bucks on the deal
btw, new lifters aren't that expensive if you really want to fix the car