Jgolden314

Well awhile ago my friend bought an 84 TA, with a 5.0 HO in it. IT has a 3.23 posi, and 700r4 tranny.He also has flowmaster exhaust. I have an 86 Iroc, lg4, 700r4 and 3.23 open rear, only mod is timing.

We decided to line them up. When we took off we both had good launches with no spin. It was dead even until it was time to shift into 2nd. I then pulled on him some. Same with 3rd. We ended up letting off around 70 and his nose was at my rear quarter. It was a great race and i bet it looked badass. Nothing like two thirdgens duking it out.

He is not a member here yet but im sure he will be in a week or two when he gets his car back from being painted. Oh yeah, wait til you see it. This thing is bright white.

chalk up another win for the LG4

Hawk92z-TDZ

84 Z28
Trans Am M5,A4 L69 V8 9.5:1 5.0 (305) 190@4800 240@3200 4bbl HO --Auto 3.42 Optional G92 3.73

86 IROC-Z
Trans Am M5,A4 LG4 V8 9.5:1 5.0 (305) 165@4400 250@2000 4bbl Manual 3.23 G92 3.73 Auto 2.73 ----

I would say your Buddy's HO is a LG4 not a L69. Whats the 8th digit in his serial #?

If it was an L69, good kill, u must be running good.

Jgolden314

he says its the l69 but i dont think thats right becuase i run 16.4, and i beat him. he must have the lg4 but he still says l69

ddn69

ya i thought i had an l69. Some other site must have tricked me. Tell him to look it up on a vin check someplace. Anyway.. Great win!

FbodTrek

I would say it's DEFINATELY possible he has an l69. Check out the torque numbers (albeit a general description) Lg4 has got the l69 beat in the torque dept (and the band is spiking alot sooner too) reguardless of how many horses he has (since the motors aren't that far apart in horses), better torque=better leads...unfortunately MAINTAINING the lead is another question. Like they say, "...horsepower wins brags-TORQUE wins drags"

Hawk92z-TDZ

I have driven both and owned both, when they're running good, theres a HUGE diference, U can tell the L69 is faster, easy.

TQ's good for getting u out of the hole, but then your running out of steam in a hurry if u dont got the HP to back u up.

Get some 1/4 miles times on stock LG4's and Stock L69's and U'll know what I mean

Not saying its not possible, as anything can happen on the street. Its just unlikely. Thats Y I would guess its an LG4 not a L69, that and his gears werent available to a L69, just an LG4. He could of changed them, but Y down grade :P

Jgolden314

thanks for the replies! yeah it was a fun race. whether its an lg4 or an l69, he has fun with it, and saved it from an owner who would have done nohting but trashed it.

300hpse

iTrader: (2)

ive also owned both and its a world of difference. The l69 pulls strong all the way through the rpm range till 6k rpm. The lg4 didnt really pull, it just went, and ran out of steam at like 4600 rpm. Ofcourse my l69 is backed by 3.73's but still id say he either has an lg4 or a badly out of tune l69. Easiest way i check for l69 vs lg4 is look at the coolant fan, if its stock electric, probably l69, if its stock crank driven, probably lg4.

Or look at his gauges, the l69 has an 80 psi oil gauge and 8k (6k redline) tac whereas the lg4 has a 60 psi oil gauge and a 6k (5k redline) tach.

Definately let us know what u find out, im very curoius. Thanx

edit: HAWK92Z-3.42's were available to the l69 not the lg4 though, the only way to verify gears for sure anyway is to spin the tires and watch the driveshaft

Jgolden314

i will check either tonight or tomorrow. thanks for the info....But yeah i will let you know from the gauges sometime withing the next day. I agree with you. I think it is an LG4 because of the way it drives. I have an LG4 myself, and it feels identical.
thanks

Hawk92z-TDZ

Yups, look above :P

84 Z28
Trans Am M5,A4 L69 V8 9.5:1 5.0 (305) 190@4800 240@3200 4bbl HO -- """""Auto 3.42 Optional G92 3.73"""""

86 IROC-Z
Trans Am M5,A4 LG4 V8 9.5:1 5.0 (305) 165@4400 250@2000 4bbl Manual 3.23 G92 3.73 Auto 2.73 ----

He said he had 3.23's and according to my book the HO's DIDNT come with them in 1984. Not that the book couldnt be wrong, but its been acurate on must of the things sofar

300hpse

iTrader: (2)

oops, i was thinking he said his friend had 3.42, by bad, i should of read more thoroughly before correcting you, your right, the 3.23 is the optional lg4 gear. Sorry

Hawk92z-TDZ

no prob m8, I'v been wrong before

Jgolden314

sorry guys but we have not yet checked if it is an l69 or lg4. I asked him what his oil gauge read, and he says he thinks it is 80 psi. It is still being painted but I will have him check as soon as possible.

83 Z28 HO

I dont know about this one. L69's aren't fast, but my mom used to own a brand new lg4 auto, and said myn was a lot faster. Not saying its not possible, but l69's are pretty quick for their era. And even though redline is 5500, 6k I hear you can wind them to. Never done it on purpose before, but I seen 6500 on the tach cuttin doughnuts one time (hehe). As soon as I seen it though I jammed in the clutch with all I could.

300hpse

iTrader: (2)

any verdict yet

Jgolden314

naw havent checked..........its STILL being painted.........and with exams and work going on right now.......im busy but i will try and remember to check it out

Jgolden314

OK, tonight I drove past his house......his car is in the driveway looking mighty nice after being painted. I was going to stop but all the lights were out due to him having a swim meet tomorrow. I will check his gauges tomorrow, or we will type in the vin number here on the board.

Ray87Z

You don't need to type in jack, just look at the 8th Digit:

H - LG4
G - L69

Simple as that...

Jgolden314

HE was right fellas, I went and checked out the vin for myself. The 8th digit is a G. He has the L69.
Well sorry that took so long.

junkyarddog

Tell your friend to do some serious tune up work on his car!

That's just not fair for the L69ers! If your car is running that bad, piant can wait.

I used to drive an '84 T/A, they only came with L69 and 3.73 Limited Slip that year (unless it was changed ofcourse). I raced several Lg4s and none of them had any kind of chance, even with mods...they are just weak motors. The L69 isn't great, but there was an attempt to get some performance out of it, it can be easilly improved too. I even kept up with a TPI before, but that must have been in bad shape. You'd be surprised how many races you can win or hold your own, just because you keep your car all around tuned.

Congrats on the kill though, a kill is a kill!

Just wanted to let your friend know, his car needs some serious TLC, no mods yet, that car should have at least leaded you bone stock. He may need better tires too, mine never had good traction until I upgraded to 16x8 wheels. If he can find a decent set of 16x8s here, it's well worth the investment, that car can do so much better with real sized rims. The fronts might rub a little, but it's not enough to be concerned about.

300hpse

iTrader: (2)

mines stock 84 l69 3.73's without limited slip . I guess thats nothing to brag about but they did come other ways than just 3.73's with limited slip. And i definately back you on this guy needs to tune that l69, its a shame when paople let general maintenance slip and then wonder why it doesnt run right

Jgolden314

he just bought the car not long ago........he has no traction issues whatsoever.........and he has 16x8 IROC wheels on it. I dont think he minds the motor the way it is...........he may end up tossing a crate engine in.........who knows. but yes it is for sure an l69, and i took him by about a car

junkyarddog

Here's an example of a well kept up '84 T/A....mechanically anways.

When I aquired it, it did have limited slip but that later changed to 3.73 posi-traction, and no the handling didn't suffer any. That might have had something to do with the $1200 in suspension mods however.

I usually had no trouble pulling on certain vehicles, I never tried my luck with too many drivers because i was convinced that it wouldn't measure up. Looking back, I think it did alright for the few mods I did.

The only mods I did were hedmen shorty headers (highly recomended)

removal of the tight mesh air screen thing inside the air cleaner, that thing has to go if he has one.

K&N air filter....why not?


No cat for awhile, straight pipe no seams, eventually I needed a sticker so I added a HF cat.

Borla exaust system, there are better choices $$$ wise, but it was unique and was ready for most any engine I wanted to swap in.

Those are the only 'real' mods that i can think of, besides meticulous maintenance and tuning of the whole car and advancing the timing once and awhile.

The Suspension consisted of: KYB-GR2 struts and shocks, KYB strut mounts, PST front end rebuild kit, Eibach Pro kit, Hotchkis rear end stabilizer kit (LCAs and panhard rod), new GM rubber insulators for the front springs, urathane rear sway bar bushings, and the rims and tires shown, IROC Z 16x8s and KHUMO Ecsta 265/16/50...not exactly sure on the size it's been awhile. I wouldn't have changed a thing, it was awsome, no body roll and excellent handling. You can't even imagine how much better the car rides and manuvers for relatively little money. I really needed LCA brackets though. I'm sure the streering brace and torque arm would have helped a little too.

I think the reason your friend has no traction issues is because he is running on 5 cylinders.

This photo was shows the last time this car was ever in one piece. Please no tears, there will be a second, I really like the '84 body style for some reason.

Jgolden314

his car starts and runs fine. He is getting smog stuff removed soon.