Ultra mr me

I am looking to buy another Camaro. It is a 87, black on back, t tops with 350 fuel injected engine. It is clean enough to eat off of inside in out. It has 80k miles and never drove in winter. The owner is asking 6-7k which seems fair. But I will try to beat down the price. He is the second owner and I know the 1st owner personally as well. So this is a local car. In 87 the 1st owner got it with everything loaded. Power windows, locks, hatch and the whole nine yards. I do plan on buying it soon and what I have left putting into the car.

Since this car is actually 8 years older then I am I never saw them in their prime but I love the look of them. To me they're perfect since they look good, are fairly quick and I don't have to drop 5 digits to get a decent one.

I have a 87 305 I have set back to stock and love to cruise in it. I would like to have an iroc that has some more pep behind it. I would like to keep up with most production cars today. Nothing too crazy but I'm sure a modern 4 cylinder would give an 87 350 tpi a run for its money but I'm not really sure. I have been doing a lot of research and it seems like the 350 is worth putting a few go fast parts on. I can't really afford an ls swap at this point unfortunately but I do dream of one. Haha

Now my actual few questions are what is the best way to get the most out of the cars l98? Depending on how much I get the car for I will have about 4-5k to put into it. So how much more giddy up and go can I get out of it and what would be the best way?

It seems like headers,high flow cat and cat back are a sure fire way for a little more pep.
Maybe port the air box?
Put better heads on.
A more aggressive cam?
Adjustable fuel pressure reg?
Maybe a different intake set up?
Different rear end gears?

So what should I expect to get out of my 4-5k is really all I'm asking after all that long winded explanation. Everyone here knows so much and any help would be great. Please and THANK YOU!

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

The popular (because they work, give you good bang for the buck) upgrades would be:
AFR 195 heads - $1500
Comp "503" cam - $300
HSR and fuel rails - $700 ... TPI manifold will be a restriction at the 4k-4500 rpm point.
Dyno Don 1 3/4" headers and Y pipe - $800
3" cat back - $110 + $65 if you need tailpipes, + muffler

That brings you up to $3500. Decide how much you need to spend on tires, brakes, suspension, trans, rear end, etc.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Go thru suspension and bushings first. Old car they may need redone. That could eat a grand or so

Then do full exhaust, gut the bottom of airbox, give it 2 deg more base timing and 93 oct, and upgrade the intake manifold to high flow tpi or something different like pro flo or hsr

2800 stall speed converter and you are a mid 13's car easily in drag tires likely better on drag wheels in good air.

If you want more it needs heads cam tune