Bluebird

Post your comments on why you chose to vote as you did.
I want to see which way is the stronger choice.

1991 Z-28

Looks are more important, your not going to pick up the chicks up if your car is fast, your going to pick them up if it looks good... trust me, i had a very fast 85 berlinetta, didnt do **** for me.... then i got a 91 z28, took off the tops, chicks start pooring in, @#%@ performance, chicks like the looks

Matt86Z

Going fast IS looking good...

...and if you need a car to get chicks, the car isn't your problem. Chicks who give you attention for your car aren't worth the time in the first place.

91Bird305

I agree, going fast is lookin good.

camaro6spd

should be a combo of the two....but if you do apperiance first you are just as bad as the ricers..

Mark A Shields

I'm more interested in speed. I don't see the point in making a car to look good to get girls.

9D1BURD

My motto right now is "look good first, go fast later"

but keep in mind i am waiting for funding to buy my LTI(V6 currently)

So my motto may change

Black85TransAm

I think it depends on how bad ur car looks first of all, if your car has a ****load of rust and things of the like, i would take care of that first so at least when you are driving around people don't laugh at you, but thats just what i think....

86IROCZ

Must....go.....FASTER!!!

and I wanna be shiny while I'm doing it!

IROCThe5.7L

I don't wanna sound like "Show before go" But id make my car look good before I put $$ into the engine. And it wouldnt be to get girls. When I drive my car around, I have other F-body dudes (Even 4th gen) giving me thumbs up. I also have had guys at auto part stores give me compliments and ask about it. And there is nothing sweeter when your driving and people stare at your car.

If you have a 11 second rusted piece of poo, thats not gonna happen. But its all preference. Some people don't care what the hell people think of there car and don't want attention.


That was one big thing I was looking for when I was looking for my car, it had to be in good shape.


A quote I hear even from 4th gen drivers too. "Nothing beats the look of a clean 3rd gen". :lala:

ChevyLuva3

Definately looking GOOD is very IMPORTANT! Chicks love hot cars, they don't mind if its fast, but hell if it is, thats a PLUS. Ya guys might say going just going for looks is ''*****-like''. Not so, whens the last time ya saw a GOOD looking civic, eclipse, (enter rice car here), etc. Yeah they might be buying things that are appearance-associated... but do they look GOOD?.. Hmmm? Well?... No I didn't think so! LOOKING GOOD is important, not just things that make you look.

Me for instance.. I bought a Camaro, why? Cuz I love them. They look cool as hell, especially third gen ones. I grew up with them, its in my blood. I love the sound they make. And oh yeah, they're fast too, who doesn't love that.
..So I got the LOOKS part of my covered. Theres nothing to change, nothing, all I need is the pure beautiful stock form. That why I chose The "Go Fast" Option. Besides who doesn't wanna go faster.

Looks are important, but hell if your car didn't look cool when ya bought it, what the hell were ya thinking.

One last comment.. a girl will certainly rather be in a 92 L03 Camaro RS with TTops too, then some Buick GSX that can blow the pants off the Camaro. Besides I'd rather be the one in the Camaro, gettin my pants blown off.. if ya know what I mean

Peace..

Redarrow1

I say it depends on what you are starting out with. If you have a tpi car then you should probably work on making it faster then start on appearance. If you are starting out with one of the lo po motors, chances are you are not gonna go that fast anyway, so you might as well start with appearance.

I was gonna make a comment about a car getting you girls, but I think everyone else covered it. I am intrigued though, I am married and been out of the circuit for about 8 years, but I really figured most girls these days would be into riced out civics, not a 15 year old f-body. Go figure.

Chris87TA350

Yeah, after two accidents within the last school year, I'm more concerned with fixing up my car's looks than performance. I want to restore it to its previous beauty. Also, it really is fast enough for me. When I have mega bucks, later, I'll make it fast, but for now, I'm tired of driving my busted POS around. I feel like Tommy Lee Jones in MIB, fast car, but won't turn heads.

Bluebird

In regards to what girls are into.. I am not sure if a lot of girls are into the rice thing or not.. Here in Rockford, Cars all meet up in parking lots on Friday and Saturday nights. And I was standing with a group of probably 75 people, and a ***** drove through with the neons under the car, and believe it or not.. no guys yelled out anything.. but a few girls hollered get the piece of **** ***** out of here, thats not a muscle car!!
But that probably was biased because it WAS a muscle car hang ouit.. your probably right.. a lot of girls probably are into the riced out cars just cuz they werent the age to care when our cars were new and appreciated... but I bet you when they see one that is all shiny and badass with rumblin exhaust.. and see it blow the socks off of a *****, I bet they can't help but get curious about our cars and develop an interest.

I would love for my car to be fast, but I feel the appearance is
priority I guess... because who wants a fast P.O.S.?? if that was the case I would just buy a vega or a monza and put a 383 stroker in it and be a true hillrod.. haha

:sillylol::sillylol::sillylol:

86IROCZ

I picked GO before SHOW mainly because I don't want to mess up my fancy new paint job while I'm putting the new engine in.

Bluebird

That is a valid point.... If the car got a expensive paint job.. you could risk scratching it during the engine swap!!

MetalliCamaroRS

iTrader: (15)

It depends on what shape the car is in. If its rusted out and pretty crappy, then I'd go for appearance first. I wouldn't go all out, maybe just take care of the major stuff and paint it later. But for my car, I want to go fast before looking good. That was, up until I rear ended someone in the rain. So first I'm going to fix my nose and get rid of the swirl marks, then I'll get headers and some other performance stuff, then I'll get my 2 small door dings taken care of, tint the windows, and lower the car. I don't need it to pick up chicks, I have a girlfriend and she doesn't care about cars anyway.

redbird_400

Depents on how bad it looks and how much it would cost to fix it. If its wrecked the I would fix that first, Unless its something small.
Well lets put it this way I want people to stare at my car but not for the wrong reason. If they can look at it and thing damn thats loud, probaby has some horse... thats great but if they look at it and think CHECK OUT THAT DENT!!! then its time to go with the appearance.

89Formula305

Bluebird....the blue im painting my 89 is almost exact to the color of your car. Its the targa blue they put on the 72 vettes, it has metallic in it..

heavy_chevy29

i think its better to have a fast car first. i thinks its kinda cool to have a sleeper. you dont want your car to be all show and no go.

redbird_400

DOODS! (dudes?) I think It should be half and half. Put your money in both so you have the best of both worlds.

Twistopher

I think it is a balance of both. But if I had to pick between the two I would go with appearance first. My car performed great even when it was stock. I have done somethings but the engine swap will come later. A fast thirdgen in nice but I am less likely to look at it longer if it had a big motor and looked like crap. Right now I am only interested in working on the appearance and the suspension on my car. I am getting into custom chip burning for performance sake but I havent really gotten too far into it just yet. My brain will only let me taken in some much at once.

vic_V8

YOU GUYS ARE FORGETING GIRLS LIKE RIDING IN FAST CARS, but I figure anything that will run a 15 is ok, I'm a go before show, I hate posers ( a slow car with a massive hood scoop or something)

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Faster first, looks later... I don't drive this car to pick up hot chicks, I drive it because I like it. Been holding off painting the car again till the new engine is in.

86FyrBrd

iTrader: (1)

Indecisive, Both are equal.

Twistopher

Did you ever get your engine problem straightened out?

maddmonkees90rs

perhaps u get lucky like me. i found a parts car for 700 had a cowl hood and a high rise spoiler with a tpi engine. not to mention i had my fenders busted lost the gfx that goes behine the rear wheel and my front bumper has several cracks and the dash pad needed replacing. my tranny was starting to fail too. ooooooooh and i forgot i broke my rear axle ...thats how i lost that gfx. lol. i got all those parts for 700 bucks and that help make my car look better and run better. not to bad huh? but i just got lucky. just need a paint job now. wooo hooooooo. and ill be pimpin.

Bluebird

that's kewl!

I saw your website, ,wow your car really musta seen some salt! Rust really found it's way around that car!
Can't wait to see future Progress!

BikertrashDude

here is my take
1. get the car running as best as it can, first off the car has to run good, don't burn oil, and it's not going to break down on you.

2. then pick one thing to work on
a. engine and performance
b. interior
c. exterior
doesn't matter witch one you start on as long as you stick with mostly that section to dump most of your money into.

i would go worse condition to best
if the car runs good and the paint looks ok, but the interior is shot to hell from a leaky t-top then start with the inside
then work out
i'd rather go looks over performance.
i don't race my car or go to the local car hangouts
i just like to cruise with the car. besides my bike is my #1 toy anyway.
just my .02c
later
biker

86FyrBrd

iTrader: (1)

No, it blew and its most likely getting rebuilt as a 383 Stroker.

Bluebird

Im Surprised at how many people
said speed over the look....

Bizarreeeeeee!!!!!


I guess the reason I thought appearance first is because of this.

I think even though the 305 is slower than we would like.. it is still not SLOW SLOW if you know what I am saying.. I mean you can still roast tires, beat most 4 bangers, and v6's to some extent, you can still roast other kinds of cars that are from our generation. so I would have thought, as long as you atleast have a V8 firebird, that it's already quick enough to get by.. and that appearance is top notch.. especcialy since if you don't tend to certain appearancee needs on our cars , being as old as they are, they might get progressively worse.. then your heavy powerful all mighty engine might pull the front of your car down the track and leave the torso and the rear end sitting there severeed with you sitting in the drivers seat which fell through the rustedd floor pans... hehehe you know what Im saying?

Chris87TA350

Hey, guys, what if you have a car like mine? It looks like crap (well, it's all banged up; from a distance, the bright red still looks hot), and it runs so so and the suspension is all screwed up and the interior, although nice and black is filled with cracked panels and fading torn cloth... I need everything!!! Redraif's trying to convince me to fix it up, and, believe me, since it's my first car, I'd like to, but I just don't have the time with school and my career planning, so my solution is to start over with a more solid base. There's a $2500 '89 GTA with a 305tpi for sale near me... What do you guys think?
~Chris

BikertrashDude

buy the GTA and yank the 350 you have now rebuild it and stick it in that one and all your problems are solved!!!!
if only it was that easy, but you can do it.
later
biker

Chris87TA350

Good idea, but the problem is I have no time or money, being a student and all. My plan is to buy the GTA, stick some 1.6 roller rockers on it like deadbird's doing for a little more power, then drive the wheels off it until the 305 dies while I work slowly on a 355. How's that?

P.S. I'm starting to wonder if the previous owner lied to be about putting in a new 350 engine... he said it was "salvage rebuilt" whatever that means. There's a whole lotta ghetto wiring with electrical tape and broken connectors strewn across the engine. He put in an electric fuel pump under the hood that causes my engine to surge when I floor it because it can't keep up, and he also said the car passed emissions, and when I failed two months after buying it, I looked at his records and yeah, he passed by one point! So what else did he fudge? See why I'd have to rebuild the car from scratch?

1989camarorsrs

iTrader: (-1)

What i did was mod evenly with both appearance and speed. First thing i got was shift kit, then hooker cat back exhaust, then i got tints, blackouts, and roh snyper rims, now this summer im doing 3.42 gears and slp headers, then a cowl or the ram air hood for 4th gens. Oh and for the person who said if u have tpi mod because the other lo po cars wont go fast anyway U ARE COMPLETELY WRONG Any mod i do to my lo po engine will help it just as much as any tpi engine.

1989camarorsrs

iTrader: (-1)

:lala:

IROC57TPI

First things first....

NO CAR makes a MAN, The MAN makes the CAR.

If you are worried about what people will think then you have some issues to resolve personally. I drove my car around for 2 years with the paint peeling off in sheets and I never cared once what people thought of me or my car.

Now that I got it painted it feels like a whole different car. I am now getting used to thumbs up from a whole bunch of people. But I also realize that my car ran excellent while it was fugly and I was perfectly content with it for the time being.

I am now concentrating on the interior. I just put the 4th gen seats in it yesterday and it again feels like a whole different car. I can't believe what a set of seats does for driving impressions!

So to make my point, I think that as long as you're content with what your doing screw what everyone else thinks; because only time will tell what the future has in store for your ride.

GKK

LOOKS First!... That's the main reason I have a Thirdgen in the first place.

Wolfpack

Chicks like the looks huh? i Got my Present GF becouse not only did she like the look...but LOVED the sound...so i think they go hand in hand...Make it look good..but make it go faster!!

zer0321

I would say that it really depends on how important it is to one's self, if your like me (poor student) and all you do is cruise around (not worth racing -- yet), then I would say go or the appearance first, and after you are done spend as much as you can on perforance mods (hopefully i'll have my 3.1L V6 down to low 15s by the end of summer).....obviously enough I didn't buy the car because it was a fast car, but because it was a cool looking car. So really you need to decide for yourself.

if performance was the only thing that mattered, why are we driving our cars? because they are faster than anything out there? certainly not. you can pick up a 6spd LT1 Z28 for about the not much more than any most late model 3rd gens (around here anyways...) I am fairly comfident that the 4th gen would run circles around my 92 RS....so why don't we all trade to 4th Gens? because looks do matter - well at least this is how I feel.....

I hope you've all thoroughly enjoyed my rant

1991tealRSt-topGuy

speed WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY before looks

i'm gonna work on getting me a set of vortec heads, a T56, and maybe a 335 stroker kit (yeah i know a 383 would cost only $100 more...........tough ****, pal, i wanna be unique) and a more agrresive cam

once all that is done, i'll worry about painting the car, although i belive i am going to finish the bodywork paralell to the performance

and yes, i will be taking the car to maaco, the local ones around here do great jobs and i now have connections.....................

then after all that is done i'll worry about the interior

CobraKiller

***** to the wall..if you need a car to get girls those girls aren't worth the time. I'd rather have a built motor on a not so great body. The sleeper look gets em every time and wins you some money from time to time.

Camrs89

If I were to do it all over again. Looks first. It just keeps you motivated by looking at the thing. My friends RS vert looks fast and sporty but has no *****. My RS has power but put the two next to each other and the vert blows mine away in looks. You can always do an engine when yours craps out. BTW after seeing your car yesterday it didnt look too bad. Sounded good too. I wish I had the stereo you had. Later

TopForm

I'd have to go for the speed and power aspect, although I did my car for looks first. If I could do it again, I'd leave the paint, body, and interior work as the last thing to accomplish. I sunk so much cash into the appearance aspect, I'll have to wait on the performance for later.

Brian

Bluebird

Yah.... I sunk so much $$$$ itno the stereo I could have easily had atleast the engine...... oh well.. When I roll across the states, I can rock out! hehehe

85SportCoupeto89RS

I say looks over the power any day for me. I like having a nice looking car and having 300 horse power is not what I need to have in a joe dirt looking car. But eventually when I finish my int and ext mods and resto I will then build up a V8 and replace my good running 2.8.

Snowdog 91 Formula

This is a silly thread.
There are two things you NEVER mix.

Cars and women.
Religion and politics.

Now that I have that point made, do what YOU feel is the best thing to do. If you want to go to a pep boys and get the latest "Type RJX" sticker and new "Mr. Coffee" station with a "Playstation", hey it's your car.
But being serious about the whole thing...

Is the car mechanically up to your par? If it isn't do the engine and performance mods first.
Then work on the way it looks.

Reason being....

If you do it the other way, you are going to have mechanics, and people playing with your $3000.00 audio system, getting grease all over your $1000.00 new seats, and maybe making a scratch or two in your $5000.00 paint job.

That is my reasoning.

Back to the women....

If you want to make your car LOOK good and be gutless until it is time, it's your choice, but let me say I didn't warn you.

LOL good thing my wife loves her car as much as I like mine.

85SportCoupeto89RS

Yep its pretty silly.I'd say for the people who need to have the mechanics do the motor swap for them, I would have performance first.Then go for the looks. But in my case and others I presume who can do body and interior first, and then put in a killer motor themselvs without worrying if the paint is going to get messed up or the interior miss used by a mechanic or others.

TBI305Camaro

Im trying to get my car looking good first. By looking "good" I pretty much mean clean. I mean nice rims and tires, tint, and paint. That isn't ***** like. Now maybe if I installed a huge wing in the back and slicks then id be a goondick like the ricers. I want a clean thirdgen. Hell mines already one of the nicest around here just because it was pretty well kept. Im actually maintaining the car unlike most thirdgen owners. I get sick when i see a ragged out RS with stupiud bumper stickers and of course the hatch pulldown motor doesnt work anymore and the hatch bounces around. People make me sick. Thirdgens do look badass for some reason dont they.

ATH

Speed and power, of course. Although power and appearance are sorta tied together... see, I just picked up an '82 Z28 not too long ago. The hood is screwed up, so I'm putting a Daytona-style 'glass hood on it. Since I'm doing the hood, I thought I'd throw on a few other fiberglass panels, and paint them all at once. Then, I may as well paint the whole thing, since most of it'll be primed by then. Now, this makes the car lighter, so that's performance- but it's appearance too, right? Confusing, innit. Not to mention the brake job I've got to do because the last owner was a moron...

Basically: prioritize, make a plan, follow it. My priorities right now:

1) redo front brakes

2) rear brake disc conversion

3) M-22 swap

4) true dual exhaust

While this is going on, fiberglass work will be done, and then I'll start building a new engine for further insertion. (Plan subject to change, of course...)