It's just too much fun lmao

 

Good job jumping to conclusions and losing your temper. I wasn't speaking to you and I dont presume to know your maturity level, but your posts are a good indicator.

I agree. I was in an accident when i was 20. I went into anaphylactic shock and passed out while driving. Was only a half mile from home. Learned a lot of lessons, but I was unconscious during the actual accident. Thank god no one got hurt, it was a low speed accident. But experiences like that really do drive home how it can happen to anyone for any reason.

I didnt get my car until after that accident, and although I kept it civil, the temptation was always there. If you're the kind of guy that wants a sleek, fast sports car as a teenager, (and if you're here on TGO - you probably are) then it's gonna take a herculean amount of self-restraint from someone that age to, at that point, not get in over their heads with it.

The only reason I survived it to this point is because I know how hard I worked to save up and buy the car, and how hard I worked to save up for parts and do the work to install those parts afterwards and I know accidents can happen to anyone. Plus it was slow when it was stock, and it's still only a 13 second car now. Beyond that most youngsters dont have the time or money invested into their rides that the older guys do, and that plays a huge part in how much a LOT of people respect the power and responsibility that comes with driving a performance-oriented car.

 

I've had my first car, a camaro for nearly a year and the worst I've done is slide off the road because it had bald tires when I first got it (probably doesn't help that it was raining cats and dogs). It landed in a grassy ditch and didn't do any damage to the car as I was only doing 20 mph. I now slide through intersections occasionally but that's about all, I have a rather healthy respect for my car. The rims are beaten to ****, but I haven't touched a curb (previous owners can't drive for beans). I saved up 2k and bought it last summer when I was 16 even though everyone seems to think I was going to wrap it around a tree...

 

But YOU bought it. I've got nothing against kids who had their cars given to them, they could be the most deserving kids in the world. It's not my place to say or judge one way or the other and it's not my business. However, paying for the car out of your own pocket can't hurt when it comes to appreciating and respecting what you have.

And Im not speaking in absolutes either, I've specifically avoided that kind of language, Im just speaking from personal experiences. If you dont think it applies to you then dont worry about it.

 

Dayum. Seems as though we are very much alike. At least in the sense we both brought and built our cars. Not sure if you had your dad help you like i did though. Im very lucky i do though.

 

For every young kid who wrecks a car doing something stupid I can show you an "adult" in a car doing something equally as stupid. Cars and coffee every month in every city having wrecks in 2010/2011 ring a bell? The guy who put his CTS-V onto of a strip mall in downtown Houston?

Also accidents happen, especially in high powered cars, ever seen a professional drag racer crash at the track? yeah I bet he was young and doing something stupid. Maybe you guys in 43hp stock thirdgens just don't have the experience with any type of HP so you can't relate, I dunno... and WTF this thread got sidetracked a bit huh?

 

I don't have any more tolerance for adults that do stupid things than kids. The difference is as you get older, MOST adults get a sense of self preservation, and understand the value in not tearing their stuff up.

Most, not all

 

I'm 40 and if I could go back an do the mods again, Knowing what I know now, I would start with building the best brake system I could fit in the wheels and tires I wanted.
Next Id do a tq converter, catback, headers, cold air kit... then after awhile Id move into the heads cam an stuff.
I'd still start with a 1 owner low mile TTOP formula 350.

I've had 2 issues in vehicles, once whan I was 16 dad let me take my GF home in his new truck, I was backing out of the drive way (was a lil distracted because her head was in my lap ) well I smacked my 73 formula350(428). the formula bumper caught the pass cab corner, door and bed side of the new truck.. 2mph maybe..
The other one was just last winter with my 4 day old car. snowy,icey and the wind blew my car straight sidways into another car at less than 5mph. Had 2 put a new quarter panel on mine and their car!!

 

Agreed 100%. And i know! This was a halfway decent thread to.

Shoot my first minor accident was when i was about to leave for work in my moms minivan. My sister had her bf over the first time and i wasnt paying attention and sideswapped his explorer backing down the driveway at 2 mph or so. Lets just say she had to keep him preoccupied a while so it could be buffed out

 

So you crashed while you had a parent in the car? And military at 15 years old? Dude, your story is not lining up what so ever. I'm so confused right now. I have freinds in the military...they are far from rich and having a car track record like that!

 

Nope I crashed while alone. Was driving illegally. And no, my mom is military. Lieutenant colonel in the army. That's how I have all the cars I do

 

I don't wana be the azz but I'm glad we (taxpayers) are helping to support your demo derby habit..

 

Well I'm glad your mom is serving because I respect people in the military, but your mom is clearly spending her hard earned money on the wrong things...

 

I agree with you there which is why this new truck is the last car she's buying. I'm on my own from now on since I'll be 18 in 6 months

Btw, badass car. Love the color

 

His car is beautiful. Now if only he could get it running!
Should be soon just waiting on the tune now arent you whitedevil?
It sure has been a LONG process it feels like and its not even my car!

 

I went for Looks and half performance, the suspension is done and the LSx and T56 are in the garage.

 

Good to hear. I got my first car (my 86 TA in fact) bought for me by my father at 17. I respected it and took care of it and now it is where it is. I've bought everything else I've owned since then with my own worked for cash. It's a good feeling to buy something yourself that you know you worked hard for! And thanks for the compliments too.

Thanks brotha! And yes, tune is basically the one thing holding me back at this point. My tuner should be coming over today to work on it a bit more, and the painter said he should have the hood and front bumper done by the end of this week. That'll be it, body wise...as soon as the tune is close, I'll get her registered and start driving it!

Love the stance, and the wheels choice!

And I have a soft spot for a clean white car, being that was the old color of mine. Now get that LS1/T56 installed!

 

I bought my own car too but I still drive it like a crazy person cause it's just hella fun! Ive never crashed it & I'm also 18.
Haha an ls3 & a t56 someday for now tho i just don't want her lookin so ugly lol

 

This thread started out nice but some how it went sour.
The off topic banter has its place, especially when its concerning important maters but if its just going to be a battle may I suggest the PM (private messaging) feature so the rest of us don't have to listen. Thanks

 

She shall be stout! My goal shall be.. dare i say.. the first ls7 thirdgen!
Ill settle for a turbo 408 though this hopefully will happen sooner rather than later

Understood&Agreed.

 

nah, you won't be the first

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...-ls7-swap.html

and i don't think he was the first either

 

There was probably a few 3rd gens with the ls7 at SEMA right after they came out. I know there's a ls9 3rd gen that was at SEMA too

 

haha id be happy with an ls1 but yeah your goal should be an ls9

 

No way. Im sure its been done I could build something much more stout for half the cost. But id love to see some pics of one
I know its not a ls9, but hawks thirdgen t/a with the plexiglass in the hood? Im not sure what material it is but it looks like what they put in the zr1s.
This is me also me giving this thread a little bump! Lets get some more opinions

 

The real question sould not be power, but preformance that would include suspension and brakes. When you have a budget I always tell people you need to spread that across the car, your 400 hp motor wont help you in a curve or a sudden stop situation. My opinion is start with the chasis and brakes than do the motor, these are nice drivers to start with so if you don't plan to spend a lot of time at the track just make it look good.

Driving like a crazt person as quoated above is stupid, I could care less if you hurt yourself but you may destry some family doing it, rant off.

 

i go for power first, id much much rather drive a sleeper then something that looks nice and fast but is slow as dog dodo
2 of my sleepers

looks like a plain old worn out iroc dont it , until u open the hood


the only giveaways will be the full 10pt roll cage , and the parachute mount hanging off the back of the car , but im making the chute mount removable for the street

ill post pics up of my rs sleeper here in a bit

 

and here is my v6 car that is knocking on the 11 second 1/4 miles times door


looks like ur average v6 car with a cowl hood

except for the fact i swaped on the iroc tail lights and rims, on the inside it has the iroc 145mph cluster and steering wheel
suspension wise it has 1le swaybars and rear springs

dosent look like a threat right????


then comes the good stuff

 

Went with appearance first, now working on the performance part.

 

Performance. Like it was said before trailer queens don't win races.

 

Car looks great, really clean; what wheels are those?

 

I'm going to put in my $.02 for this question. I've driven a lot of fast stuff that looked like junk on the outside, and I've driven some stuff that was fast-ish and looked real nice. I've also had a few that looked REALLY nice, but didn't run worth a durn. Proof from opposite ends of the spectrum:


'78 Trans Am built to around 400 hp


Cosmetically Restored '76 New Yorker with almost stock 440

I'd say at the end of the day, I've got the best of both worlds (decent power and awesome looks) in my '88 GTA. For those of us out there in the real world that daily drive our third gens, 400+ horsepower is not a necessity, and in fact, more of a hindrance than anything else. I got tired of paying for 13mpg gas mileage a long time ago, and I'd only accept those kinds of figures out of my big block suburban. In my opinion, a mild, well mannered 350 with a good helping of torque down low (a la TPI) is a lot more fun to drive on the street than some hairy chested monster that has to get to 3 grand before it starts to turn on. Sure, they sound awesome, but they're really not that fun when you have to crawl into it ever day for a commute.

If I had to choose between one and the other, I'd have to go with looks over performance. Then again, I'm not much for wild visual modifications. I like to keep my modifications under the skin whenever possible. I'd also much rather have a car that handles and brakes with a good ride than one that goes lightening fast in a straight line. Just personal preference. After driving fast beaters and near immaculate lookers, I'd say I get a lot more pride crawling into a clean, good looking car than one that hides brutish power under a primer gray skin. I'd say that 99% of people at gas stations, grocery store parking lots, stop lights, and officers of the law met under not so austere circumstances would agree with me based on their compliments.

Then again, from a mechanic's standpoint, it only makes since to do whatever mechanical upgrades you need to do first. Otherwise you're just getting your fancy car extra greasy after it's all done up.

-cal30sniper

 

Addendum and exception to the rule...

My DD in high school for a little while was a '78 Dodge Monaco retired CHP car. It was done up in a plain brown wrapper, and still sporting the dual whip antennas, shotgun mount, and cage in the interior. It had a pretty built 440 with a Mopar Performance Street Hemi cam, Weiand intake, Holley Double Pumper, Hooker SuperComp headers, a B&M Ratchet shift (column shift wouldn't clear the oversized headers), and dual 2 1/2" Flowmaster exhaust. My dad was (now retired) a Texas State Trooper. The car was deputized at least once, and did go over 160 mph. That's pretty fast for a vehicle of that size with the aerodynamics of a brick. The only reason it got props over looks though was the cage. How often does a high school kid get to lock his friends up in the back seat?


('66 T-Bird, '87 Trans Am, and '67 GTO in the background, all in various states of rescue)

-cal30sniper

 

that's a sweet car. I would love to have something like that and paint it back and white.

 

When I first bought the Z28 it was just for appearance, to drive around in town and show. Then I decided to do few bolt ons, but I quickly realized that the 305 tpi would never beat the new Camaro/Mustang so I decided to buy a used Z06 to go faster.

Now I mix appearance and performance with the Z28. One day I will drop a crate 350 or 383 under that TPI injection system, or maybe a Procharger. My goal is around 400hp.

 

Both.
Just wish I could get it running 100%.

 

^Wow, the snowflakes look awesome on that car!

 

That looks awesome!!!!

 

I like having both but if I had to choose it would be Power. There is a certain cool factor to having a beater car that can run circles around anything else on the road. And there are some advantages to having a car that isn't pristine. I drive myself nuts trying to keep everything clean and scratch free. With a car thats not so nice its no big deal if you accidenty leave a scratch or ding while working on it.

 

I like this. I mean a fast rat car would be fun as you don't have to care about it all that much, but I like being seen in nice looking vehicles.

 

I think those two words don't belong together...I never got rich there.

I think you gotta have both, but I do respect those that have "sleepers".

 

I like power. Power is fun!

That said, I go with appearance first. Why? Well, I never blew up my car flaunting it's appearance... LOL. In the past, when I had fast beaters, they always got me into trouble. That look of disdain you'd get from other drivers always sort of goaded my right foot into slamming the floorboards as if to say "watch this, smart---", and next thing you know flashy blue and red lights and a ticket that drains my parts fund...

I have yet to get a ticket for my car looking good, haha!

 

I'm pretty sure you guys can guess that I went with looks. But hay, can you blame me?

 

I concur. Provided for? Yes. Comfortable? Sometimes. Rich? What is he smoking?

 

I'd say a combination of both, I got my car with about 8 colors of different paint on it, sanded it down, primed, and painted enamel flat black for a total of $12, have cracked bumpers (changed), no wing but holes for a stock wing, put on a firebird wing.

Dropped a new(used) engine in it(305 with wc t5 tranny), headers, full 2.5" exhaust to muffler with 3" exits, no cat, removed smog, any much more that will take forever to list, BUT even with the car rattle-canned flat black it still turns heads whenever I drive by. Maybe that has something to do with the sound. Even though I'd love to have a very nice paint job on it. It's all preference.

Pictures attached at bottom of post.

Video of it exhaust below(click to listen) P.s don't mind the rust at bumper, all fixed.:

 

My mom was an o4/o5 with 28 years. Got promoted to o5 but wasn't in long enough after that to actually get the rank. Around $7,000 a month plus bah and all the other addons

Confuzed your camaro looks sexy. I had the black version of those wheels(if they're boss wheels) on my 86 firebird

 

Dang, I've heard of Terminal Lance, but that's Terminal Major right there. Was she a mustang officer or something?

7k a month after 28 years OTJ, likely a Master's Degree, and easily over half that time deployed is nothing compared to what she would have been making on the civilian side of the house. My peers in the Masters program here at A&M are leaving for the civilian aerospace sector with 6 figure salaries. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade shoes with any of them for all the money in the world, but I'll never get rich doing what I'm doing. From the mind of an 18 year old that's been spoon fed his entire life, 7k seems like an amazing amount of money. Wait until you start paying rent, bills, gas, insurance, food, tuition, and maintenance costs yourself. You'll find it goes by WAY faster than you think. Try to do it all without going into debt, and you're "personal money" is likely to disappear altogether, especially if you have to support a family.

Anyways, that's why most of us, unless we're really lucky or really fortunate, have to choose a delicate balance between power and appearance. My solution is to do all the work myself, buy as much used stuff as possible, and sell all my leftovers when I'm done. And that, my friends, gets us back to topic. I'm still of the opinion that a great looking, clean third gen gets a lot more positive attention than a really fast but ratty looking one. Our cars are plagued with a stigma of trailer-trash engineering and low-budget projects. There might be a reason for that. I, for one, am trying to change that rep.

 

I love the look. If I ever change wheels, I'll be going with these. I'd like to find a set with a little more positive offset though. Those appear to stick out just a tad too far. What size tires are you running?

 

I would think that most of us CAN'T afford both, or we would have far more show-quality thirdgens on here!!

I went for appearance from the get-go. I figured I could dump a ton of money into a powerhouse and would enjoy it immensely, but only every so often. I questioned how many times I would make it to a track, how many stoplights I could take off from, or how many stretches of highway I'd open her up...the result was that it wouldn't be many. Being in Minnesota also brings about the length of time during a given year that I can actually drive the car. So I went with making it look better before it ran better, and I have not regretted my decision once. I love cruising down the road and turning heads - not because of the rumble from my exhaust (from a 305 mind you ), but because it's something people don't see everyday. I also love discussing everything about it inside and out to people on the street, as well as the time I have put in personally to make it a 'statement car'. Sure, I don't boast 600+ hp, but that will come later.

To think what kind of power I'd have under the hood with the money I invested in appearance/suspension instead...geez!

You've all seen my car, so I'll spare posting a pic (you can follow the link in my sig to my Cardomain).

 

Pretty well said... Made me think over my stance on this subject again. These cars make excellent cruisers... My car is by no means that fast, but the more power it does have, the more I am tempted to act out when I probably shouldn't. If my car had a 305 in it, I'd probably enjoy the extra gas mileage, and still have fun.

 

A little bit of both, but I think reliability and comfort are most important nowdays. I use to hate when my SBC would spring a leak, surge when braking(mild cam), overheat in traffic or when the power windows would get stuck




^^^ Did you buy KandieZ's car?