Alright, well I'm interesting in purchasing a vehicle that a member on here is selling. It's a 1989 Iroc-Z with a rebuilt carburated L98, it's got port and polished heads with 1.5 RR's, High Energy pushrods and lifters, a mild cam, and is set up for a 125 shot of nitrous, it's also got a fully built 700r4 with standard reverse shift pattern and 2,800 stall. The body seems to be in good shape, and with a built tranny and engine I really think it can last for a while if taken care of.

Here is the for sale ad: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cama...8-florida.html

Now, I really don't drive much, maybe about 50-70 miles a week. About a year ago I had my '94 Trans Am with full bolt ons that I used as my daily, until the valve train failed on me. So, I was wondering, would it be possible to purchase this car and maybe modify it a bit to turn it into a daily driver/weekend warrior? I know I can afford the gas, and I will have some money left in the bank after I buy it to fix what needs to be repaired. But I was wondering, what sort of mods would be required to turn it into a decent daily driver? Should I find a shop that can tune it for me?



Could I swap out the carburetor for one which would be more street friendly? Does anyone have any recommendations. I mean, back in the day, all daily drivers were carburated so, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. I just want to make it more street friendly, and hopefully a bit more efficient and not lose too much power. Well, thanks.

 

I kinda dig the style of that car... a lot more than I thougth I would.

I dont like how he runs literally EVERYTHING on manual switches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTw6n_u88E


I've got a couple in my car, and it does get kind of old after a while. I run my fuel pump on a manual switch due to some peculiar issues that my particular combo seems to have with boiling fuel in the fuel lines, and the only way to get around it is to cycle the fuel pump manually. I also run my fan on a switch, but as soon as I can set aside the moeny to buy an automatic switch and run it to a relay I'm going to get rid of that one.

The fuel pump switch, choke, and fan switches can all be automated fairly easily and cheaply.

Beyond that it looks like maybe the hatch pulldown motor is broken? The hatch seems to sit about a half inch high or so. That's a very common failure in these cars, but usually they cobble em back together so that the hatch sits as low as it should.

As far as the carbs... when tuned right they're going to be just as drivable as an EFI system. Once my car is warm, you wouldnt be able to tell the difference between it and EFI just by driving it. I do notice that he has a billet throttle cable bracket, I have a similar (probably the same) one and they're nice pieces, but be aware those throttle return springs are very strong. That's a good thing really, but be ready for it. You get used to it quickly, but it's normal.

The other good thing is that's probably the stock 350 for that car, so it has a roller block. If you put a medium sized roller cam in there you wouldnt need that nitrous to hit the 12s. Or you could leave it alone and run it as is.

 

with everything being wired to switches, chances are itll be a wiring nightmare to get straightened back out. some places will fail a cars saftey inspection for things like that.

if you got the time, knowledge, and determination to fix things like that id say go for it. i wouldnt pay 3500 personally though.

 

I dont think it would be that bad. All the leads go straight to the sources and to the switches. Just trace em back and route them all to automatic switches/relays/ignition power... wouldn't be that hard unless you just hate dealing with wiring, and I HATE dealing with wiring.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty good with wiring. My dad is a boat mechanic and electrician so I grew up working on them and have done some work on my own vehicles as well. I was thinking of building a nice switch panel to have all the switches in one place and redoing the wiring. I also like to use marine terminals since they are waterproof and safer. The interior definitely looks like it could use some work, but I don't mind getting my hands dirty.

And we don't have inspections down here in FL. If we did, I don't think my straight piped '94 Trans Am would have passed. lol.

And yeah, it says he has a mild cam on it, so it should have some decent power without spray.

Oh, and about the issue with the hatch, how complicated is it to fix? What would be required? Thanks.

 

normally people who run manual switches do so because something stops working and they wire that function direct to the battery via a switch. and usally hack the stock harness all to hell in the process. all cars in the us have to pass a saftey check at the very least

 

Car looks pretty ******* haha, but it looks like it has some nice potential, body looks pretty damn nice. A switch panel for all the switches would really clean it up. And getting a real shifter in their instead of the stock one with post it note numbers haha.

IMO the price seems a bit steep.

 

that hatch issue could just be a miss alignement, or a fualy hatch motor. my hatch motor stoped working years ago and i have yet to fix it. i just need a new motor and giudes. that one might need anything from a simple wire, to replacing the entire hatch motor mech. then again it may not need anything except to be adjusted. its next to impossible to tell from pics.

 

I honestly have no idea of what safety check you are referring to. None of the vehicles that my family owns have ever been inspected in any way. They used to have emissions testing here until about 10 years ago, IIRC. But yeah, I have purchased cars and never heard of any sort of mandatory inspection. Not from the DMV or insurance or anyone.


Yeah, my plans would include having the seats reupholstered, replacing the steering wheel, getting everything functioning properly, setting up a nice switch panel, and a ratchet shifter.


I didn't even know these hatches used motors. My '94 just had the struts that would hold it up. Honestly, as long as it shuts alright and keeps the water out, I really wouldn't mind too much. Thanks.

 

Forget the switch panel, most of that stuff can be automated to ignition power. I'd suggest you going that route.

And switch panels are for race cars, not daily drivers. My car has a switch panel but it's hidden:



I can close the little door there and no one has any idea. That's my starter (I had issues with my ignition cylinder and I hate wiring so I didnt feel like chasing wiring through the column or replacing the ignition switch. Vats had already been bypassed on mine, so I just tucked the stock wiring away and ran my own push button start. Still needs the key in the ignition. Then my fuel pump and fan switch. My carb boils the fuel in it after sitting hot during the summer, so I need to be able to manually cycle it, so running it off ignition power wont work. But Im going to run the fan off an automatic temp sender as soon as I can. Hitting a bunch of switches all the time gets old. Ignore my crappy ebay shift boot, I'm gonna replace it soon too. If you do a switch panel, hide it. Looks crappy to have a bunch of random non factory switches mounted all over the place, or even in one place.


They are pull-down motors. The hatch has struts like your 94 that hold it up (And may well be worn out...) but when you shut the hatch you just lower it to where it clicks into the pull-down motor, and the pulldown pulls it the last inch or 1.5 inches down to the car. They're notorious for breaking and they get stuck in the "up" position from time to time, hence why I think that one is broken. you'll have to ask the seller, but the hatch is theoretically stuck open.

A lot of guys just tweak the motor into the down position and weld it in place and just shut the hatch like you would any other hinged portion of a car. I think GM put it there to prevent the glass from breaking. That hatch glass was a big deal in 82 when they came up with it and was very expensive. For us it's cheap to go find a hatch in a boneyard, but I think for GM they were concerned about warranty repairs when people slammed the hatch down and broke the glass, and that was their solution. But I think some of these cars have regular latches without the silly motor, so I still am not quite sure wtf they were thinking.