Hey guys, my wife and I have a 1985 TA that right now is simply a body on 4 spare tires. We have a brand new 700r4 with a 2800 stall sitting in the carport next to the car. We just got rid of our 1998 Z28 due to it breaking almost every single day and spending over $3000 in transmission repairs over a year. So when a rod started knocking, it was time for it to be hauled away. The problem was, that was my daily driver and I raced that car WAY too much for it to be reliable. So now we are thinking of buying a truck and making the TA a drag car that can be cruised in on nice weekends. I know absolutely nothing about 3rd gens and I was wondering what would be a good motor to get this car into the mid 11's NA, high 10's on the spray. Should I just swap in a LS1 drivetrain? Or would it be easier to stay carbourated? Right now the car is stripped, there is not one single wiring harness left on the car and the ones I pulled out were fried, so I will be re-wiring the car as well. So from that standpoint, do I just buy a 383 and drop it in? Thanks for any input!

 

Welcome aboard.

Your member info ('88 TPI) and text ('85 TA) don't jive. I'll assume it's the '85 we're talking about.

What is the 8th character of the VIN? That will give an idea what the car was originally. It'll matter for the details, but not in the end.

I assume you know the body needs subframe connectors. Poly suspension bushings all around don't hurt, either. The 10-bolt rearends aren't known for their strength, but can be made stronger https://www.thirdgen.org/beefinguprear (the article is starting to show its age, some of the p/n's are no longer valid) & http://www.ws6transam.org/10bolt.html . TH700's need help to survive healthy engines.

I've always found these articles fascinating: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/a.../rebirth.shtml , https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/a...rebirth2.shtml . You aren't starting with a complete computerized car like he did, but a lot of the goals are similar to yours.

I'd say the 383 route is viable. The devil is in the details, of course, but it's a good place to start.

 

I forgot about that car! LOL, we had that one for all of two weeks and registered on here a long time ago. Then we sold the car and left the '85 to sit in the garage! Now we're looking for a fun restoration car and said, "Why not the TA". So I started looking around at 3rd gens again! Thanks for the input! The 8th number of the VIN is H.

 

Problem sorta solved. Bought a '91 Z28 with a 350 TPI. Now I just need to get at least a heads/cam/intake and figure out how to make this car run 11's!

 

Which one? I'm still confused. . .

 

OK, we have TWO trhid gens. A 1985 TA that is stripped to be a drag car and I just bought a 1991 Z28 with a rebuilt 350 TPI that I'll be converting to a LT1 intake. I think I sort of answered my own question. Thanks anyway!