Im not sure if this should be here but Im wondering what is some of the best and yet cheapest upgrade you guys have done to your car. Either body mods, power adders, interior etc.

 

Id have to say I love my exhaust the most. Ive fabbed so much I really cant say whats stock and whats not anymore

 

I would say gutting the car out... much more room to put in a roll cage,,,,,

 

Cutting my springs maybe? Probably either polishing my wheels up or my hood, which I got for $50 since it was damaged. Fixed it and brought it back to life.

 

higher stall TC, smiles on demand.

1st mod everyone should do, its a blast.

 

Easy Sub-frame connectors. Every 3rd gen should have them, it makes a world of difference, much more solid and stable, less noise, and the car will last longer...

 

Not the "best", but I spent under $10 and some time to make a new vinyl shift boot to replace the stock one that looked like crap. You'll think I'm exaggerating, but it made the interior seem so much nicer. For $10 bucks, it couldn't be beat, period. That, combined with my Hurst shifter & new shift **** and it felt like a different car looking at it, in a good way.

Best mod I did was swapping from the 2.8 V6 to a 355 SBC, but that wasn't exactly cheap Nor was the transmission and exhaust, or all the suspension work. Poly trans mount is worth the $$

Replacing the worn out hatch struts and getting rid of the broom handle is sooo worth the money IMO, lol. That was my only other "cheap" mod I can even think of

 

Cheapest visual mod: Aluminum CNC'd Pedal Covers (ran me around $120) They replaced my worn rubber brake pedal cover and made the gas pedal shiney and pretty.

Cheapest Handling mod: Wonderbar (installed that even after the SFC, LCAs, Brackets and still noticed a difference) If I bought another 3rd gen that would be the first thing I slap on it, followed by SFCs and LCAs brackets.

Cheapest motor mod: bypass the coolant through the throttle body (if you're not running the car while it's cold out there's no sense in heating up the TB with coolant and it'll cost you $5 most if you have to buy the hose... most stores will give you there scrap hose for free even)

 

 

I did tons of stuff to it that have greatly helped with looks and performance. home-made cold air/ram air, k&n air filters, headers and dual exhaust, gutting anything that i dont need from the interior and the engine bay, a lighter aftermarket fiberglass hood, minor porting to the intake runners and plenum, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, better plugs and wires, i even sanded, primed and painted the car myself with spray cans! all of this has got me this far and has greatly improved the looks and more importantly the performance of it, while costing me about 1/8th the price i would have had to pay if i had a shop or someone else do it for me.

 

All that sounds awsome, hey J91 where did you get your subframe connectors

 

Spray

 

My Corvette trans servo was only 20$ Shifts firmer then it used to

 

My GTA had a fiberglass reproduction spoiler on it when I bought it. I bought a 4th gen wing for $80, put it on and sold the fiberglass reproduction wing for $200. Yep.....New wing + $120.

 

rattlecan paintjob, 10$
new radio 60$
3000 stall and 4:10 posi 500$
the look of sheer terror on someones face when I punch it PRICELESS

 

Been there done that. You WILL regret it then it comes time for some real paint

 

i just did a light coat to cover the lavender color paint lol

 

Still, its a bear to sand off and there will always be residual. Primer doesnt adhere very well to rattle can

 

That what my most favorite mod on my L98 and so far the same on my LS1 car. Best bang for the buck factor.

But I'd admit, fabbing my own exhausts were fairly inexpensive and great upgrade because I got the system i wanted with the sound I wanted.

Fabbing my own turbo headers was pretty cheap for a header and well worth it in the end. I got 3500 or so into the entire hot/coldside turbo system including turbos/intercooler/etc. Bang for the buck, 35 bucks per hp capable.

then again, my $3 dollar can of translucent candy apple red spray paint and the "red taillight mod" is one of my favorites. No more amber tail light lense and that makes all the difference on these cars.

 

Grant steering wheel
Homemade cold air intake into the high beams
L.E.D. lights inside gauge cluster
Taillight blackouts
Replace door panels and headliner.

 

I love all my mods - guess that's because I either keep working at it until I get it right, or I give up if I don't have the artistic ability to create what I invision.

Of the things that are not just bolt-ons...

What I'm most proud of is my interior LED lights in the floorboards and inside the center console. I had to rack my feeble brain to figure out how to use relays so that the these lights not only came on with the headlight switch, but also come on when the doors are opened. Took me a few days - had issues with the door opening backfeeding power to the park lights, and had to deal with the fact that the door switch opening connects a ground but the headlight switch activates a power wire. I scratched a bald patch on one side of my head, but I "got 'er done".

But my fav would have to be my hidden ashtray switches and my Chevy Bowtie on my sub shelf - the Bowtie lights up with the amp - I cut the bowtie from thin plywood, drilled holes in every corner, and weaved EL wire in and out until the bowtie was complete.




I thought about getting the Bowtie cover for the foglight area and doing the EL wire in it the same way - that would be cool at night - but right now all I have is the Camaro cover, and making round curves with the wire is hard.

 

That's sick! I also changed all of the bulbs to LED bulbs, I didn't put them on a relay though, just plug and play. Also that is a good idea about the center console, I might try that.

 

Wish I had learned how much fun a new TC can be and real cheap for constant smiles, its fun on demand. I should of been doing them with my first cars. Dunno how many time I spent money in fancy coil n stuff that may of helped but nothing like flashing the TC to stall speed. I almost never open up all 4 anymore, TC flash at even part throttle gets ya moving just as nice. And a good TC will drive just like normal until you get on it, which I think what scares folks, that it won't drive normal too.


Your own exhaust is the way to go, took a good 7+ different configs to hunt down and kill that annoying V6 sound. Now no one can tell what kind of engine I have by sound even up high in the RPMs.

 

Shoehorning a big block between the strut towers.