dieselboy

Hi All,

I just picked up last night my new project car. 1986 Z28 Coupe 5sp with 184K miles. The body is straight with no rust and for the most part a clean ride. I am starting from the ground up and want to take my time and do everything right. Here are my goals:

1. High 11sec streetable pump gas car.
2. Mostly a straight line car, but would like some decent cornering

I am going to keep the T5 and strengthen it up to handle 400-450 HP I plan on installing. I going with an aftermarket injected small block to give me the power and reliablity I want. I plan on purchasing a dana 60 rear from strange to put the 450hp safely to the ground. I am going to document my process and stick to a budget to achieve my goals.

Based on the above, I want to fully upgrade my suspension. I am not looking to go wild, just strong. Here is what I was thinking:

1. A stock like suspension kit (ball joints, tie rods ends, bushings,etc)
2. New stock springs
3. Bilsteen shocks
4. New brake system (stock with upgraded rotors)
5. Sub frame connectors

You think I can do the above for $1000.00?

MrDude_1

1. no. you cant do all that for 1000.
2. half, no.. wait.. NONE of thoes mods have anythign to do with making it run 11s..... the basic steering/suspension build is a good idea though. the rest are poor mod choices if the goal is a primaraly straight line car.


example:

good idea if its worn/sloppy.--- A stock like suspension kit (ball joints, tie rods ends, bushings,etc)


new stiff front stock springs suck for launching. keep the softer saggy stockers, or get drag springs... the rears you can swap to new, but you'll get a rake to the car replacing only the rear two. --- New stock springs

stiff "road race" shocks hurt drag launches.. ALOT. matter of fact, they're useless except for handling. --- Bilsteen shocks

good idea to rebuild if worn.... bad idea to upgrade to larger ones... get some decent pads, and some stainless steel brake lines and call it good.--- New brake system (stock with upgraded rotors)

if its really a straight line car headed for 11s... skip em. you'll need a rollbar eventually. they're jsut weight. if you are not ever getting out of the 12s, get them.. they're lighter then a rollbar, and make the car feel nicer.-- Sub frame connectors

rockit

iTrader: (3)

no. bilsteins will BREAK your wallet, go with some kyb's. Stock brakes suck, i dont trust mine and i run 15's, running 11's or 12's with these brakes is just a cute way to make you crap your pants, they'd fade out before you got to the turn off. check out the brake board for mods to improve your brakes.

you're closer to 2k even without the bilsteins.

Best ways to improve handling, braking and accelerating are: reduce weight, and increase available traction, TIRES. my tires made a HUGE A$$ difference. other then that, find the worn out parts in your suspension, def get the subframe connectors and get a nice set of tires and stock 16x8 inch rims, those will yeild a huge improvement all around without messing up the balance of your car. i've seen 4th gens with stock rims and nice tires drive to the track and hit mid 12's. lots of later 4th gens had 17's, the 16's are even better for drag racing.

MrDude_1

dieselboy: FYI...... if you listen to this advice, you'll never go 11s, and you'll wonder why.. this is a perfect example of the typical BS found on this board, and should never be applied to any kind of drag car.

Tru2Chevy

This is where you are going to really have to make some decisions.

Shocks and springs that help you launch well at the dragstrip are pretty much the opposite of what you want if you are gonna head into the twisties.

- Justin

MrDude_1

kudos for both knowing, and pointing that out.


and on a diffrent note:
when you're doing a real budget build car, you will need to make more comprimises then you would if you had a huge budget.
this is just one of several areas.

for example, you dont NEED to upgrade the brakes, you dont NEED SFCs.... they're both nice to haves, but you only have $1000.... thats not alot. you want to run 11s... thats a high bar for a car that basiclly needs to replace the entire drivetrain.... when on a budget, you do what you can for the budget. not what you always want or whats cool to have.

example:

right now, you have worn front struts.

• if you replace them with cheap regular replacements, they will be too stiff.. your launch will suffer. they will wear out fast. they will never corner great.
• if you replace them with performance replacements... you blow your budget, the launch REALLY suffers, and without rebuilding and bracing the whole chassis, and new tires your car will never get the full handling benifit from them.
• if you replace them with drag struts, your launch will not suffer... but if you're dead hooking now on the worn ones(you should be), you wont gain anything either. while they're a good mod, you just blew some of your budget on something you gained nothign from.
  

solution:
skip on new struts for the moment.



this is the type of logic you need to apply to go fast, cheap. its not as GOOD... but you can only pick two of these three: good, fast, cheap.

brutalform

Also, the other problem is the T-5. It will never hold up in an 11 second car. There is really nothing you can do to it to "strengthen" it. All the internals are small, and were never intended to handle that kind of power.

The only alternative if you want to remain a stick, is go with a T-56, or an aftermarket Tremec TKO. Of course, you can go with an auto as well.

dieselboy

Thanks for the replies...I really appreciate it. I have been searching and posting throughout the day (nice to have off from work :-) about this and I think I am going to do the following:

1. Rebuild the front end (ball joints, ends, bushings,etc) - They are beat.
2. Purchase drag shocks and springs for the front
3. Refresh the current braking system (stock to keep costs down)


As far as the SFC's are concerned, shouldn't I be concerned about flexing? Especially if I plan on being in the 11's? I am willing to increase the budget where ever needed as long as it is needed. I plan on budgeting about 10-11k for the entire driveline (engine, trans, rear). I want to do this right the first time, so I am willing to spend in the correct areas.

Let me know your thoughts.

MrDude_1

will your rollbar have swingout door bars?
if yes. then think about SFCs.
if no. then put the cage in it once you need it.

60lbs is alot of weight reduction to do... lol.