Newbie Questions!!
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Joined: Sep 2004
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Newbie Questions!!
Hi All!!!
I just picked up a 1987 trans am. Stock 305 carb. 150K kms (93K miles). I'm not going to be using it much this year, but I plan on picking up perf parts over the winter. Please help me decide what do buy first. I'm having the exhaust fabbed, so I know I'll need headers. Emmisions are not an issue.
I'm looking for 220+ HP and as much torque as possible. The car is only going to be a weekend/nice day car. I want the "stuck to the seat" feeling.
Mike
I just picked up a 1987 trans am. Stock 305 carb. 150K kms (93K miles). I'm not going to be using it much this year, but I plan on picking up perf parts over the winter. Please help me decide what do buy first. I'm having the exhaust fabbed, so I know I'll need headers. Emmisions are not an issue.
I'm looking for 220+ HP and as much torque as possible. The car is only going to be a weekend/nice day car. I want the "stuck to the seat" feeling.
Mike
Supreme Member
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 18,457
Likes: 16
From: Loveland, OH, US
Car: 4
Engine: 6
Transmission: 5
Don't have an exhaust fabbed. Just buy a set of headers, and a high-flow cat, and a cat-back; BUT NOT FOR LG4. Get the whole system, every single piece, for something like a 88 350 TPI; and swap it out all at once. ANY piece you use that will fit anything you've got now, will preserve the bottleneck.
The next thing you need to increase the enigne's power, is a cam. A better air cleaner than the single-snorkel thing you've got will help dramatically. The best one to get is the L69 dual-snorkel cold-air one; far better than an open element. It's also possible to fab a dual-snorkel setup that will work as well as the factory one.
Leave the carb, intake, distributor (except of course for a tune-up), and emissions equipment alone. There are no gains to be had by hacking any of those things.
You have the absolute worst rear end gears ever put in one of these cars. Apart from engine power, you can make a MASSIVE improvement to the car's speed, by putting something less grocery-cart oriented and more toward performance. 3.42 or 3.73 gears will make an unbeliveable difference.
The next thing you need to increase the enigne's power, is a cam. A better air cleaner than the single-snorkel thing you've got will help dramatically. The best one to get is the L69 dual-snorkel cold-air one; far better than an open element. It's also possible to fab a dual-snorkel setup that will work as well as the factory one.
Leave the carb, intake, distributor (except of course for a tune-up), and emissions equipment alone. There are no gains to be had by hacking any of those things.
You have the absolute worst rear end gears ever put in one of these cars. Apart from engine power, you can make a MASSIVE improvement to the car's speed, by putting something less grocery-cart oriented and more toward performance. 3.42 or 3.73 gears will make an unbeliveable difference.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 818
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From: Dixon IL
Car: 2013 Challenger RT
Engine: 5.7
Transmission: 6 spd
Axle/Gears: 3:92
Originally posted by RB83L69
Don't have an exhaust fabbed. Just buy a set of headers, and a high-flow cat, and a cat-back; BUT NOT FOR LG4.
Don't have an exhaust fabbed. Just buy a set of headers, and a high-flow cat, and a cat-back; BUT NOT FOR LG4.
I had the LG-4 in my 87 T/A and went to a 3;73 gear w/posi and it did make a world of diference. 3:73 was almost too much gear for a stock LG-4. But with the mods that RB83L69 has suggested it should kick it in the pants.
I was going to try the 95-97 LT-1 cam (PN#12551705) with basicaly all the mods listed above on my LG-4, but I got a 350 and ran with that and no computer.
If you change the cam, you may want to cange the valve spings since they have 93K on them.
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