I'd like to start off by saying that I don't want this to turn into a flame war. That being said, I'll begin.

As stated in my title, I'm having trouble deciding on my next car. This is tech and third gen related, so please don't close my thread. My choices are a 91-92 Formula, C4 Corvette or an LS1 F-body. Right now I'm leaning toward the Formula. Third gens have my vote for looks hands down. I want an LS1/ T56 combination which is obviously going to cost me a hefty sum. I've spent a considerable amount of time looking into the cost factors of a third gen LS1 swap. For the amount it would cost me for this, I could have a C4 Corvette with a clamshell hood which would make it incredibly easy to work on, a 350 paired to a 6 speed transmission, IRS, a full frame as opposed to a monocoque (unibody) style body and a stonger drivetrain. The problem here being that mods are more expensive, the car itself is expensive, any LT1 will have the optispark nightmare, repairs aren't cheap and the C4's I would be able to afford would all have 90K miles or more.
I could also buy an LS1 Trans Am with this money. A similar problem exists with this choice. Finding an LS1 with low mileage for under $10k is by no means a simple task. They lack the charm that third gens posess as well. I'd rather have a car that's been fully customized to my liking. What I truely want is a 92 Formula, T tops, black on black, LSX, T56, Moser 12 bolt rear and some weight reduction. Would it make sense to go for this? I've been saving like mad. I'm putting away approximately $260 a week between now and the Summer. I already have $5,000 saved, plus whatever my 95 Trans Am is worth.Since most LS1 swaps involve Camaros, the possibility of me finding a late model Firebird with an LSX seems slim to nil. What do you have to say about this plan-

I find a Firebird or a Formula (not a huge fan of third gen Trans Ams) with t tops and the exterior color I want, straight frame and as little rust as possible. If I'm lucky, I can find one with a 350 and an aftermarket 5 or 6 speed transmission. Most third gens for sale will likely have torn carpets, seats, cracked dash boards, etc, so I already plan on completely changing the interior. I can find a used Moser rear end in good shape for $1,500. LS1/ T56 combos aren't hard to come by at a decent price. I could get the car this Summer and begin prepping it with suspension work, upgraded rims and tires, ZO6 brakes and whatever other goodies will help this car handle it's new motor. By next Summer, I should have more than enough money for the full swap.

Would this be the best plan, or do the perks of the C4 or the convenience of the 98+ f-bodies make more sense? Is a full frame really necessary for a street car, or is it more for the track/ auto cross? I'd assume a 4th gen Trans Am with a ram air hood isn't nearly as aerodynamic as a 3rd gen. I'm trying to take everything into consideration, but I'm not very experienced in this field. Any input or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

well being the owner of three C4 corvettes ...I can only say that if you shop carefully you can find a fairly clean C4 in reasonably good shape for the approximate amount your willing to spend and that the resale value of the corvette will tend to GO UP over time if your keep it in great shape while the other choices tend to keep going DOWN in value.
next Id point out that you don,t need to get all the mods done instantly, the smart route would be to buy a clean corvette then drive it untill the seperate drive train you want is built and tested then swap it in,yes the insurance costs are higher on the vette, but theres far more body and interior parts suppliers, and much more support for corvettes and less problems with RUST, so its a choice youll make!
personally , and Ill admit its only my OPPINION, but owning and driving a correctly set up corvette has it all over a camaro (of which Ive owned several, including a 1969 375hp 396 I should NEVER HAVE SOLD) in class statis and eye appeal,and the huge parts support vs the camaros
plus swapping an LS1 or even a big block into a C4 corvette is fairly easy to do for a skilled hotrodder, both are comon swaps with good supporting documentation available on the web if you look

THERES CORVETTES and theres OTHER CARS, while its possiable to build a fast OTHER CAR, it will NEVER BE A CORVETTE and while Im sure other people feel differantly OWNING a corvette has its APPEAL......THEY don,t have a NATIONAL camaro museum do they??

theres far fewer CAMARO CLUBS, but there are HUNDREDS of corvette clubs


http://www.corvettemuseum.com/

http://www.corvettesnccc.org/

http://www.netcorvettes.com/

COME OVER TO THE DARK SIDE LUKE!!!!

 

Cool! Thanks a lot! The hard thing for me would be making the transition from F-bodies to a Vette. I actually have pictures from the time I was a baby and a few from when I was 6 or 7 where I'm sporting a Trans Am t- shirt
Even now, I have a Trans am t- shirt, a ski cap, a baseball cap (which my girlfriend always wears) and a sweatshirt. They might not bear the prestige of a Corvette, but they're amazing cars for what they are.

I had an 88 Formula a while back and I miss that car like mad. It only ran for a week, but I still loved sitting in it, looking at it and writing out plans on what I wanted to do with it in the future. Everyone talked me out of spending the money I had on fixing it up, so I bought a 95 Trans Am instead. Even with the 4th gen, I spent more time sitting in my third gen. Quite often, as rediculous as this sounds, I wished someone would rear end me in my car. I hoped for just enough of an accident to make it pointless to fix the damage, but not to the point that anyone got hurt. This way, I had an excuse to take the LT1/ T 56 out and transplant it into the Formula. I'm sick. I know. But it was the only chance I had to do this type of work without being hounded by my mother and step father.

Maybe I'll try an 89-91 Vette. I'm not getting another factory LT1 car. I've been extremely lucky with my optispark, but I know most people don't have my kind of luck. I'm not chancing it. I can always swap over to an LT4. Grumpyvette, if you don't mind, I'm going to PM you with some questions so that this thread can remain open and on topic. Thanks!

BTW, here are some Formulas

I stole this from fb305svs. Hope he doesn't mind-

 

FYI. That front bumper is from a trans am or firebird, not original formula front bumper.

Here is hawk's LS1/T56 formula, and it was for sale, still might be?

 

i have owned a 96 lt4 vette for two years and the optispark has not even been a problem.. the vette is ten times the car my z28 is aside from the power department... but that is just cause i went overboard on the camaro motor.. even with a ton of suspension mods i would never trust my camaro to do half the things my vette is capable of doing!!! the only thing i don't like is the two seats and thats it. its an amazing car!

 

I'm back to square one with this. I just drag raced for the first time. I was driving home from my grandparents' house and wound up sitting at a light next to a blue RS third gen. We raced and I annihilated him (sounded bone stock and his belt was squeeling bad), but I couldn't stop staring at the car. I figured I would be buying an LS1 this Summer, but now I'm stuck on a third gen again. I love them. I don't know why, but I can't stop going back to them. I love 98+ WS6's, but 3rd gens are amazing cars with just a little bit of work.

Oddly enough, the guy down the road from me just put up a black C4 for sale (perfect timing). I don't know if I can bring myself to get a Vette. I think my love is really with F-bodies. Sure, they might not have the suspension and all the nifty gadgets taht a Vette has, but they're not supposed to be fancy sports cars. They're the black sheep of sports cars. I feel that the satisfaction from making a Firebird or a Camaro "better" than a Corvette is similar to making a Corvette "better" than an exotic car like a Ferrari.

What say ye? In all honesty, in my situation would you choose and why? A 98+ WS6 or a third gen?

 

by 98+ WS6, you mean 98-02 Formula/98-02 Trans Am with Ram Air/Supsension. WS6 is just an RPO code to me that has been on formulas and trans ams since like the 70s.

You have more options then you know.

You have a 95 LT1, thats the best LT1 to have, other than the LT4 but thats a different story. You could build up your LT1 engine. Then, swap your hood with an LS1 hood/or custom hood,swap headlights, taillights, fenders, front bumper. Swap out that optispark for coil packs. Then have a car that looks as good as the LS1 T/A or better and is faster than a stock LS1. If you get the body parts used and for a good price it would be worth it to go this route.

If you're not totally dead set on having V8s, you could have 2 cars and have one be the V8 mean machine and the other just be a good looking V6. You could have a 4th gen V6 and a thirdgen V8, or a thirdgen V6 and a 4th gen LT1/LS1. If you can't decide on which one you like and most have both and would like to save a little bit of cash.

If its your only car and you drive a lot and you got the cash set aside for something, would like to spend less time working on building a car, then get the 98. I know the 4th gens are a lot more safer than stock thirdgens also.

If you want take on a project full of projects, can't deny the looks of the thirdgen, want to have more space under the hood to work, and would like to have more of the element of surprise - well then, you know what to do next.

 

I know that the WS6 is just the code, but it comes with 17" wheels like I want, an upgraded suspension an appearance package, so a regular Trans Am seems pointless in comparison.

I don't like my car anymore. I never really did to be honest. I was so caught up in the 350/ 6 speed combo that I jumped on the first thing I saw. It's red which I hate, hard top which I don't like and some other stuff too. I can honestly say that there isn't one mechanical problem with the car and there never has been. It's fugly IMO though.

I don't like newer cars because I feel guilty modifying them. I don't know why. I could completely gut a third gen's interior, then fix it up to be completely custom. Third gens don't really go for much money, so killing whatever resale value it has left isn't catastrophic. If I took a 98+, ripped out the seats, changed the door panels, carpet, interior, steering wheel and whatever else I could, its value would nose dive.

Safety is an issue here too. I could care less what happens to me, but I'm very concerned with my girlfriends wellbeing. I'd have a passenger side airbag installed on any thirgen I bought, plus upgrade to bigger brakes with an ABS system since third gens never got ABS. I've been with this girl for 2 1/2 years and I'd like to marry her someday. I'd like her to make it to our wedding day unscathed

Off topic, but would a third gen console fit in a 4th gen? 3rd gen consoles have more room, plus I like the location of the window switches more than on my car. Gives it more of a sporty feel. I think I might do the opposite of most guys. Rather than get a 3rd gen and swap in a 4th gen interior, I think I'll get a 4th gen and swap in a third gen console and door panels ( I guess the door panels can always be switched back without too much trouble).

Thanks guys Just for the heck of it, I'm going to check out that C4 tomorrow. Who knows, maybe he'll want to trade cars.

 

You didn't mention it was a hardtop. I think all 4th gens should have been required to have t-tops, except for the convertibles, lol.

Thirdgens, i'm the other way around. I have a t-top car and a hardtop car. I like the hardtop better.

 

i hate driving my camaro as apposed to the vette.. the vette is just a funner car to drive.. i love the 98+ t/a also... if i were to buy another car it would be one of those... there is an awesome following for performance parts on those cars and not to mention its a newer car.. you are really going to have to drive them all. see how you like them.. imho i would rather have a ls1 4th gen than an lt1 c4.. i would never buy something that didn't perform as well as an lt4.. mine put out 298rwhpo/303rwtq stock... third gens look awesome but suck cause if you want t-tops you have to buy one with a 305 and upgrade or buy someone elses money pit.. ls1 are 300ish whp fresh out of the box.. you aren't going to touch that in a third gen without a cam. food for thought.

 

I checked out that Vette. No one was home, so I just scanned it over in the driveway. It was an 86 auto with a hard top. I saw that and walked away. I think I'm liking the idea of an LS1 with a third gen console and door panels. I really hate 4th gen interiors. It stinks because I really like 80's cars like third gens and 4th generation Monte Carlos. A 91- 92 Camaro is still a possibility. I can't rule it out. They're so damn good looking. A lot of people I know think they're ugly as sin. It would just make it that much more satisfying when I blew their doors off in my "ugly" third gen.

Just out of curiosity, if G- bodies have full frames and F-bodies are unibodies, why do F-bodies handle so much better? I hear that when the suspensions are modded, an F-body will still outhandle a G body. There isn't much of a weight difference between them, so that can't be it. I just remember back when I had my 86 Monte Carlo (V6) then I got my 88 Formula, the handling difference was incredible.