within the next couple months i will be purchasing an 85-90 firebird formula. im going to keep the exterior of the car very close to stock, using the fiberglass replacement aerowing spoiler and the "ramair I" fiberglass hood. the interior will remain as close to factory as i can keep it.

my problem is that i've switched directions on powerplants about 13,874 times. i want the car to be streetable and get at least 20mpg on the highway. it will see limited track duty(i plan on takin it once every 2-3 months or so). it needs to run on 93 octane and bang out at least an 11-second timeslip. the car will have a manual transmission and i'd like to use a 10-bolt out back to save $$. im also looking to run a power-adder and fuel injection.

some options i've tossed around in my head have been:
-gen 1 350-400 with an lt1 intake and a hit of n2o, custom turbo, or intercooled procharger
-gen 2-3(LT1/LS1) with p/p stock heads, n2o cam, and nitrous

unfortunately the car can't break the bank(as you can see from wanting to use a 10-bolt). i also cant have a car thats just your typical run-of-the-mill 11-second third gen...id like the car to stand out a little bit for being unique.

please share your opinions with as in-depth reasoning as you can. thanks in advance!!!

 

Ok, 11 second daily driver, stock 10 bolt, 20mpg, but you don't want to spend any money. Nice.




Heads/Cam LS1, trans of your choice, good clutch or converter, and the bolt ons will get you into the 11's easier then a gen I or II. But it's definitely not unique.

 

Yea, sorry, but reality bites hard.

4th gen drivetrain, N20. That's about as close as you're going to get to your goal, but boy, it'd be expensive. I think a 4th gen drivetrain in a 3rd gen is somewhat unique. I mean, many people on these boards have done it, but I've never seen it in person that's for sure...

SBC1 can get you to your power goal easier, cheaper. But fuel price would be higher (lower efficiency).

SBC2 would be better on fuel (somewhat), much more expensive at first, and harder (FI tuning, etc.)

If you drive it more, the SBC2 would be cheaper in the long run. If you don't drive it as often, SBC1.

The results are what would be unique.

 

You need one of the new Chevy 8 cylinder motors that only runs on 4 cylinders unless your foot is in it! But alas, like all the new stuff, expensive to have, and expensive to keep. I've seen one in the new Monte Carlo, but it looked to me like just more junk to break down.

11 second car that gets 20mpg? Like everything else in the world, your going to have to sacrifice time or money - "There's no free lunch."

 

i'm not looking to run a "stock" 10-bolt out back...i plan on using an aftermarket posi and gears, moser 28-spline axles, and a t/a girdle...and the car will never see slicks or even cheater slicks

i said that the car cannot break the bank, but i never said i didn't want to spend any money...i fully anticipate this car to take at least a full year for me to build, not for the amount of man-hours it'll need but rather the amount of hours i need to work in order to afford all my parts.

as far as an ls1 goes, a good friend of mine is willing to let me have his 70k mile 98 for 1000 bucks. would any of you trust that bottom end with a cam and a small shot of nitrous?

i have two friends that do obd1 and obd2 tuning semi-professionally for $150 and $200, respectively, so tuning isn't too much of an issue

seems like the best idea for me would be an lsx...anyone know if there are any manual transmissions outside of a t56 that would handle a mild ls1 with spray?

i hope this helps you understand whats going on inside my retarded head a lil better and feel free to keep the suggestions coming!

 

also, the car will not be daily driven...i have a crapalier for that. but my ultimate goal is to long haul this car on the hot rod power tour next year(leaving from englishtown)

also i plan on taking it to car shows all throughout NJ

 

other trans? T-10 comes to mind. But I think the OD feature is very much desired if you want any kind of highway mileage. An aftermarket T5, but I think the T56 is pretty sweet.

 

As far as the engine build up , how about looking into building a 383 and going with vortec heads . That will save you some money and they are good heads that can be setup to handle a higher lift cam IF you so choose!

 

i highly doubt that any gen 1 stroker will get anywhere near 20mpg

seems like ill be another ls1-powered third gen, seeing as how i can get one so effin cheap...probably run a tr224 cam which typically makes 370-380 on cam only setups and look for low 12s till i can afford a nitrous setup...thanks for all the replies and look for my buildup in the ltx/lsx forum sometime this spring

 

You're right my gen 1 stroker might not be getting 20mpg but what I like about my gen 1 stroker is that it has spanked quite a bit of lsx's at the track

 

when did i say that i wanted to be the fastest anything?

congrats, ya went 11.8 with your gen1...i PERSONALLY know two people that live near me that went 11.9s in an ls1 BOLT-ON ONLY car, they both drive their cars daily, and get better than 25mpg on the highway, stab a small cam in there and they go 11.4, while sacrificing 2-3 miles per gallon

also, my 13.5-second lt1 has spanked quite a bit of ls1s at the track, and quite a bit of gen1-small blocks at the track.
who gives a f***?