i have been researching and doing searches to get information on building my stock 1990 pontiac trans am gta with the L98 tpi motor. i would appreaciate all comments as i do not want to waste money bulding this car. i know i would want to get either a super ram or holley stealth ram setup. and maybe some cams new headers and exhuast, a shift kit (automatic). and maybe heads. please help me for the best bang for buck but most importantly i only want the best and have no idea what i need. i would like to stay around $2000 and have at least 450hp. i will also be buying nos or maybe supercharger in the future.
thanks james padden

 

what does head 195 mean? what is the stock gta rear end? is this going to be the best increase in power?

 

195 is usually a cc of heads, you probably have a 3.23 or 3.42 rear end gear. I would stay with that. keep the gas mileage. I have heard lots of good things about lt1. I would find a set of heads, intake and port them. Big bang for your dollar. A afpr with a gauge is a great deal. Full exhaust headers included. roller rockers. a big nasty cam. Do you have an automatic or stick. If auto get it to slam through the gears and a tranny cooler keeps the life span high. There are unlimited ideas i do not give the ultimate answer, but a 1 good alternative to a problem not being fast enough. Iam going to go ls1 or big block 454 can't decide.

 

a cheaper version of stealth and super ram is to get an lt1 intake and convert it! flow numbers are slightly lower compared to the others but a lot cheaper!

 

how do you convert it? so you still use the tpi setup? is there a part number? what was your cost after modified?

 

read the lt1 swap heads section in the tpi sticky section for the heads. and for the intake check out lt1 intake.com , check ebay for a intake and heads cheap and sometimes you can find already modified intakes.

 

the stealth ram seems alot better on performance and is not much more. what heads do you guys recommend for the stealth ram setup and what cams i will be hooking up NOS also.

 

the stealth ram seems alot better on performance and is not much more. what heads do you guys recommend for the stealth ram setup and what cams i will be hooking up NOS also.

 

First of all, we need to know if you have to pass emissions, etc. Many of the setups mentioned aren't emission legal. Makes a big differance. Is this car your daily driver or a weekend cruiser? The "best bang for the buck" also depends on what your intentions with the car is.

 

Are you going to do a full build on the engine? New pistons rings and bearing. Probably a good idea and fix anything wrong with the car, Make it reliable at best.

 

there are some fabs you have to do to the manifold to make it work and a remote thermo. housing, theres a website that sells converted lt1 intakes to fit on l98's. its www.lt1intake.com the only thing you need are the lt1 fuelrails and your good to go!!! on the website you get the converted intake and the fuel rails for $400! or you can buy an intake and fuel rails ($100-150) and theyll modify it for you for $200! good luck!

 

I don't think 2-large is going to get you 450 hp unless you spray it, which I don't recommend. Check all you local emissions laws before you spend a dime. Know what rules you have to play by before you invest your cash. Otherwise you may be selling some "low mileage" speed parts on the classified section!

 

the car is like brand new the guy i bought it from garaged it most of the time it has 50,000 orginal miles on it and no problems. i got the car for $4500.00 and thoght it was a good deal. i first planed on keeping it all original for a collectors car some day then my cousin bought a 2001 mustang gt and beat me. now he is building his car and i don't want him to beat me again. i do plan on using nos is this a bad thing? in washington you never get checked for emmisions unless you cars to loud then they just check to see if your cats are on. so no worrys there. i am thinking now that a stealth ram and hooker 2055 header are defintly something to start with, any suggestions on a different route that is better? what else do i need to get for a full exhuast with those headers? also what cams do you suggest i will be using a supercharger in the future but for now am going to use NOS? does this sound good or is there a better route? also i can spend more than $2000.00 i will just have to wait longer to build the car by saving up a couple more months. this is going to be a street car and not just drag purposes but will drag it often. thanks for the suggestions just want to make sure i don't spend money on the wrong things i always like to do things right the first time. is there anything else i should do while doing these mods that will save me labor at my mechanics for future mods? thanks agian james

 

any help still not sure what to do?

 

You obvosly want to go with a stealth ram and hooker long tubes. Start there unless you are going to tear your engine completely down. Do a bunch of bolt ons and small mods as well. afpr, ignition, coil, throttle body, cam, roller rockers, 3.5 inch y- pipe, TUNE, and free mods.

 

i think you should take some time and study the boards. you wont get 450 outta a L98 for 2g. for 450 your gaonna need some serious coin and no how with well matched intake heads, and cam. also lets say you did get 450 hp how will you harness it with stock suspension...i think you should slow down(as mush as you wanna go fast) and start with supporting mods and eventually when you have the combo you want picked out build to 450....or an et which i perfer. hp is nothing if you cant hook up.

 

yeah i realized after more searching that i am going to buy afr heads maybe a used set that are the 190cc. do you think i should get the 190cc or the new 195cc there is a $500 difference. also i need a cam thinking of going with a xr276hr is this a good choice with a stealth ram? i do realize i need to hook up to get better track times but i just want to beat my cousins 2001 mustang gt on the road not track for now and later build it to run a better track time.

 

Make sure your car is absolutely in perfect running condition. That may be one of the biggest gains people get out of there car is to tune up and service all stock items. Make sure all of the sensors are good, emision systems, and sensors. Many people modify before insureing they are running perfect and don't get good times or results and wonder why.

 

now we're talking. those heads are up to you id personally go with 195cc. and that cam is very well matched to the HSR. it will pull hard to around 6grand. now find your matching components for internals....if your goin that way whic hi hope you are, and you'll wipe the GT rustang all over the palce.

 

what internal componets are you talking about? ya i hope i race him and beat him but he just put a thousand dollars in his car and i don't know what he bought so it'll be faster yet! thanks james

 

the internal component i mention are the ones your gonna search for to find..... weather you want hyper pistons, forged, cast what compression you want from your motor, i could list of a list of parts but you need to find what fits your application and search for what you want. unless the blocks staying stock....