DanJz

Hey everybody

I just wanted to share my plan for my car for the next few years, even though I won't be able to afford it for a couple years lol

I have the L98, which is pretty powerful, but I'm still looking for more. At the same time, I am aware that a 92 Formula 350 with T Tops is pretty valuable, so I wanna keep it stock looking. So here's my plan"

http://superchevy.automotive.com/522...ion/index.html I saw this article and decided that this is what I will do this to my engine. It'll be a 383 with a cam and headwork and injectors and all that stuff, emissions-legal headers hopefully (to go along with my new exhaust system going on this winter), but it'll still use the stock TPI system, even though the runners and stuff will be ported and polished and stuff. According to that article, it'd be about 450HP and about 500ft. lbs of torque. More than enough for me lol, and the fact that it will look like a stock L98 will be awesome.

The tranny will definitely need to be upgraded, so I'll either beef that up a lot, or replace it with an aftermarket heavy duty performance 700r4 or something.

The rear end, ring and pinion, could need upgrading, so I'd look at that too. Definitely wanna keep the same gears that I have since shorter gears will have the car screaming down the highway, and gas mileage I'm sure will be suffering enough lol

Of course it'll also get a paint job and stuff after all this stuff is done. The goal is for the car to look completely stock while performing WAY better than stock.

I just wanted peoples' input on this as to whether you all think it's a great idea, an ok idea, a ridiculously horrible idea, etc. and if it is a bad idea, what else could I do that would be a nice performance upgrade from stock? I know I could just as easily go carb or get an LS1 or something like that, but I think that this would be cooler, and it would still look stock so you could almost call it a sleeper.



Thanks!!!

DanJz

DanJz

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DanJz

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DanJz

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Bull

iTrader: (5)

I can't believe no one has even replied to your thread, Dan. Maybe you picked the wrong forum...other sections of this site seem to get more action.

Anyway, I'm torn on this one. I'm a good bit older than you, so my feeling about what you should do with that car is coming from a different perspective. When I was younger, I wanted to throw tons of performance parts at my cars. I had a '77 GP that I did a lot to in that way. I had some crazy ideas about what to do to my '69 GTO as well. I ended up modding the GTO in subtle ways, most of which are invisible (internal engine mods), factory options (Ram Air exhaust manifolds) or visible but easy to change (engine color.) I'm glad that I did not go wacky with the car, as I'd regret it now.

It sounds like a lot of the power mods you are contemplating would be similar in the sense that they would be stock appearing. But, is this car the one you want to turn into a 450HP monster with headers and all that? Here are some questions I have:

1. How long do you plan to own this car?
2. Will headers and other mods cause you problems with state inspections?
3. have you considered what will need to be done to stiffen the rather flexible t-top chassis to handle that much power?
4. Have you estimated the costs for the expensive machine work, engine and performance parts, stronger trans and rear etc.? Can you afford to do all that AND paint the car?

If it were me, I would do the following:

1. Rock a set of sweet rims. This buys you time on the paint, as killer rims make the car look cool even if the paint is less than perfect. That's why I put the Ronals on there and felt awesome cruising it despite the paint's flaws.
2. I would run that L98 until it tells you it needs to be rebuilt (loss of power, low compression in cylinders, burns oil etc.) When it was time for a rebuild, I'd carefully choose a few mods/parts to include in the engine rebuild to increase power modestly, but I wouldn't go crazy.
3. In the meanwhile, if the engine is still going strong and you have the money, I'd tackle the paint and body work and lay down a real nice (not showcar) quality paint job. Stock color, smooth, wet, and deep looking. The interior on that car is already very clean. A good paint job, with the rims would just make the car a sick sick ride...not to win races in, but to just look damn good cruising and be proud of having a very rare thirdgen that looks like a million bucks.
4. Now, if you don't have the money yet for paint or the engine rebuild, but you want to do something, I'd detail the engine bay first. Pull the motor and remove all the parts you can from the bay. Clean the heck out of the bay, and paint it. Clean and paint all the brackets, bead blast or polish the alternator, plenum, runners etc. Take apart the motor to look inside and gauge wear, then if it looks good in there (and if it's running well it probably looks good in there) then put it back together with new gaskets. Clean and paint the block and exhaust manifolds. All of this would take time, tedious cleaning and scrubbing, patience, but would not take a lot of money. The result would be a great looking engine bay that you would then not have to do AFTER painting the body, where you'd be worried about scratching/chipping your paint as you take the motor out or lean over the fender to work in the engine bay.

Actually, Dan, can I have my car back? As I visualize it all clean and nice looking, I miss it big time!

One man's opinion, Dan.

DanJz

Hey Dave

yeah I gotta be honest, the more I thought it over, the more I didn't like the idea of having that much power lol. I mean, I would love the power, just not in a car that I plan on driving frequently during the summer. That much power kind of ruins it as a daily driver I would think. I'm not sure how it would do with emissions and stuff either. I do plan on having the car for a while. No plans to get rid of it anytime soon.

I definitely plan on running the engine until it needs a rebuild. That's no question. It runs plenty strong now, so my plans wouldn't be for a few years anyway, or whenever it needs it. I don't anticipate needing a rebuild anytime soon since the car runs so strong.

Definitely mild mods would be nice though. I already plan on getting a nice new exhaust hopefully next year, and I definitely want to get some sub-frame supports and stuff just because people have said it makes the car handle that much better and seem that much stiffer. And the paint join is a couple years down the road too, which I can't wait for lol.

But I don't want to go crazy on the mods. I figure porting and polishing the TPI stuff is a good place to start. That and the exhaust alone I figure would be a decent upgrade. I could also maybe do a cam. I figure boring and stroking it to a 383 is a little extreme at this point. I don't plan on taking it to the race track or anything!!

Cleaning the engine bay and stuff probably isn't a bad idea. Since it'll be off of the road all winter and in my garage, that would be a great time to do that just so it's nice and clean for the upcoming year.

Thanks for you input Dave. Yours obviously matters since you probably know the car better than I do lol