I'd like to get the most power possible out of my 92 Z28 and still keep it easily daily driveable. My original plan was go full bolt-ons, but I wouldn't be totally opposed to some h/c valvetrain upgrades. My main problem is this, I want to do all this with as little money possible, so I'm looking for tips, tricks, and ANY advice you'd be nice enough to throw my way. The exhaust seems to be done...I'm not 100% sure, haven't been under the hood any longer than 3 seconds since I got the car 3 days ago & we're having a friggin monsoon out here currently.

Not sure what headers & cat-back the 1LE cars had, but this setup looks beefy if it's stock, and sounds badass...so I'm not touching it AT ALL. Maybe an ORY, if anyone knows a stock fitting replacement.

Has an MSD 6AL, not much else...still hauls *** for some odd reason.

Overall, if I could get 300 at the flywheel out of it I'd probably be happy. I'd kill for 13.5's at the track but I know that's asking a bit much from a 305...at least without going ***** out and making it a non-daily. The car already has a slight weight advantage being a 1LE, but I know it probably won't help much.

And again, I don't want a crazy h/c setup AT ALL, since it's a daily. I'd like a kick *** street car with a nice mild setup. A cam would be ok, maybe some reasonable heads & some roller rockers, but nothing too crazy.

The plan as of now: some are just replacement parts, I know they won't add much, just listing...
-MSD wires
-MSD cap/rotor
-MSD coil
-AC Delco Platinum Plugs
-aftermarket TB (or should I port the stocker??)
-HSR
-UD Pulleys
-dual K&N's
-chip
-ory (?)
-LCA's
-Tq arm
-Tq arm relocation kit
-adjustable panhard
-tubular K-member
-tubular a-arms

My question is what else should I do? What should I change about my list? and where can I find many of the parts reasonably priced? I'm definately no expert so go easy on me.

 

This topic has been covered many times on this board. A search will provide you with what you need to get started. Having said that, you have a speed density car. One of the best things you can do right now is to learn how to tune. Unlike MAF cars, which can compensate for different mods, you pretty much need to tune the computer in order to get the most out of your setup. Having said that, the stock exhaust with the dual cats, which I had as well, is better then other stock exhaust systems placed in other 3rd gens at the time. However, there are much better systems out there. Doing a head / cam swap is not going to do you a lick of good if you don't allow the engine to breathe. That means headers and full 3" exhaust (yours is only 2 3/4").
Yes, these cars are peppy stock, but with the right mods they can be a lot better.
Do a lot of reading and careful planning first. Ask questions about what you don't understand. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on the board that are more than willing to help and answer specific questions.
Randomly throwing parts at the car and expecting to see large performance gains is a recipe for disappointments and frustrations.
Having said that, scrap the list that you have generated in your post and begin by learning about your car. This site is a good resource for that.
Start by selecting a good exhaust system. Magnaflow makes a good system for our cars plus they also have a replacement dual cat setup. Platinum plugs are not the right plugs for these cars. Stay with the AC delco copper electrode plugs. The stock TB is more than adequate for what you need, unless you want to make over 400hp. Stiffening the frame with sub frame connectors and installing a better torque arm will help, but you don't need an adjustable torque arm if you are not going to lower the car. Learn to tune. This is a good place to start. These cars do take money to get them setup right, but not everything has to be done at the same time. Things can be done piece by piece. Burning your own chips or getting an ostrich emulator will allow you to tune the car as you add mods to it. Don't waste your money on an aftermarket chip from hyper tech and such. You will be much better programing the cars computer to its needs.
Running a good tune will make a world of a difference. I put close to 5 grand in my motor only to be disappointed until I got the car tuned.
Good luck with your learning and your mods.

 

I allowed my Firebird to breath ... it does wonders... .... I first did the muffler, went from OE to Flowmaster, well I actually did gain a significance amount of power, I then went with headers... finally after rebuilding my engine I went with a hi-flow intake manifold... now the muffler upgrade, I did notice a big gain in power, why? well the OE muffler was plugged from the crap that came loose in the CAT... btw, if you have headers on this car, you may have to get some shorty spark plugs... I can only use Accels shortys, otherwise I will have a PITA day removing the passenger side plugs...

 

Alot of that isn't needed.

1) Do your tune up items; cap rotor, wires, and plugs etc. Stock replacement works fine if you are really on a budget.
2) Used headers, Dyno Don, SLP, Hooker. The plan as of now: some are just replacement parts, I know they won't add much, just listing...
3) Exhaust cutout. $80 welded in and nothing will outflow it. No need for a $400 catback.
4) Advance your timing. Stock is 6*, increase 2* steps. I wouldn't go past 12* and run premium.
4) DRAG RADIALS - I have Mickey Thompson ET Streets drag radials and love them. Arguably the best other than going to slicks.

Everything else on that list is a waste of money right now. Start small and smart. Then work your way to bigger thing with some education on this site. The search is an invaluable friend so use it.

 

Yea I'm finding out more about the car day by day. I knew the exhaust didn't look stock but the 1LE package was throwing me off...didn't know what came on them. So check a few more things off my list.

Car has...
-SLP Headers
-SLP cat-back
-UD Pulleys
-MSD 6A box

I returned my delco plugs and bought the accel shorties ironically, then bought every redline fluid known to man, msd wires/cap/rotor, and a few other odds & ends.