AFireInsideSS

Hey there guys, my name is Matt and this is my first post on this site. While I am new here, Im not exactly new to the F-body. Im sure youve gotten many questions like these and Im sorry of its a pain but YES, I do know how to use the search button. Ive been browsing around on here and have read pretty much every relevant post but its hard to get good information for my motor. As you can tell from my sig I drive (drove) a 96 SS. A couple years ago I blew it up and its been sitting ever since. That being said Ive saved up some money and am ready to get the old girl back on the road. I havent had a chance to get in there and tear apart the engine to really inspect the engine and the condition of the block, but for all intensive purposes lets just say that Im going to be basing this project on the stock block.

My idea is to put boost to it. bottom line. And as much as I hate to admit it, after years of putting it down, the STS kit is really starting to grow on me. Seems as though people have had some time to play around with them and they are really putting out some impressive numbers and performance nowadays. Also, being an LT1, I dont really have much of a choice when it comes to other kits, or even the knowledge, skills, or tools for fabbing up my own.

Therefore, I have a ton of questions that I would really appreciate some input on as far as where to start and what kind of specs I need to be looking for....this could get lenghty so please bare with me.

1. displacement - Is 355 a good size to be looking at?
2. forged internals - obviously a must, but does EVERYTHING within the rotating assembly need to be forged or just certain pieces? What companies or suppliers should I be looking at? compression ratio?
3. cylinder heads - Port and polish the stock ones, or look into something aftermarket
4. intake manifold - anything would be helpful here
6. Fuel system - what kind of flow should I be looking to get from my fuel and oil pumps? what brands? what size injectors?
7. Transmission - Im sure im going to need some kind of rebuild at some point time or at least strengthen it....its a T-56
8. Rear end - whats the general opinion? ford 9 inch moser 12 bolt, dana, what?
9. clutch - last I heard SPEC was at the top of the game, but apparently thats not the case anymore...Ram, centerforce, any ideas?
10. engine management - Im sure im gonna need something aftermarket...what do I need to look at?

I know that there is AN ABSOLUTE TON of other information that I could use help with and a lot more stuff that I would like to do to the car (such as suspension) but I think that this is a good starting point.

Sorry for such a long post, and I know its all very general and a lot of my questions could be better answered if you all had a better idea of what my power goals for this car would be but Im not exactly sure where I want to end up just yet. For the hell of it lets just give it a general ballpark and say somewhere in the neighborhood of 500-700 depending on boost level.......Thanks in advance guys!

MIGHTYMOUSE

iTrader: (59)

1. i think you can do a 383 pretty affordable, that would help with rear mount spool time being a manual trans car, and you get the crank you probably need anyways
2. good pistons, good head gaskets, set of head studs are a must, start with those, look for around 9:1 compression
3. i dunno how good the lt heads are for starters, but i wounlt drop money there that could be better spent elsewhere just yet.. can always do them later.
4. dual in tank walbros will set you back a few hundred bux and will get you everywhere you want to go.
i'd leave the trans alone till you break it, they are pretty good. i believe mcleod has a solid clutch for the lt style
if you plan to race with a sticky tire you will definitely need a rear.. no brand is particularly better, more money gets you more. i have been 12 bolt up to this point only to stay 'gm'
for a computer i'd say bs3 is the most popular around here

AFireInsideSS

thanks for the reply. anyone else?

subarubill96

iTrader: (9)

1. displacement - Is 355 a good size to be looking at? id go with a 383 over a 355, its just a personal preference but i like making more torque which the 383 will do at lower boost levels
2. forged internals - obviously a must, but does EVERYTHING within the rotating assembly need to be forged or just certain pieces? What companies or suppliers should I be looking at? compression ratio?
go all forged, eagle, and compstar are good budget brands that are very reliable. as far as CR, how much boost you looking to run? street or strip machine. id say 9 to 1 if its street and under 15 pounds and 8 or 8.5 to 1 if you going drag machine to allow you to run high boost.
3. cylinder heads - Port and polish the stock ones, or look into something aftermarket. ported stockers are good for up to 12-15 pounds ive been told, after that take a look at ported trickflow or AFR castings
4. intake manifold - anything would be helpful here- ported stocker or edelbrock performer manifold are good choices
6. Fuel system - what kind of flow should I be looking to get from my fuel and oil pumps? what brands? what size injectors? depending on your setup, id say a single (about 500rwhp) or dual walbro setup will get you what you want. id say at least get 60lb injectors, not gonna get in trouble with too much fuel, when you run out
7. Transmission - Im sure im going to need some kind of rebuild at some point time or at least strengthen it....its a T-56- check out d&d, i think they are a sponsor on here
8. Rear end - whats the general opinion? ford 9 inch moser 12 bolt, dana, what? for a t56, 9" or s60 is all you should be considering
9. clutch - last I heard SPEC was at the top of the game, but apparently thats not the case anymore...Ram, centerforce, any ideas? mcleod twin disc is what id look at
10. engine management - Im sure im gonna need something aftermarket...what do I need to look at? FAST has a LT1 setup and their is a LT1 specific megasquirt setup that looks nice or build your own megasquirt

any more questions, let me know. id also take my budget and double it, and figure that the car is gonna take at least twice as long to complete as it does. welcome to FI

AFireInsideSS

awesome thanks for the info. The only real concern that I have with the STS kit is that Ive been hearing that theyre only good for running up to like 15 pounds of boost and that any more than that youll blow the pipes clear off. You also cant weld them because they need to flex. Is there any truth to that? Also I heard that the pipes hang really low and can get messed up. I would go with a front mount but the only ones I know of are PTK and OFI, any advice on these or other places I should look?

subarubill96

iTrader: (9)

well i have a sts kit, brand new in the box sitting in my garage. its a grand idea but when i actually saw it and started to mock it up on my car, it just wasnt for me. it sits too low for my tastes and i know id eventually "outgrow" it and have to change to a front mount setup. whatever you do, stay away from PTK, heard nothing good coming out from them lately. i cant comment on OFI as ive never seen any of his work but ive heard good things. ill pm you my personal recommendation

EPP

iTrader: (22)

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com...tCar.php?car=7

Check out our '95 Formula, which may give you some ideas. Bob