mmarty71

Hi, I just bought a lq4 6.0 for my 86 firebird project. I wanna get your thoughts on my plan. I am going to keep it kinda simple as this is my road race car and all around fun mobile. I have learned the basics from my research here,( f body pan and acc, ls1 intake etc). I am trying to get ideas on performance. I already had a ls1 intake and 30lb injectors gave to me so that's a start. I need recommdations for a cam,valve springs,pushrods. I am not going to rebuild the motor and even going to use the stock 317 heads. I have a rebuilt 4l60e trans. I was thinking of a 2000 stall. I also have a ford 9 to put in with 3.73 gears. I am not new to fab and car building just new to ls stuff. I appreciate your input.

IRONFIST

You can build an LSX engine to do whatever you want, all you need to decide is what you want for streetability, gas mileage, maintenance free reliability, horsepower and torque. Give us those, we can give you the best known combo.
It's hard to tell you how good your combo is when we don't know what you want out of it in the end.

mmarty71

Fair enough, I would like to be able to get a 86 firebird into the 12s at the drags and be streetable. I need reliability and I like to keep things simple. Mileage is not really an issue. I have been building old musclecars for years and 350 horse to the ground will get a 3800lb car to the 12s so that gives you some ballpark. Looking at 370rwhp.
Basically build a car that is quick on the street and still be driven every day if need be. I will also be doing some open road racing.

WS6SP33D

iTrader: (2)

First off congrats on the purchase. I have had great luck with a x3 cam on all my streetable builds. A little pricey but all worth it in my opinion. Springs i usually use are Patriots gold duals and tf hardened pushrods. But once again these are only my opinions just throwing some ideas at ya. There are so many different routes you can take when building a lsx. You will just have to place your budget and work off it. Goodluck with build man. Keep us updated.

need2speed94

I say since it's auto, if you don't mind a *minimal decrease in MPG, get 4.11 gears. And also, drop the Ford 9" and get a chevy 12 bolt... great for auto's. And as for a cam, I'm no cam expert but since you wan't a road race car... maybe a cam that's more aggressive than most. Keeping it simple; possibly a custom ground hyd. roller with specs suggested by the manufacturer for your setup. Maybe something similar to .240/.245 .600"/.600" 112 LSA, That's a pretty good size cam... like I said not a cam expert so don't base your purchase *solely on this recommendation. In addition to a cam like this, I say dual valve springs is a must, along with roller rockers. I hope this helps a bit, good luck with your build man!

mmarty71

Thanks for the info. I need to keep the ford 9. A good friend of mine is a mustang nut so he has every gear imaginable already set up so that helps me also it is already the same width as my bird rear. What about a small stall converter? I might give patrick g a call and get a custom cam,springs,pushrods.

need2speed94

Ahh, it's always good to have a buddy with a ton of extra parts hah! I say go for the stall converter! I have a manual, and I Love it, but at the end of a day... a stalled automatic with a shift kit is the way to go. It will shift 10x smoother and faster than any manual. And as for the cam, I've always been told to spend the extra $ for a custom cam... sure cams off the shelf are great, but cams ground to best fit your application are even better. I'd recommend getting a full cam package (custom grind, springs, pushrods). That's the route I'm taking once I get the money, I don't doubt it's a great bang for your buck!