My first Ls vehicle
#1
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My first Ls vehicle
Well I recently purchased a 1999 Firebird Formula with 152,000 miles for $4,500. Its black with t-tops and an auto, and is in very good shape. Not for sure how I did as far as price is concerned. I'm looking to do some work to this car but am kinda nervous about putting parts on a motor with this kind of milage. Should I just drive it until I can afford a complete motor swap or would some bolt on's make the drive funner or a waste of money! Thanks in advance, by the way great site and these are great cars. I'm just a tad nervous about dumping all kinds of money into a car with thish kind of miles.
A little about my intentions for this car. It will be by weekend driver when the weather is nice with the occasional 200 mile trip. We can call it a street/strip car with but does need to be streetable any advise is greatly appreciated!
Thanks for any advise in advance!
A little about my intentions for this car. It will be by weekend driver when the weather is nice with the occasional 200 mile trip. We can call it a street/strip car with but does need to be streetable any advise is greatly appreciated!
Thanks for any advise in advance!
Last edited by SR-71 Blackbird; 07-13-2012 at 02:12 AM.
#2
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Welcome! My last LS1 car was totaled with 225000 on the odo and still ran strong! I would say if the motor is sound now, typical bolt-ons should be no problem, but I am not a fan of putting NOS on a motor that has not be rebuilt. Nice thing is that almost whatever you buy for bolt-on for this motor will be capable of being transferred to a newer LS1 or perhaps one of the more popular choices that folks replace stockers with.
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Awesome, I appreciate the input. I think I'm going to do a little more research before pulling the trigger but the bolt on game is in the near future! For the possible upgrade in the future I was looking at one of the TSP 383 set ups, so most of the stuff would be a clean swap!
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Awesome, I appreciate the input. I think I'm going to do a little more research before pulling the trigger but the bolt on game is in the near future! For the possible upgrade in the future I was looking at one of the TSP 383 set ups, so most of the stuff would be a clean swap!
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People swap torque converters with stock cams all the time. Prolly a good idea to install a trans cooler to. Do a lot of reading on here and it will save you money and time. For cheap power grab a lid and ported and polished throttle body. The two bigger bolt ons are long tube headers and since you have a 99 I would put a BBK or LS6 intake on. Maybe even a FAST if you plan on going heads and cam later. See Frost for a mail order tune after the headers. Lower Control Arms if you have really bad wheel hop. Enjoy your car!!!
#9
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<<<What 6898 said. This place will have u educated because of all the various topics encompassed. Ive got 6 Camaros, 2 TransAms, and a C5. Let everbodie's collective experience save u time and money. But PLEASE dont buy upgrades without having a clear picture of what you're after in the end. Sometimes the sum of the parts wont add up to what u thought
#10
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Welcome my friend just did a cam and stall on his 196,xxx mile. bolt on trans am and runs strong. I sold my 98 T/A with 202,xxx and i would take it to the track almost every weekend.......... it was still running strong
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152xxx miles is good for a 13 year old car. I would rebuild the motor, depending on how deep your pockets go. Bolt-ons are great for any motor, they make 'em run more efficient and you get a little more hp in the process.