adcook

Over the summer I purchased a wrecked 98 Trans AM. I want to turn this old car into a toy just for the drag strip on Sundays. I was hoping some of you could help me out on what I should be looking to purchase over the winter. Please keep in mind this car is only going to be on the track.

I have purchased long tube headers and plan on taking all of the exhaust off of the car. Was thinking about a new cam over the winter, different gear in the rearend and either a Programmer for the computer or send the stock one off for reprogramming. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Adrian Cook

SOMbitch

iTrader: (8)

How fast you wanna go and deep are your pockets???

Give us a budget first but a GOOD rule of thumb is build the car back to front or it can be a frustrating experience when your motor starts breaking everything behind it...... Suspension should also not be overlooked because big HP don't mean jack if you can't plant it to the pavement...

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Forget about getting any sort of pre-programmed hand held tuner. You mentioned doing a cam, so you will need a custom tune, and they can take care of the gear ratio change at the same time.

Building a track-only car makes things very simple. You don't need to worry about driveability, comfort or gas mileage, so I'd recommend the most extreme setup you can afford. I know that's a pretty generic statement, but without knowing if your preferences lie in forced induction, large-cube NA, and/or any combo of the two, and/or what specific type/class of racing you intend to do, it's hard to be specific.

adcook

I have been around national level tractor pulling for the last several years and know things can be expensive, but I havent really set a budget... I'm pretty open to any suggestions. I knew eventually I will be breaking the rearend and transmission, but not really concerned about it. I would like some reccomendations on cams though. I dont really wanna put a supercharger or turbo on in the near future. Nitrous??? I'm ok with that!

Also does anyone know if an LSX intake will fit a LS1?

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

being a tack only car slicks and a whole lot of weight removal are likely in your future - yes ??

is this car a stick or auto ? if its an auto a high stall convertor will likely give you the biggest gain dollar for dollar since you wont be concerned with street manners you can get a bit silly with the stall

nitrous is a great way to go if your on a budget , a friend of mine runs 10.3's @13x with bolt on mods on his ls1 on a 250 wet shot and this is a full weight street driven car....

adcook

The slicks are already on the car. Going to try to put it on the lift this weekend and put the headers on. How big of stall do you think i should start out with? Maybe a 3600???

Like I said before I have been around pulling for a long time... I dont want to turn this car into a job like the tractor is. This car is for fun! If it breaks thats ok, but dont wanna break it every freaking weekend.

I have decided not to put a budget on the car at all! I have more trouble finding time to work on the car. We are farmers so it gets a little tough to find much free time. I do like the idea of buying items off the shelf... just not use to that with pulling. Just let me know what goes fast and I'm pretty open to purchasing it.

dknoerzer

gotta agree with sombitch, build back to front, but that's just me. I would have a much more positive attitude about coughing up the cash for a rearend upgrade when I've budgeted for it than if I had blown up the original without warning. I'm also the type that doesn't like surprises though. That being said, for track only, go wild. I'd do tubs instead of lift and sit that thing on the rockers with some massive slicks in back.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

everyones advice is good depending on the scenario... your budget and ET goals will really help you get advice relevant to acheiving those goals.

for instance if you want a budget car that runs 11's with bolt ons on the stock rearend , stock rear ends hold up pretty well behind automatics at that level.

if your goals are to run 9's the advice to start at the back with a stout rearend would be excellent because your gonna spit that thing out at that power level!!

so budget & et please

SOMbitch

iTrader: (8)

Depends on the weight of the car, powerband, power adder etc..

Honestly IMO you should figure out your goals for the car and that will help you figure out what you need to get there. Are you gonna be a bolt-on cam only car running 11's? H/C/I car running 10's? You gonna spray gas on it or boost it and shoot for 9's? etc..... And you said you were not going to set a budget but you should because this game can get expensive fast especially if you just blindly start buying parts....

Sooooooooo how fast you wanna go and how deep are your pockets?????


EDIT: If you are starting out a bolt on car or throwing a cam on it a 4000 would work great. A bigger cam like a T-rex or ms4/3 a 4400 would be faster....
You'll get plenty of advice on here that I promise.....some of it good and some of it MORONIC

adcook

Thanks for the info guys. I will have a talk with our engine shop on what cam they think would be the appropriate size. I really just wanna bolt on car. I wouldn't have any problems running a car that is in low 11's for a while. Who knows what I may do after that!

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

bolt ons & gut it =done lol

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Suggestion:

-Start soaking up all the information you can get.

-Get a 2nd job or start whoring yourself out.

adcook

I'm not worried bout the cost. This toy is just going to be a tax deduction for my lawncare business. My best friend owns a performance shop a couple miles away and anything that would need to be fabricated we can do in a short time. The knowledge of experts definitely helps! I appreciate any help that one may be able to give.

I will keep you all posted on how the car comes along. I'm sure I will be asking more questions in the future though. If it doesnt rain on sunday I may take it to the track and see what it does bone stock before I start tearing it all apart.