Adamlt1

I am the new owner of a 1995 firebird trans am. It is the lt1 six speed manual, t tops, corvette rims 18s up front 19s out back, borla 3 inch exhaust, k&n intake, headers(idk name), hypertech programmer, all this was installed when i purchased the car. I want to build it to a nasty street cruiser. I also thought of throwing a ls1 in it but ill probably stick to the lt1 unless it blows or something. What are some good noticeable cams and some horsepower upgrades for this car. Kind of new to going as deep as i want to performance wise in this car. So any tips or advice is welcomed. Here some pictures of it

BigD383lt1

I would forget about the ls1 swap that is an easy 3k just to do a stock swap... Maybe more if you don't find the wright deal. If you want to add power I would look into a cam and head setup... Then tune! There is a lot more but that is a good start.

KFtransam

More air and fuel in + more exhaust out = more power

If your not looking to spend an arm and a leg on heads, pull the stock ones off and send em in for a good port job.

Tossing in a cam and higher ratio rockers would be a good choice aswell
Get er tuned and voila

Really it all depends on how "nasty" your tryin to get and where your budget is

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Before ANYONE can make any suggestions on parts for you to buy what are your GOALS (HP, flywheel or rear wheel and/or 1/4 mile ET), and what is your BUDGET?

Adamlt1

love to be between 500-600 hp rear wheel and budget is unlimitied just take time to save up not wanting to drop 20 grand you know would love to stay below 5-10 in whole car.

i want something that breaks peoples neck and a nasty sounding idle. what is some recommendations for the biggest "streetable" cam i can run in it

goldylocks

iTrader: (4)

There is no way you will stay within 10k with that goal. I would suggest going with an LE heads/cam combo along with all the bolt ons and other supporting mods and I think you would be plenty happy

Adamlt1

lol i figured i would i didnt say i wouldnt go above but i said id love to be in that range. i figured i wouldnt lol. So how much you think i looking at to reach that $$$ wise

kyle.transam

Honestly if you did a good cam job with the right heads got around oh lets say even 400 hp at the fly pretty easy. (I've heard many good things about AI [advancedinduction.com] their cams could easily put you up there but prepare to put money in). How many miles are on the car? If that would not be enough you could rebuild the bottom end it would just take more money and time. If you did your self you could stay cheaper but you need to know what you are doing. Plus to support those higher horse powers you need more such as a clutch different rear end... A mild build with a different rear end isn't a bad choice ether. You would be surprised as to how far a gear change will effect things.

-This is just stuff that many members on the site have told me when I asked the same question and what I took from it-

Best of luck with your build

Adamlt1

it got 160,000 on it. i probably would be happy with 400-500 to wheels all depends on $$$ to do it you know

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Heads/cam from www.advancedinduction.com plus all the bolt-ons. Budget in a rebuilt bottom end too. Probably looking to be right around $10000 once all is said and done. Should be between 400-425whp.

450-500whp will take considerably more $$$.

1slow94z28

Does the car run 100%? Any hiccupps? First thing I look for is health. A properly running car is the first thing on the to do list.

TexasTarnation

At 160k I'd do the bottom end as well, and if you have the money get some forged rods and pistons so of you ever throw so boost on it it won't be a prob. With LE 2 heads and cam you can get 410 at the wheels. Throw on FI with low boost and thats an easy 500+ at the wheels. Just keep in mind supporting mods, and get your wallet out

bungy74

Nice car ! I had a 1995 Z28. I installed an ATI Procharger and it was awesome !! I used to have a 1991 Z28 with a Paxton supercharger, and ATI was way better. I don't know how much one costs anymore, but that was my best bang for the buck. Good luck with it

Adamlt1

I would actually probably be pretty happy with those numbers lol

Runs perfect drive it daily not a single problem

[QUOTE=TexasTarnation;16834871]At 160k I'd do the bottom end as well, and if you have the money get some forged rods and pistons so of you ever throw so boost on it it won't be a prob. With LE 2 heads and cam you can get 410 at the wheels. Throw on FI with low boost and thats an easy 500+ at the wheels. Just keep in mind supporting mods, and get your wallet out [QUOTE=TexasTarnation;16834871]

When i do build it i gonna build it so it will handle boost just incase i do decide to throw it some

HellTeeOne

Assuming the car is healthy and running well, the best places to start are as follows....

First you'll need the basic bolt-ons, which will serve as supporting mods for stuff you'll do after that.

Long tube headers and full exhaust are a must. Pacesetter, Hooker and others make headers, and plenty of makes for exhuast systems, a lot of it depends on personal preference. I see you're in SC so emissions inspections are likely not an issue for you, so you can run an off-road y-pipe with no cats.
While you're doing headers, a good tune-up with plugs/wires, etc would be prudent as well. You're looking at around $700-$1000 in parts to do this job right, depending on what stuff you go with.

A good cold-air intake is also a must. K&N makes one, and I think Moroso does also. $200-ish.

These basic induction and exhaust mods should put you in the range of ~300rwhp. To get much more, you're looking at internal motor mods.

After that, you can do a cam swap on the stock high-mileage bottom if it's in good shape, and perhaps net 340-360rwhp for a cost of $1300 or so, including the neccesary dyno tuning. This entails a good cam, springs, rockers, hardened pushrods, guideplates, locks, retainers, and incidentals associated with this job. Just some freindly advice, the cams that "sound really nasty" are often not the best ones for the job when it comes to the LT1 platform, particularly with mild (under 500rwhp) street builds. The harder a cam chops, the more of a pain in the *** it is to drive. Just keep that in mind.

If you want more than that and if your budget allows, then consider ordering up a motor rebuild. The price tag on this can vary quite a bit. For a budget 355 with a stock crank, some good pistons, rods, bearings and machine work, you're probably looking at $2000-$2500, including machine work and professional shortblock assembly. Add to that another ~$2000 or so for a quality heads/cam/valvetrain setup (LE or AI) and you should handily make somewhere between 400 and 450rwhp. At this point you'll need a good clutch ($500, minimum) and some other stuff like bigger injectors ($300-ish), and a dyno tune ($300-$500), so you might as well figure the cost of such, plus maybe another grand for incidentals, fluids and consumables.

It's not cheap, and all of these figures assume you're at least fairly mechanically inclined and will be doing almost all of the work yourself. If you're not, expect at least a couple thousand in labor costs as well.

Sounds like you might just want to do a tune up, a few bolt ons to get your feet wet and then do a lot more research about the LT1 platform before you jump in with both feet. There are a lot of things about this particular motor that are *very* application-specific and do not apply in the annals of conventional old-school small-block wisdom, so beware of anyone selling you on something who doesn't have at least some substantial technical experience with these things. Good luck.

pillarpod

procharge that bitch

1961ba427

iTrader: (26)

Buy a certain green trans am that makes in the neighborhood of 450 rwhp and runs 10's for about $10 grand (from someone who has already posted in your thread) and then sell your TA to recoup some of your expense. You'll save alot of time and tons of money in the end while having top notch parts and a proven car.

ZFreie

No one has noticed this? Get at least a mail order tune

This is still the best deal anyone new to lt1s could do. Avoid every problem and buy one of the fastest DD ones around.

8595transam

iTrader: (6)

A 5.3 turbo build could be done for under $5,000. This assumes you do all the work yourself. Plenty of threads out there on this. you could also try the sts rear turbo mount. (not a fan of this) but it does work. If you boost your lt1 I would recommend you build the bottom end first. You could always go with a le or ai heads and cam kit and make 360-420hp then throw a 100 shot on it.

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Um...what?