Beastofa327

My sister wants to keep her 02, she hasen't kept it in good shape at all. I was wondering if i just rip every think out and start from scratch can it be made into a good sleeper v6.

Jay Vicious

give the car a second chance.... i say build it !!!!!

RollTideTA

could always swap in another motor... not a bad place to start.

One of the baddest birds I've ever seen was a v6 that had a built buick grand national turbo motor in it.

redfbird99

iTrader: (20)

oh def, gears, catback, slap on an RKSport Supercharger, get some fuel upgrades and tunes, then put in a decent shot of nitrous, pretty sure it would be around a 11-12 second car. Good sleeper? Nuff said.

AllShowNoGo

either go with another motor or with a big turbo setup

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

A V6 'bird is an excellent base for a nice drag car if that's the route you'd care to take...check out this thread for a few ideas: https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-firebird-1967-2002/438621-project-98-a.html

The Drag Racing Tech Forum is also a good place to see a build-up in progress from time to time...

lomaximumta

iTrader: (5)

hell yeah! my buddy had a 97 with the 200hp 3.8 V6 in it when we were in high school and he did exhaust, intake and handheld programmer and that thing went real nice. I say toss a turbo or SC on that badboy and spank some people....

BlkBird2000

iTrader: (10)

Ive gotta 3.8 V6 firebird.. and if you put a turbo on it do you have to get bigger fuel injectors and stuff like that?

mcG

iTrader: (1)

i used to have a 97 v6 firebird and the guys on firebirdv6.com always talked about doing ls1 swaps, but most decided it was cheaper to just buy an ls1 vehicle

blackfbird98

yea i have a 98 v6 and right now im jus thinkin about buyin the formula engine and swapin i mean its pretty much the same body jus a bigger engine

Thunder175

With everything that is involved with the swap, it is almost easier to just buy an orignally equipped LS1 F-body...

boondiggys

iTrader: (165)

it would be better on insurance

ActionJack

Yep...
I had a 99' Firebird for 3 years and after one year I bought a 01 TA. Sold the 99 Firebird after a couple more years but defiantely bought the TA for the LS1 since putting a blower on the 3800 puts you at the LS1 stock basically and it can be expensive.

But you may find the parts cheaper today...

HPP

What's the fully dressed weight of the 3.8? The M6 LS1 (flywheel rather that flexplate) weighs about 490lbs from what I've been able to find. (not sure if that includes exhaust manifolds or not)

If the 3.8 is lighter (if it's iron, it might not be, despite being smaller, but that's why I ask), then you would get better balance out of it and it would be great for cornering.

Plus, total weight aside, it should be dimensionally smaller. This means you could shift it down lower and back further. This would give you an even better still CoG.

While I personally am just an American V8 kinda guy, there's a lot of advantages to a well built V6 in cars like these. (1989 Anniversary T/A comes to mind - faster and better handling than the V8s)

You'd have to do some killer appearance mods for it though. And give it a name. Can't be a Formula because those are V8s. Can't be a Firehawk because those are SLP Formulas (sorry Firehawk T/A guys, to me the real Firehawks will always be Formys. ). Maybe give it 400hp and call it a Firebird 400. And they actually don't look bad with no spoiler (and the base model is nearly there anyway), so you could shave that and get that smooth deck look of the '67/'68 Firebird 400s.

Dunno, just a thought. lol

tuske427

iTrader: (1)

So long as the car is in good shape then you have a great foundation. The advantages of starting with a V6 car is generally a cheaper purchasing price, but, you have it already so you're ahead of the game. Most people replace suspension components, so it becomes irrelevant at that point if the car was a V6 or V8- you're going above and beyond factory components with aftermarket pieces. Same for the engine and drivetrain...

It all comes down to your preferences, what you want, etc. Do you care if you start out with a "genuine" T/A or not. You can always bolt on the parts you want to get that look. (or Firehawk, etc..)

My 2 cents

HPP

"1984 Trans Am- 2002 LS1 powered"



I had an '84. I like that styling. Even though it had a weak, tired (184,000 miles) 305, I never really considered it slow or underpowered. An LS1 in that thing must be SICK.

Got any pics?

blue02formula

iTrader: (1)

Save yourself headaches and money and buy a used ls1 f-body.

HPP

Spend money on another platform, which itself will also have (yet more) money spent on it.

I'm not sure I see where the savings is there.

Even with an LS1, he's still going to want to fix/upgrade the suspension, change the rims and tires, possibly change the rear, and it may even need engine or tranny work, depending on mileage and abuse level. (nevermind possibly higher insurance rates)

He's already got this car, for free. So the money he would spend on the LS1 version, he'll spend on this one, except save the cost of buying the platform itself.

Smoke Panther

iTrader: (10)

Full bolt-ons, cam, gear, tune, DR's, and a lil weight redux will net mid-13s

bbfirebird

same body, yes, but mechanically it's pretty different. the speedometer is different, the steering ratio is quicker in a V8 f-body, the suspension is different, the rear gears are different, etc etc.

it'll end up costing you the same, if not more money to swap the 6 out for a V8. at the same time, you're always going to have a modifed car, which means reliability issues. it'd just be better to get the V8 car that was built like that at the factory, than one that is pieced together.