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So I am waiting to hear back from the bank because I saw a 2002 Ls1, z28 camaro in arctic white, t-tops, cloth interior (slate) at a local dealership today. It only has 30,xxx miles on it, and the price was very good.

Well anyways my original plan was to find a '99. And start modding it this winter. H/c swap etc... But the car I am about to buy is about the budget I had in mind for the '99 plus all of the mods. So I am thinking, what is the most conservative route to doing bolt on's for a future head cam car. I know the basics, like lid, smooth bellow, ported maf, ud pulley, adjustable double timing chain, long tube headers, true dual exhaust (thinking borla xr-1 mufflers) The car is an m6 and I expect that by the time I am done paying off the loan (if I get it) that I will need a new clutch, and the rear end will probably need some "freshening".

So, should I just save up the money and go to 383 stroker when the loan is off, or should I start with the mods, and possibly build a very streetable nitrous car.

MY goal is to eventually run consistent 10s.

Adam_346

Me I would just do some bolt-ons, then once i got it payed off, i'd tear into the motor. my opinion only of course

ipdking711

run juice till it pops then report it stolen....

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I know the first thing I am doing is ditching the flowmaster exhaust on the car... borla cat-back or true duals

bene

iTrader: (16)

borla catback sounds like *** on LS1s, IMO. True duals all the way.

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I think until I get some money saved up, for the obvious reason of spending money on the car itself, I might just run a different muffler in place of the flowmaster 80 series that is on the car, and early next spring, I will break out the welder and fab up some stainless steel true-duals with borla xr-1 or even do a center mount exit style exhaust.

A lid will be purchased as the first mod, and than I will just work on bolt-ons for a while. I expect that in 5 years I will probably be replacing the rear with a moser 9" and going stroker motor (even nitrous for the strip).

99camarosupersport

iTrader: (6)

Z28's are slow.

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Still a hell of a lot faster than the average 20year olds ride around where I live. You either have muscle or imports. I have done the import thing, I have ridden in the muscle cars. I am obviously not going to play with the several single digit muscle cars around where I live, but I will have a much more reliable car. I have always loved muscle cars, and I still remember my first ride in a 99 z28, the guy had the car sideways, spinning tires through 3rd, and had me at speeds up in the 155 mph range. I was in heaven. My dad has a viper in work that I have ridden in, and outside of the local Ariel Atom, I have found no other car that I enjoy as much as the F-body Camaro. I would even take it over the viper at my dads work for fun factor.

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Finally convinced the father to look at the car (b/c it is sunday and no sales people)... The guy teaches automotive and has been in the field for nearly 30 years. Looked at the car, took one walk around and pointed out that it had been in an accident. He also noted that due to the rubber in the inner fenderwell in the back that the car had been driven pretty hard during its very short 30k miles on the road. He also noted the carbon buildup in the flowmaster exhaust, leading him to believe that the car was running quite rich and was probably modded and restored to stock before being traded in. Granted this is my dream car, but what should I realistically be looking to pay for a beaten 02 camaro z28? I am having trouble justifying the 18 grand the stealership wants, even when they just had an 01 firebird that sold for 23k 2 weeks ago.

RooRnZ28

iTrader: (14)

well the 02 is a better year than a 99, mainly since it has the LS6 intake manifold, a better oil pump, etc etc...

i'd go for a later year fbody if you can find one! good luck!

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I still plan on buying a camaro, I still absolutely love this car, I just hope I can get the price down a little, and have some money for some bolt ons... Worst case scenario is that I pick up one over the winter, I still have hopes to find a nice car with a blown rear end and just start off where GM left off with a moser 9"...

I will hear from the bank today, and I would still love this car, I just hope I can get the price down to 15k or so.

LS1Silverado05

iTrader: (41)

Three things....bodywork if done correct isnt a reason to turn away right away....I doubt that by judging the carbon in the tailpipes he can determine how modded it was....and last, be sure that its actually rubber in the fenderwells...the undercoating can sometimes look that way.

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I am not turning away from the car, merely looking for a suggestion to what I should be willing to pay for a car that according to the dealership is bone stock and has never had any problems (including an accident b/c I had asked before I applied for the loan). I am not saying the the carbon would give any indication of the car being modded, but it does show that the car has run rich whether due to a bad o2 sensor or whatever the cause. I am not overly worried with issues about this car. I love it no matter what. And I have the technical know-how available, and garage resources to do anything from a simple oil change to chassis straightenning and fabrication.

I am really looking forward to buying this car, just wondering what you guys would be willing to pay for a car that in "perfect unmolested condition" was worth 18k to them.