namos

iTrader: (2)

I need your help. Any advice or direction would be very much appreciated. I know you all have been there/done that

Background:
I bought a stock '99 hugger orange z28 m6 two years ago. It's pretty mint. 69k original miles on it, with every factory option imaginable (down to the white interior). It's my secondary car so it sits a lot. I have a heavily modded Grand Prix running 12's (heads, cam, headers, ported m90 supercharger, built transmission, intercooled, etc.. on and on). My gp is my daily driver and occasional weekend warrior. I got the mod bug from my grand prix but hit the wall on what I could do with it without the risk of making it unreliable. Hence me thinking I wanted an LS1

Options:
I dont know what I should do with direction. My GP pretty much had 2 paths to hp/torque. Turbo or s/c with intercooler. From there it was cut and dry. You buy 1 of like 4 different cams. You but these specific fuel rails.. with this specific intake.. etc. With the LS1 the options are friggin endless.

I recently sold my bike and have roughly 5,500k cash on hand.

What do I do??
Do I sell the nice 99 z28 and start with a much cheaper wrecked or high mileage LS1 and go from there with the extra dough?
Do I keep the nice z28 and mod it with the 5k?
Do I go force fed again (supercharged/turbo) ??
Do I stay N/A but focus more on the options that these motors offer?
Do I sell the z28 and take the cash from the bike and go a completely different direction??? street rod anyone

I want a ~550 h/p and a streetable toy.

Thanks all

NVUSZ28

iTrader: (5)

#1 Keep the car.

beyonddisturbed

iTrader: (5)

this. mod with the 5k. and post pics of her

zracer323

iTrader: (12)

Mod the z28. You can mod a car and keep it nice. I would start with a new rear end, bolt-ons and a cam.

TransAmWS.6

Definitely keep the car, 5k should easily get you a new rear end, full bolt-on's, a cam, you might even be able to squeeze in some heads and an LS6 intake if you look in the right places for deals.

evilz99

iTrader: (74)

Keep the car and mod it. They arw great. If you want some good advice on what to do you can read the thread I started under newbies called. Help me never buy another mustang lol. A lot of people gave me a lot of great advice and I have a lot of parts I am getting ready to install now. I love my z28 and wouldn't trade it for anything.... Other than a ws6 cuz they are mean as hell looking!

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

5k is a very good budget for fun car.
A new rear end (the weakest component in these cars)
Boltons: Intake , headers, Y pipe and a catback.
Boltons you can get used without alot of worries.
Cam & supporting mods.
Tune

You will be close to your goal with bolt ons, cam & Tune.
If you are a m6 car cam only 400rwhp is very plausible, depending on the cam.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

550 hp , streetable on a 5k budget in an M6 car... that type of HP is going to take a real rear end and clutch to stay together and put the power down so you allready committed about $3500 right there lol , auto cars can make some power on stock rear M6 cars eat them up and spit them out with 500+ hp

add a tick adjustable master and a good aftermarket shifter so you can shift it now your at 4k and ready to address power with 1500 or so left to spend ....

longtubes/ory and a catback or true duals catless if your not worried about emissions in your area are standard procedure whether you choose NA or forced induction your going to need exhaust mods regardless.

you wont have a lot left at this point 200 wet shot would eat up the rest and leave your streetability like a stock car while hitting your 550 hp goal and maybe a couple bucks left over for some drag radials.

if you can buy some of these items previously enjoyed maybe you would have enough money left for heads and cam also.

I also have had and still have a bunch of 3800 sc cars with my quickest being a 4 door gtp that ran 12.2 @118 for me on spray - nothing can fix the sound of a six banger and these lsx's are built tough like 3800's but sound great and way more aftermarket choices like you said - welcome !

carlos408

Keep the Z28 and use the 5k to build a beast. Head,cam,pushrods,tune ul b pushn around 400 sumthn depending on the set up!

Starz T/A 17

iTrader: (6)

Honestly I would just spend a lot of time in the F/I and internal engine sections and make a decision from there. Its really hard to say, since you already have a boosted car do you want another since its somewhat familiar to you, or do you want a change?

One thing to keep in mind is that going F/I on a N/A car costs A LOT more then making an already F/I car faster, if you want it to be reliable. And it costs more then going heads/cam, which is why you generally see more H/C cars then turbo or S/C cars.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-in...induction.html
This is a good thread that discusses the real cost of F/I

Either way I would def. keep the car you have and mod it cleanly, sounds like a nice car and those are getting harder and harder to find.

namos

iTrader: (2)

Thanks all for your input! Muuuuch appreciated.

If I keep it would it be a good idea to possibly look for an already built motor to drop in? Would that save me some serious money? (and i could put the stock back in if needed for future sales?)

i found a guy thats got a built ls1 posted on my local craigslist... what are your thoughts? he wants 2k - complete ls1 with ported l92 heads, custom cam from speed inc, came out of a 98 trans am, care went 10:89 with a 1.56 60ft time on a stock 4l60 trans

Rare96LT1Formula

iTrader: (32)

Not sure where you live, but where I come from, there is no such thing as a built LS1 for 2 grand.

Starz T/A 17

iTrader: (6)

Buying used parts that wear like engines are hit or miss. Honestly you never know 100% what your getting. Because you don't know who built it, how it was broken in, or how it was used. So honestly, I would prefer to spend a little extra and know it was don't right if I was planning on keeping the car then to get 6 months down the road and have it costing me a lot if something were to happen

jdiddyws6

iTrader: (5)

I'd like to see what he did to put the l92 heads on an ls1.

zracer323

iTrader: (12)

L92 are 4" bore heads...not sure how they fit on the LS1? I would build the motor you have. It's got fairly low miles and you know its history.

namos

iTrader: (2)

I called the guy and he seemed incompetent. Kept going on and on about 'if ya rolled up on a vette.. yadda yadda..' I just kept asking for specifics. I wanted a build sheet and the name/number of the shop that did the build. He said he 'didnt have time' to get me a build sheet and just to come up and look at it myself. Yeahhhh.... not gonna happen. I confronted him about the l92 heads and he said it was a typo on the craigslist add. Said that they were l98 heads. Again.. i dont trust the guy let alone this motor.

All your advice has been solid. I love this forum.

- from my crap cell phone this morning

jdiddyws6

iTrader: (5)

Rofl @ l98 heads

USMC5811

iTrader: (2)

DEFINITLY keep the Hugger Z. I would never get rid of mine just because of how rare they are! +1 for modding with the cash!