MJMSxr

I have a black 99 WS6 with 6 spd, grey leahter, and t-tops that I bought in Michigan from a friend who owns a self storage facility. I received an AMAZING DEAL! The vehicle was from California. It was in some sort of accident because the passenger side rocker was damaged, the rear passenger fender was damaged, and there were some deep scratches up high on the passenger side. Other than that the vehicle starts right up, makes no noises, knocks, and drives very well. It has 66K miles. Most of the repairs are cosmetic on the outside and some interior. (no carpet and cracked door panels.)


My intentions were to fix it up and keep it forever. I am concerned with how much money I will have to put into it and I am also concerned with the fact that many people have told me the motor cannot handle a lot of upgrades. I would like someting above 400 hp. My father keeps telling me to sell it and buy a turn key car.

I am just looking for some general insight on the car and maybe some advice.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Mike @ michael_j.miller@yahoo.com

95 mystic ls

iTrader: (12)

Cold air, Cat back, Long tubes, And the right cam w/ tune you should get 400+.

Macs98Z

iTrader: (16)

Whoever told you the motor can't handle a lot of upgrades didn't know what they were talking about. The LS1 has proven itself over the last 14 years as a reliable engine that responds phenomenally well to upgrades. The drivetrain however...lol. The transmission and rearend is where you will run into problems, and may be what these people were talking about. You have a 6 speed, which is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it should reliably handle most anything you throw at it (provided you don't get too crazy). The curse is that it will probably trash the rear end at some point as the tiny 7 5/8" won't be up to the challenge of modding.

The above mentioned lid, catback, longtubes, cam, and a tune should net you just under 400 rear wheel horsepower, or maybe over 400, depending on the cam you go with.

Depending on the deal you got for the car, however, you may end up sinking a lot of money into bodywork and it may be to your advantage to pick up a turn key car instead. My advice would be to get some quotes on fixing the body damage from a few different shops, add that to the price you paid for the car, and compare the total cost to some of the other cars in your area of the same mileage and condition. If you still come out ahead, great! You already have a great advantage with it only having 66k and being a California car. Before I bought my Z28, I looked at a car in the Detroit area, and I can tell you the underside and the rocker panels didn't look so great. You guys have some hard winters up there.

MJMSxr

Thanks guys. Huge Help!

Crispy

iTrader: (6)

Post up some pics of the car. You'd maybe want to consider getting a roller to swap the good parts onto yours. It may be cheaper than sourcing parts from all over. You can also turn around and sell the parts you didnt use and offset the price of the roller itself. These cars are fairly simple to work on and quite enjoyable.

NC01TA

Here's a different point of view. Listen to your father. I agree with him.

The Mighty Texan

iTrader: (4)

I would keep it and fix it up, thats some low miles if you got a good deal on it. Don't really know what your saying about a turn key car since you said it runs great, why does he say to sell it? Might get some money from flipping it if you got a good deal though and you could look for a different one.

wav3form

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you already got a turn key car. A bit of body work and she'll be good as new if the damage is mostly cosmetic. The old man is just trying to help but go with your gut on this one.