JMaster

Hello All,
I am new here, the name is John.... I have been a die hard Mustang fanatic for years however recently I have decided to investigate the possibility of getting a Camaro, Firebird or Trans Am....

My question is are ther certain years I should stay away from all together? Are certain years easier to mod than others?

I like the newer body styles of these vehicles but would go a bit older for significant performance gains. Again having not built one of these vehicles in the past any all help would be greatly appreciated.

A little about how I am planning on using the car.... Straight line baby... I like to drag race alot, however the car should also be cruiser friendly as it will see cruise ins, car shows, etc. as well as the occassional drive to the office. Think drag car that could cruise a large part of the Power Tour.

thanks in advance for any feedback.
John

jamesSS

your in the right place. dont worry about years that you should stay away from. if your going forced induction, the 98 model year is alittle harder to tune, but otherwise they are all very similiar. if you get a 01-02 year, they already have a ls6 intake, so that saves you $300. if your going for drag car, get an A4. get some sticky tires and stall it. if you want go fast and street worthy maners, id say get the most amount of boltons you can depending on your local emissions and add a 125 shot. best of both worlds.

JMaster

Ok so I have been trying to digest all of this

Camaro 1st year of LS1 = 1998
Is there a big difference between LS1 and LT1 and what are the positives/negatives of each?
Trans Am/Firebirds not sure which year is 1st year of LS1/WS6 etc.
please let me know when different power plants were introduced, advantages/disadvantages to each etc.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Springfever is upon me (we had our first 70 degree day here last week and I am dying to get some hp in my garage).
Thanks,
John

JMaster

Also what does everyone think of like Monte Carlo SS and the older Camaros and Trans Ams pre 1993 etc.

JMaster

I am looking to spend like 10k-15k for my base car (whatever that ends up to be) cars on short list so far=

1998-2002 SS Camaro
1998 -2002 Z28 Camaro
Pre 1998 Camaro
Trans Am
Firebird
Monte Carlo SS
Buick Grand National
Grand Prix GTP

BLKWS.6

Let's put it this way..cam, stall, exhaust, LARGE shot of juice and a guy I know ran 10.40's@133mph in a 98 Z28 A4 with 115K miles on it. Stock it turned 13.3@105 and I personally saw him turn 13.1@104 on ET streets (stock, well, he had a weld-in muffler, flowmaster I think...dont get that, flows suck on F-bodies)

Btw, his car was drivable on the street no-problem. That's how it died, he spun a main while doing a wheel-stand on the street while low on oil (it blew with the front tires about 5'' off the ground) (LS1's like to use a tad of oil, it's normal b/c low tension oil-rings and short-skirt pistons as well as a less-than-ideal PCV setup cause this).

PS. He had a built tranny. The old one started slipping as soon as he juiced it hard.

BLKWS.6

FYI I bought a 01 6-speed WS6 for 12K+TTL with 72K on the clock (has 79,700 now) and the thing is MINT! literally 80% of it is highway miles (called previous owners, older people, drove down I35 40 miles every day for work. I bought it at a used car lot).

Allergik2dyin

You can pick up a 98+ trans am or camaro for a decent price and I would go that route over a lt1. Again, a ls1 is a ls1 is a ls1. Trans ams, ws6's, z28s, ss's, formulas theyre all the same pretty much except for looks. For drag racing an a4 is a good idea especially with a stall. A forged bottom end and a big shot would be great at the track and a good cruiser. Not what I would do, but it fits your goals. FI is also another good way to go and still retain good driveability. My best advice is to search and read all you can on here, then ask more specific questions. Good luck.

LS1B|RD

there is night and day difference between lt1 and LS1, all around power is significantly higher with ls1.

93-97 was the lt1 years for both camaro/firebird models. the ws6 package started in 96 i believe, but not sure.

98-02 are ls1 years for both camaro/firebird models. ws6 package remained in production.

don't fall for any gimmicks saying the ws6/ss is faster than a normal firebird/camaro, it's not. only thing changed on ss/ws6 models is the ram air hood, bigger sway bars, tad bit lower suspension, wheels, and a badge.

you can easily pick up a ls1 model f-body for under 10grand, i got mine for 8k with 79k on the clock, i now have 109k, just put a cam in it and it runs strong as hell, and reliable as hell.

EdmontonSS

There's huge differences between the LS1 and LT1 cars, it's like the same as when ford went from the 302's to the 4.6 mod motors. Block, heads, crank, rods, bore sizes, intake all different (it did stay OHV though). Do some careful research before you buy!