I have read hundreds of threads and now I'm more confused than before.

I have a 98 WS6 6-speed w/ 120,000 miles, mostly stock except for a whisper lid, pro 5.0 shifter, edelbrock catback, egr mod, and a 315 street tire in the rear.

Key factors in the decision:
I go to school in Austin, TX where the streets are terrible and I drive three hours home every month and two hours to my lake house every other weekend. My torque arm bushing on the front of the transmission is shot and when I slam gears, it sounds like its hitting the bottom of the car. And last night at the track, on one of the passes I smelled clutch and I had a lazy pedal at the end of every pass. It would go back to normal by the time I got my time slip. The clutch seems fine now and doesn't slip, maybe it was a fluke. And I don't have alot of money.

So what first?
Obviously new torque arm bushing but...
Frame connectors
Plugs and wires
Clutch and newer hydrolics
Port throttle body, smooth bellows, descreen maf
LS6 intake w/ new knock sensors
Headers and off road y w/ dual cutouts and a borla resonator in the i pipe and new o2 senors from corvette and stick with my edelbrock catback
Dry 125 shot of Nitirs
Underdrive pulley

Where do I start? What order should do it in? What should I not do with the high mileage?
Thanks

 

Dont' spend money on SFC first, because some will say that it is not worth it. I have them, but wouldn't recommend it be your first mod. Change your plugs and wires when you do headers, believe me it will save you a lot of headache for not a lot of gain. I really enjoy my LS7 clutch, it was a great mod. If you plan on upgrading your intake (manifold, TB, MAF, etc.), wait until you decide on your ultimate power goals. If you spend a lot of money on a TB now and then upgrade to a bigger manifold later, you wasted your money. So if a 90/90 setup is what you want in the end, wait and do them together or at least until you know exactly what you want. Plus, don't waste your money on smooth bellows, it is unnecessary. If you want to descreen your MAF sensor, it is a free mod and nothing should stop you from doing that. Headers are a great mod at any time. They will run you a little more money, but I have never seen anybody complain about doing there headers and saying they wish they had waited. If nitrous is in your future, don't do it first. Really prepare your car and make sure you don't hurt anything by asking too much of it. I am not sure what all needs to be done because I have no experience with nitrous, but don't hurt your TA if it can be prevented from doing a little bit of resarch on this forum. Underdrive pulley is nice, but it should be your last bolton. Doing it now will not net you that much gain and you would probably be disappointed and feel like you wasted your money. If you wait and do it later, you will get more out of it.

I hope this helps. This board is a plethora of knowledge. You can PM with any specific questions about boltons. Definitely take advantage of all the free mods you can handle. InstallUniversity and LS1HowTo are great websites to get you started.

To sum up, if it were me: All the free mods you want and clutch or headers/y pipe. Also don't underestimate the enjoyment you will get from suspension mods, especially if you drive your car a lot which it sounds like you do.

 

You should get all the broken stuff fixed before doing mods.

 

After you fix the broken stuff get subframe connectors if you race or drive the car hard. If not, in time you will notice some of your body panels not fitting correctly.

 

As others have said, fix the broken stuff first.
Sounds like tranny mount is item #1.
Set money aside for the clutch kit and slave cylinder. A new master would be a good idea also.
Then do your plugs, wires, filters, and seafoam or injector flush + decarb.
Change as many fluids as you can swing.
Your VERY next move, based on what you describe and the car's duty, should be shocks. Period. Look at my sig - the Bilsteins made more difference than all the other suspension mods combined. Konis will be amazing and you lose nothing. Do some Konis with your brakes and an alignment to LS1tech specs and prepare for a new car. I also know your area and good shocks and tires will make it very enjoyable for you. Add the Strano sway bars and "wow!"
Headers and ORY are a good bet. Smart money dictates Kooks/ARHs/other stainless. At least get coated. I went MACs and they were great, but they will rust. Do your LS6 intake the same time as the exhaust and get you a tune then too. You will pick up 25-40hwp, I betcha, depending on your choice of headers and Y.

Are you going to do any of this work yourself or have it all done? You going to keep this car?

 

I do all the work myself. The superbee in my avatar was my first car I restored when I was fifteen, and I wouldn't sell it for all the money in the world. I plan on keeping my TA long enough for the value to start to go back up again and need to restore it.

The tune is easy, I have efi live, and I'm putting a lift in my garage which will aid the clutch install. I really don't mind the ride of the stock suspension, but then again the only cars I've ever owned have been almost 40 years old. I would rather go fast if you know what I mean. Is the gain of new shocks really worth the expense?

Do yall have anything against pacesetter ceramic coated with a tsp off road y? I'm going to do dual electric cutouts, a flowmaster merge collector, a borla xr-1 muffler in the i pipe, and then go through my edelbrock catback. How does that setup sound, any objections?

About the fast 90/90, I was under the impression that an ls6 manifold and a ported stock size throttle body is all you would ever need for a stock cubic inch motor.