firefour

Hi there.

I'm a long time lurker and a Firebird fan for as long as I can remember.
I want to buy a 4th gen bird but I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I know the LS1 drive train is just superior. But I really much prefer the look of the 93-97 birds. I'm not a fan of the nostrils and front bumper of the 98-02 at all. I'm actually not a fan of either Trans ams and much prefer the look of the Formula for both 93-97 and 98-02. I think the Formulas just look smoother and slicker. Specially the 93-97 ram air Formula.
My favorite bird of all time is the 93-97 Firehawk. But those are hard to come by. So a 93-97 Formula would do fine. Problem is the LT1.
So I was thinking of the alternatives:

1. Put a LS1 in a 93-97? Is this even feasible? I know putting a V8 in a V6 is a nightmare. Would it also be the same with a LS1 swap?

2. Buy a 98-02 bird and convert it back externally to the 93-97 look? I worry that this would depreciate the car somehow. Or maybe not. Not sure the engine swap would depreciate it as I would think it may even make it more desirable. But no idea what a looks swap could do here. But probably don't care either. So it would probably boil down to the cheapest, easiest way and best way.

3. Just live with the LT1? Is it really not that bad and unreliable? If not, I could live with it. I would rather live with a LT1, than live with the looks of the 98-02. I apologize to the ones who love the look of the later birds. Don't mean to offend anybody. It's just a matter of personal taste and it's just great we have several styles of Firebirds to choose from. Some love 4th gens, some love 3rd gens and others love Camaros etc.

Thanks in advance for the input.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

If you like the look of the 93-97 then I would buy that..

You have to love the car you drive or else it will get boring and you will sell it..

You can do a Ls swap down the line which is pretty involved, but honestly stock for stock the lt1 is still a great daily driver..

Your other option is buy a 98-02 and convert it to the 93-97 style, I wouldn't because it will be harder to sell and it will drop in value among future buyers..

firefour

Thanks for the reply. In terms of work and money, which one would you say would be less? I'm thinking swapping the body parts in a 98-02?

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

Converting the 98-02 to a 93-97 would be the easiest..

You could even sell the front clip and get some good money and buy the 93-97 front clip..

You might even make some money doing it that way..

Look around in the appearance and detailing section and I know people are always looking to swap to the ls1 98-02 version.. You can find one of them and do an even swap in the same color if you get lucky..

firefour

Yeah. Or I could also keep the original parts to put back on if I ever sell the car.

But since the 98-02 cars are normally more expensive, I wonder if the price difference could off set the price advantage of going the external conversion way? Probably still so.

By the way, do you know if it's possible to buy the W68 GFX or an after market replica?

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

This is your best option. If you can afford to swap over to the LT1 front end without having to sell your LS1 body panels, I would do that. You can just keep them in storage and at that point you will have already done a swap on the body panels making it easier to change back if/when you decide to sell your car. Plus if you get bored with the LT1 style you can swap back as well. The LS1 will cost more to buy in but will be worth more when you go to sell. It's a win win all around if you can afford to do so.

firefour

OK. Any ideas how much all the parts for the conversion would run? I would just need rear bumper, side skirts and front nose with hood, right? Can I still buy all these OEM or do I have to go used? What about the W68 package?

Oh wait, the headlights are totally different! That looks like it would complicate things a bit.