Thechill_guy

Name's Angel I daily a 2001 Pontiac Trans Am Ws6 she's at 180k now and when she hits 200k looking to make her a demon weekend car . As of right now I want begin working on the supplemental parts i.e suspension, diff, exhast, seats, wheels... I'd like to take advice and assistance from Ls1 veterans across the country. As a member of the Marines my schedule isn't great for building but not impossible. I look forward to interacting with y'all.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

Welcome to the site. I like the idea of doing the suspension first. Why make more power when you can't put it down to the wheels and get your car around the track? start off with a good pair of shocks & springs and throw those 180k mile paper weights away if they are stock. Next, tubular suspension pieces like LCAs, PHB, and thicker sway bars will keep the car grounded.

ChopperDoc

A watts link is a nice edition to a street/strip car. What is your plan as far as application goes? 1/4 mile only? Or road course?

I have a watts in mine, and I love it. Allows a lot of adjustability, and it's great for the street. It doesn't seem to have much of an effect on launches, but I also run a 3200 stall, which kind of cancels that out to a degree.

I am a 16 year veteran, Army, stationed in VA. My day job is working on helicopters, and my weekend job is working on LOTS of cars. Seems like when people have issues or want mods, they come to me lol.

My car is currently undergoing another wave of engine mods. I have a 427 stroker build with over 20k invested into it... It's well over 500 rwhp, but still need to put it back on the dyno to see exactly how much. Last time I had it on the dyno it was at 480, but now I have upped the compression almost one full point to 11.9, put on an underdrive, and swapped the cam to a Pat G 248/252 @ .050 (297/305 seat to seat, 93* of overlap lol). .634/.634 lift. Previous cam was the TSP stage IV 235/239, .647/.643 with my 1.75 Jesels. I recently talked to one of the techs down there about how much to deck the heads to meet my goals and I told him the cam specs... He said "Now that's a cam!". Lol. Proud moment coming from TSP.

You have the right idea starting with suspension, and drivetrain is another consideration as well. I went with the Moser 12 bolt, and Stage II 4L80e from Jakes. I have BMR everything except for the Konis and Strano springs. There is literally nothing stock on that car except the body. Even the interior is slowly becoming it's own beast as I fabricate a panel here and there. I also have Wilwood superlites, 6/4 piston front/rear with 14 inch rotors. Not cheap, but as I look at it, after I do my 20, my retirement is pretty decent... So I keep finding myself caught between saving for retirement and you only live once... Lately I have saved NOTHING. lol.

ChopperDoc

Another good idea is to go ahead and start saving for your upgrade list, as well as procuring a new "daily" so you can focus on mods over long periods of time. I give absolutely zero ***** when I start tearing into my car to do something else to it. If it doesn't drive for a few months... Meh. No biggee. That also discourages you from rushing through things and taking shortcuts. Especially with parts. If you have to wait a month to get those new rockers, or whatever, no big deal. Just drive the hooptie to work. And if it's such a junker that people make fun of it, put in some electric cutouts and drive in your "demon" car and set off all their car alarms. No one gives me **** about my daily drivers because they know what I have in my garage... lol.

Thechill_guy

Thanks for the feedback and advice as far as my block and heads in the future would a rebuild and resurface be ok being 200k when I do it? And I'll be replacing stock pistons, cams, heads, intake manifolds. I'm not savy technical side like I can take apart and install anything but as far as specs and measurements I have no idea. ChopperDoc starts throwing all these specs and gets me anxious lol about the build I don't want my car to blow up because i have valves and springs with wrong cam.. oh and as far as my new daily i have 2009 vstar 900cc I'm from Cali so I'll be fine

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

If you are doing a full rebuild then the mileage is irrelevant. Many people opt to change out the pistons and rods and utilize the stock crank as it can handle a good amount of power and is more budget friendly. If you get forged pistons and rods that will increase the amount of power you can make and it will raise the amount of rpm that you can reliably spin the motor. With the rebuild you'll have all new bearings and you can install an aftermarket camshaft. If you are replacing your heads there are many options out there and you can get them with new springs installed. Along with the heads you can opt to install ARP head studs. As for replacing the intake manifold, FAST makes a good intake manifold and throttle body combo. I don't know what exhaust manifold options you have contemplated considering that you are in Cali with strict emission regulations. However if you did get long tube headers, the FAST intake, aftermarket heads, and a matching cam then you could be putting down around 400-450 rwhp depending on the options that you go with. If you do get forged internals then nitrous oxide is an option for you in the future if you want to make more horsepower. Try not to get too overwhelmed with specifications. Just take your time and research all that you can.

ChopperDoc

Sorry for throwing so many numbers at you there... Just be sure and research everything before you start tearing into things. I think my fast 102 intake is not legal in CA. I don't recall really, but since you're military, can you say, register the car at grandmas house in another state? That will open up your mod list and options, and lessen the need for researching laws on top of researching mods. That's what I do. Been emissions free since 2005.