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I was looking for a 4th gen F body to play on local CAM-T autocross. I was hoping to get an LS1 SS or WS6 car for about $10k ready to rock.
Today a 96 SS popped up on CL 5 miles from me. I went and looked it over, talked to the owner and took it for a short drive. The ad said $7k. The car was clean in and out. It’s a red slick top with color matching top. I knew if it was a legit SS it was pretty rare. The owner divulges it may have head gasket issues or other cooling issues. The passenger power window reg is toast. The shifter needs new centering springs or adjustment. The dash is hella cracked. She has high miles. She looks great though. She ran smooth on the test drive but the gauge would read hot then normal. I’m wondering if there is a leak and air in the system or a bad water pump too.
I checked the VIN on the SVE website. She is #775 which matches the plate inside, red slick top, M6, TOTL, Torsen, and Bilstein suspension. The car cover is gone and the mats are worn out. The spare set of wheels and R1s are long sold.
She also needs a lot of steering gear love, tons of play.
So I start telling the owner no way can I do $7k with these issues. He says straight up she may need head gaskets, so $3500. I said deal. I’m going to tie her to a friends place Monday. I need to sell another car to bring her home.
I’m going to be running a 96 SS in CAM-T soon. Photo from the CL ad. More to follow.
So.....interior, shifter and steering work are a given.
What type of engine work you looking at?
Damn......hellava purchase!
KW
Honestly for what I plan on doing with the car, probably just a H/C/I combo. If I have to do head gaskets, I may do a cam at the same time. Autocross and track duty don’t require tons of power. I need to work on the nut behind the wheel.
I race a crappy 165 hp Subaru on dirt and there are few cars with more power going slower there. I’m going to work on my skills, suspension and seating before getting to carried away with power. 300 rwhp from a H/C/I combo would be way mother than enough.
Honestly for what I plan on doing with the car, probably just a H/C/I combo. If I have to do head gaskets, I may do a cam at the same time. Autocross and track duty don’t require tons of power. I need to work on the nut behind the wheel.
I race a crappy 165 hp Subaru on dirt and there are few cars with more power going slower there. I’m going to work on my skills, suspension and seating before getting to carried away with power. 300 rwhp from a H/C/I combo would be way mother than enough.
You can get to 300whp with an easy full bolt-on setup and a small compression bump or roller rockers, no need for H/C. A well done H/C setup is more like 400whp+ and will be useless for autox without sticky tires, but sub 200tw tires will push you into classes you'll no longer be competitive in (ask me how I know lol).
I'm currently prepping my Hawk to run in STU where I'll probably get destroyed by AWD cars. My car has the Level 2 Eibach/Bilstein stuff and it's way more spongy than my Camaro's BMR/Bilstein setup. The Eibach rates are progressive and way softer than most lowering spring sets, so I'd dump them in a heartbeat. I have a set of UMI's to put on when the weather gets nicer.
To be honest, the best upgrade you can get as it sits is 200tw tires. Be forewarned that they'll trash the stock wheel hubs and x-tracker upgrades are expensive. Also, getting a road course type tire at 300+ section width with 17" or 18" wheel diameter is pretty difficult or hard on the wallet, so I opted for a square setup of 18x9.5's and budget friendly 275 Federal RS-PRO's. They actually upped the tire width cap in STU this year so you could run 315's on all fours if you're willing to spend that kind of dough.
Coolant issues- rent a pressure tester to find out what's going on. Don't put more than 19lbs of pressure into the system. Does the engine only cool down after you are moving? Is the plastic air dam still under the car? Do the fans come on?
These engines are notorious for head gasket issues, but perhaps it's something different. Do you see/smell burning coolant? How does the oil look?
Trans issues- check the two bolts that connect the shifter to the trans. They could be loose, if not, everything is internal. Transmission will have to come apart.
Steering- the rag joint could be shot. You can get a solid one from: http://www.unbalancedengineering.com...Joint/kit.html
Nothing in the oil. No coolant smell and no big puff of anything on startup. I have not been under the car to check the shrouding. I need to get a scanner capable of testing the fans.
You can also take the plugs out and see if any have been steam cleaned with coolant. The air dam is the only way air can get flow through the radiator. Very important to have.
A few more pics from today. I’m keeping it at a storage place 3 mi from my house until I sell another car.
96 SS all emblems shaved.... going to need replacements.
A real 96 SS which matches the info on the SVE information site. This car had every option you could get from SLP, except the oil cooler which didn’t come out until 2 months after this car was built. I need to find a car cover and new floor mats. I wouldn’t mind a 2nd set of wheels for race tires again either.
Are the wheels original? Just curious about the center caps as they look to have Corvette style center caps. Of course those can easily be changed out.
Like you I would get some SS emblems on that bad boy.
Looks like the air dam is in place. Your cooling issue could be as easy as air bubbles in the system. These engines are easy as **** to introduce air bubbles, but just as easy to bleed. If you want to spend some money on the brakes there are C5 caliper adapters available.
I'd look into using ATS 4-piston Brembos on 98-02 spindles if you're going to keep 17" wheels. The price ends up being the same and you won't have to worry about spreading the calipers if you ever decide to track the car.
I'd look into using ATS 4-piston Brembos on 98-02 spindles if you're going to keep 17" wheels. The price ends up being the same and you won't have to worry about spreading the calipers if you ever decide to track the car.
After reading some threads here, I think this might be best. I hate cutting the spindle as heat may affect it. I’d like to have machined spacers instead of washers for the 4 piston calipers too. I will see what works though. The aluminum caliper will expand faster than the washers though.
Not trying to change your mind, but the only thing you're cutting off is an ear mount for the LT1 calipers. No heat exchange at all as long as you keep that blade well lubricated.
I was looking for a 4th gen F body to play on local CAM-T autocross. I was hoping to get an LS1 SS or WS6 car for about $10k ready to rock.
Today a 96 SS popped up on CL 5 miles from me. I went and looked it over, talked to the owner and took it for a short drive. The ad said $7k. The car was clean in and out. It’s a red slick top with color matching top. I knew if it was a legit SS it was pretty rare. The owner divulges it may have head gasket issues or other cooling issues. The passenger power window reg is toast. The shifter needs new centering springs or adjustment. The dash is hella cracked. She has high miles. She looks great though. She ran smooth on the test drive but the gauge would read hot then normal. I’m wondering if there is a leak and air in the system or a bad water pump too.
I checked the VIN on the SVE website. She is #775 which matches the plate inside, red slick top, M6, TOTL, Torsen, and Bilstein suspension. The car cover is gone and the mats are worn out. The spare set of wheels and R1s are long sold.
She also needs a lot of steering gear love, tons of play.
So I start telling the owner no way can I do $7k with these issues. He says straight up she may need head gaskets, so $3500. I said deal. I’m going to tie her to a friends place Monday. I need to sell another car to bring her home.
I’m going to be running a 96 SS in CAM-T soon. Photo from the CL ad. More to follow.
Not going to lie super jealous. I sold mine about 6 years ago and have been looking for a deal like this since. Everyone I find is always "mint" and listed for over $10,000 which is just way more than I am every willing to pay. I would love to pick one up like this that needs some TLC but for under $5,000. If you decide to sell let me know.
Never thought I would regret selling a LT1 SS as much as I do... smh.
Not going to lie super jealous. I sold mine about 6 years ago and have been looking for a deal like this since. Everyone I find is always "mint" and listed for over $10,000 which is just way more than I am every willing to pay. I would love to pick one up like this that needs some TLC but for under $5,000. If you decide to sell let me know.
Never thought I would regret selling a LT1 SS as much as I do... smh.
It’s always odd which cars we regret selling and why. My biggest regret sells are my 94 Miata R package in white and my 1985 Mustang SVO. Neither was a very spectacular car but I got both on very good deals and enjoyed both of them.
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New to me 96 SS 
