Hello everyone. Back in the 90's I owned an 86 firebird it came stock with the soft low horsepower 305ci engine. I built a 383ci that I coupled with a Borg Warner T-10 transmission with a dual exhaust system. It wasn't the fastest car around but I loved it and got many years of intense fun and learned quite a bit about being a mechanic in the world of high performance automotive. Now for my question, I am looking at getting another street/drag car. I am looking at 4th gen Camaros, Firebirds, Firehawks and GTO's. I want a car that will satisfy 2 important needs. First off a car with an engine that has a strong bottom end, so I can modify the top end :cam,intake,heads and induction and of course exhaust without worrying if the bearings and connecting rods will fail. Second I want the car that I can get the most hp/torq boost from these mods.So basicallyI want a car that will give me the most performance in drag racing, street (light to light) performance and just plain breaking the tires loose running the streets fun,the overall looks and comfort is not a really huge deal. I will appreciate any input as I really don't want to buy a car and find out I made a $15-$20k mistake. Thank you all for any help.

John Dullebawn

 

you just perfectly described the strengths of the 4th gen f body , cheap to buy , strong bottom end , responds awesome to bolt ons , not the highest quality trim/ fit & finish but hard to match for fun per cubic dollar spent.

 

everything has its limits but LS motors are very strong.

whatever vehicle you pick im sure youll be satisfied.


welcome.

 

thank-you both so much for the responses. I was wondering about something a friend told me. The only real reason that the GTO was even on my list of possibilities was a friend told me that one of the main perks of the GTO was that Pontiac designed them to be the ultimate car as far as Massive HP/Torq gains through Top-End engine upgrades, was told that a 800hp goal was semi easily achieved (compared to the F-Bodies) by choosing the correct parts. Was my friend wrong? I am hoping to achieve a near 800hp mark by the time I am done with engine upgrades. I mean since owning that 86 Firebird I love the feel of the f-bodies so I have no problem with choosing the f body over the GTO. Just wondering if my friends info about the GTO is correct or not. Thankyou all again

 

Your friend was wrong.

The first year GTOs ('04) actually had the same exact engine as the F-bodies (LS1), so obviously there is no difference in terms of mod potential there (other than the fact that the GTO is heavier, so it will always be slower mod for mod as compared to an LS1 F-body). The later GTOs did have a more powerful stock engine (LS2), but getting 800hp from an LS2 isn't going to be "easy" as compared to getting the same power from an LS1. Both would need significant work. The LS2 only has 50hp more than the LS1 stock (350hp vs 400hp), so either way if your goal is 800hp you'll have to at least double the stock output of either engine.

If you aren't concerned about comfort or interior space, and plan to drag race, then a 4th gen F-body would be a much better choice (due to being lighter and having a solid rear axle) than a GTO.

 

800HP from either of those motors goes beyond motor..forced induction on nitrous unless you build something exotic and expensive IMO. With a turbo or two, anything is possible. I agree with the above posts..the extra power of the GTO is negated by the weight so it comes down to comfort, looks, miles. The LS2 GTO is going to be a more comfortable car. They also made these vehicles much later than the F-bodies so it is more likely to find a low-mileage example. The reason I find this important is that at least the F-bodies' motors come out from underneath the car. I don't know what your threshold for pain in the *** is, but yanking the motor isn't like it used to be for this reason, so if I were getting into one of those, I would look for a bottom end I could live with for a while. Maybe it's no big deal for you, but it was a little bit of a detractor for me in the 90's when you could still yank a Mustang motor out of the top pretty quickly. I am sure there are plenty of guys on here that can do it upside down with their eyes closed but it just didn't seem that fun to me considering I do most of my work on my back in my driveway...and until 5 years ago said driveway was GRAVEL.

Aside from that concern, you are definitely headed down a path of cheap, fun power. I'm still a Ford guy at heart but the LS motors are fun and friendly.

 

Like rpm ws6 is saying solid axle costs a lot less to get a solid good hooking rear in place. Gto's are nice not knocking them but its going to cost you more to do the same or less.

Also 4th gens can be had for way less $$ leaving more cash for your build , I have bought 4 of them over the last 4 years and yet to spend over 4 grand on one , one ran 11.9 as bought and another ran 12.1 as bought ( and will run quicker with a few issues straightened out)

Where your looking to make 800 hp I am assuming either turbo or sc like procharger , either way plan on spending $3xxx on a aftermarket 9" or an s60 rear end so it will be bulletproof and another good chunk to make your chosen trans take that type of power then some suspension and safety mods if you plan to run the car at the track. that type of power your talking single digits so theres going to be a good list of mandatory equip.

 

yep RPM nailed it. F-bodys cant be beat for what you described. you can get a 'decent' one for 4 or 5 grand, or a nice one for 10k. they handle abuse, and are great cars. ive sprayed 150 shot through mine(with safety stuff in place) alot and no problems.
Buddy has an 06 gto, heads/cam and a 75 shot and it runs like a raped ape, the cam isnt too wild and it has great street manners, he puts alot of miles on it and its comfortable as hell to ride in. just depends where you want most of your budget to go:
F-body=more budget for go fast goodies
GTO=more budget on car.
either way, you cant go wrong.
and welcome, this site is the best knowledge database there is, period.