Javi7808

Hi guys, I'm new to the ls world and I've been looking at ls cars recently and am confused of which car should i buy.
don't know which would be a good platform to start building on.

The cars I've been looking at are;
2004 cadillac cts-v
2004-2006 pontiac gto
pontiac g8
possibly an 09 camaro (if i can a decent price on one)

Not looking for a 4th gen camaro or firebird

just want to know before i get one of these, don't want to be stuck with something that won't respond well to mods.
Id like to To build up with heads, cam ,intake, possibly blower or turbo etc....
thanks for the help.

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

If your going to mod, go with a CTS or G8. Unless you find a GTO that has already been modded slightly. Any stock GTOs that are around should stay OEM I feel.

z-maro

iTrader: (18)

What are your goals and how will you use the car; street, strip, road course? Budget?

For the GTO's, the 04's have the 5.7 LS1 while the 05-06's have the 6.0 LS2. G8's only had a small number of manuals trans cars in the GXP's which normally have a premium price.

Javi7808

SouthernRex

The LS1 5.7L is a solid engine, and people have made really mean cars with them. But I wish my TransAm came with that LS2 6.0L like the later GTOs and G8 (and I think the G8 GXP came with the LS3, yeah?). My WS6 is still stock internals (no h/c/l/b) with just full exhaust and air intake manifold/throttle body (and airlid, of course.) I don't think I'd be winning any races at the drag strip, but on the street I punk the **** out of SRT-8 Challengers all day (probably because of their weight) and I was cut throat with a new Mustang GT until the 80-90MPH range when he started walking away from me. For a 20 year old car, that's not bad, especially since I haven't even gone heads/cam or even tuned it, yet.

Javi7808

Javi7808

Well. i Think I've found my next car! Today I saw an ad for a 2004 gto with an lq9 6.0 swap with a power dyne supercharger and more mods. The only problem is that won't go in gear and the owner thinks it could be a clutch slave cylinder issue...

what do y'all think?

how are the lq9 motors? I've never heard of them till now?

Chris25

iTrader: (1)

Id search around a little more you can find 05/06 GTO's for next to nothing lately.

Javi7808

ill keep looking, but the fact that it already has a blower makes me want it a lot lol.
are the lq9 engines not as good as the ls2?

Chris25

iTrader: (1)

Yah but at that point you have to ask yourself are you buying someone else problem.

Platinum WS6

iTrader: (6)

Yea don't buy a problem. Find one lightly modified then build it how you like it. Already built cars are hard to finish if they were never finished to start with.

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

buying built cars with a problem is a fantastic way to get discounts. Someone already has plenty of money in the added parts. If you're willing to put in the labor, you end up way ahead.

SouthernRex

Really? I was looking for a 6-speed 6.0L GTO here in Florida, and I was hitting $15-22k on every search... I mean I paid $12k for my TransAm, but I was hoping prices had gone down in the last 5 years.

Chris25

iTrader: (1)

There are a couple on craigslist in the Tampa area in the 6 to 8k range they definitely have taken a hit the last couple years in price.

Javi7808

well, i ended up getting an 2004 gto with a lq9 6.0 with a power dyne supercharger. came with intercooler piping too which i have yet to install. the car just needed a new clutch. new one came in today. i too live in the tampa area. you don't see too many anymore or at least i don't.. but any way, this car has some great mods already to give me a head start on future builds. b&m shifter kit, longtube headers, typhoon intake manifold w/ fuel rail, 102mm throttle body,adjustable drag bags, it has a cam but i don't know what kind. 317 heads and a powerdyne bd12 supercharger. also an hks sequential blow off valve. engine sounds strong and healthy but id like to rebuild it w/ forged internals for a peace of mind pretty soon.

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

giant waste of money to rebuild it and forge it for that blower. The motor will handle way more than a powerdyne can make.

Javi7808

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

Chris25

iTrader: (1)

Was the car a local tampa car that you bought? Which clutch did you decide to go with. These cars are definitely getting scarce around here but so are F-body's it seems like.

Javi7808