Metal Muscle

So a while back, my dad had a 1997 Trans Am WS6 A4 as one of his cars (he has several at anytime) which I got to drive quite a bit. I took a liking to the car, loved the speed and the handling, plus how nicely it drove. He eventually sold it, subsequently buying a 1995 Mustang GT convertible, also an auto, which he turned over to me, and I have it as a daily driver now.

The thing is, compared to the Trans Am, the Mustang is pretty slow. It handles ok, but nothing compared to how the Trans Am was. And then there's the bit about it being an auto. I really want a stick shift, they're so much more fun. I'm somewhat stuck here. I would really like another Trans Am, m6 this time, and 98-02 so that it has the LS1, plus better looks. I want to get something high mileage for a cheap price, then tear the car apart and put it together how I want it (comfortable but high performance), so I need some advice from the people more experienced with these cars.

A few questions to start off,

Would it make more sense to start off with a V6 Firebird and add the LS1 and T56? What would be the downsides to this in performance and comfort? Do the V6s have a different chassis or anything that I couldn't change? The suspension will most likely be entirely replaced with aftermarket things, so that doesn't matter too much.

Can I convert an older 94-97 Trans Am to the 98-02 version? The reason I ask this is that the older ones are much cheaper, like 4000 vs 8000 for similar miles and condition in my area. Same questions as for the V6.

1965GP

iTrader: (2)

I would stay away from a V6- you would be giving up the better brakes. You can convert an LT car but if you take the price of the LT car, motor/trans, the LS K member, LS sheetmetal, and LS brakes you will probably come out ahead just buying the LS car. Not go mention labor which doesn't seem like an issue at the beginning of a build but can be at the end.

You can get into a 98 or 99 for around 6k. It may be worth looking at getting an A4 and doing an M6 swap though.

Hope this helps.

NC01TA

Pouring serious money into a V6 car borders on insane when there are so many nice modded LS1 cars already available for prices under $10,000. I'm not talking about beaten up, ultra high mileage cars either as I would never recommend one to anyone. Take a look at the 'What's It Worth' section to see what I am talking about. Owners can't sell their cars for the life of them. I bet if you contact a few of these owners you may be able to work out something. Good luck!

bigj2717

iTrader: (15)

This is not true 98-02 cars all have the same brakes.

To the OP like everyone else is saying clean ls cars are so cheap no a days just look around for the one you want and get it. There is not point in buying a car you don't want then putting tons of money in to it just to make it a car you could have bought cheaper

gocartone

iTrader: (4)

It would cost more to swap an LS1 in a V6, just buy an LS1. You can get pretty nice ones for $6k, they are worth every penny.

Metal Muscle

Ok, so no V6, and no LT1. Why do you suggest the auto to manual switch? I do know that the autos are much more common, and seem to be a bit less money for the same condition. What do you think of the Tremec T56 Magnum auto to manual kit? Link here,

http://www.americanpowertrain.com/T56-Magnum.html

I'm planning on beefing up the engine a bit, probably to ~500 horsepower, but I wouldn't mind more if it was not too much more difficult than the stuff I'm already planning on. I want a lot of torque too. Should I stroke it for that, and if so, what's the best stroker kit? What's the best cam/head combo that optimizes both high and low end power? I hear also that some intakes rob low end power. Are there any that definitely don't? What's the best type of headers and exhaust for the type of power I want?

1965GP

iTrader: (2)

My bad- I thought V6 cars had smaller brakes.

Only reason I suggest the M6 swap is that recently M6 cars seem to be pulling significantly more$$ than autos and there are plenty of clean autos within a reasonable $ amount.

JrodCamaro

x2 on that. I was looking for a car for almost a month, found a 00 79k miles a4 for 7500, ended up getting a 99 m6 105k for 8200. I ran into plenty of these scenarios but can't remember them all off the top of my head. Just that one because I really liked it and considered doing a swap, but it wasn't a ws6 so went against it. If it were 2 months ago I could have plenty of cars for you to look at. Check cars.com autotrader.com your local craigslist wheels4you if there's one near you, the smaller used car lots, and local paper. There's many sources just do your research. From what you say sounds like you know what you're doing and what to look for. Good luck and keep us updated

Oh and PLEASE get rid of that GT