mustang guy thinking about getting a camaro... convince me!

I currently have a 88 LX 5.0... I love it more then anything else i own. It's ran a best of 12.9 in the 1/4 mile (previous owners time).
If you wanna check it out: http://www.cardomain.com/id/speedadikted

Anyway, I think I'm gonna have to sell it. I dont want to, but I can afford to fix it all the time. I dont wanna come here saying fords are crap, theyre good cars... it's just so hard finding a clean fox anymore :(


Aaaaanyway... My stang is pretty fast, so naturally I'm gonna want another fast car. Right now I'm pretty much set on a 3rd gen fuel injected camaro. now I got some questions for the experts:

How much will it cost me to get a clean 3rd gen? I want one with a 350. Is this hard to find?

Knowing that all the 350s came with autos... how hard/expensive is a 5spd swap?

Can the heads/intake be ported as easily as the ford 302 motors? How much does a decent port job usually cost?

And what are the biggest bang for you buck mods that people usually do first? Kinda stuff I could do with the money I'll have left over after selling my stang, and buying a clean camaro

thanks a lot guys :metal:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SpeedAdikted


How much will it cost me to get a clean 3rd gen? I want one with a 350. Is this hard to find?

Depends on the year. Get an 88+ for better parts
90+ if you want speed density.
$5000-$6000 for a real nice one with good options

Knowing that all the 350s came with autos... how hard/expensive is a 5spd swap?

get a t56 out of a 93-97 4th gen. Direct bolt in to the motor and cross member. Pedals obviously are more fun since the car was orginally an auto


Can the heads/intake be ported as easily as the ford 302 motors? How much does a decent port job usually cost?

tpi=no
heads=yes
sell the tpi on ebay for $400 and buy a stealth ram for $450 unless you need egr
ported heads cost $400+


And what are the biggest bang for you buck mods that people usually do first? Kinda stuff I could do with the money I'll have left over after selling my stang, and buying a clean camaro


log manifolds suck worse then the mustangs. ditto on the rest of the exhaust.
Make sure you get one with 3.23/3.27 gears or better

Originally posted by Aaron91RS
[QUOTE]Originally posted by SpeedAdikted
[B]
Depends on the year. Get an 88+ for better parts
90+ if you want speed density.
$5000-$6000 for a real nice one with good options


holy $hit.... i was thinking 3000-4500 maybe

mine was in excellent condition (one small ding on the drivers side) and it was $4900.....with 62,000 miles on it.

I don't get it

you have to get rid of it because of the cost of fixing it



3rd gen f-body cars aren't any cheaper than a mustang to fix



so if thats the only reason I would say keep your mustang and fix it


but if you were to say that you are tired of the body style and working on fords and wanted something else

then yes sell the ford and buy what ever you want


I just think it would be cheaper to fix what you already have and I see lots of used mustang parts even if you have to go back to a stock engine

You can get third gen from 300-10000 dollars. There was a guy in my town selling a pretty nice 454 5 speed third gen for 1,800 yeah that hauled. I paid 2,800 for my 1991. I am currently building a 1991 LX and a 1991 RS. I like the RS but the LX is pretty darn lite. The only problem is the LX is built pretty cheap. Alot of sound deadener and padding. Not to mention the non adjustable steering wheel. Getting them to run 12.9's is pretty darn easy with gears and posi.

As the previous owner of an 89' LX 5.0L hatch, all I can say is that the difference is night and day. My Camaro is such a better built car. Yes it was slower to start with, yes it is heavier - but I feel safer in it and it stops and handles so much better.

There are deals to be had on clean 5.7L cars - you would just have to be patient and willing to wait for the right deal to come along. If you feel the need to move on to the next car - by all means go for it.

thanks for the replies so far, guys


now back to modding....

I understand that is is more expensive to get these things to go fast... But how much more?

Lets say I got full exaust, head/ intake port job, and a better cam... How fast would I be going?

I don't get it

you have to get rid of it because of the cost of fixing it

3rd gen f-body cars aren't any cheaper than a mustang to fix

so if thats the only reason I would say keep your mustang and fix it

What I mean is, my particular mustang breaks down alot. The body has been through a ton of abuse. The previous owner had it running 11's at the track when it had a supercharger... So yea, its been beat up quite a bit and likes to squeak a lot. The motor has less then 65k on it, though... aaanyway... I figure if I'd still have about $1000 difference from selling my mustang and using the money to buy a camaro, then I'd be willing to get a camaro. That $1000 would help me get going fast again