Just wondering what can be achieved out of a 3rd gen f-body and a lump sum of around 5 grand , I currently own a 91 nissan 240sx with a SR20DET engine swapped into it. It's about a high 13second(low 14's on a crappy day) as is. I was wondering what a 3rd gen F-body can achieve given the same budget my car has been given. It's been a while since i've brushed up on any domestic knowledge , most my knowledge of domestic vehicles reside on fords , but buying a foxbody mustang is becoming hard (resale value up the ***) And i was thinking of buying a selling my car , due to how hard it is to find parts mainly (it would be nice if i could just go upto any autoparts store and walk out with a new part that will cost anywhere from 1/3 to 1/5 of that of a import part). I was leaning towards a modded LT1 (i've driven a friends 4th gen lt1 , what a blast, i love the lowend grunt of a larger displacement domestic v8 , and his car gets pretty decent gas mileage too , not far off from what my 4cyl powered car gets.) Here are pictures of my 240sx: http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/slvrfoci/RMS13/
The engine when it arrived: http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/slvrfoci/SR20/
Here are just some of the parts i had to special order: http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/slvrfoci/SR20parts/
http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/slvrfoci/srparts/
http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/slvrfoci/oilpan/ (And no i don't read japenese)
Here is the ****box finished up: http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/slvrfoci/finished/

 

I smell forced induction.

 

Yeah it is a factory turbocharged engine , out of the japenese counterpart.

 

No, I mean that's what you should use the $5000 for on the third-gen.

Okay, just so we're clear -- you're thinking of purchasing a third-generation Camaro or Firebird, right? You know those don't have LT1's, right? You haven't bought the car yet, have you? What kind of budget are you looking at to purchase the car, before you spend the $5000 to modify it?

Third gens have several different engines. I don't know much about them, except that there are 305's and 350's, and that there are TONS of mods you can do.

$5000 could have you in the 11's without nitrous very easily.

-Jake

 

Just to give you guys a rundown , Here is what would happen if my starter failed or started to go bad , #1 i'd have to shell out around 700+ dollars for a new one . #2 i'd have to wait who know's how long for it to come in (Because they are backordered from nissan motorsports) #3 i'll have loads of fun installing it due to how little space i have to work with (will most likely need a lift). Now if my alternator went out , i'd have to spend who know's how long calling importers just to source one out. Their are some parts that are cross refrenceable.

 

Yes i'am aware of what 3rd gen cars came with , that's why i was planning on buying a older berlinetta and swapping a LT1 into it. (Possibly building it up before dropping it in) I was just wondering what can be thrown in the bag for 5grand. What kind of windows are open for that kind of figure. Would a LS1 swap be viable for that kind of budget ?

 

LS1 swap on a pre-'96 car involves a lot of electronics work, which would really suck. You'd eat up a lot of your budget just making the engine work.

If you want to know what you can do to an LT1 for five grand, this should probably be in the LT1 tech forum. The guys there will know what you want to know.

 

I'am no stranger to electrical work, but thanks for the advice i will look into the LT1 forum , and also look more into the 3rd gen Ls1 swap

 

usually just buying an ls1 motor will consume the entire budget
lt1's arent nearly as expensive, thats where i would go

if u find a car with an l98 engine, (350 tpi) dont bother with an lt1, u can better use the 5 grand on that engine

if u want a stick shift, u will have to settle for a 305tpi, because the tranny only takes 300lbsft

gforce transmissions has a kit to upgrade the t5 tranny to 600hp roughly
thats a grand

if u figure lt1 with a stick shift the cost is estimated at 3 grand

i dont know about you
but i always go over budget
so theres your 5 grand

if you're fine with automatic
get an 88 or later z28/iroc with the l98 motor and u have a very good start
3 grand on suspension and the remaining 2 grand on cam and heads, mayube a shift kit
once again over estimate, because i always go overbudget

then u have a nce 13 second car, depending on cam and heads maybe better

 

I just don't understand the fasination with doing LT1 swaps. There is a lot of money that has to be spent on this convertion that could be put into HP mods. on the "standard SBC".
If it were me I would either do the LS1/2/6 swap or get a 3th gen with the 350ci motor and mod it. For 5g's you could end up with a very nice carb'ed 383, in the 400+ hp range, or the LS1 swap that could be mod'ed later.

 

I was thinking about that as well , finding a 4bolt 350 block , and using that as a foundation to build upon. Needless to say , for 5grand i'd expect my domestic powered f-body to be faster then what i have now (13's will not cut it) my car is a high 13sec car the way it sits now , and i'd be expecting more bang for the buck out of a domestic platform.

 

For your requirement it may be easier to just find a nice 12sec. 3rd Gen. that some one else has already done and buy it.

 

I'd prefer not to mess with a car that has already been modified.

 

What's your budget to buy the car in the first place?

 

I didn't realize how expensive it just to do simple general maintenance on some of the Japanese cars. As for your quest for an f-body, you are better off finding a car with a good platform already in it, whether it be a 350TPI or LT-1 equipped. Engine swaps are cool, but they break the bank really fast, and for 5000.00, that will get eaten up quickly.