I'm going to get my hands on some cash in a few months. I want to buy a car that has good potential to mod and make into at LEAST a 12-13 second car. I'm pretty well versed in chevy's but I still have a few questions.

1.What 3rd gen's are good and what should I stay away from? I know the ones with the 305's are pretty anemic and not worth the effort (no offense to 305 guys)

2.Does an older 350 have the same potential as the newer lt1's and ls1's? I know the ls1 is the pinnacle of that engine's performace to this date. lt1's fall along the same lines but they're not as good out of the box because the LS1's come with higher compression. (I may be a little off here but that's my understanding)

3.How is the dependability of the 3rd gen's? I always liked the look of them but I know late 80's and early 90's chevys have their issues. Electrical being the biggest one I've encountered with my 87 and 91 blazers.

The biggest thing the 3rd gen's have going for them is price. You can pick one up for at least 3-4 grand less than an lt1 (we dont even discuss ls1 here) prices.

If anyone could offer some advice I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

If you like the looks and that is the car you want, then isn't it worth it? I wanted a Hot Rod. I remember growing up ie.. born 1980.. And when I was younger I remember Seniors in High School and Some guys In college running around in those fast awesome looking 3rd gens, from the TA's to the Firebirds, to the my ever favorite T-top Iroc. So when I decided to ditch the superlow 383 Chevy 1500 pickup I decided to get a 3rd gen camaro. Something good and sturdy to handle all future modifications. I knew Michigan wouldn't be the place so I looked elsewhere. Finally after two months searching on www.autotrader.com I found a guy in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who had 3 Irocs, 85,86,87.. The 85 was black and ran good but the whole interior was trashed and t-tops leaked profusily.. The 87 was burgandy T-tops leaked and was owned by someone who wanted to redo the car themselves and thus much of it was hacked up, and the car had a really weird ride. The 86 was bone stock, 305 Fully loaded, paint was faded, it was a 305 TPI, the interior was dirty but intact, the ride was good, and the car overheated a little, I drove non stop from Detroit, to Tulsa and test drove all three picked the one I liked the most.. The 86 I figured out that the fans weren't kicking on so I ran a hot to them from the battery and pulled out the fog lights and she ran good all the way home.. Picked the car up for $2050 flat. I'm not saying that there are deals like this everywhere, but you can find them.. 46k original miles, I drove home took to the track she was running 15.6's connsistenly. I had the 700r-4 rebuilt with double clutches hardend gears and sprag. New corvette servo's.. and a 2400-2800 Torque convertor and she dropped to 15.4's connsistently. I pulled the 305 out, Sold the TPI and the hood, fenders , rear, Engine Crossmember. I then bought Spohn Subframes 185.00, S&W 10 pnt roll cage 160.00, LPW Axle Tube girdle and brace kit 300.00, LCA Brackets from Spohn 65.00, Fiberglass fenders and hood 450.00, 97 35th anniversary Rear with 3.42 Eaton Posi, Discs, with PBR Calipers 250.00, Now I'm building a 400 SBC to go into her. I love my car.. Her t-tops, Her red Color, Her Jet black Interior, Her wide stance, for me This is MY HOT ROD!!! You Might incounter some electrical nightmares, but they do make whole wiring harnesses. I am using a whole different intake and fuel management system so none of that mattered to me, just that all lights worked and guages.. As long as there wasn't anything major, like glass or rust, or dents and the majority of the car was there I had no problems...

 

Im selling a SWEET, 89 iroc with an lt1 in it. Email me if your interested i need money for school quick.

3rd gens are good cars, some have paint issues and door lock issues but over all there good cars just have to remeber they are getting older and older everyday and you have to ceap up with the maintnace to make them last. I love both my cars (ones my dads now) and i have to sell the other one.

 

For the price you can pick up a good mileage 3rd gen Camaro for, hell yes they're good cars to hot rod. And yes, some did have paint issues. Like the '88 IROC I'm selling. It has 40,000 miles but the roof and hood are faded pretty bad. I thought about hotrodding it myself, but since I already have 3 vehicles, I'd rather put the money I make from selling the IROC into my Vette.

 

Thanks for the responses. Keep in mind I'm not looking for a 3rd gen now. I'm just wieghing my options. I dont have the $$ yet anyway

How expensive are parts? For instance, if I wanted to buy a pre-built block from say summit for example how much would something like that run? I'm talking arriving in a crate ready to be mated with the tranny...

I DO love the look of the 3rd gen's. Problem is I want something that has good potential too.

I have a 98 Dodge Avenger. Waaaay slow out of the box. So I turbocharged it. Once I get it intercooled I'll be doing around 250hp at the crank I'm guessing. Not too bad for 140hp stock. That's not exactly crazy speed but I can bet you I'll smoke alot of other cars out there. It's not the fastest by any means. It's heavy and a 4 banger for God's sake.

Anyway, I want something that has so much power it's hard to drive in the rain if that gives you an idea of what I'm looking for. Cost effectivness would be good as well. I could go buy an LT1, slap some juice on it and run 13's but I'd rather do it all motor.

That brings up another question. How do these cars handle forced induction? I know the LT1's handle nitrous great. They dont seem to like turbo's and superchargers as much. At least not like those damn mustangs do...

 

if your going to mod one, look for one with the work done properly and stick to that..........a hell of alot cheaper.

i had roughly 12,000 into mine between what i paid for it and my first few mods to make it run low 13's on street tires. the top speed was evident alone of low 12's with someone who knew what they were doing and had some good traction.

for example there is a nice formula for sale here in michigan on the board for around 5,000 and it's alot faster....

it pays to search, especially if your not in a hurry.

 

Well, I'm definetly searching. I've checked alot of the boards and I think I'm sticking with Chevy. I just wish those damn mustangs werent so cheap. I owned an 89 and it was a mess. I'm afraid to buy another fox body after that one. Seems all the old ones have been hammered on something fierce.

I'd love to get an LS1 but they're just too expensive now. I'd like to keep my budget 6,000 or under once I'm in the position to buy a car.

I've heard horror stories about 80's trans ams too. I know 3 separate people on a personal basis who's TA's just caught on fire and burned to the ground. Imagine spending all that time and money into a car and having it burn.

 

Anyway, I want something that has so much power it's hard to drive in the rain if that gives you an idea of what I'm looking for.


if you want something hard to drive in the rain then a 3rd gen f-body is just what your looking for.

 

.... what should I stay away from? I know the ones with the 305's are pretty anemic and not worth the effort (no offense to 305 guys)

I couldn't agree more. Only an idiot would spend time and money on a worthless "anemic" 305.... Then again, call me an idiot....

 

Never said that the 305 guys are idiots. If anything getting one of those into the 12's starting with what, 180 hp from the factory? That's quite good.

Neeeevvver called 305 guys idiots though.

 

Cheap is cheap but you pay for what your get. Since you're looking for a car to hop up, find one that the body is in good shape. Expect to pay more for this car reguardless of the powertrain. If you buy a rust bucket, you'll spend twice as much to fix it up if it's even worth fixing the rust.

For an all out race car, find one with a blown engine, tranny, diff etc since you'll probably change it all anyway.

Don't expect to get a lot of performance out of the factory parts. GM hasn't made performance production parts since the early 70's. It costs more to modify or change parts for more performance than it is to just buy a crate engine.

 

Neeeevvver called 305 guys idiots though.

I know you didn't. I used the term sarcastically and was referring to myself, no one else. One thing that's impossible to do is to show inflection via words.... my fault.

When my car was stock, it ran a best of 15.91 @ 83 mph. I've taken nearly four seconds off since. I'd like to see any L98, LT1 or LS1 owner be able to say they've improved their times by four seconds. The potential to build a 305 is there. However, for the same amount of $$$, you can start with a 350 and gain more. I've known this all along. So why did I build a 305, you ask? Simple. Not too many out there. I get my satisfaction by blowing away all the "big boys". It is so satisfying to be able to say, "It's 'only' a 305."

The Super Chevy Show was in town this past weekend. As far as Camaros are concerned, did most of the crowd hang around the LT1/LS1 cars? No. Most of them were hanging around my car. They were interested in how I was able to turn a 305 into a bonafide daily-driven, emissions-legal 12 second car.

My point is not to rule out buying a car because it's "only" a 305. They have plenty of potential.

Willie

 

if you are looking at crate motors then the 3rd gen is going to be your best bet. Any SBC (or a BBC if you wanna do some manipulating with a hammer) will fit into these cars.

Don't think that just b/c they aren't the powerhouse that the LS1 is that they less worthy of the work that you will put into it. Plus you're planning on swapping the motor out anyways so whats it matter

I love the look of a nice clean 3rd gen over just about any other gen (exception being the 1st gens ) Stick around here and you will learn a ton about these cars. I love my Z28 and I've put a ton of time and effort and money into it, but yes its an old car and things break *cough rear end just broke on mine* But when something like that breaks, you just have to go out and find something that will handle the power better..... I'm going w/ a 9 bolt

good luck on your search, be patient and the right deal will come your way

 

you can drop crate motors in there. basically any gen 1 small block. and you know there are a lot of fast ones in other older cars

 

Anyone know what good the frame is worth? Someone said that you risk racking the frame on a T-Toped car with more then 500HP....any truth to this?