dnc

I'm thinking about buying my friends IROC-Z Camaro, I think its an '87. I don't know much about it right now except for the fact that its a 355c.u motor with a 5 speed in it.. I'm not sure how to attach pictures into the posts, so if anybody could help me out that would be nice.

I would like to start working on the car's suspension, etc.. can anybody suggest some best bang for the buck mods that I should take care of right away? I'd like to be as efficient with my expenditures as possible . I do plan on turbo/supercharging it later on, are there any good kits out there right now?

And thanks for any info..

91-Z28-L98

We need more information before we can help you out. Assuming it really is a 355 with a 5 speed tranny, either the tranny or the engine is not stock. That means we cannot make any assumptions as to what kind of fuel system you are running (carb, throttle body injection, port injection).

As far as cheap tricks that will work with all three, I believe advancing the timing is one. You will need a timing light to do this. 12 degrees above top dead center seems to be accepted as a safe level of advancement. If you want to spend a little more money, exhaust upgrades will always work. Just make sure that all your new bends are mandrel bent. The stock over-the-axle crush bent pipe is pretty restrictive compared to the rest of the exhaust system.

If you want to do suspension, from what hear (2nd and 3rd hand knowledge) is that the rear lower control arms are crap. Replacing them will help you launch. Also, sub-frame connectors also help stabilize the body a lot. I don't hear about people getting a lot of performance gains from spring or shock upgrades except for getting a new rear spring set for drag racing. You can get the car lowered for the look if you want.

Thats about all I have

dnc

Here are pics of the car I''m thinking about getting.. its a 5.7L v8 bored out to a 355.. it was originally a 5.0L motor i'm 99% sure.. it came with the original 5 speed (which I think is a t-5). My biggest thing is I'm going to work on suspension on it, can someone refer to me some good companies? I'm more of a mustang guy, and not to sound newbish, but I'm assuming there are a few companies that make good parts for the camaro?

My other question is.. I know its a 350, but is it a L98>? And what makes an L98 so special from a regular 350? If there are any differences to begin with.

http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=front4iu.jpg

http://img113.imageshack.us/my.php?image=engine7dw.jpg

sparafucile17

dnc, if you are new to Camaro's then I'd suggest you take a look at the following site:

http://www.f-body.org/tech/tech.htm

It should have a lot of the technical detail you're looking for. But as far as the 350 goes.... The L98 means that it is a 350 block with TPI induction. Since the pics you've shown clearly uses an aftermarket carb, I don't think you''ll know if it was originally a L98.

There should be little to no difference in say a standard off the shelf 350 block and a L98 block. Again the difference is only the intake. A stock TPI was claimed by GM to have 20hp gain over carb intake and was therefore the desired stock engine. In fact, in mid to late 3rd gen Camaro 350's would only come with a TPI and dropped the carb option.

2000GTP

For your parts needs, this is where I picked up alot of stuff for my 88 Formula, www.hawksthirdgenparts.com

91-Z28-L98

Looks to me like most of the cheap performance upgrades (and even some more expensive ones) have already been done for you. If I were you, I would figure out what you have first, then figure out what you want to do with it. You obviously have aftermarket carb, headers, and probably intake manifold too. The heads look painted, so if they are stockers I would imagine they have been ported.

iansane

Depends on what part your looking at as to what would work the best. If you're wanting to go through the suspension the best way to start off is just good tires. Then shocks/struts. Do this at the same time you rebuild the front suspension with poly bushings (swaybar, end lick, a-arm, etc), solid tie rod adjusting sleeves, tie rods, centerlink, etc. Then plan on stiffening. Make sure you've got a wonderbar, look into subframe connectors, even a strut tower brace.

Above all, don't just slap on cool name parts. Do some research as to what a part may do for you or how you can make your car do what you want it to.

CrazyHawaiian

What kind of racing do you plan to do? Straight line or twisties?

fratsit

Get a good set of subframe connectors first and foremost. It will stiffen the ride and reduce rattles.

A great site for 3rd gen tech is this one and www.thirdgen.org

Try www.spohn.net for all of your suspension needs.

And like CrazyHawaiian asked.....decide what type of racing, if any, you are wanting to do.

If you are planning on adding a turbo/supercharger you will definately want to stiffen up the chasis.....IE subframe connectors, strut tower brace, wonder bar. Chasis flex will kill your times as well as permenantly flex the car over time. You can start to see your doors no longer aligning and your rear quarter panel strating to wrinkle in extreme cases.

Like others have stated a front end rebuild, shocks and struts are great places to start.

In my opinion Steve Spohn is the best.

I am not aware of anyone who makes a dedicated turbo kit for the 3rd gen. For a centrifigal blower....stay the hell away from the Paxton ball drive blowers (SN series). I bought one in 1996 and have had it rebuilt twice. Paxton sold off the rights to the SN blowers and no longer make them, but they are still avail on EBAY.

ATI Prochargers are great as are Vortecs. I would choose the ATI over Vortec. The ATI is self contained while the Vortec requires tapping the oil pan for lube. ATI come standard with intercoolers while Vortecs dont for the 3rd gen. Also Tenacious performance has a dual intercooler option for 3rd gen. Look at the Power Adder section on thirdgen.org for more info.

Hope this helps,

Frat

Runin2Nite

sweet ride man....where u from. i agree having a t-top car myself sub fram conectors are a must. and if it really is a 355 i'll put money on it that u'll twist that chasie or bend it a good amount with out the sfc. as far as mods how about spray??? cheap thrills. does that motor have forged int.?