That's all I needed to know...

 

to fix the dogginess of most third gens you simply swap out a $200 set of gears make loads of difference then if you want more add some engine power then if you want it to really go beef up the transmission . . . seems quiet simple to me . . .

My 92' had 3.23 gears i went to 3.73's car got way way better performance also gained a few MPG's as it wasn't lugging any more

Mike

 

dunno bout you but my formula came with 3.45's and never had an issue with "lugging".

 

3.45s ? . . . ya mean 3.42s ? . . . anywho 3.2 to 3.4 with car tires is a decent amount of gear change ya know, So of course you car would perform different then mine

I jumped down to 3.73's and loved them I highly recommend this gear ratio for the 3rd Gen's . . .


Mike

 

No. 3.45:1 ratio. It's a 9 bolt.

Educate yourself on the vehicle before forming an opinion.

 

3.73 ratio with my stick would be a waste with my .73 final. 3.55 would do me better with the current case being it has a .63 final. with the first statement i was almost approaching the needing another gear area.

 

I have a 84 Z/28 that I have riped all the stock crap off. I installed new intake/carb/dist. We insalled 4.11's with a locker. I still have the 700r4. Took it out yesterday for the first time and at 50 dropped it down and it was going side ways quick. You have to remember how much the cars weight to. They are the heaviest camaro made. my 84 weighs 3500lbs and the 79z/28 weight just at 3000.

 

The 67-69 were the lightest, with the 3rd gens right behind them. The 2nd and 4th gens were the heaviest. The only way your 79 is at 3000lbs is if you managed to pull over 300lbs from it.

My 85 on a 4 corner scale came in at 3280. That's with iron heads, subframe connectors, 17" wheels, and no weight reduction.

 

As others said, for the time, these engines weren't bad.

My dad has a stock 1989 L98 GTA that ran a 14.9 @ 91 mph with my brother behind the wheel, who had never been to a drag strip. It was his first run of the evening. I'd be willing to bet that in the hands of a more experienced racer, this car could have probably eeked out a 14.70 or so.

 

Thread resurrection in progress.......

My bone stock 117k 1989 GTA just last week did a 14.8@94.65 with a 2.09 sixty in 1750 DA off an idle launch on street tires. If i can Nail a 1.8x sixty with my drags, it could be a 14.2-14.4.

Theres nothing wrong with these old cars.

 

I have an all original 85 iroc z. 305 lb9. The 85 305's were 215 hp. the peanut cam was introduced in 86. with the 700r4 and 3.42 gears it has no problem melting the tires. The car might be a little disappointing at the track but is fun on the street. These cars are NOT heavy either. My 86 monte carlo ss is a heavy car.

 

Case in point,

My 1977 Chevy Camaro LT ran a best of 17.9 seconds at 79.9 MPH.

My 2001 Chevy Venture minivan runs 17.80 at 81.1 MPH.

My '84 Trans Am with 305 H.O. ran a stock ET of 15.35 at 91 MPH.

The '85 IROC with 305 TPI ran 14.8 seconds at about the same MPH.

The 1993 Camaro Z28 with the then-new LT1 350 would run 14.0 seconds at 99 MPH.

The 1998 Camaro Z28 with the new LS1 was a stock 13.2 second car at 105 MPH.

Each and every car on that list had better and better emissions, performance, and fuel mileage as time went on and technology progressed. The reason we now consider the third-gens 'dogs' is because of hindsight which is colored by our being surrounded by what is probably the true 'golden age' of the internal combustion engine. Going back to the mid-1980's, the TPI IROC, the H.O. Trans Ams and Z28's, they had unparalleled handling capabilities and performance that was as good as anything built since 1974.