first off, i previously owned a 1999 z28 (no mods) and a 2001 corvette (again, no mods). i was considering purchasing a new c6 vette when they're available, but then i'm stuck with a large payment, and a car that i wouldn't feel right about mod'ing.

so, i've got this idea of purchasing a camaro and playing around with it. at this point i'm just curious where would be a good starting point? my initial preference is a 1999 (or newer) model - as i like the hood and color matched mirrors (although those could be changed i guess). i'm not stuck on 1999, just a thought.

the car will be a weekend driver, mainly for cruising the texas hill-country, so the handling has to be excellent. i also want to be able to take 'most' people from stop-light to stop-light, and at least be respectable against those i cant, specifically ricers and mustang-svt's.

this might be a dumb question, but should i start with a z28/ss, or go with a base v6 and drop a new engine in it? that might also require a new tranny and rear-end though, right? i figure eventually i may be looking at those anyway though...

a friend of mine said 'drop a 502 ram jet in it'... to which i replied 'umm, that wont meet emissions, and wont fit anyway...' i'm kind of fond of the 427 number though... is a 427ci engine possible starting with an ls1, and if so at what cost?

i've been checking out the web and reading most of the threads on this forum for a while now, i was going to write up a more technical 'what do you think about this setup' article, but i don't have it all figurued out, and i'm not sure i'd be starting in the right place. instead i tought i'd try to state what i was trying to do, and see what you all came up with.

my rough budget is 20-25k over the next 2 years (including the car). i'll have to pay someone to do most of the work, as i dont have the tools (or possibly the skill) to do the work myself. i'm probably in the 3 to 6 month range before actually buying the base car.

and no, i dont want to buy an already modded car.


- luminblade

 

A 502 will fit into a 4th gen, but it takes alot of work and convincing. A LS1 can be stroked into a 427 CID motor, but it isn't cheap. I'd say to invest in a nice, low mileage LS1 car (98-2002), I'd look for an 01-02 for the LS6 intake. Do some bolt-ons and a nitrous kit. When you blow it up in a few years, throw in a 382 stroker kit and have some more fun.