Just bought a 1994 z28. Wondering what I should do first. I have about 4000 grand to spend on it, so its a decent amount. There isnt any engine work done to the car yet, all stock. Also the guy has a hypertech programer hes giving me...what will that add to the car? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Start by adding bolt ons, which will add some power now and eliminate bottleneck for future work. You could start with a cold air intake, 1.6 roller rockers, headers, a high flow cat, and a catback exhaust. When your ready to get your hands a little dirtier, go with a cam and ported heads.

 

Is it manual or auto? I'd start out with cold air intake, borla exhaust, and headers. Find out the gear ratio, cause you'll probably wanna change the gears in the rearend if they haven't been already. You can use that hypertech to correct the speedometer after the gear change. If it's an auto, get a performance torque converter. You'll want better tires if you go to the track, and then a bigger cam. Shop around and it should be in your budget.

 

best place to start on an LT1 is with a cold air intake. As said above look at headers (big gain), gears, 1.6rr (not technicly (sp?) a bolt-on, touches engine oil), if it's an auto a tourqe converter, tons of lesser stuff to do. Welcome to the board.

 

4000 grand to spend on it?
that equates to what, 4 mill

 

First time out to the track with my wife's stock '95 convertible I ran a best of 14.9, and a mph of 97.XX. Added the mods in my sig and ran the new time in my sig. Knocked off almost a full second. If I had gotten more time at the track that day I probably would have gotten a 13.99X. So my advice would be to start with similiar things.

 

BTW, I ran those new times on Nitto's. The best I got on a regular radial was 14.36, and a 98.XX mph. Sticky tires are a wonderful thing!

 

Sorry...my car is a manual. My original plans where to go with edelbrok long tubes, cutouts and a borla exhaust. Also how many cutouts do I need, just before I invest. Thanks for all the help so far. Also I wanna do as much work as I can, me and my friend put my exhaust on my old car, but how hard is it to replace headers, if anyone has any experience. Thanks

 

Before you spend yopur money, think about what your goals and priorities are for the car, and try to be realistic.

A 1994 LT1 may need some attention in terms of basic plugs, plug wires, cleaning of electrical connections and contacts...

Depending on miles and use/abuse, suspect items may include window and door switches, power window motors, u-joints, optispark, valvesprings, rear end, tie rods.

Make sure you cover the basics before you go for the fun stuff.

Do you have emissions in your area? If so, long tubes will be a hassle you you need to decide if the performance gains are worth it.

I didn't install long tubes until I did the stroker. I had Edelbrock shorties and picked up a full mile per gallon on the road and two miles an hour at the track. If you do the same, get them coated if you want them to last a long ime.

Get really good plug wires so they don't burn due to higher underhood temps from the headers and get some over the valve cover looms to make life more simple. Change the plugs when you do the headers, I use NGK TR55IX, the new irridium ones. They are supposed to last a long time like platimums but there are no "pucks" to fall off.

Subframe connectors are a good addition to stiffen up the fram if you plan on racing at all, and decent adjustable shocks in the front to facilitate weight transfer. If you plan on going to the track, drag radials will make life a lot easier.

A decent short throw shifter will make shifting easier, and a good cold air kit will definitely help out. A cat back will not add much power but it will add a nice sound to the car.

Beyond that it is really up to your taste and where you want to go with it. If you plan on adding a lot of power start a piggy bank because the rear will break and the clutch will need to be beefed up.

 

Well in reply too above, yeah I thought about some of those things. The guy I bought the car off of was the only owner and the car is in immaculate condition. From what he said he upgraded his plugs and wires, has new belts, whole new rear end even though the shop said it was fine and new optispark or fixed, i forget what he said about that. I took the car to the garage and they said they engine and the tranny where fine, but I need new front tires cause they wore wrong on the sides. If that helps any further. Thanks

 

I bought a 94 Z28 at the beginning of the summer I could run you by what I have done quickly:

For starters I made a trip to the track with my car 100% stock (and in need of a tune up) just to get a baseline run. if you're going to go all-out modding then I think you should do the same to keep track of your progress.

Over the summer I just did small and inexpensive things, mostly maintenance. Change air filter, oil, rad flush, etc.. However I also did a few mods. I started with cooling because this seemed to be an issue with my car (would heat up a bit in traffic) so I got a Hypertech 160 T-stat, SLP fan switch and also went and did the free throttle body coolant bypass mod. Car runs nice and cool now. Also speaking of free mods, I descreened and ported my MAF, and bought an untouched one to have lying around in case the sensor becomes damaged with time. Next year I will continue with the small tweaks, change the plugs & wires, and I want to install the cutout that I have although I'm not sure where I should put it. I'm thinikng of replacing my cat by the cutout since we don't have emissions checks here, and I would just be able to put my cat back on anyways in case. To answer your question you only need one cutout and people usually install it towards the rear of the exhaust pipe, right before the rear end. I also want a shifter (either B&M ripper or pro 5.0) and a set of DR's for the track. I want to see how my "budget racer" does next year compared to stock.


After all that, I also have more bolt-ons that I've bought. cold air induction is good (I have SLP, but you can buy any brand, just get whichever is cheaper, I'm sure it doesn't make that much of a difference) and I also just bought a set of hooker full length coated headers and a mufflex Y pipe (got long tubes because I will be getting heads & cam package later down the line). THere are always debates as to which headers are best, but I think it depends on the application, and since you say you have 4000$ to spend, I would just get full length headers now, or you might be kicking yourself later. you can also get a good cat back if you like.

After you've got the car breathing better, you can focuss on bigger things, I'm not there yet so thi is all I can help you with.

 

Always best to start with a plan. Write down what you intend to do with the car first, that will enable people to give you a better idea of how to properly spend your money.

 

Yeah track trips are in order me and my friend are going up...he has a mustang pretty nice, but not that fast. I think I am going to go to ATCO in nj or where ever it is, just gotta find out when I can go.

 

1. 1500$ Block build up, 1200$ heads/cam, long tubes, plugs wires, plugs, cat is prolly stopped up so might wanna work with that, the free stuff, throttle body, and gears.

2. 6 pound supercharger, headers, exaust.

Your call I would do all the maintence stuff first wires and such.

Zach

 

Well i would just do the basic bolt ons for now. CAI, Catback, headers, and along with that a good tune up. Then get used to your car a little bit. From there i would get some SFC's. They are a great mod. Once you get used to the car some get some heads/cam and a tune. Oh and make sure you got some good tires at this point.