What next?
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 36
From: North Carolina
What next?
I am getting back into working on my car after several years of rarely driving it and having no money to work on it. So I am looking for advice on which things to take care of first.
The car is a 1996 RS with an LT1 swap. Has a cc503 cam, Crane 1.6:1 rockers, pacesetter longtubes, !cats, borla catback, SLP cai, an initial tune from PCMforless, and a small stall (2500 I think).
That's that good - here's the not so good. It still has the open diff 3.08 rear end w/ drum brakes from the v6, still has the v6 shocks/springs out back, and still has 17x8 wheels on it. It has some blowby issues as well during wide open throttle and/or after coasting down after some hard driving - I will be putting a catch can on there which will hopefully solve this problem.
Basically where would you guys go from here?
I think the rear end is the most important piece right now, but what is the best way to do this - get a diff and gears or find a whole rear assembly to swap in? Is it worth the money to upgrade the brakes at all? I have been mostly thinking about suspension upgrades - springs/shocks, lcas, and subframe connectors. Maybe even swaybars. I feel like wider wheels are a must for the rear as well. And it needs a good dyno tune...
The donor car ran a 13.2 untuned - does this sound about right and/or does anyone have any guesses as to what the car may be capable of with a good tune and some 3.73s?
As you can probably tell, I get really overwhelmed when thinking about everything and can really use some advice/help as far as prioritizing everything.
Thanks in advance
The car is a 1996 RS with an LT1 swap. Has a cc503 cam, Crane 1.6:1 rockers, pacesetter longtubes, !cats, borla catback, SLP cai, an initial tune from PCMforless, and a small stall (2500 I think).
That's that good - here's the not so good. It still has the open diff 3.08 rear end w/ drum brakes from the v6, still has the v6 shocks/springs out back, and still has 17x8 wheels on it. It has some blowby issues as well during wide open throttle and/or after coasting down after some hard driving - I will be putting a catch can on there which will hopefully solve this problem.
Basically where would you guys go from here?
I think the rear end is the most important piece right now, but what is the best way to do this - get a diff and gears or find a whole rear assembly to swap in? Is it worth the money to upgrade the brakes at all? I have been mostly thinking about suspension upgrades - springs/shocks, lcas, and subframe connectors. Maybe even swaybars. I feel like wider wheels are a must for the rear as well. And it needs a good dyno tune...
The donor car ran a 13.2 untuned - does this sound about right and/or does anyone have any guesses as to what the car may be capable of with a good tune and some 3.73s?
As you can probably tell, I get really overwhelmed when thinking about everything and can really use some advice/help as far as prioritizing everything.
Thanks in advance
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 777
From: Massachusetts
Re: What next?
If it was my car the rear would have to go bye bye. You can pick up a complete rear to bolt right in with some 3.42's pretty cheap. You can swap the rear out in about two hors or less. Sub frame connectors are a must then LCA's. Don't forget some sticky tires, you can have all the horsepower in the world but what good is it if all you do is spin.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 9,507
From: Okemos, MI
Re: What next?
IMO: Subframe connectors first, then shocks and springs, then fix the blowby issue, then upgrade the front brakes (C5 or LS1), then upgrade the rear and put some wider wheels/tires on it, then LCAs and other suspension stuff.
