Ok Dans GTA is officially down for the season. I have put up with the intake coolant leak for too long and my left side header gasket was starting to need replacement anyway. So being as Ive wanted to do heads and a cam for like "ever" It is time. This will be a budget deal. Ok you can look at this as an experiment and maybe do something similar.

the stats---89 gta 350 104,000 on the clock. short block has maybe 30,000 the heads are clean but look like 104,000, 3.73 posi rear original.

the base performance mods allready done.... ok Ive allready done stuff so its not like this is a bone stock start from scratch kinda thing. I got headers, full custom exhaust all the way to the tips(header delete option). I ported and polished the plenum with nice results. I have an adjustable fuel regulator I made, and and msd blaster coil, I rerouted the coolant lines to the throttle body and fooled with some emissions stuff. I got a stage 3 jet chip which was the biggest wast of money but Ill keep it in there as its not worth my time to take it out.

the mods to come..... Ok Im almost done yanking the damn engine out (lots and lots and lots of crap hooked to the motor!! who needs engine mounts the crap alone could hold the motor in!! How many grounds does one engine need anyway!!!)
after it is out and on my new spiffy engine stand (there cheap nowadays!!) Im taking motor down to the short block which is kinda fresh anyways. Im going to port and polish the heads myself (any web sites you know of that show tips and tricks would be apreciated) I had great results when I did this to the intake plenum and expect great things here. After the reaming Im taking the heads to a machine shop to do a 3 way valve grind for 125.00 or so. THen Im buying a new cam set (one of those that comes with everything needed to do it for like 250.00 or so. and then getting a full gasket kit to button it up. While I got it out Im going to off the air pump (hate thaT damn thing!) . And do some pimping (red anodized paint on the valve covers and plenum).

current stats....... aquired by g tech

0-60 6.0ish
1/4 ---best ever--14.5

after all is done we shall see what these cheapo mods can do. Id like to be in the 13's. If this doesnt do it (I think it will) then the nitrous goes in next.

 

almost forgot. its got a 700r4 that was built for me like a year ago and it does a nice job of banging out the gears.

 

Can't hold out until M7 huh? If you ran it there, you would probaby get the best baseline run ever seen!

If yer taking votes, I say an LT1 intake swap and a CC306 Cam, and some cleaned up heads Then a 100 shot to top it off.

A cam kit might run you a little more than $250 also just for future info. My flat tappet kit(usually cheaper than roller kits) was over 450 and most roller kits are well beyond that.


COUGH COUGH!!Don't forget the 3200 stall!!COUGH!

CoughETSTREETScough!

I can see somethin like that going mid 11's if you don't soil yourself!!

 

The car is allready down (engine is allmost out) so m7 is out. Really I let this go as long as I could. I got the summer out of it and that was good enough for me. Lt1 swap is not happening as much as it sounds like fun. first off I dont have the cash and Im pretty happy with the tpi setup I have, actually I have a lot of time into it porting and polishing it as it is, id hate to not use it! The cam sets Ive seen in the jegs book seem to run the gambit price wise. Ill wait on a cam choice. I want to get the old one out and see where Im at. Truthfully I dont even know if its a roller motor or not. The last owner put the short block in it right before I bought it 2 years ago. And while its been a great engine I seem to be running into a roadblock performance wise at the heads if thats because of the cam or because of the heads I dont know but will find out. Im not looking for 11's; Id be happy with 13's all engine or 12's with nitrous.

Dan

 

http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.htm

http://cf.geocities.com/ecric22/page2/engine.html

 

I would really re-consider your options if you're going thru the trouble of taking the engine out and doing a complete overhaul.

What I am doing is on a budget, but will get me deep into the 12's on motor. My plan is as follows, prices included:

stock short block with 65,000 miles.= FREE

ZZ3 Cam from a brand new crate engine. Owner upgraded.= FREE

Vortec iron heads- used. = $250

Refresh heads with new springs to support higher lift and mill them to achieve 10-10.5:1 CR. = $250

Now i'm stuck between the RamJet intake and the Scoggin Dickey TPI base with AS&M runners and Extrude Honed plenum. I will do whatever is cost effective at the time. = $800-$1000

I am also having custom long tube headers built, along with a 3" Y-pipe to a 4" exhaust all the way back to a Spintech muffler.= $800-$1000

As far as programming, I am currently running a Z-Industries PROM that is by far the best PROM i've ever used. It was custom burned for a friends IROC, but so far has given me the biggest performance gain as far as PROMs are concerned. I know I'll have to have it custom programmed after mods... = $250

I know that you won't be able to come by the parts as cheaply as I have, but if you were to look around I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble finding them at affordable prices. I also have to go thru my 700R4 over winter, so that will cost another $500-$750.

All in all, i am looking at around $2500-$3000 for a solid 12 second combination. Who knows, it just may land me in the 11's, but thats a little skeptical at this point....

 

Im hoping to do the whole job for like 500.oo, I just dont have the cash right now to do anything more. Im not rebuilding the motor just cleaning up the heads, putting a cam in it and whatever else. Im not looking for a 12 second car frankly though maybe next year..... I almost have the engine out. everything is unhooked and the engine is on the chain the trans seems to be holding on to the engine though the torque converter is unhooked and so are all the bellhousign bolts. I got tires from screwing with it today so Ill let it go till tommorow for a re match.

Dan

 

engine is out.. the fun now begins.


dan