I will be buying a L98 third gen in the near future. I will be replacing the TPI with a Superram or Stealth Ram. Lets just say I am not mechanically inclined and I have no tools, so I'd rather have someone else do it. Any know of any good shops for 3rd gens? What have your expriences been with them?

 

Speed Demon can do it, I have seen them work on TPI cars. HPE should be able to do it as well, so can ICON. MTI wont touch it.

 

Do any of those shops have websites?

 

http://speeddemonmotorsports.com

http://www.iconautosports.com

http://www.horsepowerengineering.com

I have seen Chris work on TPI cars, HPE lists L98 stuff on their website, and ICON will work on any performance car.

 

Strickly Performance, I dont remember where it was at(West side of Houston, south of I-10 I remember that..) but they are very nice. Owner gave me a tour for about an hour...

Quoted me $2500 for a 383 stroker, where some ripoff shop quoted me $6000! (Cant remember the name but they had an 80's mustang race car outside and was over off of Harwin.)

 

Bumbears is off of 6? Only Strictly in Houston works on Mustangs and is off of I-45 near Hobby. The shop on Harwin your thinking about is Nathaniels, my friends old B4C was built by them back in the mid/late 90s. I saw a black Z28 just like yours the other day, cant remember were but it was exactly like yours, wheels and all, looked like it needed to be washed.

 

Yeah that was my roomate driving it. I never drive it. Just got back from the mexican border. It snowed down there waaay worse than here lol!(I cant believe it, it NEVER snows there) Car looked like a turd. And dont blame me for those rims. You can thank Mr. Larry Dunlap for those(original owner) What was he THINKING?(On the other hand a co-worker loves'e and wants'em but no $$$ )

I HATE those freakin rims but had to spend some go-fast money and tons of small stuff first because that car was slooooooooooooow. Got like $2K+ in parts sitting in my room and all over the place ready to go on just no time....

 

No this was definately over here on the west side. Strictly Performance if I remember the name correctly....it should be listed. I may be confused since I visited a lot of shops though...
He just bought his son a red low-mile (sub 20K) 4th gen Camaro, had a little white chevette with a Vortec(non LSx) V6 pushing 300 hp N.A. with a 200-300 shot on top of that. Plus a couple dragsters he was working on, and there was a Red? C5 parked outside which was the owner's. If any of that helps you figure out which one it is....

I just liked the place because of their customer service. I told him I was on "X" budget and he showed me how he could get me my 383 in a number of different ways...

Not dissing Nethaniels(that was the name, yes) or anything but just not the kind of service I was looking for. I felt rushed. At the other place he took lots of time to plan things with me and showed me pretty much every bolt in the place(from Jr & full size dragsters to a mild 355 TPI Camaro that he admitted to having problems with)

I felt confortable with the guy and hes obviously very honest and my type of guy. If something went wrong on my car I'd bet he'd help me fix it for minimal to no charge.

The other place Im not so sure he would be so happy to take his time doing whatever he does all day and help me. He was nice but not "great". He "let" me look around a little.

I wish I could remember the place's name...

I'll pay extra for customer service I like. Just so happens it was cheaper at this place. Has a nice family atmosphere...Grandma at the front desk(discussing rod ratios with me lol ) pop talks prices and shoots the **** with me, son is sweeping the floor, whith workers bustling around doing what they're supposed to do....

And its not el-cheapo engine builds....they have all the right equipment and obviously know how to build engines and anything else, just so happens they didnt know much about tuning TPI cars(cant burn chips). Which is OK...heck I dont either...and dont know of anyone who can(person)....

It doesnt look like much on the outside and you wouldnt know it by the looks of it but theres a lot going on in there....At first I was look "noooooo....lets go man" to my buddy, but Im glad I checked it out.

Too bad I changed my mind on the idea and pushed it back til probably around July because I had told the guy I was ready to purchase and would be back soon. (I had $3500 on me)I reeaaally wish I hadnt told him that because I almost always make good on my word, but when it comes to my cars I just cant make up my mind....I've had an itch for a lot of cars/stuff lately and cant decide on what to do. Currently saving for a big upgrade on my '99 but like everything that could change....I want to move back to SouthTex asap but have to wait for my roomate(who is coming with me...we grew up together) to get his **** together so hes ready to go down there. All thats going to be costly. I already have a house there but theres just sooo much crap to moving and I dont want to move all this furniture & crap down there...may just sell everything and start over....

So does that description ring a bell?(the shop)

Im almost positive it was Strickly Performance but if you say its anywhere near I-45 then Im mixed up. I remember it was a short drive from my house(I live around I-10 & HWY 6)

BTW Pyle Brothers (rear end shop) has the most EXCELLENT customer service. I drove out there to get the 3.73s on the '91 and I ate lunch with the guys and everything. They even did some free work for me.....Plus the guy who did my rear showed me step-by-step how to do a gear swap(easy as pie really, if you have all the right tools )

Just time consuming to get the shims just right..... and the right tools make it seem as easy as changing an alternator

He thoroughly explain everything he did and encouraged me to watch the whole thing as he wanted someone to talk to.....

No whine at all from the rear BTW. and no crappy slack in the rear, either.

Very professional and also a family atmosphere.(Not quite like mentioned above but close enough....no grandma at the desk but a couple guys who Im sure could talk your ear off about rear ends....among other thing...and all the guys are friendly with me and eachother....) Got two free calanders too Got naked chicks in'em lol.....One of the last few to still do this...

They even remembered my name on my second visit (they being everyone) (BTW I wasnt there because of rear problems....just a paranoid checkup...Im picky, like I often mention.... )

 

I'm ready to see the '91 scream, you should just put a big block in it!

 

Wasup man!

Nah I thought about that but I like the way it handles now after the poly bushings.....the rat would kill that Im sure.

Dammit dont push me Its hard enough to decide as it is lol. Thought of an LS1 swap since theres kits for it with a crossmember and I was going to lighten it up anyways but still undecided....Could throw the '99's LS1 in there and get the 402 shortblock and some Patriot heads for the '99 )

too many options(if there is such a thing )

 

I hear you on the options! Since we got the GTO modding it is all i can think about! I might be buying a shaker hood for it here pretty soon, just want to see it in person first.

Hey- the '79 T/A is still running strong, leaks a little tranny fluid, but other than that it's doing great. I have some great "after" shots I need to send you.

I think you can handle anything on a third gen, they are pretty simple. Did you ever get the performance resource chip for it? It's $250 well spent until you build the stroker.

 

Man sometimes all I want to do is dump my savings on go-fast goodies Gotta restrain myself because sadly Im relocating early '05 and building a house.....

GREAT! I'd love to post some after shots on my cardomain site(Of course the credit will go to you...) BTW Got any links to some shaker scoops for the GTO? stone4779 at yahoo dot com(darn web crawlers gathering email addresses... )

Yeah plus I've had two other thirdgens and still have one(my first car-the '84 I wish it was here in Houston you'd love it...custom paint and all)
They are PERFECT for a first-timer.(Gonna buy my son one, one day(when I have one)...hes gonna have to mod it himself...will have to get him interested in cars..probably a carbed one...)

And naw Im holding off on the chip because that $250 could be some rockers or something when I swap the motor.....got some 3.73s installed at Pyle Brothers(GREAT SHOP! Worth the drive!) and TONS of suspension and misc stuff laying around here though...you should see it lol Im going nuts on this thing....cant wait to get the new motor in....

irocdreamer- I sent you a PM. The shops not Strictly Performance lol got mixed up. Its on Westheimer east of Beltway 8. BTW I can probably help you find a good third gen....