my next project, i need ideas

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speedy
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my next project, i need ideas

Post by speedy »

well, with the beretta being done i decided i wanted to build a v8 car, something old late 50's or late 60's car, id prefer a 55-57 chevy honestly, im willing to spend up to $3,000 on the car, im going to put a roll cage in the car, manual trans, v8 and id like to keep it a street legal drag car, like with the headers out the side ect, something fun to cruise down the road in but also fun as hell at the track doing what its meant to do. anyone have any suggestions on cars, or where to look to find them reasonably priced, im so tired of seeing "i have a car with no floors, motor, trans, rears, ect, its a numbers matching car, one sold on barret jackson recently just like it for 100,000 so im only asking 12,000 for this" so any input would be appreciated.


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Razbery Beretta
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

Post by Razbery Beretta »

The best bang for the $3000 buck may be a non Chevy of that era. And think power to weight too. How cool would a big block chevy in a Hudson be??


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Koots
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

Post by Koots »

I personally, Love the B-Body Chevy's, but they're an acquired taste and bland compared to most cars you're probably looking at. Because of that though, they don't automatically demand an insane price for a decent body.

I'd look for a truck 5.3 or 6.0L LS-engine, as you can find them for dirt cheap now, I'm relatively poor and have 3 LQ4's (6.0L HD engines, don't bother with the LQ9's because they cost more and only have flat top pistons to give them a slight compression boost over the LQ4's) and a low mileage pull out 4.8L from an 08' Silverado (those engines are meant for boost, with good rod/stroke ratio and thick block due to smaller bore). I spent less than $300 for any of them and I live in the sticks, even by Canadian standards lol.

I can give you a ton of advice on cheap performance from these engines, as I have tried to gather as much info as I can about them and have a pretty decent understanding of them and the best bang-for-the-buck ways to get them to make incredible power. They are truly unbelievable engines, as most of them can handle double the power of the older SBC's on the stock block/bottom end and not bat an eye-lash. Some magazine even turbocharged a stock bottom end 4.8L to over 1100HP without any trouble, just used better pistons, heads, cam and obviously a big friggin turbo.


1988GTU
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

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Koots
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

Post by Koots »

Once I get the money for a nice 90mm cable TB, I've got a Trailblazer SS/GMT900 truck intake manifold to go on it, which is one of the best flowing intakes GM ever made for the engines (the car intakes look cool, but don't flow nearly as well as even a 99 silverado's will, due to plenum volume). I also need some LS9 headgaskets (supercharged corvette gaskets) and then I can finally install the 243 heads I have for dirt cheap, which will raise my LQ4's compression to 10.5:1 (roughly). a decent 212/218 cam with 112* LSA and headers and the engine should be close to 400HP, as I'm basically creating an iron block LS2 from factory, cheap parts.

Even with the expensive TB, cam/valvetrain and headgaskets, I'll only have to spend less than 1100 on this engine, so that to me is a fucking steal of a deal in terms of performance. Might want to grab an LS2 timing set and a new oil pump too, while you're at it, but that'll only add $200-250 to the project and ensure reliability and consistency.

I should add, that a cable driven TB engine would be easiest and cheapest, just gonna end up with a high-mileage engine due to that. You can find them in 99-02 trucks mostly. Otherwise you have to deal with adding a DBW pedal assembly and TAC module. But if you have the TBSS/GMT900 intake and match up the pedal and TAC module (has to be specific or you end up spending more money on a conversion harness to communicate between the pedal and TB), you can use the factory throttle body for that intake, which is huge and more than sufficient for 400HP. The 99-06 trucks (GMT800's) have a smaller intake and throttle opening, which is sufficient, but cheap power can be made from the newer intake/TB swap and shouldn't be ignored.

End of drunk rambling/


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GTZfan
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

Post by GTZfan »

Well to be honest, its going almost impossible to find a chevy/a car from that era for 3000 that comes with floor panels...

...LOL
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Cheve ... ars_Trucks


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Rettax3
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

Post by Rettax3 »

speedy wrote: im so tired of seeing "i have a car with no floors, motor, trans, rears, ect, its a numbers matching car, one sold on barret jackson recently just like it for 100,000 so im only asking 12,000 for this" so any input would be appreciated.
Yeah, I had the same problem several years ago when I was looking around for a replacement Plymouth for my old one, and couldn't believe it when a clean, rust-free rolling shell (no engine, trans, interior, glass, trim, doors, hood, grill, bumpers, fenders, trunk-lid, or anything else that could be unbolted except for the suspension and wheels) was actually going for several thousand dollars... I just bought one complete and done (well, except for the 80% plugged radiator, frozen vacuum-advance in the distributor, out-of-tune carb -unfortunately an Edelbrock mounted on top of an open-plane Edelbrock intake- and slight clutch problem and serious alignment issues, it was 'done'). Good luck finding a decent project car of the era for the price you want to pay -especially in your area, where rust reins supreme. I do hope you find something worth while. :good:

Consider looking for a Ford Galaxy from the sixties, or maybe a '58 Chevy -the '57s are so classic they are almost impossible to touch, but the '58 has really nice lines and is badly under-rated just because it isn't a '57...


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bonecrrusher
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Re: my next project, i need ideas

Post by bonecrrusher »

The G body platform kept a full frame until the 80's - those can be had for a dime a dozen.


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