young guy with big dreams

[smoke96]

hey everyone, currently i have a 78 trans am outfitted for drag. runs 10's but drag racing isnt my thing. plans are to go pretty low, have an amazing suspension set-up and wheels, swap the nose to a 73, and targa top the roof (ive always wanted that). the cars got all the power i need, but not the handling. i came out a 04 bmw 3-series about a year ago, the handling was superb with the coilovers, strut braces, sway bars, ect. im trying to get that handling out of this beast and everything ive searched for on google has lead me straight back to this site, so here i am. hopefully i can get this car to where i want it within the year. she has a 427 big block chevy bored and stroked to a 496 with full manley internals, turbo350 trans with B&M shift kit (getting swapped for a t56), 3.90 gears, certified 8-point cage, subframe connectors, and as soon as the mail man gets here, a watts link. pics.....

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[Cudaspaz]

Gonna be cool.
would be nice to have an extra $30-k to dump into it eh?

[solarguy09]

Well, you are Young...That is a big plus..

You have TONS of power....That is a good thing..

Just don't buy your parts on Credit cards, and you will be ok.

It's going to take a lot of coin to fund your project, but as i said before , you have two BIG things going for you...

[justin51986]

I agree, don't buy your parts on credit cards!!! I have promised my wife that I won't buy anything else for my mustang until everything else is paid for....including credit cards and all our loans! so now my mustang is stuck on the rotisserie because I can't buy the fancy Strange Engineering 9" i need before I can set it back on the ground. This woulda been avoided if I wouldn't have let my debt get out of control in the first place

[smoke96]

No way, I have 2 cards, none of which get used often, just enough to keep my credit where I need it. Although being 21, with little bills and barely any responsibilities, pretty much any dime I get is going straight into this thing. Lol but as far as 30k is concerned, to get it to where I want it as of right now I think I'm looking at something more like 10-12k. She already has a good amount of work done, all that's left is suspension, interior, and that custom work to chop off the roof. Lol I'm trying to sell these weld prostars and buy my new rims.

[justin51986]

lol i said 10-12k when I started too, i have that in it already and still dont have a drivetrain :P

[smoke96]

lol doesnt surprise me man. but im trying to shoot low, like i said, all i have left is suspension and interior, aside from the t56 tranny im getting.

[rfalker1]

I say go for, justr put your priorities where they need to be... u have good engine a descent transmission keep it for now and build around it. SO basically all you need is wheels, brakes, suspension goodies and probably a different differential to get it somewhere u want it.

You can get cheap disc for 900 off ebay or go kore3 and grab some for 1500 to $1900
suspension setup for 4 to 5k, differential for 600 to $1000, thats if you want new axles, and then go from there.

I think you can do it

[smoke96]

thanks man, i wanna go top of the line on everything, its a project so whats the point of half assing it? lol probably going wilwood brakes, the diff i have is good for what i need it for so im sticking with it, new axles i got, 32spline, suspension im looking at 5k. yeh, the tranny is gonna be second to last, last is gonna be the roof.

[cobragt]

If your going to do a targa top your going to need to stiffen that chassis up...... alot!

[smoke96]

If your going to do a targa top your going to need to stiffen that chassis up...... alot!
Corect in every way, im hoping i dont have to do too much more but im sure im gonna have a bit to do. advise me on what else i should do...

[rfalker1]

^^^ agreed, I know hotchkis makes some x-brace stuff for first gen camaros, they might do some stuff for ur year too!! And, yep invest ur money where u want!!! Thats how i did it at 26

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

youre gonna make it youngin..

[smoke96]

youre gonna make it youngin..

thanks for the words of inspiration lol. i find that a lot of people dont understand why im doing this to my car. i get a lot of questions and criticism about dropping it low, and chopping the roof off mostly. but the way i see it, if im gonna spend good money on a car, its gonna be done to my exact specifications. its amazing how many people my age only worry about the hype, buy carbon fiber because its whats "cool" rather than going with their own preferences. as far as stiffening up the chassis, im gonna need something that attaches to both the front and back of the car, solid, so i minimize and flex i get with all this HP.

[solarguy09]

thanks for the words of inspiration lol. i find that a lot of people dont understand why im doing this to my car. i get a lot of questions and criticism about dropping it low, and chopping the roof off mostly. but the way i see it, if im gonna spend good money on a car, its gonna be done to my exact specifications. its amazing how many people my age only worry about the hype, buy carbon fiber because its whats "cool" rather than going with their own preferences. as far as stiffening up the chassis, im gonna need something that attaches to both the front and back of the car, solid, so i minimize and flex i get with all this HP.

He will make it...He is doing it his way.... Very cool...

[smoke96]

thanks man

[solarguy09]

thanks man

Ya Buddy....you have a lot on your side... Youth, Energy, Engine with gobs of Power.. Just got to make your way around the whole car....We are never done...

You look at some threads at the start...cars that need a lot...Then you look at the last page, and the car is all changed..keep at it, your way.

[smoke96]

ive noticed, seems like people tend to document their builds fairly well on here, ive actually started watching the thread with the ford Galaxy, that thing is sweet. lol the only thing i have to fall back on is the motor, fully built and ready to run. the car was bought as a drag car, i figured it would be easier and cheaper to buy a car with a serious motor and solid chassis to go pro touring with. i know how this car was maintained and have confidence in the previous owners ability to build a reliable high powered motor. i bought a 10 second drag car for $5000, now the real money starts to flow.lol

[solarguy09]

ive noticed, seems like people tend to document their builds fairly well on here, ive actually started watching the thread with the ford Galaxy, that thing is sweet. lol the only thing i have to fall back on is the motor, fully built and ready to run. the car was bought as a drag car, i figured it would be easier and cheaper to buy a car with a serious motor and solid chassis to go pro touring with. i know how this car was maintained and have confidence in the previous owners ability to build a reliable high powered motor. i bought a 10 second drag car for $5000, now the real money starts to flow.lol

That is a deal for sure. More deals are out there..

[Cudaspaz]

I take it the motor is fairly street able then for what you wanna do.

My car is a drag car but street able for the most part although it is set up as a street, strip, show car but really I just drive the crap out of it and take it to cruise ins every now and then.

Eventually I want to convert it to a pro touring machine and either go with a turbo or supercharger.

I tried to restore a car when I was you age but I had kids and my own place, lots of bills and worked 2 jobs so basically no time or money to do anything on a car so I sold the project.

Fast forward 20'years and I score a new project car, but with 5 kids, 3 adopted, it still,took me ten years to build my car as time and Monel allowed.

My point: some things take time, but it sounds like you don't have a lot of bills and have some extra money and probably more skills than most guys your age.

In my case I told my young wife years ago that I would have gray hair by the time I could build a serious car, and I was right, but family had to come first.

[smoke96]

Hey man, you did what you had to do and that's honorable. Your right, as of right now I have very few bills, no kinds, and have a very good job in the insurance business so I'm well on my way to having this car done soon, or well, soon in terms of project car. Lol