'68 Firebird - Project Childhood...help me plan it!

[Josue]

Ah, you mean the LS conversion "system" Holley offers, right?

Even if I did a LS swap, I wouldn't be pushing HP numbers like that, so I'd probably be alright with a lesser trans.



I saw you went through Texas Speed for your LS, what made you choose them over the initial LS3 you linked to in the original post of your thread? I liked the price of that one much more lol, but I know Texas Speed offers turn key packages, so maybe it made more sense to get it all in one shot.

[jlwdvm]

Buy the time I added in everything that I would have to buy to get the crate motor up and running that already was included with the Texas Speed build, I was able to get more power with better parts for not much more investment.

[Josue]

Finally started writing down all these options and prices, it'll be nice to see everything side by side to compare and get a feel for how I can best spend my budget.

The Speedtech GT package has peaked my interest for a "total" system!

http://www.speedtechperformance.com/...rod/prd260.htm

It's definitely overkill now, but I would never have to touch the suspension again, short of upgrading the shocks if/when I got into more serious racing. I could spend half as much by just getting an "entry level" kit that included springs, leafs, and regular shocks, but again, then I'm doing my suspension twice. Although, I'm sure I could get a decent penny for any temporary parts I bought, since 1st gen parts usually don't last long around here.

Only problem with the speedtech kit is, the welding involved on the rear end. I'm fully capable of doing the welding itself, but I'd be scared of welding the tabs in the wrong place or something? Lots of people don't suggest welding without some sort of jig or something. I don't even know who I could take a job like that to around here?

Or, and I've been thinking about this more and more, I could upgrade the rear end with the kit and then it'll come with the tabs welded on. The car has the stock BOP 10 bolt with peg leg 2.56 gears, so to get the most pep out of the stock 350, a new set of gears would help immensely. Problem is, a new rear end adds $3,000 to the $4200 cost of the kit, and that's not including powdercoating for any of those parts. $7500+is 3/4 of my budget, and wouldn't leave me with much else.

I also just got a quote for a complete auto to manual swap from Hurst-drivelines.com. Kit includes a TKO600, and everything I'd need for the swap, short of the mechanical linkage and pedal assembly (which I actually already have). Add $245 for the 500hp street comp clutch kit, $400 for the SFI approved steel scattershield and billet steel flywheel (they say these are necessary for Firebirds...of course they are) and $295 for their Blackjack offset shifter so I can use my stock console. All this rings in at $4860.