Fourth gen pro touring?

[louie138]

i would want something with easy mods, hassle free engine swap, variety of upgrades, and just something that you can drive around and not have it be a trailer queen

[796spdbu]

As on owner of both gens menchented here,I will say I had a blast with my 95' at Road America event. My 95 is an lt1 car. I dig it. My 80' is a project.

Marry Pozzi has a well balanced 2nd gen that has very well balanced aftermarket parts. Its seems simple and it runs hard.That says something about budget and form.

In my 4th gen I have qa-1 coilovers front,PA tube k memeber,tube upper lower front control arms,Global West rear lower control arms,hotchkis rear double adj rear panhard bar. Soon ill be swapping out my self made torq arm and hotchkis rear bar for Global Wests pieces.

I say if you have the car,do the suspension and learn to drive with what power you have. Then when time and money allow,do an engine swap of your chioce.

Im not sure this helps but its my take on your question

Greg

[louie138]

you bring in a good point. fourth gens are covered with options for upgrades in every area of the car. plus i wont face a huge rust problem.

[796spdbu]

Exactly! I did a corvette c-6 13" rotor/caliper swap with a freinds cnc'd brackets and it was quite a differnce,I also did the 12" ls-1 rear swap. Once you get the suspension dialed in you can focus on driving.Then swap to v-8 power and go from there. Call Doug at Global West. He is a very knowledgable guy. A friend recomenned that I talk to him about my current set up and he straightened me out and was very easy to talk to. I would recomend calling him first and discuss what you have as an idea and he can work with you.

Greg

[ArtosDracon]

Fourth Gen is going to be easier and cheaper to get to modest performance goals, but it won't look as good doing it.

[louie138]

Exactly! I did a corvette c-6 13" rotor/caliper swap with a freinds cnc'd brackets and it was quite a differnce,I also did the 12" ls-1 rear swap. Once you get the suspension dialed in you can focus on driving.Then swap to v-8 power and go from there. Call Doug at Global West. He is a very knowledgable guy. A friend recomenned that I talk to him about my current set up and he straightened me out and was very easy to talk to. I would recomend calling him first and discuss what you have as an idea and he can work with you.

Greg

send me this guys info i wanna see what i can do to get this show on the road.

i am sure we can all agree at some point that the old car are awesome and all but they dont compare to the new tech of newish one.

[JJEH]

You can twin turbo that 3.8...

That's what i thought...

[796spdbu]

My thoughts..turbo anything doesnt seem like a good idea on a short auto cross track as boost will come on when its not needed. Now I know I mabe flamed for this but boost comes with RPM and constent RPM is somewhat short lived on the auto cross. It would seem to me as soon as the RPM comes up the boost with make the car very unpredicable. My reason for this thought comes after watching a certain twin turbo small block get all kinds of outshape at our event at El Toro earlier this year,and that was a big auto cross as compared to Good Guys events.

Just google Global West and you should find a contact number for them. Ill try to get the info for you but incase it takes me a day or so,you can do it that way. Im also pretty sure they are a sponsor so look to your right and you may find them.

[79PonchoUK]

You can get any car to handle well.

Second gens are no different.

All I've done with mine is fit hotchkis springs and shocks, poly bushes and increased front camber and caster....it transformed the car and it's more than a match for my quattro in the dry.

Remember, 2nd gens were about on par with Sierra Cosworths as standard. They're not that bad out of the box....over here, the biggest problem is people fit crap shocks to them, which they're especially sensitive to considering how inboard the springs/shocks are.

I do like 4th gen cars though. Naturally it's even better than the 2nd gen as standard...I'd not bother with a V6 if the V8 was an easy option...trying to get power out of a small engine is a little pointless even if you have a romantic ideal about it. You'll not add any weight or fuel consumption with fitting an alloy V8...


Personally, I'd say sell the V6 for a V8. The V8 will have better spring rates, better ARBs, etc...It's not just the engine you're changing.

[shortrack]

SOOOOO much easier than it sounds. I've done several, twice in the firehawk, and about 4 times in my old '00 Z28. The very first time we pulled it, we pulled the heads off the engine to get it out the top... The k-member drops in no time, and if you've done one before, all the hidden plug-ins come loose in a few. I'll be dropping it all out of the Firehawk again to swap the trans in a couple weeks.

Chris

so you have a 2 post lift?

[Neil B]

so you have a 2 post lift?

Just as a point of interest, I've seen an 4th Gen engine swap done at the track. I remember Powell Motorsports swapping the motor in their Motorola Cup Firebird in the paddock at Road Altanta. The motor came out the bottom and they had the front jacked so high it looked like a funny car with the body up. I wish I had a picture.

[srh3trinity]

I always wondered if a Grand Prix GTP supercharger would fit in a fourth gen on top of the 3800. You would probably run into a problem with firewall clearance at the cowl. That could be done with junk yard parts and could really change the game up on a v6 car.

[louie138]

thats one of the boner kills about the fourth gens, the cowl issue. yeah gm made the car look sleek but they made engine work harder. but damn they have the most options when it comes to body styling, engine mods, etc. every other gen has some minimal options in those fields minus the 5th gen. regardless each gen has their pluses and minuses

[ArtosDracon]

I always wondered if a Grand Prix GTP supercharger would fit in a fourth gen on top of the 3800. You would probably run into a problem with firewall clearance at the cowl. That could be done with junk yard parts and could really change the game up on a v6 car.

The throttle body would be in the firewall, which might not be a bad thing for a race car, but could be a real PITA on a stock dash car.

[Cannon]

On the 94 camaro...

LS7/T56
Z06 Brakes/Wheels
Nitto NT05 tires
Strano suspension
Subframe connecters(pick any welded on)
DONE - go destroy Ferraris

[CHRIZ28]

so you have a 2 post lift?

Nope, just use a hoist to lift the front of the car up, then roll the k-member/tranny out from under it. A lift would be nice though!! Lol. The cowl issue does suck. Working on these motors is a pain in the... well.. arms. haha. That's the main reason I pulled the a/c and heater out of the old Z28. Just made it TONS easier to put plugs in. I think pt'd 2nd gens look awesome though. Just pick one and get to work! Haha

Chris

[ChrisRZ28]

Strano knows how to make a 4th Gen fly. Many time autocross champ. You will be money ahead with his stuff. Stay away from overpriced Hotchkis and Global West.

[Hotchkis]

i have a v6 94 camaro. i know the first thing everyone is gonna say is to not even bother with it and sell it for a ls1, thats not my question. to that i say no because i want a challenge regardless of price range. beside a lot of pro touring cars her are constantly being worked even when they are already running on the street. i am willing to have a work in progress car. anywho my question is, should i sell it (i know i know) and get a 1979 camaro being sold in my city and mod that, or give it a good college try and "pro tour" my 94 camaro? yes i know it be better to get an ls1 but thats a quiter way of thinking in my opinion. i rather get something that will need to be fixed and has room for more

Either option is a solid "dare to be different" type ride and we salute that wholeheartedly. Both the late 2nd gen and the early 4th gen are solid platforms that can be stellar performers with just a little work. Subframe connectors are a good way to go on both, as are sway bars, sport springs and good performance shocks. Coil-overs aren't really necessary on either car, particularly if you're on a budget. The tough part about a V6 is the lack of performance parts for the engine, but a decent cat-back and a cold air intake if you can make one would probably help too. Add an SS hood and some cool wheels and you'll have a killer ride. Also, many people forget that one of the fastest factory F-bodies ever built was a V6: the 1989 Turbo Trans Am. So if anyone gives you grief about a V6 Pro-Touring car, tell 'em that it has a performance heritage.

[louie138]

Either option is a solid "dare to be different" type ride and we salute that wholeheartedly. Both the late 2nd gen and the early 4th gen are solid platforms that can be stellar performers with just a little work. Subframe connectors are a good way to go on both, as are sway bars, sport springs and good performance shocks. Coil-overs aren't really necessary on either car, particularly if you're on a budget. The tough part about a V6 is the lack of performance parts for the engine, but a decent cat-back and a cold air intake if you can make one would probably help too. Add an SS hood and some cool wheels and you'll have a killer ride. Also, many people forget that one of the fastest factory F-bodies ever built was a V6: the 1989 Turbo Trans Am. So if anyone gives you grief about a V6 Pro-Touring car, tell 'em that it has a performance heritage.

if the oppertunity for a turbo or supercharged 3.8l v6 engine came up i would jump on that. sadly i have 3.4l engine that can be worked on and all but i dont see it meeting my standards

[subtlez28]

i would want something with easy mods, hassle free engine swap, variety of upgrades, and just something that you can drive around and not have it be a trailer queen

This really screams LS1 F-body to me... but I know you are resisting that idea. You could always swap on the older 4th gen nose. Or again, buy a wrecked 98-02 and swap in the k-member and power-train to your current ride.

As much as I like 2nd gens, starting w a newer (and hopefully rust free) 4th gen will make you life much easier and cheaper.