Ls1 Vs C3
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: texas
Ls1 Vs C3
My 2 cars are a '69 c3 with a pretty stout 350 manual 4 speed and a '00 slp built camaro SS. everyone i talk to says the corvette should be as fast as the the camaro, but it's not. i dragged my camaro out of the garage tonight for a spin and..holy ****! hold on to your depends undergarments. drove the corvette tonight as well. blah! i realize the 2 cars are many years apart but what what gives (so to speak)?
Pro
Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Woodstock GA
What gear is in the C3, and what has been done to the engine? Aproximate HP?
Any mods on the SS, other than the SLP stuff? If its a 6 speed, it should run anywhere from 12.90s to 13.40s stock, autos being slightly slower. Unless the C3 is pretty serious, I doubt it could take the SS.
Any mods on the SS, other than the SLP stuff? If its a 6 speed, it should run anywhere from 12.90s to 13.40s stock, autos being slightly slower. Unless the C3 is pretty serious, I doubt it could take the SS.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Gardner Kansas
I have nearly the same combo; a full bolt-ons 98 Z28, and a 69 350/350 vette. Even though the Z is an auto, the Z28 will run high 11s all day long and absolutely wax the vette. I don't care though because vette was purchased for one reason, and the Z28 for another.
Team Owner
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From: Freestate Corvette Club! Elkridge, MD
St. Jude Donor '17
My 2 cars are a '69 c3 with a pretty stout 350 manual 4 speed and a '00 slp built camaro SS. everyone i talk to says the corvette should be as fast as the the camaro, but it's not. i dragged my camaro out of the garage tonight for a spin and..holy ****! hold on to your depends undergarments. drove the corvette tonight as well. blah! i realize the 2 cars are many years apart but what what gives (so to speak)?
You said it - the two cars are many years apart - The Vette is using technology from the 50's and the Camaro from the 90's. The Camaro puts out as much horsepower as a big block Corvette did back in '69. (Remember, while the hp rating of the stock Camaro SS is 320 plus whatever else the SLP stuff adds, call it 350 hp - the Camaro is measured in SAE Net hp, while the old Vette was measured in SAE Gross hp - a BIG difference there) .
So really in todays terms your 350hp Vette is only putting out about 280 net hp. But as SuprJames pointed out - this is easily corrected
Even the mighty 427 Tripower, 435 hp Vette of legend only really put out 348hp - LESS THAN YOUR CAMARO!
Note: Because the test equipment used back in the "old days" to measure gross horsepower is different from today's setup, it is impossible to provide an absolute conversion from one to the other. A rule of thumb, however, is to assume that SAE Net is about 80% of SAE Gross.
Then add to this decades of advancement in drivetrain, suspension, geometries and so on - the Camaro should destroy your Vette as it sits.
BUT as SuprJames points out - this is easily corrected
Last edited by Ragtop_Rob; Dec 13, 2007 at 05:36 AM. Reason: Forgot one thing...
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Drifting
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From: Wichita Kansas
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Fort Pierce Florida
It's a Rock Valley baffled stainless fuel tank with an in-tank pump. They make them for all '82 back Corvettes. Cost for everything was right at $1,000. They will do anything you ask them to on the tank and are very easy to deal with. Comes with SS straps as well.
Le Mans Master
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From: Lebanon Township New Jersey
Former Vendor
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From: Social Circle Georgia
Really it depends on the mods to you vette. You can easily make the vette move while retaining the stock engine or do like James and use the opponents weapon against them. However, like mentioned, the cars really were not as fast as people remembered them to be.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Overland Park Kansas
I have both a 98 Trans Am and my 79 Vette. The Vette has a 383 w/cam and tons of work done, long tubes etc and a 700R4 w/2800 stall, gets ~11MPG I think.
The Trans Am has the LS1 obviously with a pretty big cam, LS7 Clutch kit on the 6 speed, long tubes etc and averages like 20mpg.
I haven't ever had them side by side or had the vette to the track, but the Trans Am feels faster to me (ran 12.3 fastest) than the vette. Guess I should line 'em up one day.
Note the Trans Am also feels like a Lexus compared to the Vette lol
The Trans Am has the LS1 obviously with a pretty big cam, LS7 Clutch kit on the 6 speed, long tubes etc and averages like 20mpg.
I haven't ever had them side by side or had the vette to the track, but the Trans Am feels faster to me (ran 12.3 fastest) than the vette. Guess I should line 'em up one day.
Note the Trans Am also feels like a Lexus compared to the Vette lol
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From: Columbus GA
GTO is LS2 and my vette is L48 stripped of anything resembling emissions with a 268 cam.
Team Owner
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From: Freestate Corvette Club! Elkridge, MD
St. Jude Donor '17
That is not true either - they are as fast, in fact for their time they were damn fast, but todays cars have been getting faster and faster. I remember when the new 280z came out and could do zero to sixty in 7.5 sec! That was fast for the day. Or when the 5.0 Mustand came out and could rocket to 60 in 6.6 sec. Now there are SUV's that can do that....
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
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Keeping it under 2500rpm are you?
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: texas
all very good information. thanks. bought the c3 about 7 months ago and really haven't had that much seat time in it yet to "get to know it" properly. it sure looked good when i bought it, but mechanically it was a mess. so far have spent way more time/money repairing it than driving it. it's way slower, but that's ok. it has it's own cool factor. i did about 40 miles of freeway this afternoon. being of that time period ('69), what would the top safe speed be in a car like that? and the steering/suspension is very strange also. 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Granbury, TX
