if you had the cash to do one of two things, which would you do?

1. rebuild your BB motor to around 600hp and throw in a 5 speed for good measure and maybe a few things to beef up the rear.....or

2. forget the hp mods and do some cosmetic work...flares, rims, tires, re-worked L88 hood(higher for future mods), freshen up the interior ie. redye,new centre console and hardware, different seats...

which would you do??

PS...if you are viewing this post...please pick one...


[Modified by 1bad69, 10:34 PM 10/16/2002]

 

get it to go before you get it to show :cheers:

 

I would defirnately make it look a little snazzier who needs the HP he he :lol:

Seriously though put the money where it needs it :D





[Modified by MotorHead, 7:15 AM 10/17/2002]

 

Definetely the HP. It's easier that way, because then only the back of your car has to look good, they'll never see the rest.

 

Go before show, but money before anything. :(
-Steve

 

horsepower first!!!

:cheers:

Olivier

 

all show and no ***** is not a good thing...

as any guy knows, getting ***** first is necessary before attracting women...

GENE

 

If it looks like it goes 200mph, does it realy have to go that fast?????
i'd go for the looks hands down!!!!!
i do a heck of alot more cruising than racing!
of course i drive a slow smogmobile. :bb

 

put the money into the one that was in the worst condition! :D :D

 

well.. i made my car fast. then it caused me to wreck. then ended up doing cosmetic work (because i had NO choice) i think the end result was pretty good

 

I'm in almost the same situation, but I have a custom, non-numbers car that I at least want to make look again like a 1969 Corvette; I'd go for aesthetics. Horsepower is cool, but for me, the Vette is all about pulling the t-tops off (I have a '78 wraparound rear window :U so I don't get to pop the window out), dropping the windows and going for a cruise. Yes it's fun to use the loud pedal, but are you forgetting what kind of car you're driving to begin with? It's a Corvette. It'll beat the majority of all other cars out there bone stock. Nobody else has these sexy shark fenders either ;) I don't care who comes up next to me and revs their engine. Right now my car is sick and I need to work on the suspension (like ALL of it) and some aesthics first before I go speeding into ticket oblivion, no pun intended. I won't race anyone at thi$ time, I care too much about my car and when it'$ all $aid and done, thi$ car will be an exten$ion of me. Catch my drift? Maybe when it's a TT 427 and has a 6 sp. behind it (WWAAAAYYYY off on the horizon), then I'll race someone or go lap at a course. I say go interior and exterior before going fast. These cars can already go fast, you want to go faster? Get rich first, going faster can cost you.

On the flip side, I actually do see the point being made about putting money into whichever you think needs it most. Like if your interior looks good to you, and you really do want more power, go with the engine. If you have some tearing, more wear than usual and you can live with your performance now until you save more money, make the car clean. Horsepower is nice and I can't argue that it's not fun to play with, but what really gets the women's attention when it comes to cars is how clean your car is. If it's a sporty car and it's clean, then you get double points.

 

I'm probably in a minority, but what about suspension and brake upgrades?

You already have one of the best looking Vettes I have ever seen, with an engine that is no slouch as is. 600 hp is just going to get you more tire smoke, which is cool, but not much good on the street. Why not balance your current torque monster with tight suspension and sound brakes?

BTW, I voted for horsepower, because adding flares and wide wheels etc is a gamble, and must be done right (like 69myway).

 

dude your car is perfect the way it is. if you have extra money to spend, it would be better spent on buying a second vette. then you'd have 2 vettes, one that's perfect, and another to be a project. it just looks to me like you are wanting to have fun doing another vette up as nice as 1bad69. buy you another one man, i don't see how you can improve upon perfection to the point of where it'd make any real big difference. :cheers:

 

:rolleyes: WHAT'S THE QUESTION :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

, without a good frame, suspension and brakes, hp/tq will only get you and potentially others seriously hurt.

 

I (who have ridden in your car) have voted for cosmetics for the simple reason that it is as fast as it can possibly be for a controlable street car. Any more will be wasted in oversteer and tire spin. :yesnod:

Put some of that money into suspension and you will see that you will get more out of the 400+ horses you have it will seem like you spent money under the hood. :yesnod:

 

When I was young, dumb, and full of...well, lets just say that as you get older and wiser and are able to take stock of your situation, your priorities adjust. I used to think that performance was the only consideration and then I got weary of driving great performing cars that looked like goat crap. I'd eventually loose interest in the car and would be glad to see it out of my sight. My evolution came when I got my '67 Fairlane and thought "Lets get the cosmetics right and see how that works out." So I made the car look great first, then worked on the performance. That was 20 years ago and I still have the Fairlane. I used the same approach on the '72 Corvette. Still got that one too. Perhaps it greatly depends on where your head's at, but I think that as long as the car is reliable, safe, and runs well enough, you're resources are better directed to making the car socially acceptable. Afterall, I've never received one compliment on how well the drivetrains perform but plenty on how great the cars show.

 

Others will never notice how pretty she is when leave the light in a clowd of tire smoke, or fly by at 150mph.....
Go fast first..... :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Eddie

 

I have been through the suspension, front and rear. The engine has been rebuilt. I am now ready to start on the exterior then the interior. Should have a pretty new car after that. :eek:

 

cosmetic first