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ok accord to what i want to do... how would this corvette do? http://forums.corvetteforum.com/sho...t=910811&page=1
its a 85 and some of you said its best to get a 88+ but it has a lot of
things done to it already.... what else would i need to do to this 85 in order to get my goals i want to it? the price is awesome too i think any help guys?
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The new the car you can afford the better. GM worked out the kinks as they went and they get progressively better up to 1996. The newer style interior also started in 1990. But they are all good, just some squeek and rattle less than others.
L98's are fine motors. I like em a lot... and they can be made into monsters, reliable monsters.
You can't beat the L98 for dependability. They are essentially bulletproof. Although the HP is a bit low, they have monster torque, so off the line power is awsome!
I guess it all depends on what you want in a car.....
If you want "light to light" quickness/power then stick with the L98, but if you want top end power, then go with the LT1 or 4.
Stay away from the LT5 unless you have unlimited funds. The LT5 is a great runner while it runs, but if it breaks, look out
A simple water pump for an LT5 costs in excess of $500
Too bad your not interested in nitrous, it's the cheapest form of HP you can get. However you need to stay with what your comfortable with. I took my 85 and put ex., cut lid,and a 150 shot on it and went 11.91. with the stock 3.07. I had $6800 in the car at that time. My friend took a stock 94LT-1 firebird and went 11.52 with the 150 kit and 11.00 with a 200 shot. Now these are all at the limit though.
If i were to buy a vette from the start it would be LT-1. The disadvantage is the opti, but the L-98 will reach a point of restriction and that cost $2K to inprove to LT-1 standards.
Stock to stock, the LT-1 has a better intake and heads to begin with. They respond well to porting. Hell actually buy an LT-1 and then summit, scroggin dickey all sell the LT-4 conversion for $2500. that's 425 HP right there. I think you would be happy with that.
BTW, my friend with the LT-1 has 118K on his car and hasn't replaced the opti yet.
Too bad your not interested in nitrous, it's the cheapest form of HP you can get. However you need to stay with what your comfortable with. I took my 85 and put ex., cut lid,and a 150 shot on it and went 11.91. with the stock 3.07. I had $6800 in the car at that time. My friend took a stock 94LT-1 firebird and went 11.52 with the 150 kit and 11.00 with a 200 shot. Now these are all at the limit though.
If i were to buy a vette from the start it would be LT-1. The disadvantage is the opti, but the L-98 will reach a point of restriction and that cost $2K to inprove to LT-1 standards.
Stock to stock, the LT-1 has a better intake and heads to begin with. They respond well to porting. Hell actually buy an LT-1 and then summit, scroggin dickey all sell the LT-4 conversion for $2500. that's 425 HP right there. I think you would be happy with that.
BTW, my friend with the LT-1 has 118K on his car and hasn't replaced the opti yet.
Good luck with your search.
huh? lt1 to lt4 425 hp? i thought lt4 only had 30 more hp, or does this conversion do something else also? the 85 L98 for sale has heads exhaust.... lots of things done to it already i was curious as to what numbers that would put out.... thanks for the input guys
thanks for te help mike i think im gonna get that 85, what kind of numbers would that 85 put down? and what else can i do to it... it seems to have lots done to it already
thanks for te help mike i think im gonna get that 85, what kind of numbers would that 85 put down? and what else can i do to it... it seems to have lots done to it already
I have an '85. Stock numbers are 230HP/330TQ at 3200 lbs.
the '85 (and '84) l98's still use the archaeic single cat design, and best respond to true dual exhaust with 1 5/8" LT's... or so I'm told
Mine ran 13.7 with the boltons and sticky tires. This car already has a cam, heads,exhaust and a good gear in it. Without knowing exactly what all those componets are it's hard to say what it would run and what improvements can be made. But i'll guess it should be able to run mid 13's ( with traction..sticky tires) . If you have never had a V8 car before you will be surprised at how the L-98 runs. It will definatly lay push you back into the seat.
There's a forum member here by the name of BeachBum, he went low 12's with a 383 and stock TPI. worked AFR heads, stall and slicks.
The best thing to do is buy the cor-vette specs 1984-1996 book. They do get better every year. It lists year by year the specs of each car and the upgrads. I bought a '94 6 speed coupe with 108K miles for $8900 this year. I looked a month, no way for me to get into lt-4 w/out some kind of "rare find" deal. 6 speeds cost more and harder to find, but a lot of fun and they have the nearly bullettproof dana44 and transmission. Buy though autotrader.com...tons of cars, list your price range. The ported lt-1 heads and a cam will get you the 400-450hp. 383 stroker cranks will get you the grunt of a l-98 (if you can put it down). Plenty of parts available for these engines as lt-1's were in TONS of firebirds and camaro's as well. Tunercat or LT-1 edit can tune for these changes for little money. There's reasonably priced options if you burn up an opti. also the 91-92's have the wider rubber, but the '94's got the mass air meter sequential fuel injection which will do a better job of putting up with cam/head/manifold changes. '95's about the same, but '96s started getting quite a bit more expensive. Good luck!
Go for an L98. You can get a decent on for 5-7k, and build up from there. They have a roller motor with aluminum heads (87-91)A good platform to build on-much cheaper than an Lt1 buildup. You get what you pay for though. A clean LT4 is gonna run around 15k+. Of course you're only a set of long tubes and a gear change away from 12's. How fast can you afford is the question? Good Luck! Let us know whatcha got!
gears! What is the best gears to put in 1988 No emission headers long tubes rear gears? 3.54 or 3. 73's Want to wake it up?