Power to weight!

what would you rather have 400 hp and 4000 lbs or 400 hp and 2500 lbs. I know what I would choose.

Anyway, back on topic (we can discuss this via txt), love the wheels rob.

 

 

Thanks guys! And as far as weight...weight reduction is a pretty important topic when building a fast car. My car makes the HP to be pretty fast regardless, but I have been trying to drop weight here and there to squeeze every last bit of performance out of her. For instance, one of the main reasons for buying these wheels is that they way a measly 17 lbs each over the previous chrome wheels which were 32 lbs each!! Multiply that by 4 and I'm dropping over 50 lbs in not only weight, but rotational mass none the less. It should be a huge difference in acceleration, braking, and turning.

 

In that case, dump the glass t-tops and get lexan. A plus would be a fiberglass hood and fiberglass fenders/bumper cover. That'll shed a lot more weight. But there will be more modifications needed with the fiberglass front end.
Or better yet, go all fiberglass. May not be street legal, but you'll achieve wieght reduction in the masses.

http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/8292camaro.htm

 

Well...I should have said I'm trying to drop weight "to a certain extent." It is a street car after all, so I like the clearness and durability of my glass T-tops. As far as the hood, it was something I thought about off and on before the car was painted, but honestly I just can't tolerate the horrendous fit and finish of most fiberglass hoods so I kept my stocker. I just really hate fiberglass stuff on a street car. The factory parts will always fit 100x better. As it is, I believe the car should be down to about the 3350-3375 lbs range even with the added turbo weight with what I've done. Still a pretty light street car all things considered. I plan on getting it on a real scale this summer to find out for sure!

 

I see. Well then, disregard my earlier post. How much have you invested into the TA?

 

I hate answering this question because it reminds me of how much money I've lost to date, lmao. But it's close to $40K.

 

From now on when my wife complains about the money I have spent on my rig I am showing her this quote!!! lol

You have one sweet ride and that smile you get every time you see it and drive it is worth it!

 

I honestly love the car so much that I don't even think about the money invested, unless it's brought up like that. It was a great experience, and I get to have a car I can enjoy and be proud of now!

 

 

Whoa that's a lot of money!!! But realistically, all things considered, your car is going to last you YEARS man. Not to mention, you won't find anything faster, sexier, or more suited to you anywhere out there. You couldn't simply go out and BUY what you have here - not for the same amount anyways! You're getting your moneys worth with every shift you make, and every in of rubber burnt =) Thats how I'd be looking at it anyways

 

This is what I was thinking when I sank money into my car, one misplaced bolt later and its a clean slate again........ somehow a bolt made its way into the 1st cylinder and the rest is history. With the price of new Camaro's I'm sure he's spent a fraction of that (financing included) and has exactly what he wants!

 

I personally wouldn't answer a question about what i have " invested" in a car, unless it was a real close friend....these projects are not about making money....not even about breaking even...it's more about following your dream to reality....and that almost always cost more than what you could sell it for...I've done it plenty of times in recent years. I won't even add up how much i've spent on any particular project anymore, because it will ALWAYS be more than what i thought i spent! Enjoy the car! it looks awesome!

 

Your a bit late. Also like you said. Projects are not about making money (not sure how that's relevant to the thread) but if the guy wants to post how much he spent, them that's all on him. I don't tell you how to run your life.

Just saying.

 

Dito....
The only time I think about how much I have invested in my build is when I run out of money to put into it hahahaha.

 

Looking at your lower sig pic is funny because I remember a time where my car was in the EXACT same state LOL! Looks like it's coming along nicely.

 

Lol ya your sig was like that for a while, but it takes time to do things right and on your own.

 

What was the round about cost to soda blast? I don't think 4 years later will make a big diff. Thanks-Jimmy Nice Work BTW, Inspiration!

 

Thank you Jimmy! Round about cost for everything I'd say was right up around $850-1000. And that is everything...inside and outside of doors, chassis, engine bay, both sides of hood, etc. The local guy that did it is great to work with and once I kept coming back, he eased up on pricing for me.

 

Finally had the car out with the new weld RT-S wheels on it this weekend and snapped a few good shots for you all. BIG difference in both looks and traction over the old blinging 18's lol. These wheels really set the car off and bring it all together, and I couldn't be happier with them! The traction now is amazing, and the car will bite even in 1st gear. It's so nice to be able to use the power now!











And a little vid of me using my new found traction against a modded honda CBR 600 RR bike.

I didn't brake boost the car on the start even though I should have, because it would have helped me out a bit. But oh well, the guys a buddy of mine, and we can always line up again!

 

you Sir, have one beautiful car. love the color and wheels.

makes me wanna sell my 4th gen and go back to a third gen. i miss my 91 formula

maybe when i get stationed in indiana i can start a build of my own lol.

 

The rims & tires look great. What size tire did you go with? I ordered a staggered set of Boss 338s for my car and ended up returning the rears because it just didn't look right, but yours look great.

 

Thanks man! I tried the 4th gen thing and had to go back to my true love lol. I'm a third gen guy at heart!

Went with a 275/40/17 in the front, and a big 295/45/17 in the rear. They hook awesome on the street! And thank you!

 

I just read through 34 pages of this thread and wanted to thank you for being so painfully thorough in documenting your build. This thread will be an invaluable resource for those of us that are crazy enough to follow in your footsteps



It just kills me that I'm only just beginning on mine and have so far to go

 

The rim change just made me fall for youre car.. Wasnt crazy about the "Bling". Now it really looks Killer!

 

Very nice ride.

Great job man!

 

Any updates on your T/A? Hows it running, any awards, any loss of traction( new tires needed because of burnouts)?

 

The car is doing great! Been driving it a ton when I can, and have just over 2K miles on it since finishing the build. I'd love to drive it more, but I have been constantly improving things with it and it has taken some time to get perfected. It currently has a completely re-designed turbo setup on it since the old one was not ideal. I'll have to get some new pics up. I also won a huge trophy for 1st place in the firebird class at a car show that had over 600 cars. I was stoked about that one! Like I said, I'll have to take some recent pics and post them up, but the car is doing excellent and I am loving every minute of driving it!

 

This is the official photo taken when I received the trophy. This cruise is the largest weekly cruise in New England and will get anywhere from 500 to over 900 cars, and it's held every Monday throughout the summer. People drive from as far as northern MA and NY to come to this show. I won on the official firebird night for best bird. There was probably a total of 500 cars, and 50 or so birds there, and all different generations too....and a third gen won! This is also the first third gen bird to EVER win a trophy at this show since it started, so that alone made me feel pretty freaking awesome! I have been going to this show for the 10 years I've owned my car and honestly this was one of the single most gratifying things that has happened since completing the car!

 

I also ended up completely redesigning the turbo setup. The old one had flaws here and there and the mild steel manifolds kept cracking every few hundred miles. This is turbo setup 2.0, and is worlds above the old design! A few problem areas and flaws I address this time around were...

-Cast iron exhaust manifolds instead of mild steel
-All SS piping for merge and downpipe to hold up better to the heat
-Much more high flow merge pipe and junction where the turbo bolts up - this resulted in decreasing spool time by a full 500 RPM!! I get the full 11 psi now by 3200-3300 rpm.
-Aluminum charge piping instead of the previous steel. This way it doesn't heat soak as much and is lighter in weight.
-Inlet pipe into the throttle body has been moved to the drivers side so that it does not have to travel above the turbo exhaust housing and get heated up.

I have put about 1000 miles on this new setup with lots of abuse and it has help up flawlessly so far. It is so much better flowing that it actually completely changed the pitch of the exhaust note too, and the car sounds like a C5 vette now while cruising. I'll try to get a sound clip up, but for now heres a few pics!

During merge pipe assembly


Closeup of the merge transition into the turbo. LEAGUES above the old design.


Newly designed downpipe with heavy duty flex pipe


And the finished product!




This new setup put down 540 rwhp and 522 rwtq on just 15* timing and a relatively conservative 11.4 AFR. For reference, the old junk setup made 563 rwhp and 546 rwtq at 23* of timing and a very lean 12.3 AFR. Basically on the edge of destruction, where as this setup is only 23 HP down on a hugely more conservative tune! I am very happy with it, and plan on adding boost soon once I get one more thing situated.

 

very nice!

 

Looks great. That trophy was well deserved!

 

I do believe your Bird is the cleanest third gen I have ever seen. Beautiful.

Congratulations on winning the trophy.

That's awesome.

Man I've just done a suspension swap and battery relo and some other stuff and currently doing heads/cam, and this has been a big enough PITA for me.

It IS a fourth gen, though, which makes it a bit harder in some areas.

Great job on your car!

 

Did you use the 4th gen booster too? When I installed the 4th Gen booster and master cylinder it was too close to the shock tower plates to suit me.

 

No, just the master off the 4th gen. I didn't think the 4th gen booster worked in a 3rd gen.

 

I'll try that route tomorrow; using the 4th Gen master cylinder on the 3rd Gen booster.

 

Congrtas a winning Bud. You definitely deserve it. I would nominate you for the COTM but you already won that one. Maybe next year I will bring my Bird to the firebird night. I ended up pretty good this year at the shows also. I got a first place, two top 10s, and a top 25. She is away for the winter already and I miss driving her. Hopefully we can hook up next year because I really want to see your car.

 

Thanks for the good words, and I would love to see yours in person too! It would be pretty awesome if we could gather up some very clean and unique third gen birds for firebird night at Marks cruise night next summer. It's not a sight you see too often!

 

Haven't been on here in some time. Figured my newest news was worth a mention though. After almost a full year of talking back and forth, photo shoots, and lots of conversation, I scored a feature spot in GM High Tech Performance magazine! Not only that, but the editor felt my car was worthy enough of the front cover as well.



I also got this reeeeeaaaaally fancy plaque made.



I accomplished not only one, but both huge goals I set for myself with this car. One was to take home a trophy at the big Mark's cruise night show, and the other was to get a feature in GMHTP magazine. I am blown away that I made the cover and really couldn't have asked for anything more. Now the one thing left is to drive the pants off this car for years to come!

 

Congrats. You've earned the accolades.

 

Congrats Bud... Well deserved.

 

Congrats! Very nice...

 

Congratulations!

 

That's awesome!

 

congrats man.your car is one of my favorite rides on the board.

 

Thanks a lot everyone. Every single compliment I get still means a ton to me, and I've probably mentioned this before, but doing this build thread was one of the most fun things I've ever done car related. I have been at an all time high with the mag feature and all, but I always think back to this build thread and remember where it all started. Sometimes I almost think I was crazy for taking this project on LOL! All worth it in the end though.

 

I think that I've said it before, but this car is amazing. Congrats.

 

yeah I got mine this month and I was like heyyy I know that car lol. congrats on the feature, it is well deserved

 

That's awesome! You earned that cover spot and article! Congrats!

 

Beautiful car! Very nicely done.
I await the day my 86 T/A is at least running and just repainted...