Jason E

Alright, my friend and I have been doing a little bench racing, and when he comes up from Florida later on this year, he's hopefully gonna bring his car up so he can show off the resto he's doing. We've been debating which car would be faster, as even though they are two VERY different powertrains, when brand new the #s they run are close to identical.

Car #1 is an '83 L69 Z28, 5 speed stick, stock 3.73:1 gears. Car has 173k miles on it, bone stock, motor has never been rebuilt. Runs excellent, uses little oil...only problem he'd have running me is the 2-3 shift is a little sloppy. He bought it for $450 from a junk car hut, and while he has put extensive body prep into it, the drivetrain is still stock...

Car #2 is one I just bought 4 hours ago...an '89 Formula 305 TPI, automatic with 2.73:1 posi rear. Car has 103k miles on it, runs perfect, I picked it up for a grand wholesale from the dealer I work at. Doesn't seem to burn hardly any oil, tranny shifts good, all it needs is chassis and body work.

So both of these cars, depending on the magazine road test you read, run between a 6.9-7.3 0-60, and between 15.0-15.4 in the 1/4 mile. I have tests where the L69 was faster, and tests where the LB9 was faster. So for $1,450, who got the faster car??? There's only one way to find out...just thought it might be cool to hear some ideas. Whatever happens, I know it would be dead close!!!

orange rocket

I can't race you The car has a general tire and a firestone tire. Neither one hooks for crap and both have cuts in em Oh wait I have new rims and Comp T/A's are going on sooo yea I'll race

Mark A Shields

I'd say the TPI will win, not off the line but it'll win.

orange rocket

Tomorrow the interior is getting painted. Then the dash can go back in! With out the interior I have a weight advantage Tomorrow after the paint dries I will be able to put my dash and wiring harness in!

As for my shifting it is perfect. If my tranny was fine then I would have no doubt about beating him, but the 3rd gear is about as wide $.02 *****. You can be in third and think it's first or fifth(obviously not power wise) but it is really bad. This car was spanked and even had its "Z" bar snapped in half by the previous owner. Unfortunatly we are going to have to run before I rebuild the drive train. Then she is completely pampered

85transamtpi

If both cars are bone stock, it would be a pretty close race. The LB9's flatter, taller torque curve should make up for the difference in gearing, but the L69's top end should be better. I'll give the 1/4 mile race to the LB9 by less than a lenght (just a guess cuz it'll be close).

Now if I were to choose a car to start modding, the L69 would be my choice hands down. The L69 will take a larger cam without complaining (tpi computers suck), and an aftermarket intake and some carb tweaking will result in huge gains! Plus you can swap out the block for a 350, and not worry about upgrading the intake system.

Sorry tpi guys...but I've been there, done that. I dont plan on doing it ever again.

-Doug

orange rocket

Hey 85transamtpi,

I say the hell with all the old sbc and stick with the LS1
It's nice to know I'm not the only 98-up T/A owner in here:lala:

orange rocket

Well Jason thank you for pointing out that we have the two cars at the top of the page. As for one beating the other by half a car length. I saw we look above and see the Briar brown beating the Formula Therefor I win

vortecfcar

hey orange rocket....In your sig you say bolt on a vortec. Do you mean Votech supercharger or are you goin with the vortec L31 swap?

just raggin ya a little, Nice lineup

orange rocket

Actually thank Jason E for that one. What I really want is a Paxton. When I get money it will be getting the charger, SLP long tubes, SLP cam, SLP heads, SLP programer, LS6 intake, LCA relocators, SLP clutch kit, and a new rear end!

-I want the the car to have a few ponnies
-The 83 is a restoration piece and fun to drive! But is breaking the bank
- As for the Caddy you should have seen my 93 Eldorado that had a $17k stereo in it with the exact mods I have listed going on my 94 soon!

Jason E

Hey Matt,

We'll see about the briar brown car beating the maui blue car...

The fact remains that both cars don't look so good right now, so I guess we should both just shut the hell up and go work on them, eh??