Car choice dillema

[ricergribbs]

ok so i want a car that would be good for street racing. i really like imports, but i dont think i can afford them. the best choice ive found so far is a 1980's camaro. i could drop a chevy 350 into it pretty easily, so itd have quite a bit of power, and it wouldnt be too hard to get down into the 11's. but well like i said i like imports, the camaro+engine+other mods would cost me around 3000$, does any know of any import i could pull something close to this off with? i need to save money as im going off to college this year, but still i want to have a weekend car thats more fun then my civic. pretty much, im asking people to flame, comment, post what you think i should get, etc. i told you what i can get, now show me that ive missed something. oh yeah, and like i said before i really want an import, so no 5.0 mustangs plz.

[-The Stig-]

Hmmm...

If you want a motor that'll get you into the 11's on a budget... you'll have to build it yourself.

Find/Buy/Steal a 4-bolt Main block...

And get these parts...
Eagle 4340 Forged Crank - $654.99
Eagle ESP 4340 Forged Rods - $499.99
SpeedPro Forged Pistons +.030" - $223.92
S/R Torquer 2.02"/1.60" 170cc Intake Runner Iron head - $759.98
CraneCams Energizer Aluminum Rockers - $189.99
CraneCams Emissions Legal Hydraulic Cam - $154.99

So far the total is $2396.86

The thing is, you'll need to decide a intake to use. I'm not sure if you want to use a TPI type setup. I would... just have it ported a bit. But with a TPI setup, and that bottom end you're looking at 360hp @ 5500rpm and 391ft-lbs @ 4000rpm.

That right there should get you deep into the 13s, if not knocking on the 12's back door. With proper suspension and tire setup of course.

You'll need to add about another $2000-2500 for little things that'll be needed to finish that motor. Distributor, Ignition, Exhaust, Water Pump, and all the little odds and ends that run the cost up.

Now, the reason why I provided entire bottom end in forged steel is for Nitrous. If you're looking for 11's on a budget. Slap on a Nitrous kit from anybody that supports a 200-250hp shot for your motor application. Edelbrock, NitrousExpress and NOS probably all make a kit for the SBC350.

With a 200hp shot, you're looking at the 560hp @ 5500rpm according to desktop dyno. Obviously you'll need really really good tires to get traction.

That should be enough 'oomph' to get you into the 11's.

Best thing about all the parts I selected, they're all 50-state legal. Meaning you could theoretically drive this setup on the street here in California. Edelbrock makes a Aluminum head, they're $979.98 a pair. That'll bring the initial cost of the motor from $2396.86 to $2616.86.

With either head, the motor will have about a 9.50-9.74:1 compression ratio. Letting you run 89 octane, but I'd suggest 91 if you plan on running it hard constantly or nitrous... or both.

Hope that helps.

Oh, a good Import you could pick up for cheap and just throw a few grand into and hit deep 12's with easy is a 1st generation Mitsubishi/Eagle Eclipse GSX/Talon TSi. AWD and Turbo charged... they're mean little buggers.

[Partizan]

Wow redneck, you're like a fountain of information. That's impressive, did you do all that off the top of your head?

[BP2K2Max]

I've heard of peole buying mid 80's datsun 240z's and swapping in chevy small blocks, 350's particularly. i'm not too knowledgable on the matter but(iirc) i remember seeing a vid of one doing a 13 second pass and i recall people saying that it's relatively easy and inexpensive.

[RACER D12]

Like RED said a 1st generation eclipse GSX/talon TSI. Also you could check out a Nissan 300zTT, would cost you a little more but hey looks better IMO and its got more potential. Then theres the 240sx turbo it and you could find 12s with 3000 maybe 11s but thats pushing it I would think.

[street_racer_00]

IMO, the 240sx is the best platform you can work with...you could find an S13 for dirt cheap.

[-The Stig-]

Originally Posted by Partizan

Wow redneck, you're like a fountain of information. That's impressive, did you do all that off the top of your head?

I wish, I just know where to find information. I've got about 4-5 'go-faster' parts catalogs and the internet is a great search tool.

Plus, I was bored.

Originally Posted by BP2K2Max

I've heard of peole buying mid 80's datsun 240z's and swapping in chevy small blocks, 350's particularly. i'm not too knowledgable on the matter but(iirc) i remember seeing a vid of one doing a 13 second pass and i recall people saying that it's relatively easy and inexpensive.

JTR makes the kit to buy for V8 swaps into the Z car.

Reason being, is that an old company called Skarab used to take Z cars and swap the Chevy Smallblock power plant into them. Problem with their setup was that the V8 sat too far forward and too high. Making it handle crappy, if you used anything other than a stock height intake manifold you couldn't close the hood of the Z.

JTR's kit sits the SBC against the firewall (distributor sits about 3/4" from the firewall) and about an inch lower than the Skarab installation. It also keeps the motor back behind the front axle which helps the handling aspect of the car. Doing so moves the car's center of gravity more towards the center of the car rather than offset to the front.

The actuall installation isn't that hard, but there is a bunch of little things that you have to do to prep the car in order to do the swap.

Originally Posted by street_racer_00

IMO, the 240sx is the best platform you can work with...you could find an S13 for dirt cheap.

Actually, cause of the recent burst of popularity of the drift scene. The cost of a decent condition 5-speed S13 and S14 has risen substantially. Had they not of gotten so stupidly expensive for such a simple car, I would be driving one right now instead of my Z.

But, I'm glad I got my Z... same basic layout. But a million times more class. Plus chicks think it's Cute.

[LjasonL]

Buy what you want, don't buy something just cuz it can do blah blah better than something else. That's stupid.