Need Advice from the LS1/Fbody Guys!!!

[kTrainHurricane]

*I had another thread with the same title, but found a different car that I am now considering...sorry for making a new thread but I didnt know how to edit the old one.*

I am looking for another Fbody and came across a 1999 Camaro Z28. The owner said he bought the car with intentions of making it a drag car, but has recently decided he doesn't want to keep spending money on it. He basically started from "the outside, in" upgrading the suspension, putting manual Aerospace drag brakes on it, Weld Pro Stars, 6-pt. cage, etc. He decided to "back out" of it once he got to the motor part...was gonna do heads + cam and all that but never got to it. The motor is stock and untouched and only has bolt-ons. Here is his description from his For Sale listing:

This is a quick street car with all the bolt ons. LS6 intake, Jet Hot Headers, SLP cold air, NX Express system, MSD window switch, 3600 stall Yanko, 346 gears, BMR rear suspension, Weld Wheels, M/T tires, Aero Space brakes, line lock and more. Dyno tuned to 300 RWHP. 6 point custom roll cage. 76 k miles, auto, cloth interior.

Some things did not make sense to me.
1). 3.46 gears? I belive those are GTO gears, right? Perhaps he made a typo, but maybe not...
2). 300 rwhp seems kind of low, doesn't it? I am not sure which bolt-ons he had at the time of the tune, but I expected to see a higher number
3). What is driveability like with 5" Weld rims in the front? Would I be highly advised not to drive it with them, or will it be fine if I am cautious? Please forgive my ignorance, but could I swap them with a 15x7 rim if I wanted to daily drive the car?

 

[Vampire]

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call Nitrous, a 3600 stall converter, line lock, a roll cage, and skinnies/slicks "bolt-ons"...thats a race car missing its engine if you ask me!

I'm not saying the guy is lying, but have you ever heard of a racer dumping his money into everything EXCEPT the engine? Something's off to me...maybe he had a built engine in it and swapped it out to sell the car. Who knows...its just not normal.

BTW 300 RWHP isn't too far off for an LS1 with mild bolt-ons. In '99 the stock engine was rated at 305 HP (at the flywheel) if I'm not mistaken, so when you factor in the driveline loss after the added power its probably about right. And you could get a 3.42 rear with the automatic trans in 98-02, but I don't recall hearing of a 3.46. I could be wrong about that though. Everything else sounds odd to me, based on just what you posted anyway. Just my $0.02.

Can you go see the car?

 

[Roc87]

3600 stall with a stock engine? How big of a cam was he planning?! My '01 Vette with just Z06 cats (2 rather than stock 4) an X-pipe, PRT mufflers, intake & tune got me 322rwhp before I did the longtube headers & highflow cats, but that's through a 6sp not an auto. If you know what you're doing you'd be fine with the 5" welds, just don't let anyone else drive it unless they're familar with skinnies

 

[kTrainHurricane]

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call Nitrous, a 3600 stall converter, line lock, a roll cage, and skinnies/slicks "bolt-ons"...thats a race car missing its engine if you ask me!

Yeah I ended up checking out the car this afternoon and it wasnt what I expected/what he told me it was gonna be. I did ask him about the nitrous over the phone and he said he never ran it at the strip and had it installed to go along with the motor build that he never got to. He said he did make ~20/25 passes in it on motor, but then I was shown a picture taken of it almost lifting tire off the line at the 2008 Nationals in Orlando.

He drove me up and down the street in it, got on it, and it wouldn't shift 1-2 - said it probably needed a tune because it was hitting the rev limiter

Off to the search again I go...

 

[Vampire]

He said he did make ~20/25 passes in it on motor, but then I was shown a picture taken of it almost lifting tire off the line at the 2008 Nationals in Orlando.

BUSTED!!!

Have you had an LS1 car before? They are ballsy, stout engines bone stock, I would really suggest you go as stock as possible, and mod it as you go. I've had two and did that both times. I never modded much beyond intake/exhaust stuff, but then I never had the cash to LOL. But buying modded cars is taking a huge risk...you really never know what you're getting, how many things were modded, how many things were removed/repaired/replaced, and so on. As you've seen yourself

I was torn between an LS1 F-body and a GN when I bought my '87 last year, and as I recall you could still get a mostly stock car for a pretty reasonable price. If I had found a stock black 2002 Camaro SS with a 6-speed, it would be sitting in the garage instead of the GN! But I love my car :biggrin:

Good luck.