So far I have dropped $150 on detailing stuff to try and bring out the paint, although it's old laquer base it will probably not stand up without constant attention.
I'm on the hunt for some F-body 16" rims with beefier tires, looked around for Vortec 5000 L30 truck heads to replace the shotty LG4 ones, investigated exhaust, suspension and brake upgrades...and most importantly, the stereo.
$1300 leaves a lot of budget to work on other issues.
So far the plans are as follows. It's not all a short term plan.
Suspension:
- beefier Moog springs all around (F-body springs)
- Bilstein shocks
- bigger sway bars
- maybe upgrade bushings as needed to tighten it up
- maybe an F-body steering box
- B-body upper control arms and spindles so I can put 12" front brakes on from the 1LE F-bodies
- 16 by 8 Trans-Am GTA wheels with 245/50R16 tires
Brakes:
- disc rears from F-body
- 1LE 12" front brakes
- proportioning valve and master cylinder to match
- Hawk pads
Drivetrain:
- 3.42 ring and pinion
- Torsen or posi differential (prefer Torsen but may have to scam a posi)
- stock torque converter but maybe a shift kit. I don't want to kill the mileage too badly
Engine:
- L30 Vortec 305 truck heads with 1.84/1.5 valves versus smaller stock valves, same size chambers for 9.3:1 compression (regular gas)
- Edelbrock Performer Vortec intake manifold
- hotter camshaft with 0.45/0.45 lift and more duration to keep some power down low at stock stall and open up the top end significantly
- headers and dual exhaust...the sum total should put me at about 250 hp and with the 3.42 gears it should get around just fine. It's great up to 40 mph but the lack of top end power even compared to my 3.1 liter Malibu is astounding.
Body:
- clean it up and make it pretty. Period.
- maybe 50% tint because when I was driving it home, I sunburned through the side windows. It's definitely not solar glass.
Interior:
- replace the idiot lights etc. with a real tach, speedometer and gauges
- upgrade the stereo with a modern head unit, 6.5" components up front, 6 by 9" speakers rear, a subwoofer (nothing huge, maybe a single 10" in a sealed box to fill in the bottom and a five-channel amp)