So many cars... so little money

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 03:32 PM

Ok it has come down to this... i have gone through and wondered about cobras, mach 1s, z28s, and ws6s... and i honestly just dont think i can do it... i have a car payment already and im thiinking about getting a house in a year or so...

BUT... yes ther is a but... I may have found a solution... i was watching joe dirt... and the 2nd gen kid rock has is fuggin awesome... and though im not in the mood to do a full resto on anything... i think i can pick up one that is like a 5 to 7 year old resto for like $7500... i dont have to have a lift to pull the motor... i could prolly nearly buy it out right... and yeah its gonna have some issues here and there, but its not my daily... i dont have to count on it adn even if they release a new t/a who cares... mine is 30 years old...

im looking at a 400 since its still a good motor, but its not a big block... i want to get a little handleing out of this thing... and ill prolly do fuel injection on it b4 too long... but even with some work i could have a nice car for like $12.5k... its t tops... and it prolly comes with a mullet already installed in the head rest...

yall are my peeps... whether you like it or not and i respect your opinions, so what do you think? i plan on having a clean dependable 2nd gen... i dont see anything wrong with that... dont know auto or stick though... if it were a stick i would have to do a t56... ill prolly just do auto... and im ok with the fact that modern cars will out handle me and get me on top end... but i hope they have something special if they plan on getting me out of the hole...

-me

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by predator

Ok it has come down to this... i have gone through and wondered about cobras, mach 1s, z28s, and ws6s... and i honestly just dont think i can do it... i have a car payment already and im thiinking about getting a house in a year or so...

BUT... yes ther is a but... I may have found a solution... i was watching joe dirt... and the 2nd gen kid rock has is fuggin awesome... and though im not in the mood to do a full resto on anything... i think i can pick up one that is like a 5 to 7 year old resto for like $7500... i dont have to have a lift to pull the motor... i could prolly nearly buy it out right... and yeah its gonna have some issues here and there, but its not my daily... i dont have to count on it adn even if they release a new t/a who cares... mine is 30 years old...

im looking at a 400 since its still a good motor, but its not a big block... i want to get a little handleing out of this thing... and ill prolly do fuel injection on it b4 too long... but even with some work i could have a nice car for like $12.5k... its t tops... and it prolly comes with a mullet already installed in the head rest...

yall are my peeps... whether you like it or not and i respect your opinions, so what do you think? i plan on having a clean dependable 2nd gen... i dont see anything wrong with that... dont know auto or stick though... if it were a stick i would have to do a t56... ill prolly just do auto... and im ok with the fact that modern cars will out handle me and get me on top end... but i hope they have something special if they plan on getting me out of the hole...

-me

The Pontiac 400 is a great engine, but the way they came in the mid to late 70's T/A's, they would make better boat anchors.

A 77' TA is so slow you have to put a highspeed camera on it to see it move.

You could build the 400, or go and get your hands on a 455. Pontiac motors are all built off of roughly the same block, so there is no "big block" or "small block" with Pontiacs. Size wise, the Pontiac engine is in between a Chevy big block and a gen 1 small block.

They are cool cars though.

**INandOUTBurger** · 03-05-2006, 03:47 PM

dude the seventies to early eighties were what killed the American car companies

you will have a car full of rattles....miss matched color plastic.....little trinket ass parts and it will all fit like miss-matched shit

shitty suspension with a TON of weight on an old rode hard warn out frame

with few exceptions that era of American car belongs on a scrap ship to china

get a late eighties early nineties mustang and be done with it....

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...e=&cardist=300

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...e=&cardist=294

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...en&cardist=300

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 04:18 PM

i have an 80 t top stang... but like i said... i dont want to put that much work into it... i just dont know what to do.... and i planned on building the 400... hopefully get one that was recently done so i could just do internals... heads, fuel injection, headers, cam... you know like 450-500 hp if possible... i cant afford a 1st gen... im not much of a fan of 3rd gens... and i dont like lt1 cars...

the stang yeah shes scary fast...

and might as well throw in the truck... yeah blown 350... woot for an automatic tranny shifting from over drive to 2nd at over 100 mph...

Originally Posted by jking

You could build the 400, or go and get your hands on a 455. Pontiac motors are all built off of roughly the same block, so there is no "big block" or "small block" with Pontiacs. Size wise, the Pontiac engine is in between a Chevy big block and a gen 1 small block.

HUH? the 403 olds was a big block and the 400 was a small block... RIGHT?

**oneBADDz** · 03-05-2006, 04:34 PM

2nd gens look like they could kill anything on the road, but seriously as stated before, you will be very dissapointed in most apects of the 2nd gen. Ad for 7500 you might as well get an LS1 Z28. Look at my profile, I got my Z for 8200. It's a 99 with 49,300. For 1 grand there is no reason to settle for an old car that you will end up pumping $$$ into anyways. My best friend has a 77 T/A, damn it looks awesome, but with a fair amount of money in the motor he is now a perfect race for my 97 chevy truck. . .

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 05:35 PM

ok $20k for the 4th gen i want... and like $10k in aftermarket parts... like a said by a restored one for under $10k... and put like $5k to $7k in it and bam respectable car for like $15k... how much do they weigh in comparison to to fth gens? i mean 500 hp will get anything to moving...

-me

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by predator

ok $20k for the 4th gen i want... and like $10k in aftermarket parts... like a said by a restored one for under $10k... and put like $5k to $7k in it and bam respectable car for like $15k... how much do they weigh in comparison to to fth gens? i mean 500 hp will get anything to moving...

-me

The Camaro's were not too bad.

Around 3500-3700 depending on the year.

http://www.f-body.org/tech/tech.htm#SecGen

I assume the Firebird's are close.

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 06:06 PM

and lookin on the net i dont think they made auto 400s which is what i would want... im actually thinking *cough* ls1 with t56... that way i could stick around the community and not just be a sideline sitter... and i mean come on how cool would that be? but thats another desicion...

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 06:24 PM

http://www.thepontiactransampage.com/production.html

Looks like autos accounted for 90% of the 400 cars in 1978...

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 06:39 PM

i was talking 79... but tahts good to know

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by predator

i was talking 79... but tahts good to know

I'm sure it's the same.

I was just looking at some on E-bay.

You should be able to find one.

The mods you were talking about and a stall, and you have a good running car.

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 06:54 PM

http://www.transamtech.com/79_index.shtml

that the best i could find on a 79... says 0 with 400 and 0 manuals with the 403...

and im not planning on building a chicken house special... we are talking roll cage in the sob... i gotta have some umph to get that big mo fo rollin...

i guess right off the top of my head would be the 400 with MPFI off a camaro with new runners and so forth... nicely built engine... ok stereo... nice paint and nice interior... surely i could get this thing to run with bolt on ls1 firebirds... and as longs as the stangs are droppin like flies... its all good...

one thing is i really dont want to do wiring... gotta find one with the painless already done...

maybe even the 700 r4 from my truck... kevlar bands... zr1 servos... and 4 gears... might do pretty well in it with a good stall..

-me

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by predator

http://www.transamtech.com/79_index.shtml

that the best i could find on a 79... says 0 with 400 and 0 manuals with the 403...

and im not planning on building a chicken house special... we are talking roll cage in the sob... i gotta have some umph to get that big mo fo rollin...

i guess right off the top of my head would be the 400 with MPFI off a camaro with new runners and so forth... nicely built engine... ok stereo... nice paint and nice interior... surely i could get this thing to run with bolt on ls1 firebirds... and as longs as the stangs are droppin like flies... its all good...

one thing is i really dont want to do wiring... gotta find one with the painless already done...

maybe even the 700 r4 from my truck... kevlar bands... zr1 servos... and 4 gears... might do pretty well in it with a good stall..

-me

Interesting..

I wonder what the point was with using the 403?

I think that was an Oldsmobile motor..

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 07:01 PM

It was an Olds motor..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Trans_Am

**FasstChevys** · 03-05-2006, 08:14 PM

Honestly, a very good choice would be a 455 .... I know a guy with a very mildly built 455 in a '66 LeMans that runs 11.90's all day long. It runs real smooth, and on 92 octane fuel. Go find one for cheap in the junk yard, but, they're quickly getting snapped up too, just like the 454's about 6 to 8 years ago. He only had about 4 -5 grand stuck in the motor. Food for thought. Good luck with your choice

**predator** · 03-05-2006, 08:47 PM

thats a heavy bastard though... i think i have one sitting around... but its a 455 old... do i need a buick, an olds, or a pontiac 455?

**jking** · 03-05-2006, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by predator

thats a heavy bastard though... i think i have one sitting around... but its a 455 old... do i need a buick, an olds, or a pontiac 455?

You could probably shoehorn any of them in there, but the 455 would bolt right in.

Hell, if you have a 455 Olds, then go pick up one of the 1979 403ci TA's and drop it in.

**FasstChevys** · 03-06-2006, 05:12 AM

Originally Posted by predator

thats a heavy bastard though... i think i have one sitting around... but its a 455 old... do i need a buick, an olds, or a pontiac 455?

The Olds would work..........and, you already have it!

**predator** · 03-06-2006, 06:35 AM

i really like the 400 though... throw a ram jet with a centrifical supercharger on it... just makes me kinda horny... the only thing is this thing is gonna be SLOW until prolly next year when i get some cash saved up to pull the motor... that kinda blows... i hate the world... dick heads have cars and dont give a shit about them... and ppl that work their whole life for one cant afford one... i guess that is just reality... if it was perfect we would reject it and whole crops would be lost...

**FasstChevys** · 03-06-2006, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by predator

i really like the 400 though... throw a ram jet with a centrifical supercharger on it... just makes me kinda horny... the only thing is this thing is gonna be SLOW until prolly next year when i get some cash saved up to pull the motor... that kinda blows... i hate the world... dick heads have cars and dont give a shit about them... and ppl that work their whole life for one cant afford one... i guess that is just reality... if it was perfect we would reject it and whole crops would be lost...

Then go with the 400/ram jet with a centrifugal supercharger

I was just giving you an opinion that you asked everyone for. It sounds like you already know which direction you want to go anyway. Good luck.