This is 75% dad's project but we're splitting the work. Hopefully this will be a quick one but we'll see what pops up as we dig in.
So a bit of background, we picked up a 97 red y87 3800 auto firebird in 2011 as my Winter beater. At the time my cutlass was basically too nice to winter drive, cold blooded so not a great fit for MN/ND winters and I wanted to play with something EFI.
This 97 was sitting with a rod hanging out the side of the block on a side street in Minneapolis that I saw on CL for $1000. Owner was going to put a SBC in it but got in over their head. Dad and I found a $250 L67 supercharged 3800 out of a rollover GP GTP and stabbed that in.
The car had ~120k on it when I picked it up and it was just starting to bubble rust in the floor pans and lower quarter in front of the rear wheels. We did a quick cosmetic touchup, got the L67 running and used it. It performed the duty of speed errand car, Winter beater and drag car for me and dad pretty much full time between 2011 and 2016.
Fall of 16 I took it in my first drag and drive, got it to the best of a 12.6x.
It actually looked pretty decent
And for like $3500 all in was a killer setup. 28mpg on 87, snow tires in the winter, drag radials and e85 and mid 12's in the summer along with TTops off cruising to the lake or the farm.
But 2016 was about the peak. I transitioned to the wagon, 2+2 and cutlass and dad just drove it. It's up to about 200k now and the chassis is miled out.
The floor pans where the LCA attached are total swiss cheese
The seats are totally pounded out
It has several brake issues and dad fights to keep brake fluid in the thing.
The paint on the front end looks like poop. It got wrecked lightly like 3 times in the last 12 years and paint has faded differently as parts got swapped, clear has pealed and it got backed into a few times at dads work and has a hole on the bumper cover and a crease in the driver's quarter along with the quick paint touch up of rust totally exploding into a local tumor.
So the hunt for a new chassis was on. Having a 12 second capable drivetrain that's unique, compact, affordable and gets high 20s mpg is something we want to keep. Was thinking about a clean 2dr late production XJ but that's hard to find. We've looked at probably 4 98-02 4th gens to no avail, thought about RX8's, maybe a 98-05 S10 blazer.
But last week a $1000 black 99 y87 fbird roller came up for sale 50 miles from dad and needless to say it's in his driveway.
Bonus, it's essentially the same spec as the 97. Y87 so posi, 3.42, f41, 4wheel disk, t top auto, but none of the dump w68 TA cladding that makes 3800 fbirds look dumb.
Cons? We have to de-hackify the aftermath of a failed LS swap. Yes, that makes 2 3800 cars that I've saved from V8 swaps lol.
So plan:
Dads going to rip the drivetrain out of the red 97 first warm weekend when the driveway isn't covered in snow. He will deliver engine and trans to me.
I need to put a 3200 stall converter in that I've had since 16, send the injectors out for service, convert return less rail to a return regulator, change some seals and cleanup.
Need to swap the entire 97 dash harness and gages to the 99.
99- CAN gages, DBW throttle
97- Analog gages, DBC throttle
We didn't get a 99 dbw engine harness and the 97 already has a dbc set up L67. NA l36 throttle is too small to make power on a L67, and there's no room to put a stepper motor throttle on the blower. Plus, L36 f body dbw throttle is totally one off and reportedly no other larger options work. So hard and painful decision there.
Also picked up some qa1 used single adjustable coilovers off FB for $100.
Goal is to have at least a 99 with engine in my driveway by May so I can plug away at it this summer. Trying to refine and fix some of the shortcuts and mistakes I made when I was 17 putting this together the first time.
Dad and I both need a fun rainy day car. People give 4th gens a lot of crap for being plastic fantastic but I'm a believer that the supply has dried up a lot in the last few years and I'm trying to get on a nice chassis before they are all wasted or $15k+.
Oh and if I end up with too much money in putting Y1 17" snowflakes on it.
Updates coming when the snow melts.
So a bit of background, we picked up a 97 red y87 3800 auto firebird in 2011 as my Winter beater. At the time my cutlass was basically too nice to winter drive, cold blooded so not a great fit for MN/ND winters and I wanted to play with something EFI.
This 97 was sitting with a rod hanging out the side of the block on a side street in Minneapolis that I saw on CL for $1000. Owner was going to put a SBC in it but got in over their head. Dad and I found a $250 L67 supercharged 3800 out of a rollover GP GTP and stabbed that in.
The car had ~120k on it when I picked it up and it was just starting to bubble rust in the floor pans and lower quarter in front of the rear wheels. We did a quick cosmetic touchup, got the L67 running and used it. It performed the duty of speed errand car, Winter beater and drag car for me and dad pretty much full time between 2011 and 2016.
Fall of 16 I took it in my first drag and drive, got it to the best of a 12.6x.
It actually looked pretty decent
And for like $3500 all in was a killer setup. 28mpg on 87, snow tires in the winter, drag radials and e85 and mid 12's in the summer along with TTops off cruising to the lake or the farm.
But 2016 was about the peak. I transitioned to the wagon, 2+2 and cutlass and dad just drove it. It's up to about 200k now and the chassis is miled out.
The floor pans where the LCA attached are total swiss cheese
The seats are totally pounded out
It has several brake issues and dad fights to keep brake fluid in the thing.
The paint on the front end looks like poop. It got wrecked lightly like 3 times in the last 12 years and paint has faded differently as parts got swapped, clear has pealed and it got backed into a few times at dads work and has a hole on the bumper cover and a crease in the driver's quarter along with the quick paint touch up of rust totally exploding into a local tumor.
So the hunt for a new chassis was on. Having a 12 second capable drivetrain that's unique, compact, affordable and gets high 20s mpg is something we want to keep. Was thinking about a clean 2dr late production XJ but that's hard to find. We've looked at probably 4 98-02 4th gens to no avail, thought about RX8's, maybe a 98-05 S10 blazer.
But last week a $1000 black 99 y87 fbird roller came up for sale 50 miles from dad and needless to say it's in his driveway.
Bonus, it's essentially the same spec as the 97. Y87 so posi, 3.42, f41, 4wheel disk, t top auto, but none of the dump w68 TA cladding that makes 3800 fbirds look dumb.
Cons? We have to de-hackify the aftermath of a failed LS swap. Yes, that makes 2 3800 cars that I've saved from V8 swaps lol.
So plan:
Dads going to rip the drivetrain out of the red 97 first warm weekend when the driveway isn't covered in snow. He will deliver engine and trans to me.
I need to put a 3200 stall converter in that I've had since 16, send the injectors out for service, convert return less rail to a return regulator, change some seals and cleanup.
Need to swap the entire 97 dash harness and gages to the 99.
99- CAN gages, DBW throttle
97- Analog gages, DBC throttle
We didn't get a 99 dbw engine harness and the 97 already has a dbc set up L67. NA l36 throttle is too small to make power on a L67, and there's no room to put a stepper motor throttle on the blower. Plus, L36 f body dbw throttle is totally one off and reportedly no other larger options work. So hard and painful decision there.
Also picked up some qa1 used single adjustable coilovers off FB for $100.
Goal is to have at least a 99 with engine in my driveway by May so I can plug away at it this summer. Trying to refine and fix some of the shortcuts and mistakes I made when I was 17 putting this together the first time.
Dad and I both need a fun rainy day car. People give 4th gens a lot of crap for being plastic fantastic but I'm a believer that the supply has dried up a lot in the last few years and I'm trying to get on a nice chassis before they are all wasted or $15k+.
Oh and if I end up with too much money in putting Y1 17" snowflakes on it.
Updates coming when the snow melts.
