What would you pay for this?

[eagl]

The TMS laps were great.  We were all autox racers so being paced at 80 was disappointing, but we'd probably have killed ourselves if we could go flat out  I think my car has enough grip that it felt like I could have taken it to at least 140 with reasonable safety but my car has that big spoiler and the trans-am body is actually pretty decent for aero.

The only mods I've done is adjustable race shocks, K&N air filter, iridium plugs because swapping out f-body plugs sucks, and a high performance muffler.  Within the stock category, I'm allowed to also upgrade the front swaybar and use any cat-back exhaust as long as I use "stock" style cats.  LS1 F-bodies are deliberately intake and exhaust restricted to ensure that from the factory they didn't compete with the vette, so you can get back nearly 20hp with a simple free flowing air filter and cat-back exhaust.  No intake work is allowed, so I just have the filter and it noticeably improved throttle response.

I like the white camaro rims  It sets off the red paint and gives it a bit more of a race-car look.  They have identical geometry to the stock rims and they're really cheap ($60 each if I recall correctly) so they're an obvious choice to use as my race set.

4 full size tires in an F-body...

Slide passenger seat full fwd and tilt forward.
Slide drivers seat fwd about 6 inches.
Fold down rear seatback.
Place down old blanket to protect interior.
Stack 2 tires, level, behind the passenger seat.  The top tire can go slightly farther outboard than the lower tire.  Place towel between tire and ceiling to avoid black scuff on ceiling liner.
Using another towel to protect the passenger seatback, fold it back upright and slide it back until it touches the tires, holding them from sliding around.
Behind drivers seat, place one tire angled up so it's leaning on the two tires behind the passenger seat.
Protect driver seatback with towel, and move drivers seat until it also touches the tire, holding it into place.
Open liftgate.
Place tools in rear covered cargo compartment.  Do this BEFORE putting last tire in otherwise you can't open the covered compartment very far.
Place last tire on center of raised rear deck, touching the tires up in the rear seat area.
Carefully close deck lid making sure tire doesn't hit glass.  If you pop the glass out by slamming the lid shut on the tire, it's your fault not mine

This works with the standard 8.5" wide tires.  I know it works with the biggest tires you can reasonably put on 16" rims, and it should also work just fine with the 17" firehawk or older vette rims, but the clearances might be a bit tighter.  Worst case, you can put one tire up on the front passenger seat but I never had to do that.

I worked this out so I wouldn't have to tow a trailer to and from events since it was at least a 3 hour drive each way.  On the other hand, if I had a trailer I could just keep all the crap in the trailer and loading/unloading before and after events would be a lot easier.  I think I may end up just getting a small trailer kit and customizing it for my race equipment.  That way I can keep other stuff like replacement brake discs and more tools/parts in there just in case I break something on race day.

[eagl]

I guess calling the paced TMS laps "hot" is a bit of an exaggeration, but still 80 mph on the high bank oval is pretty cool.  I was second to last in line so I lagged waaay off on the last lap and took it up to 120 entering turn 3 while catching up.  That's both freaky and cool, driving straight at a wall at 120 and also seeing the road twist up and to the left.  You know you just HAVE to gut it out and turn, because your other options of going straight, braking, or even turning and lifting off the throttle will all result in you wrecking into the wall at the top and then flipping all the way down the banking to the bottom where you'll get another nasty bump as you hit the level infield again.

So yea it wasn't a true "hot" lap but it was fast enough under the circumstances.  I'd love to do it again without the crap in the back of the car but it's not really race prepped so it just wouldn't be safe.  I may shell out the big bucks for one of those race weekends though, where you go through a day of academics and then get a true day of hot laps with an instructor in a fully prepped race car.  Expensive, but I really want to do it before I get too old.

[DiabloTX]

You anywhere close to Houston?

I am amazed you could get those tires in there.  I have hard enough time with just groceries!

The ONE thing that most disappointed me about the 4th Gen F-body's is that GM chose to go with a solid rear-axle.  What a crappy decision that was.

Think we 'jacked this thread pretty good.

[eagl]

I'm in Korea right now but in a year I'll be in Wichita Falls, 100 miles NW of Dallas.  I did most of my racing in Dallas and Mineral Wells.

The solid rear axle makes the car handling a bit more old-skool, but it does have a very real traction advantage on the track.  In test after test, LS1 F-bodies with only about 300hp have proven to be faster on road courses than 300+ hp mustang cobras, with both solid and independent rear axles.  The solid axle isn't as easy to drive especially on an uneven surface, but in this types of car it's definately faster around the track due to a higher ultimate grip.  Remember these cars were not really designed for ultimate track performance and handling...  They're not going to be as fast as a vette or as nimble as a miata but they're suprisingly good for a 4 passenger car.

The solid rear axle also makes drag racing setup fairly straightforward.  Anyone can bolt on some suspension mods in a single weekend that will enable any F-body to consistently put 500+hp to the ground.  The F-body driveline is one of the most efficient drivetrains GM has ever produced, so I guess they figured that to truly replace the rear suspension setup with an independent setup that had the same level of performance, they'd have to go through a hideously expensive R&D process that would never pay off.

Yea every time I hit a bump when I'm on the gas and turning even a tiny bit, I nearly have a heart attack because the car jumps about 4 ft sideways.  But I wouldn't be willing to spend 10k more on the same car just to get an independent rear suspension.  At that point I may as well go for a vette or M3.

[DiabloTX]

Originally posted by eagl
Yea every time I hit a bump when I'm on the gas and turning even a tiny bit, I nearly have a heart attack because the car jumps about 4 ft sideways.  

That's what I'm talking about.  I don't road race or drag race my car and even with the 3.8 and getting on it if I hit an uneven patch of road it gets real twitchy.  

And of course they beat a Mustang Cobra...it's a Mustang.

Good stuff you posted, thanks!

[gofaster]

Originally posted by DiabloTX
Actually, the second generation F-bodies, especially the Trans Ams, are seeing a resurgence in popularity with collectors.  I'd pay 10 grand easily for a mint-condition '77 Smokey and the Bandit edition Trans Am like the one I had in high school;

I'm not ashamed to admit that that is my dream car.

I had a '75 Buccaneer Red Firebird with a spoiler and Hurst 4-speed, twin pipes, honeycomb rims, white leatherette interior.  I bought it second-hand in college and put A LOT of bodywork effort into it.  I ended up selling it when the body started to rot again and I knew there was more bondo than metal on it.

[Reschke]

$.50 is what I would pay for that.

[GtoRA2]

Originally posted by RAIDER14
let me expand on what I said it would be worth 30 grand if they fully restored it new paint job , new interior , new engine , etc.

Maybe you should bow out of this thread before you look like Nash.


Those transams may be worth 30 grand in 20 years when the rest of the good Musclecars are going for 70grand or more.



The late 70s firebirds sucked ass, the 301 is ****ty motor, the 305 is a gutless motor and the 301 turbo is one of the worst motors ever.


73 was the last good looking year and 74 was the last year a decent motor was around.

[GtoRA2]

Nice Pics Eagl!

I like the rims as well.



I have a softspot for solid axles myself, independant is overated.



Course you want handling quirks, try solid axles front and real lol.  But no sane person tries to corner in a jeep.