hayabusa

I am looking at buying an 83 Z28 and am only concerned with having a good platform. The car will be built for drag racing only purposes. It has a 350 which is obviously not stock, but I am not concerned with that. What areas of the body do I need to look at, and is there anything I really need to look for.

Also what is a good price for an 83 Z28 automatic considering I would buy a car that was not running if I could find one. I plan on changing the engine and trans rear end etc so those arent an issue.

Hayabusa

FBC Performance

What's your budget?

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fbodycentral.com.....Specializing in Late Model GM Performance 410-242-0404

hayabusa

Well if you are talking the total cost of the build: I am looking at about $8500 total for the engine. The torque will determine the amount I put in the tranny. I figure on about $2000 to upgrade the rearend and rear end suspension, etc. I figure I want to get done in under $20,000. So I want to spend as little as possible on the actualy car. I doubt I will leave anything stock so I am just looking for a good body. If I go over the $20,000 thats fine but I really dont want to spend much on the actual body. I will be doing all the work myself except the paint.

What I am really wanting to know are the weak points in the body of these years. Rust spots to look for, if there are areas that tend to crack, break, etc. I have found several cars that I am going to look at and they are not asking much for them. One actually drives and seems to run decent as it is driven almost daily. But again that is not my concern. I just dont want to have to spend much repairing unexpected body woes. Most of the budget will go into the engine, trans, gears, rearend and suspension so the less I have to spend on body maladies the better.

Hayabusa

joelster

You'll end up spending more than $2000 for a rear-end and suspension. My rear-end was as cheap as they get (spool) it was like 1850+ 150 shipping. I'm going to assume you'll upgrade the studs while you are getting a new rear, so you'll need new lugs too (50) . You'll also need a new driveshaft because EVERY aftermarket rear is a different length than the stock 10-bolt, so figure another (300ish) chunk for that. You''ll need a stronger torque arm (300), lower control arms (100-200) a stronger panhard bar (100), and shocks (60-150). You can keep the stock springs unless they are toast. You can skimp on certain rear pieces if you are handy with a welder. You can box-in your lower control arms, to add strength. You can also box in the torque arm, however, the factory torque arm can flex where it mounts to the axle, and there's no real way to beef it up at that spot. Buy the panhard bar last, it is the least important thing to swap in the rear.

FWIW, there is a super clean IROC roller in the wny area right now.

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1994 Z28 Black heads/cam th350 drag car
1995 Z28 Teal 'Vert bolt-ons 6-speed cruiser

hayabusa

Yes that figure was just a quick guess. I am not going to go cheap as this will be my wifes drag car. We both race for Beat The Heat. I race a sport Compact and have much more than that in my car. I am just aiming at $20,000 to get her started with her first "fast" car. She races a 86 Crown Vic right now and we are looking to get her out of Mod and into the pro class. But when looking at the cars what should I look for. All the upgrades will come later.

I was going to go with a LS1 but she likes these just as much. If I could find a great "70s" model for what I could get one of these for I would, but we are talking at least 2 to 3 times as much for a non running body. So again what should I look for considering what it will be used for?

Hayabusa

19Stroked89

I think as far as the body goes checking the undercarriage/floorpans for severe rust is one thing. Check the panels right behind the doors for any signs of stress cracks. Check up under the rear wheel wells for rust. Other than that with all the work your gonna be doing you will be replacing most all the chassis and suspension components anyway so no need to worry about any of that.

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hayabusa

Thank you. That is what I needed to know. As long as the body is good you are right that most everything else will be replaced. I just have to decide where I am going to get alll the suspension and rear end parts. But Ill worry about that after I get the car and see what needs to be done to the body.

Hayabusa

strc09

I've noticed the area between the hatch glass and roof line that water gets in there and will cause some rust issues also.

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-Patrick

GTA: Grand Turismo Americano (Grand Touring America)
1 of 930 1988 Gunmetal Metallic GTAs produced (RPO 87U)
See my CarDomain site: Code name: Vader
Built by Zeus Performance and tuned by PCM4Less
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." - James Dean

hayabusa

Thanks. Every bit of info helps.

By the way I went to look at the 83 that was for sale today and as I drove up in the driveway the guy was handing the title to its new owner. I was really dissappointed. The body was completly straight, had no rust that was easily visable(although I didnt get under it as it was already sold), the paint was good enough that I could have gotten by without touching it until I just wanted to, and it sounded great. The guy drove off in it while I was behind him and when he turned off the guys street he floored it and got completly sideways. Somewhat of an idiot he was, but obviously the 350 that was in it had some decent power. I would have still changed out the motor, but it may have had some parts that I could have used. Bummer

Back to looking. My wife is not set on a year or exact model so it wont be to hard. She may even get an LS1 powered pontiac(she prefers them over the LS1 powered Chevys.) She likes the Chevys up until the 93 model year. Her favorite though is the 98 and up WS6's but they want an arm and a leg for them around here. Any suggestions on which cars from 70 on up that have the best base for drag racing? Which years are the lightest, and where can I find the weights and all the specifics on the different years? Also if anyone knows of a good base for sale in the general area of Memphis TN I would appreciate it.

Hayabusa

strc09

You could always get a GenII car. USA Body makes a fiberglass nose peice for it that you could replace if all you're going to do with it is drag race it. Are you planning on being able to drive it to and from the track or is it going to be strictly a trailor queen to and from? I'd say F-Bodies are good as long as you put the right suspension under it. Then again, I'm sure that can be said for any car. I'm just biased.

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-Patrick

GTA: Grand Turismo Americano (Grand Touring America)
1 of 930 1988 Gunmetal Metallic GTAs produced (RPO 87U)
See my CarDomain site: Code name: Vader
Built by Zeus Performance and tuned by PCM4Less
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." - James Dean