[Pablo]

Hello all,
I have been lurking for some time and wanted to introduce myself. I'm an aircraft mechanic living in so cal coming from the drag racing scene. Being originally from south florida, there was essentially no attraction to good handling for me since every road in basically the whole state of florida is straight and flat.
In the past 8 years of living in California I have seen what I can only say is the death of drag racing through track closures, police harassment, etc. This in addition to the magnificent twisties around here has built an itch for me to get into the road racing/ autox scene. It didn't help when a buddy of mine was able to regularly get me a ridiculous amount of free track time at a shall be un-named go kart track. Chasing faster lap times is extremely addicting. Couple this with going for canyon runs in his gutted E36 bmw, and I was hooked.

I previously owned an 89 Firebird from 97-04. It was basically set up for drag. I was very heavy into thirdgens for that time period. That car ended up meeting it's end when I moved on to an 86 T-type which I still own. (It's run as quick as a 7.0@95 mph, 1.54 60' in the 1/8th and should be substantially quicker when I get a working transmission under it).
Even after all these years I still missed my thirdgen, so I decided to go out and buy one. After putting out some feelers, I found a 91 Z28 LB9/T5 hardtop (rear drums (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ) that was pretty rough. I managed to get it home with what felt like 75 hp. After repairing countless atrocities committed by previous owners I now have it running pretty well. Feels like stock with the "upgraded" 2 1/4" kink bent exhaust that some retard put on it. It's my daily driver now, knocked down almost 25 mpg last tank. Unfortunately it still looks like hell. I'll be painting it myself soon.

Anyway, plans for the car are to build it to either STX, STU, or ESP. I am still debating this. In the meantime here is what I have sitting on the shelf waiting for install; complete poly bushing set (will not do both lca ends in poly) MOOG 5664/5665 springs, AC delete heater box (already have the pulley installed), Koni Yellows (on backorder), lt1 ministarter, GTA crosslace wheels (will go with something else later), G.W. Tracklink (left over from the old car, still researching if the short arm is a good idea for what I am doing), 82-83 factory fiberglass z28 hood, hooker headers + 3" y pipe, T-top/vert door shim strikers.

I plan on cutting the springs half coil or so in the front which from what I understand will bump me into the low 800s spring rate wise. To help compensate for the roll center and camber curve issues this creates I'm looking into some taller ball joints (will post about this in the susp. forum). Rear springs will be cut as well. I'll probably start at 3/4 coil for those.
I would love to run a weight jack setup but I wanted to get my feet wet cheaply and quickly.

I'll probably look into some LCA RBs and a panhard relocation setup soon.

Right now I just want to get it to where I can go out and tear up some tires. As it sits, the shocks are so blown that I can induce violent wheel hop (on the front wheels!) with aggressive driving. So I'm taking it easy.

I'll also be applying some of my composites training to the car- I have some ideas (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And yes, from what I've read, some of these mods are probably not technically legal in stx/stu but I think I can fly under the radar locally (don't snitch on me). I would mostly like to be in a challenging class. In judging from local results for ESP, there are basically no competitors in that class or F stock. STX isn't very good either but a lot better. STU has a ton of competitors.
I thrive on competition, I'd rather be dead last in STU with a bunch of other drivers than first in an ESP class with only one or two other drivers.

Anyway, sorry for the book. Check my post on the susp. forum for my ball joint q.
Here are some picts of the cars. The camaro looks slightly nicer now that I've touched up the bare metal the previous owner left from his "paint prep" job.


Buick:
(IMG:http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g71/Chewbaccathedog/Barona/_MG_7630.jpg)
(IMG:http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g71/Chewbaccathedog/eng-1.jpg)


Camaro
(IMG:http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g71/Chewbaccathedog/IMG_0710.jpg)

[rhit_rs]

Welcome to the forum! Great intro!

I'm no longer in a third gen, but I do miss how well these cars handle when you throw big sway bars on them.

If you want to be competitive, you're going to have a hard time in either STX or STU if there's any decently prepped, well driven cars in the region you want to run with. STX is tough for f-bodies because you're capped at a 265mm wide tire and you'll definitely be at a power to weight disadvantage compared to the top cars in the class (non-M e36 bmws, RX8, WRX, etc) because engine modifications are extremely limited (before intake manifold, chip tune, and exhaust mods only). STU will let you run a wider tire (unlimited, I think), but you'll be even more down on power compared to the evo's, sti's, m3's and the like. Obviously the street tire rule doesn't do high torque rwd cars any favors either.

ESP on the other hand, you can actually be competitive nationally with a third gen (ex: Mark Madarash in his 3rd gen trans-am). You can swap engines from any 82-92 camaro (read the update/backdate section of the rules), letting you swap to an L98. Sub-frame connectors are now legal (not in ST*), and you have more flexibility in what you can do to the suspension as well (I don't think panhard rod relocation is legal in ST*). You can also swap to rear disc brakes (can't in ST*). Basically, it lets you fix a bunch of the third gen's problems that he ST* rules don't let you address. Oh, and you can run massive race tires, as wide as you want (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) . If you don't want to pop for $$ race rims and tires right away, I'd work on getting the suspension stuff sorted out and run on a decent set of street tires in ESP. You can still compare your raw times to STX or STU cars, but you aren't putting their panties in a jumble by running in their class illegally. Once you get a bit of seat time and brush up on your "wheel man" skills, shelling out the cash for wide, grippy race tires and rims will pay huge dividends in your times.

Oh, and if you want to go crazy...there's always CP!

I think cutting a new set of moog springs is a good way to get a stiffer spring and lower ride height for cheap. Obviously the stock springs are sagging a bit at this point. I did a bunch of searching for factory rear springs that I could cut down a coil and get the right ride height and a little stiffer than stock rate (like the 5665 for the front), but didn't have much luck. I have a spread sheet with a bunch of moog springs compiled. If you want to see it, send me a PM.