Looking for an old Hot Rod article with a 6spd 3rd gen

[BuickMike]

I was just remembering an old Hot Rod article I read back in the mid 90's that involved a 3rd gen Camaro with a 350 L98. I remember they were boasting 12's or 13's and really good fuel economy. I think it was a white one. They swapped in a T56, stock GN fuel injectors, Arizona Speed and Marine headers, and maybe a cam. I think they were getting mpg in the mid 20's if not better. I was just thinking that would be an awesome setup for a fun commuter. Anyone remember this? I thought it was July '94, but there is no mention of that article on the cover when I looked it up.

 

[88ZNX]

I know the exact car your talking about. I believe Car Craft did it up.

 

[BuickMike]

Maybe that's why I can't find it. I will look at Car Craft. I could have sworn that thing was running fast and getting the fuel economy of a Honda Accord. I'm a big fan of the old L98 motors. Tons of low end.

 

[88ZNX]

I did find in HOT ROD where they put a LS1 6 spd in a white convertable RS and they did some cutting and fitting but it looked great. I think it was mid 12's

 

[usetaboost]

Maybe that's why I can't find it. I will look at Car Craft. I could have sworn that thing was running fast and getting the fuel economy of a Honda Accord. I'm a big fan of the old L98 motors. Tons of low end.

I'm a big 3rd gen nut too. The TPI motors are fun on the street if they run right. I did headers, cam, shift kit, and ported heads. It would burn almost all the way through second.

 

[BuickMike]

I looked at a few old Car Craft covers from the mid 90's and couldn't find it either. I'm now starting to wonder if it was a L98 or if they also swapped in a LT1. Hmmmm.

I almost bought a '91 Corvette 6spd last Feb. It was super clean and had the FX3 suspension. It was the first year for the newer body style, but the last year for the L98 and also last year before they softened the suspension. This thing had a K&N, bigger TB's, custom tune, and trapped 105 in the 1/4 mile. I missed out on that one, and gave up trying to find another one that clean. I ended up buying the wife a Trailblazer SS.

 

[novaderrik]

if it's the car i'm thinking of, it was a GM testing mule that had a Corvette ZF 6 speed behind a built LT1.
that car has probably been crushed and recycled into brand new Hyundais that have themselves been recycled into brand new Daewoos that are just now falling apart..

 

[usetaboost]

I have a chevy high performance magazine that has a 6 speed swap into a tbi camaro. Maybe that could be of interest? I keep any magazine that has some relevance to cars I have owned or could possibly see myself owning someday. Usually 80s stuff

 

[injdinjn]

Here is the link to third gen. org
Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

My 86 GP is a 88 5.7 TPI, we built it over 10 years ago and it puts ~335 to the rear wheels.
Some of them are nearing the 400 RWHP mark NA.

My 89 GTA vert 5.7 TPI 700r4 with 89K gets 21hwy.

The 3rd gens are awesome canyon carvers.

Drop in a stock LS and lose 300lbs great HP and mileage. Does require a small frame mod and 460 le trans and some guage mods.

 

[usetaboost]

all of my 3rd gen cars, even the ones with worn suspension handles better than my 4th gen t/a

 

[BuickMike]

if it's the car i'm thinking of, it was a GM testing mule that had a Corvette ZF 6 speed behind a built LT1.
that car has probably been crushed and recycled into brand new Hyundais that have themselves been recycled into brand new Daewoos that are just now falling apart..

I remember that one, but this wasn't it. The car I'm thinking of was a white early 90's Camaro. I'm pretty sure it was a Z28 with a TPI 350 that they debadged and pulled the spoiler off of to make it a sleeper. The article was something like "13's and 30mpg" or maybe "12's and 20 some mpg". I remember being amazed by the power and fuel economy they got out of it.

 

[BuickMike]

Here is the link to third gen. org
Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

My 86 GP is a 88 5.7 TPI, we built it over 10 years ago and it puts ~335 to the rear wheels.
Some of them are nearing the 400 RWHP mark NA.

My 89 GTA vert 5.7 TPI 700r4 with 89K gets 21hwy.

The 3rd gens are awesome canyon carvers.

Drop in a stock LS and lose 300lbs great HP and mileage. Does require a small frame mod and 460 le trans and some guage mods.

A friend of mine used to have a 88 IROC. The motor was built with forged pistons, Trick Flow heads, cam, Accel intake, bigger injectors, etc. He was running 12.20's with 3:23 gears NA. I got to drive it once and it is to date the most fun V8 I have ever driven. It hit mass power instantly and kept pulling like a freight train. It also drove and handled better than a comprably built 4th gen. That always confused me since the 4th gen's seemed to be pretty much the same car underneath.

 

[Rodney87GN]

All this 3rd gen talk makes me miss my 89 IROC.:frown: It was pretty quick back in the day...ran low 12s N/A with a 350.

 

[usetaboost]

All this 3rd gen talk makes me miss my 89 IROC.:frown: It was pretty quick back in the day...ran low 12s N/A with a 350.

I've always wanted to get another one. They're nice cruisin cars. They just drive nice

 

[chopped39]

I was just remembering an old Hot Rod article I read back in the mid 90's that involved a 3rd gen Camaro with a 350 L98. I remember they were boasting 12's or 13's and really good fuel economy. I think it was a white one. They swapped in a T56, stock GN fuel injectors, Arizona Speed and Marine headers, and maybe a cam. I think they were getting mpg in the mid 20's if not better. I was just thinking that would be an awesome setup for a fun commuter. Anyone remember this? I thought it was July '94, but there is no mention of that article on the cover when I looked it up.

Thanks for making me look for this mag:biggrin:. Its HotRod march 1995 page 50 12.27's & 26 mpg . It was the lt1 with a six speed with gn injectors and speed and marine headers

 

[usetaboost]

Cool. Scan the article for the rest of us mouth breathers to read

 

[BuickMike]

That's it! Any chance you can scan the whole article?

 

[88ZNX]

thats neat! Boy Alan sure went down the IROC path, he built I dont know how many cubes and ran AFR's, Canfields, Lingenfinger intakes, injectors, TB's, Chips, exhaust, the works. The car never got out of the 13.50's until John Lingenfelter told him to go see Jim Formato. So He loaded up the car and went to FL to meet Jim. Jim looked the car over, fixed a few things and cut a test chip for it and the car blasted a mid 12 1st pass out and toasted the tranny! after it was all said and done, the best the Iroc could get was 12.20's. And reading LOTS of articals, it seems no one could get past the 12.20's unless they were spraying. We think it was because LPE's cams just didnt have the duration to pull them any faster. You couldnt get anything higher than a 219 duration at the time. Alan ran LPE's 219 cam was .219/.219 .560/.560 I wonder what a .230/.230 would have ran. I know they kept the duration low because of the intake style was for low end torque. Guess thats why they can out with the mini ram. still a street killer!

 

[injdinjn]

A friend of mine used to have a 88 IROC. The motor was built with forged pistons, Trick Flow heads, cam, Accel intake, bigger injectors, etc. He was running 12.20's with 3:23 gears NA. I got to drive it once and it is to date the most fun V8 I have ever driven. It hit mass power instantly and kept pulling like a freight train. It also drove and handled better than a comprably built 4th gen. That always confused me since the 4th gen's seemed to be pretty much the same car underneath.

That's the issue with my GP, too much torque from the TPI- it does not hook no matter what is bolted to the rear axle. My street tires are 275/40/17s Z rated. I can burn them thru 1st if I want. If I run part throttle thru 1st and get into second I can light them again. My best 60ft was a 1.8 most are around 2.2 with slicks or drag radials. I run a 6800 chip and it pulls all the way.
Not bragging, it's really a PITA. One friend described it going down the track as a hooker in heat.
If I wanted a drag car I could probably spend a few grand to hook up, but I prefer to canyon carve. It runs mid 50's at Adams Kart Track.

 

[BuickMike]

Now that I know it is a LT1 I wonder what kind of mpg you could get out of a 92-95 6spd vette with the same setup?