So this just happened.

1998 Pontiac Firebird, v6 5-speed body, ~120k on body, Navy blue metallic, black and tan interior. Gonna 6.0L swap, 6-speed, full exhaust, and all sorts of other things. Haven't decided on whether im going to do a build thread yet because its going to be a loooong process getting everything together and putting together but i may after i get it running, but i will give updates when i can.

<img src="" />

And also, i think i got it from an (ex?)addict just based on actions and body language....and this....yes an "8-ball" <img src="" />

Nice score!

So... black and tan interior (probably looks good with the navy blue, BTW): did the gray seats in the background come as part of the deal?

I guess when you say body you mean empty (ride height also suggests that), because oddly enough if i had a 3.8/5spd camaro i would turbo it rather than swapping to an LS.

Unless i wanted to go faster than 10s in which case the LS might be cheaper.

Admit it: you're doing this because of the shift knob.

In reply to Duke: Thanks!

In reply to Stealthtercel: Those are actually the tan seat that came in it. yeaaa they are pretty nasty. On an upside though, i do still have my real grey seats from my last firebird that I am going to put in it. The PO didnt bother to roll the window up bc it was broken...it has manual windows. it was off track, but a few bumps going down the road on a trailor knocked it back on and i rolled it right up

In reply to Vigo: Yea, its empty and im not going to go through the trouble of buying an engine/trans and turbo when i can put pretty much the same amount into it and LS swap. Seems to make more sense to me that way IMO. Not sure on power goal atm though. Was thinking in the 400hp range but also wanted to autocross it as well. so we shall see. i have a long road ahead of me and have nothing but time.

In reply to Appleseed: It definitely is an added bonus

For a round town hooligan mobile I would be tempted to put one of the small LSX motors in and add boost or a 5.3 with a cam and some intake and headers and that will give you 400 HP. Both are REALLY cheap compared to the bigger displacement motors and will still light them up when needed. As for a trans how cheep are 5 speeds these days. Is there a significant savings to go with a 5 speed as opposed to a 6 speed? I know more is better but is it really. I mean we lived with 3 and 4 speeds and when the 5 speed came out it did all I needed especially with a torque producing motor with a wide power band. I can see needing 6 speeds with smaller motors. But I am cheep and if I could screw it together with 80-90 percent of the performance of a big CID LSX and a 6 speed for 25% of the cost I would have to look at that really hard.

Has anyone done the LM4 + 5 speed set up in one of these? I see these cars really cheep and have wondered if there was an inexpensive "easy button" to these.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/hrdp-1109-stock-gm-ls-engine-big-bang-theory/

I'll just leave that there for what a 4.8L can withstand if done right.

The T5 5 speed is fairly cheap, but won't hold up to a LS motor. They had their hands full with a 230HP 80's smog motor. Upgrades are out there, but you can buy a 6 speed cheaper than a fully built 5 speed. The 6 speed will bolt into this car easier too.

In reply to dean1484:

im sure it can be done, but as gearhead said, it wouldnt hold up. i think the max power those things can take stock is 300hp. and i was thinking of goig 5.3, but a 6.0 came up with a better deal. but when it comes to the trans, im going to do it right.

In reply to bmw88rider:

Oh i know what they can do. im no stanger to LSx motors. im no expert either, but i can make my way around one.

So how's the Mullet coming?

Seriously, this looks like quite a project. How does the body and paint look?

Sorry, no mullet here, though im sure if i could put the hair on my face on the back of my head, id have a wicked mullet!

Paint wise, it was repainted but its not too bad of a paint job to be considered ruined, but by no means professional. I spent all day sunday washing and clay barring it, and only got the driver side done. But saturday i did get the interior stripped and cleaned the carpet. took it to a car wash and pressure washed it and vacuumed it dry. looks much better.

Heres what it looked like when i got it (not my yard)... <img src="" />

If you're changing wheels, I may be interested in the ones on the car.

bmw88rider wrote: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/hrdp-1109-stock-gm-ls-engine-big-bang-theory/ I'll just leave that there for what a 4.8L can withstand if done right.

Also did anyone read this article? the premise is take an old block and boost it until it pops but they ported the heads, added a cam, 118 octane, FAST intake, ARP head bolts, new HG, 102MM TB, TWO turbos, fancy air to water intercooler, no mufflers...

yeah that's stock all right...

Cool project. Late 4th gen Bird's are a really nice looking car and that is one of the better colors.

Does anyone else think it's funny to ready about a LSx/T56 swap into one of the few cars that was available from the factory with a LSx/T56 stock?

fidelity101 wrote:

bmw88rider wrote: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/hrdp-1109-stock-gm-ls-engine-big-bang-theory/ I'll just leave that there for what a 4.8L can withstand if done right.

Also did anyone read this article? the premise is take an old block and boost it until it pops but they ported the heads, added a cam, 118 octane, FAST intake, ARP head bolts, new HG, 102MM TB, TWO turbos, fancy air to water intercooler, no mufflers... yeah that's stock all right...

I quit reading when they started too list the mods, the best turbo "build" ive ever read was actually on fordsix. that guy truly used a stock motor and just boosted until it finally broke.

Awesome! I would say welcome to the club, but it sounds like you're a former member already. Gotta love the 4th gen f-body for embodying some of both the best and worst of GM in one single car. And the LS of course

In reply to Gearheadotaku: Will do, im wanting some C5 Z06 wheels so I'll let you know when I go to get rid of them.

In reply to fidelity101: What do you mean no muffler, I thought thats what the turbos were for . There is a guy that I know that used to get whatever LSx motor that he could his hands on and boost the E36 M3 out of it. and when it blew, he would just go get another one and put that build on it.

In reply to SEADave: Yea, I really love the color. It also matches my Jag too so thats a plus . But I havent though of it that way, it more rare to see a ls swapped fbody than anything else these days.

In reply to Furious_E: Thanks, yea im on my 3rd one right now. GMs best of the worst car. They put a great drivetrain in them, but decided it was getting to expensive so started skimping on everything else...crappy dash pad, headlight motors, etc.