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Old 06-14-2010, 11:27 PM
bottledbird68 bottledbird68 is offline
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Default More brainstorming on my 87 bird project...

Ok, so I'm thinking I'll hopefully start tearing into this one sometime in the next couple months. I've pretty much decided this will be my super budget junkyard dog build lol. It's more or less an extra car that I can't bring myself to get rid of so I want to see what I can make happen with what I have.
As of now I'm planning to pull the 3.8 v6 out of my 97 Camaro parts car and strap on a pair of dsm 14b turbos I have floating around.
Here's my question, should I use the harness from the 87 and get whatever I need to tune with, or, ditch all the factory stuff and go megasquirt? Those are the two options I think I've settled on for cost/benefit. I know I can source out a 98 up harness/ecu as well but by the time I buy one, plus pay for tuning software/have it tuned I think I'll be double why the megasquirt would cost me.
Opinions are welcome here

Also, and this one is totally just a random thought, I was also thinking of pulling the front suspension/ engine cradle/ firewall out of the 97 and graft it all into the front of my 87 so for all intents and purposes I would have a 4th gen with 3rd gen skin. This would make a dash update easier, would give me all the 4th gen hvac stuff, and the newer double a arm suspension.
Just not sure if it's worth the hassle since my car has never been hit, and is super clean and rust free underneath. But all the newer stuff would be nice.
So yeah, just looking to toss around some ideas. Feel free to offer up whatever as nothing is set in stone yet. I'm putting together a game plan before I ever turn a wrench.
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Old 06-14-2010, 11:33 PM
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BrokenFeather78 BrokenFeather78 is offline
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Just ask pizza about the benny's of an ls ecu upgrade and see if that is worth the extra scratch.

I wouldn't swap to 4th gen parts if the car is solid keep it stock with the hood shut and catch everyone off guard!
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Old 06-14-2010, 11:57 PM
bottledbird68 bottledbird68 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrokenFeather78 View Post
Just ask pizza about the benny's of an ls ecu upgrade and see if that is worth the extra scratch.

I wouldn't swap to 4th gen parts if the car is solid keep it stock with the hood shut and catch everyone off guard!
Only issue with the 98 up upgrade is by the time I find an ecu/harness and buy tuning software I'm probably 2-3 times the cost of just going with a megasquirt setup. That's the way I'm currently leaning. But, I haven't really heard anything from anyone who's actually used a megasquirt setup to hear the benefits/downfalls yet so I'm still up in the air.
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Old 06-15-2010, 12:01 AM
bottledbird68 bottledbird68 is offline
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And externally the car would stay all 3rd gen. Only 4th gen stuff I'd swap would be structural stuff underneath. Hood/fenders/bumper cover would all stay the same.
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Old 06-15-2010, 12:28 AM
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megasquirt alot of people have good luck with them on a budget
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Old 06-15-2010, 11:43 AM
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Personally I like the 3rd gen front suspension better, they definitely drive better then a 4th gen, even if changing springs is potentially lethal....
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