slide13

Ok, I'm currently in the market for a 5.0. More then likely will be a late 80's or early 90's. I had a 88 5.0 back in high school but it was kept mostly stock. I'll probably have $1000-1500 to play with after buying the car. I don't know what to start with in regards to upgrades. I know I want a short throw shifter, that was the one thing I did to my old 5.0 and it made it much more fun to drive so that is deffinite. What else???

I was thinking of starting simple and obvious,
shorty headers,
cat-back exhaust,
underdrive pulleys,
cold air intake w/ K&N

What do you think? I'm really a newbie when it comes to this stuff so I really have no idea. I've also never really done any work on cars, but my dad owned a service station for many years and he'll be helping me out with all the work but it still needs to be fairly easy to accomplish.

For someone on a limited budget and who may have to build it up over time, what is the correct upgrade path to take. Assuming a totally stock car, what would you start with and where would you go from there?

This car will be a daily driver and either rarely or never see a strip.

Thanks

bmorrisj

3.73/3.55 gears....

Obsol3te

4.10s are more fun
And I guess what most people are going to say is get your exhaust done first, because it will continually help you thru out your project

TheGmKiller331

Id knock the big **** out of the way and get HEADS they will be helpful and rewarding with any future mods you may have planned.Not to mention its a chunk to throw down on one area but in my opinion well worth it.After the heads go with all the rest like intake,cam and everything else you can bolt on.

D1g1tal V3n0m

Let the motor breathe better for one.

Intake, Exhaust (Long Tubes back), Gears, and Nitrous is the best bet for the money.

VertStangGT86

You know GMKiller's probably got a good idea there. If you've got the cash to do a set of heads and maybe an intake I'd do that now. Chances are if you're like most people you probably won't have another chunk like that for a while. After that you can gradually get the smaller stuff as you get a little bit of money every once in a while.

roundman

The biggest bang for your buck right now is headers and a cat back exhaust. New heads will be choked off by a stock exhaust, so open it up first. Next get a chip on the computer and a cold air intake in the inlet side. pullies are always good also and then go for some gears in the rear end like 3.55's for a stick and 3.73's for an auto.

VertStangGT86

They won't do a ton right now but if he's got the cash to get them he may as well. I know if it was me and I knew I was gonna keep going I'd get the big thing now and then as I saved up smaller sums get all those other things gradually. Gotta look at things in the long run too, not just right now

nemethjames1

get the 373's if you have a stick, that and headers would be the first thing right off!!! and if you have an auto go with 4:11 with a stall... and if you want go with 3.55 if you need to drive on the hwy alot

vfast

don't wast you first mod on an exhaust here is a list for 1k

gears 155.00/150 labor =305.00 2-3 tenths
pulleys.. 40-50 .1-.15 tenths
maf..76mm 75.00 .05-.1 tenth
drag radials 250.00 .1-.3 tenths
battery in the trunk...25.00 .05 tenth
k/n filter 15.00 .05 tenth
gut convertors...free .05 tenth
4 banger front spring 15.00 .05 tenth
timing @ 16 ....free .025-.05 tenth
by pass egr spacer coolant 2.00 .025-.05 tenth
nitrous 250.00 1.0 sec +
see for under 1k you can have very low 13' to high 12's and never really touch the engine..used don't be afriad to buy used parts..except for gears