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Originally Posted by 70rs
I REALLY LIKE your thinking and direction with the father/son build. My son is 7 now and we are building "his" car. He will own it one day. And he loves helping me work on it too.
For your build, just some basics. Maybe a Hotchkis TVS suspension. Or Global west spring and shock package. Both very good systems and are budget friendly.
Possibly DSE leaf springs and coils up front. Just to get the look you want and better performance too.
For wheels that will fit your brakes, give Jon or Justin a call at Driverzinc. They are a sponsor here. They just started a sale on the New Gen line of wheels. They have some really cool designs and the prices right now are GREAT! They can put together a complete package with tires, wheels and suspension for you.
A decent small block chevy motor like a 290hp crate motor right from your local dealer. About $1,900.00 all new with a warantee. Run a small 600cfm carb, decent ignition and exhaust and you have a fun car without killing the budget.
As for the mileage, a V8, 4 speed, carb,........its not going to be a Prius on gas. But it shouldnt do too bad either.
Good luck, start a build thread so we can all watch it happen.
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I hate to say it but that will still put us well over what we can spend on the Firebird for my son's first car. He's got three older sisters that are already cleaning out my pockets on a regular basis. Much of this build will need to be done the old school way with used parts.
As far as the drivetrain goes, this is what crossed my mind. Buy a used LS motor, tune and gear it for fuel mileage. I wouldn't be afraid of a higher mileage motor as they are pretty tough. Then as he got older, the motor could be freshened, upgraded, retuned and geared for performance. I thought this set up would be much better on fuel than a carburated 350. The car will still need paint and some interior purchased and of course a ton of the small this and that.
I'll be up front, I paid $4000 for a rock solid body and chassis as I'm no good at bodywork and it can take a ton of build time. The chassis already has subframe reinforcements welded in, new body mounts and chassis bushings throughout, new springs front and rear, new floors and quarters welded in and new GM inner and outer front fenders. That being said, I need to have this car on the road for under $10,000 total invested.
Keep your thoughts coming guys, it is really appreciated.
Gene