boodlefoof

There was a first gen Camaro that was being done by the folks at Gale Banks Engineering (http://www.bankspower.com) that was phenominal. They flared the original sheetmetal to give it a great look. Having trouble finding it on the web now.

McLeod makes a shifter relocation kit for the GTO T-56 so that you can mount the shifter at the forward inspection plate site. It is kind of pricey, and that moves the shifter significantly forward.

Sorry, I focused on the issue of you possibly being swindled and failed to address the question about whether it will run on 93 pump gas. I don't think it will run well at all on 93 octane. Lack of hardened valve seats aside, the engine (if actually an L76) is running at an 11:1 compression ratio.

Make sure it is what he says it is before you buy it!

If you really want to do it cheap, just pour eight or nine hundred pounds of concrete on the floorboards. If you visit a construction site doing concrete work, they're happy to give away the leftovers that have passed their prime for foundational useage. Of course, you might have to raise your seat position and pedals a little bit...

Schram seems to list these for sale pretty frequently. I've seen them up before.

I'll give another vote for Tidewater Z in Poquoson. When I had a Z32, I took it there. They really know their stuff. I had a similar starting problem with mine at one point. Turned out to be a bad water temp sensor (right at the front of the engine, you can't miss it). When faulting, it will read as though overheating and it gets the ECU all out-of-whack.

I've been considering building a super-high-mileage machine quite a bit for the past five or six years. Now, with gas prices going up... I've been thinking about it more and more. The basic concept is to take the lightest possible platform and put in an already efficient engine. So, my thought process has taken me to something like a Mini or Audi 500 or 600 (all of which weigh around 1400 pounds or less). The nice thing about these is also that they are old enough (1960s) to be easily modified without running into problems with emissions laws (at least here in VA). They aren't the most aerodynamic possibilities, so I am open to other recommendations for possibilities. In stock form, these will put down 40-50mpg. Then, I would plug in either an efficient motorcycle engine and gearbox or possibly the D15Z1 engine from a mid-90s Civic VX. The motorcycle engine combo would probably shed some weight (a nice plus), but these engines weren't really made to pull 1400 pounds and therefore might be overburdened. The VX engine is a nice possibility because it already gets 50mpg highway while pulling a 2300 pound Honda. It is certainly up to the task and would probably see a bit of a mileage improvement with close to a thousand fewer pounds to pull.

I will throw in a vote for the original ('60s models weigh the least) mini or something like a Fiat 600. Both cars weigh around 1400 pounds (or less) and swapping in the motorcycle engine and trans would probably drop a few pounds. I've been considering doing a motorcycle engine/trans in one of these and using it as a commuter car.

Now that is pretty bad. I think the Tercel is about as anti-performance as you can get... Might as well be a Geo Metro.

So, just to help me conceptualize, you're talking about putting a small spoiler at the front of the cowl? Seems like it should help. You could always rake the windshield too. http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zroof4.html http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zframe3.html

Good point Jerminator. With how light a car it will probably end up being, it probably won't be an issue.

Your original post mentions mountain driving. If you're going to be doing a lot of hilly driving, just consider while planning your modifications that lack of low-end grunt could be an annoyance.

Unfortunately no. It was scratched off like most.

Yes, it is the type 99. It still has most of the accessories too. It is down at the new house we just bought... will try to snap a pic when I'm down there early next week.