What would you do if you were me?

[Screamin99]

Well... Im gonna be a 17yr old in Highschool..

My mom for my birthday a year or so ago got my 1996 camaro 3.8 m5 painted for me from red to black..

the people who painted it did a half *** job and it looks alright now but it isnt the best in the world of a paint job ya know..


well she told me that I can either have my car repainted how I want it which would be Hugger Orange with a black roof.. or I could get a brand new V6 motor put in it..


well the motor in it now had caused us some problems before.. but nothing really really really bad.. we have however I think we have spent a little too much money on it..


so after talking with the guy I was gonna get to do the new engine, he said if it were him he would put a LT1 in it.. I agreed that since I was already gonna be paying that much why not..

Mom says no that is too much money it will eat you a new butt in gas money and Insurance will be crazy!!

then I say well since I already have a V6 why dont I let them do me some nice Lifters which I need and then let them fix the engine up really nice with some highperformance heads intake cam and LSD and gears... all that good stuff she said I think you should get a new engine Because it will be new and last longer.. my car has 105k miles and the tranny is in good shape but its leaking just a little bit around this little gasket nothing really bad..


so what would you do.. New 3.8 Camaro Engine 5spd or auto?? or would you get Performance parts and if so what would you get.. I got a Cat Back Exhaust not sure which kind it has no name.. and I got lots of little things on my engine now so Im just wondering why put a new engine in it?

or would you paint it? its either paint it Orange with a black roof or paint it a darker red with some kind of ghost flames..

I mean Id like to have a dependiable car and Id like to have power.. but I dont see the point in just selling my engine when I know what all is int it..

She will not let me sell the car.. and logically it would be better to sell it and either buy a V8 F Body or another V6 FBody.. or something lol..


I JUST NEED LOTS OF HELP!!!

[95FirebirdConvertible]

If I were you, I would go with the Hugger Orange paint job, with the black roof, and get two black stripes running down it. At age 17, I wouldn't be worrying to much about performance and/or a V8. You mother is pretty smart, insurance would be high and gas will suck the money right out of your pocket. So if your V6 is holding off, I'd stick with that. If you take my route, you'd have the looks and you'd probably be saving a little more money. I'm just telling you what I would do, but do whatever you want to do with your car.

By the way, nice choice of color you want, I think it would look really hot taking it to school looking like that. Just make sure you have the ability to do a big burnout in the school parking lot.

Thats what I always did, the last day of senior year, I backed right up to the main entrance of the school and lit 'em up. That was my way of saying goodbye to the principal.

[Screamin99]

lmao it has lots of power maybe I should just ask her to fix the Lifters because they need it.. and then get it painted..

Lifters cant be that much... can they?


I do agree Insurance and Gas will be Alot.. but Id like to have a fast car too.. Im gonna see what everyone else has to say too tho..


because I believe your right.. its in good running order now.. but im a little scared it wont be later.

[andrew.brandon]

get a decent cam and valvetrain put in but nothing overley big. then get HP tuners and a cheepo laptop to run it.

2 grand or a little over.

the new lilfters, rods, ect will take care of some of the problems you mentioned and you can moniter the car with the tuner for future problems

[ellik]

new heads, cam and upgrade the rest of the valvetrain. freshen up the engine. we have more top end problems than bottom end.

[Earnhardt132000]

What good is a fast car if it looks like ****?

Oooorrr...

What good is a good lookin' car if it doesn't run?

I'd say get the motor work finished, nothing too spectacular since you aren't really an experienced driver (not that I know you personally, but I'm also 17 and I can barely handle the power we have). Then paint it your desired color, and have all the ladies admire the car while all the guys drool over the fact that you can beat them while they are in their parents car.

[Screamin99]

I have been driving since about 14.. lol..

Im ready for more power..

And By god im gonna make it a true sleeper!!

[shenanigans]

honestly the car in that state... I'd consider selling it and getting a new car.

you could probably sell it and add the money you would have spent on a paint job or a motor and get a decent new one that has a decent motor and decent paint.

Maybe even an LT1... I am a proponent of upgrade your car instead of selling it and getting a new one but sometimes its not worth the extra money and effort.

[hockeyman]

Either way, your not going to be happy with the decision you make. Nice paintjob, but broken down...or...decent running engine, but not getting the looks. Say you get an awesome paintjob, now you're afraid to pop the hood and work on it fearing you'll scratch the paint.

I think you should fix up the engine and save up for some paint later on.

[BLLDOGG]

get the hugger orange just because, and besides, the insurance place doesnt have to know that the factory motor isnt in there ;)

[vanbibber]

yeah until it gets into a wreck. insurance fruad is not cool.

[shenanigans]

Originally posted by vanbibber:
yeah until it gets into a wreck. insurance fruad is not cool.

exactly...

[Loochy88]

Originally posted by Justin B.:
What would you do if you were me?

I'd thank your mom [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Azer]

Having a fast car doesn't really do much for you except get you more into debt if you get any tickets or worse you could have no car if you get into an accident. (And buddy you sound too cocky for a 17 year old wanting more speed)

I would just fix the engine so it runs fine and do the paint job.

[95FirebirdConvertible]

Originally posted by Azer:
Having a fast car doesn't really do much for you except get you more into debt if you get any tickets or worse you could have no car if you get into an accident. (And buddy you sound too cocky for a 17 year old wanting more speed)

I would just fix the engine so it runs fine and do the paint job.

I agree. Back to my original reply, I didn't say anything about fixing your engine. I should have though because that is most important. Then I'd go with the paint job. But whether you choose the paint job, or the performance parts, either way you will be attracting people in your school. Just ask yourself which you'd rather do, attract the girls with appearance, or attract the guys with performance.

I sure know what I would do(or should I say "what I did").