Making a '93 Trans Am Raceable?

[Hustler1098]

I'm wanting to footbrake my 93 Trans Am this year. It's got a pretty good 396 in it that should make it run 7.20's in the 1/8, a 350 turbro for a tranny, and either a 9 inch or a 12 bolt replacement rear (whichever I end up getting).

What are some other things that generally need to be done to these cars to make them pretty consistent? I'm leaving the motor with the F/I on it, so is there a programmer that can be put on it?

Also, suspension wise, what have most of you seen that needs to be changed?

I'm trying to keep this thing as streetable as possible, but it's going to be more of a race car so I'm open to whatever is going to make it a better car.

[Bobby Fazio]

I footbrake a '90 Mustang (I know not a GM!) that I drive to and from the track. It has 156,000 miles on it and runs like a top. Our friends we pit with have a 94 Camaro but we all took the same route pretty much. My dad is a master mechanic and former racer so he has helped us throughout. I asked him the same question when I first got my car and as a result here is what we did:

All this can be done over time so I will put most important stuff first.
Start off with a deep transmission pan that will hold lots of fluid. A shift kit for that Turbo 350 is important, quicker harder shifts = less wear. A possible higher stall torque convertor is also a very big help. MIckey Thompson ET street radials are a must. Don't be fooled I run the smallest radial they have and never spin so don't go too big. Make sure the radiator is in decent shape, I got an aluminum one from summit and a 180 thermostat, I feel our EFI cars run best at 180 degrees. Good tune-up new plugs, accell race wires, and new cap and rotor. I got a crane hi6 ignition box but lets stick to the basics here if you don't want to spend too much money off the bat. A good rear whether you go with the GM 12 bolt or the Ford 9" will need a set of good gears, I went with 3.73 only because I drive the car to the track on them small tires.

If you are concerned about suspension, I put Strange adjustable struts and shocks I got from Don Scholl at S&W race cars all around (about 80 bucks per shock when I got them a few years ago). I set them on street settings for the commute, and then put them on drag setting for the race. I Put Eibach drag launch springs on it as well (that kit was like 230 I believe). We also welded on sub frame connectors to stiffen the chassis up. Getting the car dynoed by a guy who is good with EFI and getting rid of the knock sensor will help the car be more consistent. It helped us each put our stock configurations into the mid 13s. NO one can believe our cars run so well for what they are. Very happy for you I hope this helps and I haven't babbled too much!

[Ed Wright]

No "programmer" for the 1993 car, those still have a plug-in chip. 1994 & up LT1 cars have programmers available. They don't do much.