94 Impala SS

[Grimpala]

Making progress on the car. Scored some really nice front seats for it. Replaced these...



With these...

I can't see these from work, but I put a set of Bonneville seats in mine and it made a drastic difference in keeping your ass where it should be in the seat. The color was a dead match too.

[JC316]

I can't see these from work, but I put a set of Bonneville seats in mine and it made a drastic difference in keeping your ass where it should be in the seat. The color was a dead match too.

I've heard about that swap, but I went back with clean stock seats. I'm trying to keep the car as original as I can.

[ram57ta]

All badmouthing the LT1's issues aside...don't kid yourself...the LT1 can make some power. Yes...the optispark sucks...terrible design destined for failure. I broke a brand new timing chain shortly after my first cam swap and swore off the junk stock timing chain and gear setup and retrofitted a vented 95+opti, front cover and LT4 Extreme Duty timing set. Of course breaking the chain at 5 grand bent almost all the valves so I had the heads rebuilt and shaved down. Luckily none of my pistons were damaged..just very slight dings in them. Used Impala SS head gaskets which are thinner than what stock F-bodies used which bumped the compression slightly...I was close to 11.5:1, LT4 Hot Cam (not even that big), comp cams 1.6 pro magnum rockers, Hooker short tubes and Borla exhaust, custom ECM tuning on the dyno...pulled 352rwhp thru an A4 and ran 12.85@109 in my heavy ass 94 leather/T-top auto Trans Am. Comp Cams 306 would have given even better results but I wanted to pass emissions.

[JC316]

All badmouthing the LT1's issues aside...don't kid yourself...the LT1 can make some power. Yes...the optispark sucks...terrible design destined for failure. I broke a brand new timing chain shortly after my first cam swap and swore off the junk stock timing chain and gear setup and retrofitted a vented 95+opti, front cover and LT4 Extreme Duty timing set. Of course breaking the chain at 5 grand bent almost all the valves so I had the heads rebuilt and shaved down. Luckily none of my pistons were damaged..just very slight dings in them. Used Impala SS head gaskets which are thinner than what stock F-bodies used which bumped the compression slightly...I was close to 11.5:1, LT4 Hot Cam (not even that big), comp cams 1.6 pro magnum rockers, Hooker short tubes and Borla exhaust, custom ECM tuning on the dyno...pulled 352rwhp thru an A4 and ran 12.85@109 in my heavy ass 94 leather/T-top auto Trans Am. Comp Cams 306 would have given even better results but I wanted to pass emissions.

I know that they can make stupid power. The B body eliminates two of the biggest LT1 problems, the heat and the oil leaks. They always said it was the pressure of slowing down in gear on a manual that made the intake leak so bad, and I tend to agree.

The heat is the biggest one, the B body has enough room to fit a decent radiator. Oil and coolant temps don't skyrocket and the bearings are happier.

[Baron Von Crowder]

A few years back, I met a guy racing a true SS impala. He sold the lights and impala specific stuff and put regular/cop car stuff on it to get down to budget. For it's size, they were able to make it dance on the track pretty well. He showed me his custom upper control arms on the front, said it was night and day difference in handling when he put them on.

[Grimpala]

I've heard about that swap, but I went back with clean stock seats. I'm trying to keep the car as original as I can.

I've still got my original seats in the attic wrapped up, but I got tired of my big ass sliding around when I slung it around corners and back roads.

I know that they can make stupid power. The B body eliminates two of the biggest LT1 problems, the heat and the oil leaks. They always said it was the pressure of slowing down in gear on a manual that made the intake leak so bad, and I tend to agree.

The heat is the biggest one, the B body has enough room to fit a decent radiator. Oil and coolant temps don't skyrocket and the bearings are happier.

I've never had an intake leak issue with the stick in mine. Then again, I own stock in RTV.