Well, hello to all who choose to check out a thread about a Beretta.
Anyways, about 9 years ago I was a bright eyed, not yet broken by the spirit of the world, 15 year old kid who was looking to get a ride that would nab some pussy. Well... somewhere along that road I got crossed up and ended up with a 93 Beretta GT, black with black crosslace wheels, tint and the a LeBra. It looked decent for what it was, and it reminded me of a Buick GN, one of the raddest cars to come out of this country...
Well the beast had a 3.1 and a 3 speed auto that I thought was pretty cool for a while, but eventually after I grew out of being a ricer I realized that eventhough I loved my car - it was dreadfully slow. In its years as a 3.1 auto it managed a best of 16.10@84.19 with a somewhat decent amount of bolt on mods. With the suspension I had put on it - it was fairly good for an autocross slut, and I managed to win my class championship for the season back in 2003.
Here is a decent pic of the car at a show in 2006, the maroon Beretta is my friend's car.
Well, fast forward to today... I took the car off the road about 3 years ago to begin an engine swap, and where that road has taken me along the way has hopefully transformed my baby into something more than it was - and more importantly into a car that I can continue to enjoy for another 9 years.
Before I decided to go mad scientist, here was the 3.1 auto engine bay at its finest hour:
As I said, it was okay, but not nearly what I was looking for. So as is quite popular these days I decided to 3400 swap it, but that wasn't enough. I decided a 5 speed would be a good upgrade to perform at the same time. A decent mod list is in my registry, here's a pic of the engine bay now.
Mods that are worth mentioning include headers, a complete billet and urethane mount set, custom tune, and pretty much every bolt on possible. I should also add, to compliment the weight reduction of the 5 speed I also removed all of the a/c components and permanently removed my (2) 12" subs and their amp. I figure around 200 or so pounds in total weight reduction, perhaps a bit more but I always find underestimating to be more rewarding in the end.
So, I'm getting tired of typing. With the 5 speed swap I had some things to change in the interior. Here's a recent shot in there. Note the billet goods.
Continuing on, I wanted some big brakes on the car forever. Recently I came across a set that a friend wanted to get rid of for a price too good to pass up.
That leads us to this:
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So currently I've got about 5 miles on my swap and a quarter mile on the brakes. The car goes in for alignment Friday and then I can put the front lip back on as well as my splash guards. Thereafter I'll finish up the interior completely, and swap the sidemarkers out for some factory red/amber lenses that I've smoked and clearcoated. They look a bit more in line with the blackout theme.
And just to keep it semi JBO related, I snapped a pic of the stable.
I love my GMFWDs
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Anyways, all comments are welcome, questions, comments and criticisms alike. If you have a suggestion, post it up I am always glad to hear new ideas. If anyone is further interested I have a lot more pictures of most everything. Enjoy.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, July 06, 2009 9:30 PM
NICE!!!!!! I've always wanted a v6 5 speed beretta!
Currently #4 in Ecotec Forced Induction horsepower ratings. 505.8 WHP 414WTQ!!!
Currently 3rd quickest Ecotec on the .org - 10.949 @ 131.50 MPH!!!
Very nice man, but where is the GTU front lip at?
How hard is the 3400 swap in these? I have a yellow indy with a bad head gasket......
2009 Ford Mustang V6
KFLO wrote:The car goes in for alignment Friday and then I can put the front lip back on as well as my splash guards.
Currently it is sitting in my shop covered in dust. As far as I'm concerned nobody loads this car onto anything or drives it anywhere with my mint lip other than me. Therefore the alignment shop guy, eventhough I know him, won't get to see my whip with the front lip.
I just want to keep it super minty.
The 3400 swap is easier in one of these than in a 3rd gen. I get to use my stock ecm at least. For you 01cav this is your would be swap bible, nearly to the T
http://www.domesticcrew.com/660/hybrid.html
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, July 06, 2009 11:05 PM
hehe.. wait... are you still running rear drums with those killer front brakes?
Anyways, I like it; I've always been a fan of berettas. I'm not a fan of the rims; maybe I'd like them if they were gunmetal or something similar.
[ o ][][][][][][][][ o ] coach built xj ( o \[][][][][][][]/ o ) hid wj
I think if u changed the grill to the one like you buddies, itd look alot better, just my opinion.
but its pretty cool as is
-Borsty
I agree with getting gunmetal rims. I am digging the swap a lot, my friend had a corsica and loved it, and he always wanted a beretta so this would be a dream for him.
Hey, thanks for the kind words guys.
Haha, yeah for now I do have invisible (drum) brakes out back still... eventually I'm going to do the neon swap, but since it's just an appearance mod at this point it has a while to wait.
On the wheels, one thing I've kind of noticed over the years is that silver wheels don't really fall out of style. Plus the deal I got on them was killer
Borsty wrote:I think if u changed the grill to the one like you buddies, itd look alot better, just my opinion.
but its pretty cool as is
The GTZ/Z26 grill looks out of place on the non GT bumper. Sticks out a lil too far. atleast thats my opinion. I really think the GTU spoiler on the back would set the car off, but it's pretty much perfect as it is already!
2009 Ford Mustang V6
so I have to ask, are you using Jbody front discs on a beretta, are they the same struts? I figure it wouldn't be hard to modify to work, but am just curious exactly how much work was involved.
also, was your 3400 a minivan engine, or out of a full size car? I hear the vans have more oomph. slick car altogether, definitely something unique, and to be proud of. I'd consider the beretta for the vert
The 3400s produce the same power if it is just an independent engine. The factory rated differences came from tuning, exhaust manifold differences and exhaust system differences depending upon platform. My 3400 is from an 04 Pontiac Grand Am, but with the headers and custom tune my goal is to be near 200whp without touching the internals at all.
As for the front discs it is cake really. I just cut the steering arm tab off of the steering knuckle and mounted the J knuckle right on to my Beretta, its a direct bolt on then.
man you know ive always been a fan... even way back when like 50 years ago when we first met online
what you've done to this thing is absolutely nothing short of spectacular i must say though... the 3.1 engine bay was just flat out sexy. you need to duplicate that same look. polish that freaking UIM!!!!!!
hey... ive seen those brakes before...
hahahaha
you do know i want to drive this thing, yes? come on... a 3400 5spd? that ish has GOT to be a freakn blast!
keep up the good work my friend. and i AM making my L-body come back. just you wait n see!
I'm tired of wasting my time... now I'm breakin' free.
Mmmmm... Beretta. GM's best looking compact ever. Corvette style door handles, crosslace wheels, and a great body line. I've toyed with the idea of saving money for an ecotec and dropping that in my old Beretta body, but I need to address the body issues first (leprous paint, chevy cancer, and the fact that the car needs a new everything, and so does my cav). Come to think f it, I've dreamed up a lot of crazy ideas for that car in my broke-assedness. If I weren't broke, I'd have a lot of fun with my cars.
2010 Honda Fit LX
Ive always loved burritos
And yours is one of my favorites for sure.
I always bring this up when I see one, but I miss my 3400! lol. Great motors aside from the lim gasket problem, are you using the thicker metal gaskets? Mine definitely moved even in a heavy ass grand am that wasnt 5spd swappable. Do you know if Ben is still running the store over at 60degreev6? He helped me out alot when buying parts from him, and he did great work.
good lookin beretta . my 91 has the 3.1 w/ an auto , the thing is like a tank and its a bear tryin to stop it with stock rotors and 17's . im not really fond of the indy/GTU kit , i like the GTZ/z26 stuff a bit better cuz they are all smoothed out . what front brake set up is that you have on it ??? its really a nice clean car , good work
a GTZ grill would look nice, but if you go that route you gotta mod the bumper or mod the bottom of the grill to keep the gt/indy kit
ShowOff Customz
03 Cavalier
73 Beetle
68 Fairlane 500
that bit i'm surprised at, most people threw away the egg crate grills for the GTZ's. I did on my old beretta
cuz the egg creat gills are fugly as hell
ShowOff Customz
03 Cavalier
73 Beetle
68 Fairlane 500
T-hANDLE = WIN
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
T handle dont look bad. after all i have the shift handle out of my cavalier
ShowOff Customz
03 Cavalier
73 Beetle
68 Fairlane 500
