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how about this setup? 383, 8:1 comp. ratio, 1.94, 1.50 in. valves, chevy ram horn exuahst manifolds .450 lift cam(duration and LCA optimized for turbo aplication) edelbrock dual plane intake(performer, or performer RPM, 750 DP holley, holset hx35. 7psi boost. on pump gas if i could make a reliable, simple 400 chp i would be happy.

how much power could a hx35 suport? is 500hp reasonable?

is the hx45 bigger?

yeah i know what you mean, all it takes is money

man the whole college deal sounds like me, i'm a freshman in college 1300 miles away from home. i got my z and engine for free (i only have about $1200 in the entire car) i built it so i could bring it with me and have something to work on. i figured a turbo would be right down my alley, cheap and effective, and i don't think you will ever see another turbocharged SBC Z31.

sounds good, ill deff. forward any info i recieve. do you have any idea what your engine will be like cremmenga?

i'm not exactly sure about the engine configuration yet, i plan on getting a tech book on turbocharging. i will probably put a cam, optimize the heads for forced induction, intake, windage tray, and well see about the bottom end. i dont want this to be complicated. i want to build a super drivable yet powerfull engine and if i fall short of the 500hp mark i dont really mind(400 is enough) i'm not sure on how much boost to run though, any ideas?

i am looking to turbocharge a 350 small block chevy and i am not sure which turbo i should use. i heard the holset hy35 or hx35 turbo off of dodge cummins deisel pickup trucks is a good potential power producer. these turbos are rated for engines from 5.0-6.5 liters. a 350 falls in this group nicely but what about the extra rpms from a gasoline engine, is it big enough? has anyone used one of these turbos? i am looking for around 500hp from this engine. thanks.

Does any one own a Z31 with a turbocharged chevy V8? if so i would like to see/hear about it beacause i am considering a single blowthrough turbo setup on my 85. thanks.

if the cylinders look as good as they do, the rings are probably fine also, just check for broken rings. what does the balancer look like thats on your engine? whats the diameter? is it weighted(one side will have a weight cast into the hub)? the 350 is an internally balanced engine so the correct 350 balancer will not have a weighted balancer, 305s and 400s do have the weighted balancer. if you go seaching for one in a junkyard here are a few things to look out for: do not use a balancer that has cracked rubber, find a balancer without a weighted hub, try and find the 8 inch version. the reason cam manufacturers request you change the lifters when you change cam is because the lifters and cam develope a wear pattern, and if you use lifters on your new cam that have developed a wear pattern with your old cam it will accelerate camshaft wear and maybe even wipe out a lobe on your new cam. when a lifter is new the face has a slight convex shape to it and after a while this face can become flat or even concave. lifters can be "reclaimed" by disasembeling(hydraulic) and remachining the face. if i was you i would just buy lifters with the cam, they're cheap insurance. you can find oil seals ond o-rings at a machine shop

wow thanks david. thats a great article i cant beleive how much effect that foam has i will deffinentally look into that. its so simple, light, and the article said it was fairly inexpensive, im sold.

well at first i was planning on a subframe conector of some sort like my 69 camaro has, but after looking at my z that really isn't posible. on the 300zx(i dont know if the 280zx is the same) there is a stamped steel brace that runs laterally under the transmition tunnel towards the rear of the car. my plan is to make some type of tubular replacement and tie the bar into the rear suspension mounting points on the outward sides of the car. then i plan on making strut tower braces for the front and back. i might make some kind of x-brace under the front seats. my car has a small block chevy in it so i figure it probably neads some structural stiffening.

if anyone has stengthened their z31 chassis could you please inform me on how you acheived this. i have a few ideas of my own but i thought it would be better to hear from experienced z people.

the plugwires were the culprit. it all dawned on me and made perfect sence, it explains everything, why it smelled like gas even though plugs looked good, why any mod i made to the carb had little or no effect, and why it started hard and idled rough. i checked it out last night and found one plug with a broken insulator(the plugs are 3 weeks old) and at least two wires that are ripped, cracked, or burnt. i temporarilly rerouted the wires and replaced the one plug and the car totally smoothed out. i plan on getting a electronic ignition conversion and a set of new plug wires ASAP. thanks for all your help.

i think the problem is my plugwires. i dont think all my cylenders are firing because i happen to leave a wire off when checking plugs and it made a huge difference i could barely drive the car. and some plugs look good and a couple are black.

my car blows no black smoke anywhere in the rpm range.

isnt that how my system should work?

yeah a better set of heads would probly help out a bit. my cars best 60' is 1.78

i rebuilt the carb and i have a lot of experience with holleys. the engines pulls about 18 inches of mercury and i have a 10.5 pv in the front and a 8.5 pv in the rear.

making 350hp is one thing at the flywheel and a totally different can off worms to the rear tires. the engine would have to be in the 425 to 450hp range. i have a 355 in my 69 camaro that i have calculated to be 341hp to the tires and 424 at the engine, heres the specs: 1974 350 block, 30 overbore, cast crank, stock rods, speedpro cast flat tops with speedpro rings, moroso 7 quart kick out sump pan, 69 Z/28 windage tray, comp cams 274 extreme energy hydraulic flat tappet, .490/.483 lift, comp lifters and matching springs, 1967 462 casting "double hump" chevy heads; angle milled, ported, stainless swirl polished undercut 2.02/1.60 valves, 3 angle valve job, screw in studs, guide plates, crane 1.5 roller rockers edlebrock performer RPM intake, match ported to heads, stock rebuilt chevy points distributor MSD cap-adapt with pertronix ignition and MSD 6AL CD box, MSD super conductor wires, 750 cfm Holley DP, K&N 14/4 inch air filter, dynomax ceramic coated headers. this combo is very streetable and has propelled my stock weight camaro to a best of 12.82 at 108mph. the msd box is the key to drivabillity with this combo. a z should go low 12's.

the carb i newly rebuilt. and the psi has always fluctuated. have any of you guys ever changed the pump on a z31, i think im just gonna go mechanical.

that is correct, i am using the stock efi pump. my regulator has a return line, shouldnt that work

a 400sbc has a 4.125 inch bore and a 350 has a 4.00 inch bore. since the sbc only has 4.4 inch bore centers, 4.125 is pushing it. chevy's solution to this was to siamese the bores. this means that the bores are all conected and there is no water passage where the adjacent bores are closest. that is the only drawback of the 400. unless you are building an extremely high compression/high reving engine you should have no problems. generaly an engine with more cubic inches will make 1hp and 1 ft/lb more for each inch(if the engine is in the 1hp per cubic inch range) for exampleif you build a 350 and say you make a conservative 1hp and 1ft/lb per cubic inch thats 350hp and 350ft/lbs. now if you build that same engine instead with 400 ci the motor will make 400hp and 400ft/lbs. larger engines are also more streetable with biger cams and carbs so you can expect more power and more drivability from the 400. what could be better than big block ci/power in a small block package. or you could look at it this way: why are you putting a v8 into your z? cause it creates a good power to weight ratio right. thats just what the 400 sb does. big inches, less weight. if there engine you are looking at is structurally sound i would definentally go the 400sb rought. good luck.

how would you figure that out? the fuel line is 3/8(or close in metric) i can go from 6 psi to 4.5psi and not even tell the difference.

i would love to do that, but the dyno session would cost more than the entire car is worth. i am going to purchase a air/fuel ratio meeter for my camaro and i will use that on the z too. i am planning on installing a more powerfull engine over the winter and i might decide to convert the car to a mechanical fuel pump system.