nullbound

yeah racin_jason, i'm pretty happy with the "end" result. there are still lots of plans on the table, but she's getting there. as far as the sound of the exhaust, it is pretty loud. it's hard to describe a sound, but it's really smooth and not really as radical as i thought it would be. it's also kinda hard to tell from inside the car what it sounds like to everyone else. i've always had loud cars, though, so i'm really not the best judge. i had dual 2.5" exhaust with three chamber flowmasters on my 350 (about 330 hp) and that was pretty loud... but this is louder than that. i will say that whenever i pull up to a stoplight, everyone looks after hearing it first. and it's usually that "what the heck is making that noise" looks... even from three cars in front of me. but, a friend of mine has a 240 with a 400 sbc and dual 3" two-chamber flowmasters. his car is a bit louder than mine. his car frightens children and small woodland creatures alike when he starts it up. brad, you're welcome to come see it in person. i actually live in stockbridge (exit 228 on I-75), though... that's about 45 minutes to an hour from marietta, depending on our wonderful atl traffic. sorry i didnt have an email link up. i'll change that after posting this message. next weekend is good for me, so just let me know. this was done about two years ago.... but, after about four cans of gunk and lots of scrubbing with a brush, the engine compartment was painted with silver 'bumper and trim paint' off the shelf from pep boys. the inner fenders were painted with this paint, but the firewall wasnt painted. there is some black paint on the frame rails and part of the radiator support. i used the same silver paint on the kaminari front spoiler and the hood. i ended up with a slightly darker shade on the hood, though... poor man's paint job = too much money spent on the engine. paint and bodywork are on the list of things to do. the list keeps getting bigger, though....

thanks, dude. yeah, it's a 2.5" cowl. it's made by legendary cars, but i bought it from jcwhitney.

hey, thanks guys! pete, it's a 377, not a 383. and yeah, the guesstimate of 430 was conservative. and it is a bit of a tire killer, hehe... kinda scary in the rain. thanks for running the numbers, grumpyvette (thumbs down??). i'm not running full length headers (yet). they are shorty block huggers for angled plug heads. you can see them in the pics. thanks again! ryan

hey guys, i finally got some pics developed and put on disc from my engine swap. the pics are hosted on imagestation: www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292109801 here's what's in the 377 *canfield aluminum heads - 2.055 intake/1.60 exhaust valves, 65 cc combustion chambers, 200cc intake runners *comp cams magnum mechanical roller - part# 12-702-8, 2500-6500rpm, cam grind 280ar, 236/236 @.050, 110 lsa *comp cams roller lifters, high-tech pushrods *comp cams springs, retainers, 10 degree locks, arp screw-in studs, canfield guideplates *silvolite keith black hyp. pistons - 0.30 over, 3.48 stroke, 4.155 bore *crane gold 1.5 roller rockers *arp stainless steel bolts throughout (engine kit plus head bolts, main studs, flexplate bolts, converter bolts, oil pump stud, etc.) *arp 12-point poly locks *summit stage 2 rods (good for up to 450 hp....) *weiand stealth manifold (idle-6800) *holley 3310 vaccuum secondary 750 cfm (silver finish) - the pics, however, show a holly 6708 650cfm double pumper *tci flexplate *b&m holeshot 2400 converter *cloyes hex-adjust true roller timing chain *chevy cast 350 crank (welded up and turned back down for the 400 block) *clevite race bearings (tri-metal) *melling m55a high volume oil pump *milodon oil pan (with windage tray, oil baffles) *milodon timing cover *msd hei distributor *moroso custom fit 8mm spiral core race plugwires *taylor 10mm blue wire separators (because of insulation sleeves on 8mm wires) *edelbrock victor series water pump *march performance serpentine kit, high water flow ratio *yada, yada, yada.... everything is balanced and runs smoother than a sewing machine. i dont have dyno numbers, but est. horsepower is around 430 hp. if someone has dyno software, please let me know what it gives for this combination. headers are rw37 blockhuggers for angle-plug heads from zigsstreetrods.com. the collector had to be cut off since it wouldnt clear the steering arm. the exhaust man bent a section of pipe with a new collector to wrap around the arm and be nicely out of the way. i actually had another roll of film with better pics of the car, the 350 that used to be in it, and the interior. i had taken two rolls of pics for this motor swap. the first roll is the one that i lost. the second roll is what is in the photo album. these are the shots right after the 377 was set in. there are several shots of the car on the rack when it was at the exhaust shop. oh well, i think it's time to break down and get a digital camera. hopefully i will find that other roll of film soon and get that up, too. i'll take more pics soon and let you guys know when they are posted on imagestation. still working on the website.... lates, ryan

have a look on their website: http://www.thorleyheaders.com/gm_headers.html click on '327 y' to see an artist rendering, hehe. i would want to see an actual set before purchasing. just because it says it will work for street rod applications doesnt necessarily mean it will work for the v8 z. read: might not clear the steering arm. i'd also be curious as to how far they come down from the heads: will they scrape the ground, rub my firewall, or will the collector somehow end up exactly where i want it? looking at the design of the headers, the top two y's look ok, but where the pipes come down to the third (lower) y... that doesnt really look like it will clear. and that's because the downpipes that come into the lower y-pipe are side-by-side. it is just a drawing, though. they might work with the jtr kit, but i would be skeptical about them working with the scarab (hooker) kit. the S&S full length headers visibly hug the block a lot more than than the thorleys. and i know that they work with the motorsport kit and the jtr kit, but not sure about the hooker kit. if anyone has these headers, please let us know the following: if they will fit properly without modification (hammer persuasion or otherwise) and what kit you are using to install the v8 in your car.

i've seen pics of your car.... $3K looks and sounds right.

it just depends on what you want to do and how fast you want to go. i've got about $10K in mine and i am far from done. i've got about $5500 just in the 377 that is going in now. and i've done no paint/bodywork yet.

btw, i think the Wolverine Blue Racer is made by comp cams... not that i have lost faith in comp cams. i'm still a fan and used comp cams products in my 377.

interesting.... my 350 went through a similar scenario. i was using a comp cams xtreme energy cam, bought and installed about two years ago. i rarely drove the car until the past 5 months. after about 2 months of normal driving, i lost the intake and exhaust lobes on the number 5 cylinder.

yeah, i did read about those headers, but they were a little too pricey for me... i got my 350 out today and set the 377 in... i checked to see if my hooker street rod headers would work (just to make sure)... no dice. i thought that it would be the outer tubes that hit, but they completely clear the spark plugs. it's the inner pipes... i cant even bolt the headers flush on my heads since the spark plugs are in the way. my headers from zigs will hopefully come in the morning. i want to get my new exhaust put on saturday. hopefully i will have some pics scanned soon. thanks again for your input, guys. i really appreciate it!

also too bad that i cant spell computer....

hey, thanks for the pics mike!! that looks pretty cool. and i noticed on your site that you have an emory email address.... very interesting i graduated from emory in may 2000. too bad copmuter science isnt the best degree for jobseekers right now well, my 350 is coming out thursday and i am hoping my headers will be here by friday, so i can get my 377 in this weekend then, i'll see how quickly i can weld the spider gears on my diff, hehehe.

just ordered my rw37's from zigs. they'll be here in 5 to 6 days... sweeeet! i think these will be just right for me. i liked the sanderson headers, but i was not sure they would fit properly... that, and the price was kinda high. i would end up buying the painted headers from them for about $200 and then spend another $150 to get them coated. and i wasnt really sure that the sanderson's would hook up to my existing dual 2.5" exhaust. from zigs, i'm getting 1 5/8" primaries and jet hot coating for under $200. and it looks like it wont have to take my car to the exhaust man. thanks again, mike!!

cool, mike. i look forward to seeing those pics. and i'm in henry county, about 15 minutes from decatur. btw, i like the rodlites on your car... i have the same wheels on mine.

i'd like to see that closeup on the u-joint, too. seeing how you did that would probably remedy most of the clearance problems people are having with that pesky steering.

thanks mike, those look like they will work for me. and the price isnt too bad, as long as the coating is good. did yours come coated? if so, how well is that holding up? thanks again for the info, dude!

thanks for the link to the sanderson site... that was going to be my next search. the cc178's look interesting, especially with the 1 7/8" tubes. these look like what i am looking for, but i am not sure about clearance for the collector.

ditto that one, hydra. i would like to see some sort of listing for what headers will fit for the hooker kit, especially with angled plugs.. the problem is, it is hard to take a set of headers and test fit them.... and then return them if they arent right. the s&s full length headers will work with the motorsport or the jtr kits, but they wont work for the hooker kit. the steering shaft is in the way. i have seen s&s headers where the collector was removed and a turn-down was welded in to replace the collector. this was in a 71Z drag car using the hooker kit with the engine mounted as far back as possible with that kit, but even his steering arm was too close to the header for my comfort. and, sorry zfan... i am using hooker block huggers for my 350. i know that my headers wont work. and it's not the middle two plugs on the heads that are the problem. they will clear the block huggers. it's the end plugs that are somewhat in the way. most street rod headers make too quick a transition to point down to the collector. the outer-edged pipes need to come out away from the engine a little more before making the transition down into the collector then the angled plugs would be able to clear. my plan is to convert to the jtr kit eventually. at that time, i will also switch to the s&s full length headers. for now, i am trying to find a block hugger that comes close to what i need. i think that heddman block hugger will work. with the engine on the stand and plugs in the heads, i am going to bolt the header to the head and see what sort of clearance is needed. i have a part number for a shorter plug that will work for my heads. hopefully, that will make a difference. if that's not enough, i will gently massage the headers with a hammer and a socket. it wont be noticeable when looking at the motor in the car and it wont crease the header since the socket will allow for a rounded off indentation. it wont be much. if i have indent too far, i wont do it at all. all i need is about a quarter of an inch between the header and the plug boot. if that works for me, then i'll get them coated. zfan, are you using the same cast sanderson headers as dankinzle? i was actually also thinking that a standard sanderson block hugger might work..... again, i dont like the cast ones. i'm wanting to reduce weight with my aluminum heads, not gain it back with cast headers.

i'm not too keen on a cast blockhugger.... and i'm not using the jtr kit. i dont think that the sanderson headers will work for me. anyone else know of anything that will work?

hey guys, i am replacing the 350 in my 240Z with a 377. i am using canfield aluminum blueprinted race heads for my motor, which has angled plugs. i used hooker street rod headers with no problems for my 350, but these wont work with my angled plug heads. i used the hooker kit for the original conversion, which practically sets the water pump on the front bumper. i plan on changing to the jtr kit later, when i switch to an overdrive tranny, but for now, i am sticking with what i have. i know that the S&S headers will not work. even with turning the motor mounts around and setting everything as far back as possible with the hooker kit, i still need about 1/2 to 3/4" to clear the steering. HPC makes a street rod header that looks like it 'might' work... but i am still waiting on an email back from them. right now i am trying to save money, so the only other purchase i want to make is headers that will work with my heads and the hooker kit. has anyone come across this little inconvenience? are there headers that will work with my application?

dude, dont use spicers. spicers are expensive and they are known to break among anyone i have ever known with a v8 in their z. it is almost always the inner joint that breaks, too. the best one to use is a brute force joint. these can be bought at autozone for about $12. they are really good pieces. they dont have a grease-fitting, so the cross is more sturdy. a good friend of mine got me on these... he uses them in his 240 that he drag races and runs 6.90's in the 1/8th mile with no problems. if anyone should break them, it should be him. he has, however, gone through a few 3.90 diffs.... crunch, crunch, crunch, hehehe. i have had a spicer go on me before... but i was rolling along at about 40 mph. my wheel didnt lock up. the half shaft makes some nice noises when that spicer goes... like a sledgehammer taking out your diff. ewwww.... just be glad you were only doing 5mph. good luck!