[Patriot Heads]

My neighbor bought a set for his 355 build, he bought them straight from patriots website and saved a few bucks over ebay. He had to buy special intake and exhaust gaskets that matched the ports. They looked really good quality wise. Patriot is suppose to be really big in the ls1 market and people swear by them.

[400 sbc horse power]

Hey tx260z,

 

My brother Jerry just built his nos motor a 400 sbc. He brought it to the track in the z and ran pretty good times. He going to take it to the dyno next week to do a good tune on it. He is running a solid roller nitrous cam, and dart iron eagle heads. He is getting it tuned on the chassis dyno (HP) and times on the engine to sell it to fund his turbo engine build.

 

If you have not bought the other 400 yet I would wait and talk to him. He will be selling the engine complete carb to oil pan. Probably a good deal too, and it will already be tuned.

 

John

Thanks for the offer, but i already have the motor it is in my belair. I am just kind of short on funds right now but itching for a v8 in the z car. Sounds like the 400 will satisfy me (FOR NOW).

[400 sbc horse power]

Dude, I have the same engine. My 240 weighs 2520 lbs. That is next to nothing. The car just flys. Unless you're really retentaive about the whole thing, you'll have plenty of HP. I've never had it on the track cause "it's overpowered". I suppose the best advice is get it on a chassis dyno once it's insatalled. But again - it's a hugh difference between a 2.4Lx 6 to a 6.6liter v8! Personally, I do not care how much hp I put out. I see peoples reactions on the street! That's enough for me. Maybe I'm just easily impressed. Drop in the 400 and ENJOY!

Thanks for the reply, i just did not want a z car that would be just as fast as a v8 mustang f body

[400 sbc horse power]

I wouldn't buy a crate motor. If the 400 is in reasonably good shape, I'd take the 400 and the $3K and put the 400 in the Z. It will take 1 -1.5K to make/buy the mounts, get it wired and plumbed, fab a driveshaft, and install headers and exhaust. Upgrading the ignition to a HEI or MSD would be a good idea, and you will probably need to upgrade the radiator. Then I would take it to a chassis dyno with a wideband O2 sensor, and get the ignition and carb dialed in. You will likely pick up some power, and you will also find that a 300 hp Z car is pretty much of a terror. Even though that's a mild 400, it's twice the stock hp of your car and will be a ball to drive. Then you can think about what else you want to upgrade, suspension, brakes, interior, or motor, as time and budget permit. It's a slippery slope but a heck of a lot of fun.

 

Edit: Do some research before you make/buy your mounts. I'm pretty sure the stock 400 damper won't clear the rack with JTR mounts. You might want to go MSA, or change to a smaller damper, which might mean rebalancing if you can't find a small diameter 400 damper.

 

John

It actually wont cost me much to install it, i have a v8 z parts car with everything but the motor.

[400 sbc horse power]

Greg,

Welcome to HybridZ. JT1 offered sound advice.

 

I say if the engine is sound, install it and enjoy it. The Z should be lighter than your ‘57 so the performance should be more aggressive, (power to weight ratio).

 

Here is THE most accurate answer you will receive with the information you provided regarding your 400 SBC power output.

 

If it runs, it should produce between 200 ft lbs of torque and 100 HP and could make up to 480 ft lbs and 450 HP, all depends on the exact precise details of the parts used, how well those parts compliment each other on a SBC 400, and just as importantly, how well the engine was tuned, i.e. carb jetting and ignition curve. If it doesn’t run, chances are it produces 0 Ft lbs of torque and 0 HP.

 

Unless you give us a LOT more information, this thread is on its way to the shed as this question really has no definitive answer. With such vague specs such as cam specs being between 270-279 duration, (is that seat to seat, or at .050� what about LSA?), 470-479 lift? Manifold is “an†Edelbrock dual plane, (which one? They make a couple types of dual plane and different variations of those types), we can’t offer forth but mere arbitrary guesses and/or broad vague power ranges.

 

Regardless of the “HP numbersâ€, (100 HP or 450 HP), what really matters is does that acceleration force you feel when you mash the loud pedal in the ’57 bring a smile to your face? If so, then that same engine in the Z should bring an even bigger smile due to the Z cars lighter weight.

 

Oh, and don’t forget. With some mild to moderate parts upgrades to the suspension of the SBC powered Z car, it will carve corners with ferocious authority.

 

If you like aggressive acceleration and you like sports cars, just do it. You wont regret it.

 

Sorry about the vagueness, i bought the engine from a machine shop for $300 as a assembled shortblock, he did not know or remember the cam specs and the pj gear drive and t chain cover was already installed. I got the measurements from a degree wheel and dial indicator. The intake is just a performer. The performance when i drove the belair was great, it had a bunch of torque and when the secondaries opened up it actually broke the tires loose on a 40 roll. The motor only has about 5-7k miles on it. Thanks for the replies, i think i will do it just need to go to summit for the 6.7 inch balancer.

Greg

[new car trailer, what kind to get?]

Get at least a 18 footer, steel deck, 4 ft dove tail for lower loading angles, make sure it is built with at least 4 inch channel DO NOT GET ONE MADE WITH ANGLE IRON, IT WILL TWIST. Make sure it has a dual c channel frame, the top one just for the metal deck and a bottom one for the main frame, some main frames only go back half way, try to get one that goes all the way to the back or aleast past the axles. Get one with reccessed light so you dont take them out on corners, get reccessed d rings for tie downs, get a bull dog hitch, at least one axle brake. 2 3500lb axles will work with an open trailer since the trailer will only weigh 1500lb. get c channel ramps for less bowing while loading. try and get one that is painted underneith also for rust protection. Get an extra long tongue for room to mount a tool box.

JMHO

Greg

[400 sbc horse power]

Why not take it to a chassis dyno before you pull it? Then you'll know if you want to make any changes while it's out. It sounds like about 300 hp to me, the heads are probably a restriction.

 

John

The belair is not driveable right now, i figured why buy a crate motor for about 3k when i could use this one then drop a bbc in the belair. But if the hp and tq were not at least 300 each then i might as well buy a crate motor since i dont think i would be happy with a stock hp and tq sbc in the z.

[400 sbc horse power]

Just wanted to know if anyone has an idea of how much hp my engine has based on my combo. I am going to pull it from my 57 belair to put in the z if the combination is right. It is a 400 4 bolt punched 20 over with dish pistons, double hump 1.9 valve heads, cam is somewhere around 27? by 47?, edelbrock dual plane intake, q jet carb, point ign, block hugger headers, 2 1/2 inch single exh. backed by a 5 speed. If anyone has a simular combo or knows how to determine the hp by the combo i would appreciate it.

Thanks

Greg

[jtr maunual ?]

OK. My manual is Feb 2004. It says the setback plates are 1/2" aluminum and the spacers are Aluminum or steel 1-1/16" for the passenger side and 2-1/16" for the driver's side. The spacer for lowering the crossmember is aluminum or steel and are 3/8".

Thanks for the reply, has anyone had any issues with the original measurements 5/16 setback plates, 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 spacers for motor mount and 1/2 in x member spacers.

Thanks for the help

Greg

[jtr maunual ?]

Thanks for the replies, i just like to make things, the metal is free and i have a bunch of tools and a 1800 sq ft shop. Just wondering about the diff thicknessess of the alum vs steel setback plates because the thicker ones would set the engine up higher if the spacers were not compensated for it. Back to the tech board reading page, 103 of 400 something.

Thanks

Greg

[running a 260z without the brake booster?]

I ran my 260 without the booster for months because if your booster goes out it is probably because your mc is leaking which mine was which added more cost to the repair. The car will stop fine, even had to do a couple panic stops and all was good. Its not like you will be towing anything or the car weighs 4k lbs. Just drive like a normal responsible person and you will be fine. I installed the 10 inch booster and the 15/16 mc and all is good now. Get it fix as soon as you can, but you will be fine, hell my 66 chevy truck weighing over 4k and no pb and 4 wheel drum stops.

[jtr maunual ?]

I bought a v8 parts car a few months ago and it came with a jtr manual 7th edition and i wanted to know if that is the latest edition. Does jtr send out supplements or additions to the original purchasers for updated info to the manual. I am making my own adapters and the specs for the offset plates call for 5/16 steel plate but looking at some of the plates on some members cars they look thicker and possibly out of alum. If there are no such things as updates from jtr does anybody have a list of what people have done as an upgrade or revision to some things in the manual. I am searching for info in the search box but i wanted to finish the 408 pages of this tech board first.

Thanks

greg

[Interior almost done]

Then comes poly suspension, then the sbc.