jack46

The R 180 is not strong you should creme it LONG before any driveshaft problems. I think like others the setup is out of alignment and the weld was not up to snuff. I broke a CV axle and blew a rear end out of my 260 with juice and the driveshaft was reused both times. It put the front end a foot in the air and held then finally broke the CV in a 1.44 60 foot launch. BTW that setup was done in 1987 so it has many engine with a total of 2 DS. The second was needed when I put an LT1 in it in 2003 Good luck it is worth the trouble because once they are right they are a fun ride!

I agree on turbos they are CHEAP like $500 for pair delivered. I may go Master Power T70's but these aren't falling off as you said but longevity will likely be a problem. A few at track say it looks like it is being pulled by a cable it just goes down the track with little movement. Problem is that was ~2800 launch if I bow to 3400 I carry the front and have to get out...so its a fine line I want to change from 4.11 to 3.70 but not sure if that will hurt it. Problem now is first gear lasts a LONG time like 1.5 seconds then I shift and immediately (.3 sec) into drive... and then it is hang on for the ride. There is more in the setup, I had hoped to get 5.99 but Friday nite I think I lost the opti went 6.35 at 106 and 10.5 at 95 coasting it died late in 1/8. So may be a while before I can go again. I will likely add a 2 step and clean some stuff up. It is a work in progress I live near a 1/4 mle track so want to go 9.9 to be in single digit club. I don't plan to hold in it, just hold maybe 120 after 1/8 should get me there Amazing part is the inlet air temps are low that night they were ~85 on a 55 degree nite friday was hot and emps hit 91 f so meth does help. I shoot dual M7 an M10 and ~73% of 93 lb injectors so she is starting to make some power. I am still changing tune friday was best tune and then of course it seems the opti went.... Thanks Jack

Thanks it is a fun ride The easiest way is to link pictures on LS forum http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/album.php?albumid=14954 Thnks Jack

I may have lost one in my turbo Z. I went to the track and it stsrtd HARD.I got it to run and it was not good then went really bad seems like itis running on 3 or 4 cylinders... I hate this recurring problem....

Here is a video of my LT1 Z. It has a 9" t400 and twin Ebay T 70's. I was hopin to get it to 5.99 and on second trip off trailer it went 6.11 at 114.97. So it is close and I think I will get there with tweaking the tune and getting it setup. I am footbrake and the tune isn't right yet last night I think my opti took a dump. I think I will add a 2 step when i change the opti

hahahah I suppose it does. I am anxious to finally start it over the holidays.

A friend's brother has AFR LT4 the big ones and he matches the power of stock iron with 2.02/1.6 valves on a twin turbo running the same boost. Better parts don't always make more power...They are both running ~230 and .570" lift solid cams.

It has to be clogged heck even if you have a BBody LT1 cam it would do better than that. I remember seeing that car and it was healthy just idling so I am voting for blockage on the exhaust side. Good luck PS I put down ~450RWHP with a small cam with iron heads in an 8.5:1 LT1 with 9 psi.

Here is my 75 showing some progress I hope to fire it up around Christmas

That is the worst downside and true IMO. It is a way to hook but like any cheap solution it is not the best. If you are willing to not drive in the rain, and not annoyed by the tires squalling when you do a slow turn go for it. Look at it this way I have a twin turbo drag Z with a Ford 9 full spool! What is the difference betweeen a full spool and welded center chunk? I would NOT daily drive a full spool or welded in the RAIN other than that I have and would drive it. You won't get all to agree for or against read peoples opinions and decide if you can accept the downside. Good luck

There are many good drag calculators on line given et, mph, weight etc. I suggest if you want an estimate of what performance to expect go to one of the following http://www.stealth316.com/2-calc-hp-et-mph.htm http://www.wallaceracing.com/et-hp-mph.php http://www.dsm.org/tools/calchp.htm http://robrobinette.com/et.htm Good luck with the dyno

I did a rearmount Buick Roadmaster with an LT1 used a stock cam (191/196 .421/.431) with stock iron heads and it does well. It has a T70 with .84 hot and on street tires it did 13.1 @112 with a 2.1 60. I had to feather a long way, given the car is 4400lbs that is ~400 RWHP so small cams and stock heads are quite capable. I will be running it again with ceramic coated manifolds and expect to do alot better with slicks. Stick will hurt the spool but when it hits it will be one hell of a kick in the seat. Look forward to seeing more. My Z will have twin 60-1 (knock offs for now) and I expect to run ~6 in the 1/8th but likely will need juice to get it to spool.

Are you sure you have a big enough turbo? What size is that monster? I am using two 60-1 on an LT1 build. They will peek out the hood the headers just got ceramic coated today so hoping to get progres in a couple weeks. What hp are you shooting for?

Here are the seats and other stuff. The shifter will be a B&M

Here is a few shots of the body

I am running a solid cam 232/233 @.565" with 1.5 I am using 1.52 eockers. IThe engine is a 377 LT1 (3.75 stroke). I will be running twin 60-1 with ~14 psi and hope to run 6 in the 1/8

Here was the progress before the car was painted. It has 4 link with 33" x 10/5" w slicks.

Has anyone had success destroking an LT1? I got a 4.3L LT1 from the boneyard and I am told the stroke in that setup is 3" So that should make the old 302 with stock 4" bore. Haven't heard so just wondered if anyone had been successful building one.

I add water into the radiator hose on the drivers side of the water pump and then I use the bleeder. It is not hard to do and works extremely well since the hose is higher than the engine and the bleeder hardly needs to be used. Only if you do not bleed the air. I you don't bleed the air yes you will overheat. If you raise the hose as mentioned there is no problem. I use a rag it barely gets wet. The hose works great for me good luck with the additional bleeder

I am missing something...why are the steam lines on an LT1 a problem? I have always plumbed them into the coolant lines and never had any leaks or problems so exactly what problem is it you are fixing? I have transplanted seven LT1's and I don't understand why this was a problem in your Z.

I liked your line how seeing damage is better when it is not your engine. That is a fact, but we all have blow up motors... I must say your damage appears to be extreme. Heres to you getting it back together and out running the last setup. Good luck Jack

I'm not sure any opti is different on boost since the caps as I understand are all the same. The area that seems to be the problem is 'venting' the contaminated air that comes from the rotor to cap electrical spark. With boost you will at some point need a hotter spark that hotter spark I am told is the problem. Before someone asks, no venting will not effect this condition, since you can NOT run boost in any opti. The opti vent normally has a one way value that blocks pressure so when you need venting most the opti is UNVENTED. Now can you simply run a line from intake to opti and create a vacuum leak when NA and a boost leak when boosted? I have not tried it. I am tempted but fear even a low pressure will cause damage to the opti. I would love to have someone else try it on their setup :>) IF you restricted the line from intake the opti would not see a large volume of pressure and PROBABLY not cause damage but again I have NOT tried it. I have my opti connected to intake and let the opti draw unmetered air (vacuum leak). I am trying this rationalizing that this will have fresh air in the opti at all times when not in boost. The opti vent as is IMO is not sufficient so I am trying this. The impact to idle portion of tune is minimal so we will see if this opti can last 10,000 miles...I think the last made it 6 months maybe 5,000 miles I am using an MSD coil with MSD box and running around 13 psi on my buick and ~15 psi on my Z.

If the MSD was guaranteed to fix it I would GLADLY pay the extra $200! BUT from what I have read many have problems with the MSD, many have good luck but seems to be the case for all optis. A good one works a long time. In my latest setup I have a one way valve and when on vacuum I just have a vacuum leak. This way I will maximize the air flow through the unit and hope...with boost and an MSD box I need to vent the cap more agreesively so I am hoping this will work. The trims at idle are off, but I tuned around it so it seems ok

I hoped the MSD opti would be better it seems like an improved design...BUT from what I read it doesn't last any longer than stock...

Did you install the rotor on the opti or was it already on the unit? I use locktite on the rotor and never had one come off. I do always worry that the rotor will fall apart or off, but I use MSD rotors and caps and I have never heard of an MSD falling apart...