Andrew Bayley

Ever since I was child, I wanted a 400 ci Small Block Chevy. I think it was mostly my Dad's fault. We would go out to dinner every Friday and I would read the local auto trader while waiting for a table. This was back in the early 80's so old muscle cars were abundant. I would always look for cars with the biggest motors in them. Then, one fateful day, my father informed me that a 400 ci Chevy motor was built on the "Small Block" platform, not the heavier Big Block platform. However, since it was the early 80's, the 400 wasn't regularly perceived as a performance upgrade. But alas, times have changed... and here is my dilemma. I've been running the same 350 small block in all three of my V8 Z's. Granted, it makes nice power (350'ish on the motor, 450'ish on the spray) but I'm just itching to build a +400 ci sbc. The only bad part, is that the General didn't make too many 400 ci motors. And if one does come across one, they start around $1000 for a junker motor. So, while I was sitting on the throne the other evening with Summit catalog in hand, I noticed that "Dart" manufactures a Chevy small block with 4.125" diameter bores. Price is listed as $1800 out the door. This might sound high at first, but I started to rationally think about things. First, buying a junk motor rarely comes with any type of guarantee. Second, if the junk motor does appear to be worthy of a build up, there will most likely be a minimum of $500 worth of machining just to clean it up. That $1800 is starting to sound like a rather good deal for a brand new 400 block. Another bonus for the after market block, is the use of traditional 350 water cooling in the blocks. A common problem I've heard of with the 400's is that even with the steam holes drilled out, the Siamese bore design was just a bad idea... period. I can't back that statement up since I've never owned a 400, but I can attest that the 350's cooling systems works (as can most of us). On with the research! At work today, I started pricing out the other major components I would need. I cam up with about $600 - $700 for a new forged crank, $300 - $500 for a nice set of forged pistons, $500 for Al forged rods, and an additional $500 for other misc. stuff (bearing, gaskets, etc...) Taking a worse case of each component, it will cost about $3200 for the short block. It sounds like a lot at first, but I later went back to the net to price out assembled short blocks with at least 400 cid, and they started out around $4500. Am I missing something here? I know that the balancer is going to cost a few hundred bucks and the solid roller camshaft will not be cheap either, but these short block kits don't include them either. Where does the extra $1200 go? So, without insulting me too badly, am I off my rocker here? I'd really like to build my own 400+ ci small block and I think these after market blocks might be the most economical (I use that term loosely) approach. My goal is to make somewhere between 500 and 600 hp, with the option to spray another 150 to 200 hp at somewhere between 11 and 12 to 1 compression. I know this sounds crazy to some, but from everything I've been reading up on, these numbers are very obtainable. The money, on the other hand... Anybody want to buy some vacation land in Florida? -Andy

I'm not 100% sure about the siamese bores with the 4.125" block. The ad doesn't say anything about it, but you might be right. Either way, I wouldn't mind drilling out a few steam holes. A small price to pay I also agree that starting with a standard bore is a plus. I'm already at 0.040" with my 350 and any damage due to excessive nirtous application will more than likely cause more than 0.020" of damage. ds, by the time I'm done with this 350 block (and the 400 is built, I'm on a multi year plan here), the motor will be worth more as scrap metal. 350 blocks are a dime a dozen and the bottom end in my motor is made up of cheap junked parts. Sorry. -Andy [ October 15, 2001: Message edited by: Andrew Bayley ]

If the Oz dollar compares to the U.K. lbs. than $275 is a good deal. In the U.S. a generic 8 point cage starts around $750 professionally installed. -Andy

The most important thing to remember about the 700R4 TV (Throttle Valve to anyone else reading... it took me forever to figure that one out), is that the TV cable should be pulled fully open at Wide open throttle. Most carb's will have some sort of attachment on them to accomodate for the TV cable. I wouldn't worry about a little slack in the line when the carb is fully closed, or slightly open. The way the TV works, is that is regulates the fluid pressure inside the transmission for the clutch bands. The more the cable is pulled, the more fluid PSI is built up inside the transmission. If the motor is building max power (at WOT), but the TV is only 50% open... the clutch band will not have enough holding force. This is what cause the tranmission to slip and eventually burn up. Summit sells a TV for something like $36 that is adjustable. You're going to need some creative thinking getting the TV cable to hook up to a kick down bracket, since it's slightly different than the TH-350 kickdown cable. But then, if we weren't already clever, we wouldn't have V8 Z's. -Andy

After one run with nitrous and the Drag Radials, my front diff mount said: "I don't think so" and I started to hear the driveshaft hitting the P-brake. It took me a while to figure it out. I also switched to a poly trans mount for added piece of mind. -Andy

Four Bolt Main Caps... This is the "splayed" version where the outer bolt of the two is angled away from the crank. -Andy [ October 09, 2001: Message edited by: Andrew Bayley ]

My turn to bite... Vehicle: 1974.0 260Z Motor: 358 Small Chevy (350 0.040" over) 10:1 compression Flat Hydraulic 0.510" @ 240 degrees - 112 seperation Edlebrock Performer RPM Heads Crane 1.6:1 rollers Performer RPM dual plane intake Modified 680cfm Holley double pumper MSD dizzy, box, wires, etc... Full length 1.75" headers Laughing Gas Hot underhood-air induction Drivetrain: GM TH-700R4 4 speed automatic overdrive transmission Datsun 3.54:1 R200 single slide rear end 280Z stub axels and half shafts Suspension: Ground Control Coil-Overs on all Fours Tokico (sp?) non-adjustables Stock brakes 280ZX 14x6 rims with very crappy generic street tires. Eagle 15x8 rims with BFG 275/50/R15 Drag Radials for the track Interior: S&W 8 point roll bar 5 point harness for driver Cheap, plastic, very uncomfortable "JAZ" seat for driver Original crack-free dash!!! Autometer Phantom series gauges B&M Mega Shifter "Custom" Mr. K signed glove box door Winter Updates: (already got them, just need to get around to installing) 10 gallon fuel cell CV axels Toyota 4-pistons Street Flares for front and back Cold Air induction For pictures and complete story, visit the link below. -Andy [ October 09, 2001: Message edited by: Andrew Bayley ]

Ron Jones

Douglas, A few years ago, some cowboy brought up a old "Group B" (read above: turbo and supercharger) Rally car at an SCCA event as an "exhibition only" car on the press stage. ...wicked fast is an understatement. My guess is that 600hp is a way conservative number. Probably much closer to 700hp. Ask any old school WRC fan why they don't use them anymore. 30 psi, ZERO boost lag (ala supercharger), all wheel drive, fiberglass body on tube chassis all weighing in around 2300 lbs... it's no wonder they killed a few dozen drivers off in a matter of a couple years. I'd say the turbo and superchargers worked just fine with each other. -Andy

No prob, It's too bad you don't want a big-ass-heavy GM seat. My department is doing the controller for a "high line" 12 way adjustable seat with four memory locations and heated butt and back rests. All I need to do is figure out how I can sneak one out, crammed inside my breifcase -Andy

Most of the GM seat controllers we supply have motors spec.'d out at 30A. Under normal lab conditions, we typically see 10 - 15A with an occasional spike upwards into the low 20's. Hope this helps. -Andy

Just curious, Do you guys know what yea your 700R4's are? I've got an 87.5 (with the auxilary valve body) with the B&M throttle valve and I've got no problems with WOT fourth gear operation. In fact, at anything over 2500 rpm's in fourth, the transmission will not down shift automatically. -Andy

I believe from 82 - 84, the 700R4 came with a small 27 spline input shaft. In 85, they switched to the stronger 30 spline input shaft. Also, in 87.5 an auxiliary valve body was added that (I think) allows WOT operation in fourth gear without downshifting. The internals of the 700R4 are very similar to a TH-350 and I personally believe that the overdrive unit can be made just as strong as it's older brother (the 350). The biggest factor to consider is fluid pressure. Not enough, and the clutches will burn themselves in a matter of minutes. Too much, and all the pump seals/gaskets will be blown away. It's a delicate balance. Also, the factory valve body leaves a lot to be desired. GM tried to overcome some of it's idio-sycrocies by adding the auxiliary valve body... but it was just a band aid fix on a bigger problem. Most of the after market shift kits will mask this problem. However, I can't say how much abuse these transmission can take. After one summer of low eleven's, my pump bushing looks pretty eaten up. I'm mostly sure that this was due to the TC bolt holes in my flex plate elongating themselves and off centering the TC. I guess Nitrous and slicks will do that sort of thing. Besides that, I've never had any problems with clutches or gears breaking (knock on wood). Hopefully I’ve had just one minor set back and this isn't a sign of things to come. -Andy

Ross, I only run 225 in the back, but I usually adjust the coil overs pretty high in the back. There is quite the rake while sitting still, but during launch it sits pretty flat. I could probably step up to the 250's and not lose any traction with the BFG's. When I launch, I'm only at about 1500 - 1700 on the foot brake. I also roll out about 20 - 30 feet at 80% - 90% throttle before I lay into it (which is when the spray kicks in). As for the truly HIPO guys, after hearing about Mr. San Antonio with his "9 second cage-less Z" , I don't feel very special anymore

Can't speak so much for the external, But there is MORE room between the frame rails in the 280Z's. The radiator that fit nicely in my previous 280's had to be shoe-horned into my early 260 after widening (hammer!) the frame rails a bit. -Andy

Holy schmoly, I take a breather for a few days and look at all the good stuff I miss! I'd really like to post some of your quicker times on the "Datsun 1/4 mile Times Web Page". It's a little site I put together, mostly for people on this board, to see what type of combo gives them which type of performance. Check your e-mail, I'll take this up off line. Secondly, I don't blame you for not hitting the squeeze in first gear. I spent all last summer running 1.60x sixty foot times (even though I only ran low 11's) and I was going through an R200 about every third or fourth time I went out. I probably should have been a little more anal about changing the fluid after every outing, but I was lazy and had many extra R200's in the back '40. All my diff's were open and 3.54 ratio. I never had any problems with wheel spin. The BFG Drag Radials (275/50/R15) always hooked up once they were warmed up. I just read somewhere that you picked up at LSD 3.70 R200 from a 300ZXT. Let us know how this works out. I am a little skeptical about how well these will hold up. Personally, I think a welded R200 is the best choice for street racing. They are cheap and easy to come by. Also, I've been using U jointed half-shafts as well with successful results. I've only busted one shaft before, but I credit that to major squat in the rear suspension. Since then, I've added adjustable coil over with a healthy spring rate. Keep us informed on your success. -Andy

Jake, the headers are made by S&S, don't worry about the name spelling... it happens all the time. Luigi, I bought the headers pre-made from S&S and they are 1 and 3/4 in diameter. Previously, I ran a set of 1 and 5/8 block huggers. Performance difference is minimal. I really don't think anyone will notice a difference until they are in the +500hp region. Lone, "...but didn't someone write mails saying the full headers were a PITA? Yeah, that was me! I would not recommend this to anyone who thinks they "might" want long tubes. Everything assosciated with these headers becomes ten time more difficult. Forget just unbolting the headers and pulling them out, the engine needs to be lifted up AS the headers come out. Also, collector gaskets are about a zillion time more difficult to replace vs. the old block huggers. The top most bolt on the long tubes is extremely difficult to access. Finally, there is a lot less flexibilty in routing the exhaust. I had to pound out the floors quite a bit and it's still tight. Don't even get me started on starter accessability Bottom line, it's do-able. But to the average steet driver, it's probably not worth the extra effort. If I could do it all over again, I'd invest into a nice coated set of block huggers. -Andy (typing really fast, everyone waiting for me to go out to lunch. There's probably a ton of misspelled typo's. Oh well.) [ September 27, 2001: Message edited by: Andrew Bayley ]

Thanks Davy, It was over a year ago that I told Pete I would get him some digital pics of the headers and cage. I may be slow... but I am a man of my word The Z is going into hibernation soon, anyone want any more pictures before I move her into the the Winter garage? -Andy

I've got a problem that has really been bugging me lately. First of all, I have a 1991 Eagle Talon TSi that I use a winter car. Earlier this summer, I let a friend borrow the car for weekend while his Eclipse was down for a new fuel pump. This Talon of mine isn't exactly "mint" but it was a nice ride. The only previous transmission problem I had was a blown out 5th gear synchro. No biggie, makes good “Steve McQueen” double clutching practice. Anyway, at the end of this weekend, the car was returned to me with the shifter W-A-Y loose and without the ability to hit either 5th gear or reverse. The first thing I checked was the cable connection inside the car. Everything looked good and there didn't appear to be any slop in this area. Next thing I did, was check the actual shifter levers on the actual transmission itself. The up-down (movement of the shifter, please excuse me if I don't know what they are specifically called) lever felt fine. However, the left-right lever felt like poop. It only moved about half of what I expected it to and there were no positive de-tents that it traveled through like the other lever. I guess what I'm trying to ask is if anyone else has ever heard of this problem before. There are a few DSM people who have complained of the shifter popping out of 5th gear and having the tighten up the retaining bolt on the input shaft inside the transmission. I'm thinking this is my only good explanation right now. I've got to get the ball rolling on this project. It's starting to get cold up here and the snow will most likely be flying up north in a few weeks (the Datsun or Impala doesn't like the snow very much) Any advice is appreciated. Pete, I know you have an Eclipse, help a brother out here! -Andy

Yes

Scott (not Scotty, or Scottie, just Scott ), Try heating the tires up a bit. I know everyone and their brother says warming up street tires wont do anything to the tire compund, but give it a try anyways! Most people find out that a mild burnout on street tires will warm the tiures for a few seconds. During these few seconds after the burnout, s... l... o... w... l... y... creep your way up to the staging area. What will happen is your tires will pick up all the loosened soft rubber left behind from the full slicks while your tires cool. This will build up a very small layer of soft slick compound on your street tires. Give it a try, it definetly wont hurt anything (unless you've got some high $$$ tires out back). -Andy

I've got the B&M Hammer shifter. It's a little more $$$ than the other shifters, but it feels nice and I've never had any problems with it.

Oh yeah, 3 inches from the helmet... Well, there's really no getting around that at 6' 3" I just make sure I slouch when I drive up to tech . By the way, I can really appreciate what you (Cerberus) did to the Optispark system on your LT1. I spent all Saturday night ripping everything apart on my B-Body LT1 only to find out that the F-body Optispark I was mistakenly given does not fit on Impala Lt1's Those Optispark systems were (still are) a joke! Jim, ever replaced the plug wires on your Impala before? I'll sell my Impala and buy a 1984 Dodge Minivan before I do that again!!! -Andy

Hey Lone, Check out Pete's page. I believe he tied his bar into the strut towers. I probably should have done it that way myself... oh well. Cerberus, Which back bar are you talking about? The lateral support behind the seats, or the down tubes going to the floor? I checked all the rules when I was fitting this bar and I made sure that all my measurements were up to spec. I've never had any problems at the track and I've seen people with cages WAY out of spec. get passed. -Andy

Ah yes, the great S&W debate. First of all, I'll agree with Cerberus in saying that every bar had to be cut or modified. However, the installer must realize that this is a very custom job and S&W provides the bare bone basic to get this job done. It should not be taken on by anyone who isn't prepared to to cut, weld, and be a little creative. A custom 6 point bar will cost at least $1000 from a professional shop, usually more. The S&W kit cost something like &120 - $140 depending on what you get. At that price, you can expect to be doing a lot of custom fabrication and fitting. Heck, pricing out the raw material (nothing bent or pre cut) comes out to at least $100. The extra $20 - $40 for having S&W bend the main hoop and "rough in" the support bars was money well spent. Also, the guys at S&W were very friendly and polite, so I'm sure they would be happy to tell you (ellobo) if they have a ZX kit, or not. Here's a couple pictures of my S&W 8 point: -Andy