zeeboost

Yeah, I figured it should have the same bolt battern b/c the centerforce clutch is designed to fit the lt-1 flywheel, and it fits the Centerforce SFI as well, but I figured I'd just make sure before I bought it. Thanks!

Well, I have the Centerforce SFI flywheel, but I haven't heard any complaints about that one yet. As far as I know, that's the only flywheel I can use with a two-piece block and a t-56 from the LT series engines. That stage 3 clutch sounds pretty good -- I think I'll look at buying that one instead. It should still bolt up to the fly, right? Well, I did post this to get insight and more info on what I should do to buy a stronger bottom end, so I'll go ahead and get the Keith Blacks just for peace of mind. Even though this engine won't be doing any circle tracks, and therefore won't see as much stress, I'd still have that thought in the back of my mind about the wrist pin giving out, so while it's apart, I might as well upgrade the pistons as well. I guess now would be a good time to go with floaters. Thanks again for all of your help.

Holy crap! That's exactly why I'm replacing mine! it started chattering on me, and I figured maybe it didn't have a good break in. The throwout bearing is seriously FUBARd! I figured I did something wrong, so i was about to buy another one. $550 is quite a bit for a clutch that won't hold up passed 10,000 miles. I guess I need to start looking at other options. Know any good recommendations besides the SPEC stage 2/3, or is that the best way to go? Thanks again for the warning.

Tim240z -- I'm replacing the intake because: most of my miles are highway miles, and in 6th gear I'm usually running in low RPMs, which conflicts with the Victor Jr's powerband of 3,000-8,000 RPMs; dual plane would seem more streetable; I usually don't turn crazy RPMs to use the Victor to it's full advantage; I figured that since I already have the Systemax II setup, I might as well go with the intake that they recommend. I'm not sure where you see that I'm replacing the carb (unless carby stands for something else and I'm too slow to pick up on it ) dr_hunt - My heads currently are aftermarket -- as you can see above or in my sig they are the Holley Systemax II heads (2.02/1.6 -- the usual). the crank has been turned 10/10, and I have a high volume oil pump. The cam/lifters/pushrods have about 4,000 miles on it, if that -- the rest of the valve train has approximately 8,000 miles. Why would you suggest Keith Black over the Speed Pro? I know my cousin does oval track racing and he's constantly turning 7,000 rpms with his Keith Blacks and he hasn't had a problem from them yet, but I was under the impression that Speed Pro was a good brand...something I'm missing out on? Thanks for the suggestions

I've always heard that the chevy rods were somewhat weak in stock form. I really can't afford to throw a rod within the next few years, so I figured I'd be on the safe side. Now, I don't have as much experience with Chevy as I do with the Datsun L-Series engines and the Ford small blocks, but that's just what I've always heard about the Chevy rods. My compression ratio should be 10.5:1, and my setup should put out about 400hp and 413 ft/lbs. Do you think the stock chevy rods can handle that? I mostly won't abuse the engine, but I'm sure every once in a while I'll get an urge to gas it. I'd just like a reliable bottom end.

Any last suggestions before I call Summit? So far, the list is: 1) Eagle SIR I-beam forged steel connecting rods 2) Centerforce Dual Friction clutch assembly 3) Holley Street Dominator Intake Manifold 4) ARP Headbolts 5) Felpro Gasket Set 6) Total Seal Gapless Rings Bill: $1400+ (this also includes the machine work I'm having done)

Yeah, I wasn't sure about that one. I was just going to take the crank to the machine shop to see what he could do, but after work one of the other techs came back to my house to have a few drinks, and when he looked at the crankshaft journals he said that it shouldn't be anything, and just to lightly brush it with emery cloth or steel wool. But then again, maybe he already had a little too much to drink Thanks for the warning

It looks like the marks should come out easily with an emory (sp?) cloth/pad. I know that I could reuse the rods, crank, and pistons -- the question is would it last me? Would it be something to where I'd be scared to punch on it in fear of something breaking on me? I just don't really know the limits of a basically stock crankshaft and rods, and I don't know if 400 hp would be too much for them. Thank you so far for the replies.

First off, lemme go ahead and give you the situation. The v8 has been pulled out of my zx and is torn apart now due to excessive blowby and lack of performance -- I found some wear marks on the crank journals, a couple of cylinders that need to be honed, and a couple of rod cap bearings that are scored. In about 7 months from now, this will be my PRIMARY driver, so I can't afford to have this 355 to give me problems in the future. It's set up to make about 400 hp and 420 ft/lbs. according to Desktop Dyno, so it's obviously not stock. I'm wondering if I should replace the bottom end with an Eagle bottom end so I won't have to worry about any trouble from it in the future, or if the stock internals will work. I've heard that stock rods are supposed to be good for 350 hp or something like that, and I'm not sure about the crankshaft. I did try searching for this information, but found little help. My dilemma: I have 3 weeks to put the v8 backtogether and drop it in my car. I need somebody to please advise me on if I should upgrade the bottom end to Eagle (this will include their forged pistons and rods, along with their cast iron crank), or if what I have should have a lot of life left, or if maybe I should just get the Eagle rods b/c my crank will still be good, etc. If money wasn't a factor then I wouldn't be posting this, but I still have a few years of college left, so I can't really go balls out on an engine setup. Plus, I'll need to make a decision very quickly b/c I have to order the parts tomorrow in order to give me adequate time to build it and drop it in. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. 2) Can somebody identify (mostly, if you know the brand) this piston for me? I've never seen that symbol on one before, so I wasn't sure who made it. Thank you all for the help -- I've been searching hybridz for the past couple of days, but I couldn't find anything that would help me. I just found many different questions on engine builds, and that grumpyvette seems to like Eagle rods. Thanks again

Well, in case any of you were watching to see what the final bid would be, eBay pulled it off, so the link directed you to an invalid item. But now, Mary's back and kicking more ass than ever! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5535890757&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1 I still can't believe this! She even had the nerve to put the starting bid at $3,000 for a piece of 10 year old bread!

I know you did a hell of a good job on your Z terry, but I think this guy is trying to give you a run for your money. NOT DIAL-UP FRIENDLY http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=6&i=55961&t=54674#55961 I think it looks great! 8)

I can't remember how his last name is spelled, but I think that's right. Anyways, for some reason (probably from the corny image after years of dull humor from AMV and Full House), I can't stop laughing when I hear him cuss. Maybe it's just me: explicit content

I too call bs. I work as a tech at a Ford dealership, and you're right -- warranty doesn't pay for CRAP! I know of some of the porters, making $6.00/hr, earning more than some of the newer mechanics we've had in here. I don't really talk to many of the other techs about it, but from what I know, you can either get paid $18.75/hr on commission, or a couple of the newer techs get paid $6/hr plus $6/hr commission. On a side note, I just found this out the other day, Chilton says that replacing one outer tie rod is worth 6 hours! (I think it was 6...either 5 or 6, but still!) I could make a damn good living just replacing tie rods. But, if you replace both of them, it would be 6.5 hours...

WTF? The bidding went from $15,000 to $100!!?!? I've never seen that before.

Be careful, your sacred, blessed grilled cheese could be worth some money: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19270&item=5534052474&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Here’s what my friend wore to his Halloween party. I figured you’d like it Aux All of our neighbors are old people, so they didn’t find it too amusing when he wore it outside. Except one guy – he’s pretty cool, but anyways, here you go. *adult content below*

You love bringing back the old posts man! Yeah, my girlfriend once got pulled over for speeding in her Probe GT, and right when the cop was asking for her DL and Insurance, another car flew by them, so he told her to, “Wait here” and took off after them…lol. She left after about a minute and never heard from him again.

Ooooh, I just remembered -- I'm looking for a pair of black seatbelts in good shape...have any? If so, how much? Thanks

Haha – that was actually the only junkyard I ended up going to – they were the only ones that advertised imports and were open on Saturday. I was successful in finding the alternator pigtail that I needed, but they had a $25 minimum charge on all of their parts, and I was gonna be damned if I was gonna pay that much for a pigtail, so I found a couple of ’82 280zx’s back there and ripped out some interior parts. Other than that, they really didn’t have any older Z’s. I did find a Z32 with the JDM taillights, but they wanted $100 a piece, so I said to hell with it. It was raining anyways, so it wasn’t really ideal weather for junkyard hunting. All I was really looking for (besides that pigtail) was a 280z that still had an engine bay intact. I’m trying to see exactly where a couple of vacuum lines run – the FSM doesn’t specify. But anyways, maybe I’ll have better luck next time with another junkyard. Thanks anyways though

Is THIS more like the garage you have in mind?

I’m referring to the interior rear quarter panels, as they have proved to be a PITA to find any of the black ones in good shape. Thanks though

How’s your headliner and rear quarter panels? If they’re still in decent shape, how much do you want for them? I call first dibs on ‘em.

I'll be going up there this weekend -- I'm looking for some S30s and a 1995 Maxima -- has anybody had any luck up there? Anybody find a gold mine? Thanks for any help

Last week, this girl was telling me, "Hey, that's a nice C..R.." then I butt in and said "Oh hell no, it's not a Honda, look again." "Oh. Is it a Ferrari?" That's the best one I've heard yet (at least towards my car) At least she could tell it was an import

Hey Moridin, don't get me wrong, they can produce a substantial amount of power -- I just think that it is a form of "cheating" by just slapping a supercharger on the engine, when Chevy can compete with them using a normally aspirated engine. I've seen a C5 with just new heads and cams totally outrun a new Cobra with the pulley, chip, intake, etc. mods. I'm not sure exactly how much the Cobra was pushing, but he had an extensive mod list. I work as a Ford Tech, and I must say we really haven't had many Cobras come in for engine repair -- just transmission work. (One only had 3600 miles and he already managed to throw out the transmission.) The 5.4 is a solid motor, I just wish they'd put more engineering into it than just sticking a supercharger on it. I know, even that takes planning, redesigning, etc., but I'd just rather see n/a. To each their own though.