Mikelly

Grumpy, I have everything on your list except the compression kit, and for $30 it is mine. My engine lift's piston siezed up on me, so I need to replace that unit... I need a rod bolt stretch gauge too! Mike

Well I'm a changed man after opening up my crate motor... I'm gonna go with Forged rods and forged pistons... And I'm gonna put Total Seal rings in with waveloc rod bolts. I'll do it right and be done the first time. The parts I'm selling would make a good 350hp motor, but I'm pushing 540hp and I just don't want to chance it. Thanks Grumpy for your info offline! Mike

Yea, A price would be nice... I'm interested too! Mike

Well it looks like I'll be searching for a good 6 inch rod/ piston Combo. We'll see... Mike

OK Grumpy, What is a good piston combo for 6 inch rod 383 stroker, with large lift hydraulic roller cam (Isky # 201282294) and 205/160 valves on Dart conquest 215 cc runner 76cc chamber heads??? Mike Kelly

Thats PURDY! I want one, I want one! Mike

Toss it... Not needed and you won't miss it! Mike Kelly

...And to make matters worse... I think I got the screw job on the motor build. I was supposed to get C&A ZG Rings(Nada), Wavelock rod bolts (Nope), and a crank scraper (Zip)... I won't complain for the money I paid ($2900 intake to oilpan) but I won't be doing the crate motor thing again...once bit, twice shy... Still doing research on the connecting rods and I've found these: http://www.racepartsstore.com/connecti.html (Eagle SIRs) but they aren't dowled. I'm still looking and any help would be mucho appreciated.. My pain level is about $300. I'll be selling my 5.7 Pink Rods for sure. Mike

Denny, thanks, but these parts have less than 3k miles on them. What I'll likely do is replace the piston for $20 (Jegs) or replace the set with some forged units and some Scat Rods. YUp, Mike KZ, I'd love to blame it on the bum hand, but I was no where near the motor when the head fell, and I dropped the piston with my left hand...Right one has the brace on it... Mike

Took off today as I was scheduled for a home appraisal for some bill consolidation/ home improvement/ HUGE ASS GARAGE INSTALL and decided I'd go ahead and completely tear down the motor... First off, My aluminum head FELL off the deck of the motor after I had removed the head bolts bolts. It was near level and I still don't know how it came off the deck..no apparent damage there. Get to the oil pan and drop it off the block and I find that my pickup screen and block for the pickup tube had broken free from the tube... Not a good weld job on that... I need to contact Meloden on that one. On removing pistons, one dropped and cracked. They are cast Silv-O-lite claimers, which shouldn't be too expensive to replace one on. However, you guys have me thinking about my rods, and I may go ahead and do the pistons as well... and upon looking at the rod bearings, there is evendince of contamination from something (I suspect gasoline) on the rod side bearings. All of the cap side bearings look good, with no wear evident, yet significant on the rod side... Motor is completely down except for the crank. Gonna leave it alone until I decide on the piston/ rod issue. Couldn't believe I broke a piston... Mike

If Jamie does as he expects to, he may be closer to the 2000# mark. Going with Lexan and other little tricks will aid hmi significantly. I think Pete DesktopDyno'ed mine in the 540-560 range. I am swapping into programable FI and larger headers, but I think we experimented with different sized headers in that above range. The motor supposedly Dyno'ed to 544HP/ 492ft# of torque at the shop I built it from. Mike

Grumpy, I hear you on the Rod Bolt issue. This motor combo is one I already have that was built for me by a Crate engine builder. I spec'd ARP Wave Locs, Crank wipers windage tray, and a pan with trap doors and a high volume pump. I lsot a motor on start up once due to a stretched BRAND NEW rod bolt due to a faulty torque wrench... Rod bolt stretch gauges are a good investment. I already have the Pink Rods in the build, which is why I want to know if they are something I can live with (They are race prepped) or if they MUST be replaced. Mike

I have an SFI 6 3/4 inch external balancer for for a 383 stroker (Mine) sale cheap... The Unit has 3K miles on it. Contact me offline at Mikelly@hybridz.org if you are interested. Mike

Joe, By all means, feel free to stop in the next time you are in town! OVer all the arm feels good, just can't "push" on it is all! Mike

... Yup, the wife caught me mounting my engine on the engine stand for my tear down..Boy was she hot. Supposed to take it easy, and I was...sort of. I'm wrenching most of the stuff with my left hand since the right wrist is cracked. Anyway, Motor is on the stand and I'm starting a complete tear down so I can ship off the rotating assembly for balancing. My question is this: I have LT1 Pink rods that have been race prepped. I'm gonna be pushing (Hopefully) 450RWHP at around 6500 RPMs and I want to know from the true techies out there (Grumpy, Ron J. and others) if these rods are sufficiant for my application. I'm also lokoing into my pistons and may swap both out, but only if I have to... Thanks in advance! Mike Kelly

Nion, It looks awesome, seriously. I'm just overwhelmed with racer wannabes in my town. THAT car is a REAL race car. I'm getting those mirrors. MIke

Not quite the look I intended, but.... Got Rice??? Mike

The one thing you could do Ron is find a set of the old factory units that actually come appart. You could play with the oil viscosety to get the best feel for your car. Mind you, it would involve some work, but you could do it. Your other optionis to contact a strut manufacturer and have them built. I know my guys in Northern California are having some custom bilsteins made for their 240Z Solo Pro car. Mike

I'd hands down go with the Tokicos. They last a long time, and are known to be durable and reliable... The KYB units for Zs have some bad history (That I know of anyway) and I'm not partial to swapping blown cartidges! Mike

Evan is correct. My L28 FI motor ran into a wall at about 4800RPMs. The intake SUX. The TB sux, and the AF Meter...SUX. That said, I was able to get 240+ Dyno'ed flywheel HP. with a HUGE schneider cam, large AZ Car valves and some other tricks of the trade. I personally wouldn't go this route. If you want big HP, do the turbo setup and go from there, adding some extruding to the intake and exhaust manifolds, the right head and cam combo, and aftermarket programable FI. That is truly THE way to go when making BIG HP with an L6. My $.02! Mike Kelly

Yea, Jamie T. was at my house over the weekend and we were salivating over the damned thing Ron! Nice, super light rod... Same reason we throw away $1000 mountain bike frames when they reach the 3 year mark. Tha aluminum has a finite life expectancy! Mike

Jim, I'll take you up on that...JUST TO GET TO DRIVE YOUR CAR!!!! LOL! Seriously, bottom line is these cars are quick no matter the setup... and it does boil down to preference, which means everything to the individual! Good luck, be safe, and have fun guys! Mike Kelly ZF Racing LLC

I used to Run Marsh Racing 3 piece aluminum/ Carbon wheels and they were 15X8 and weighed 9-10# each. Marsh racing calculated the rotating weight and "CLAIMED" that losing 10# per corner with the right wheel and tire combo was akin to adding 100HP... The added benefit here is that in autocross you get additional performance gain of better braking, as it is easier to slow a lighter wheel/tire combo, and spin it back up to speed coming out of a corner! Huge difference in acceleration! Seat of the pants feel and lap times revealed they were quicker... Mike Kelly

Doug, Glad you could show up to the party. Kim and I obviously don't see eye to eye on this as he feels that I publicly humiliated him. I don't see it that way, and only since he left the board have I found out who he is in the Zcar community and his frustration over the JTR manual and Mike Knell. My car has the JTR mount setup and yes it does require a bit more work, but in my opinion worth every penny if you are doing the install from scratch. I drove my Z on the street HARD for about a year, and never hit anything with the oilpan and once I did the mustach bar bushing tip outlined in the JTR manual, the driveline angle issue was resolved. In my opinion, and I'm no expert (but I've also not got an AX to grind with Mike Knell or Kim), it just makes sense to me if you can get the weight balanced and low, just like most racers set their cars up. If I had bought a Scarab setup car (And I didn't because of what I heard about their handling issues) I might not mess with it. But it really doesn't cost that much to convert a scarab car over to the JTR... Swap a starter, make a new driveshaft, and re-route or extend the exhaust, and drill some holes for the trans mount. To me, the added benefit would be worth it. Mind you, I only drove a couple of Scarabs that were poorly done examples... Jim Mcnemar's car is an EXCELLENT example of a well engineered Scarab that might prove my theory wrong. From what I hear about Kim's car, I'm sure he spared no expense either, which would make his car a potential contender as well. Again, I believe that the two issues, the oilpan and driveline angle, are non-issues because there are active solutions out there. I also believe that making your own mounts would also be a wonderfull idea in the end... Weld them onto the framerails, after you beef up the frame rails...One thing I hate about the JTR mounts is the added (Yet minimal) vibration you pick up from the mounts. Still, there are endless ways to do the conversion using motor plates, and a host of other mounting solutions. Bottom line here is that there isn't always a "Right" answer, just options or opinions, and many believe the JTR is better, and some don't. It will ultimately be up to the individual. Mike Knell provides a TON of usefull data in the book. Just don't believe EVERYTHING you read in it... Doug, Glad you found us, and I hope you stay. And if Kim is reading this, You are always welcome back to the frey. Water under the bridge to me. Mike Kelly ZF Racing LLC

U'se guys missed the most valuable tip of the day... Change the air in those tires... You now that has to be lighter than the stale air in there from last year... Rotating weight being what it is... Actually had a ricer ask me if I thought that would help... Mike