Mikelly

I'd use the 8 inch threaded sleeve, as it adds a bit of support to the housing unit. I'd go with 175-200# springs in the front, and 200-225# springs in the rear. If you have the option, make the springs a progressive rate Vs. straight rate... For those who don't know what I'm talking about.. Progressive rate springs have lighter weight compression of the spring (More comfortable) at the top end of the spring load (Less load on the spring and easier to compress thru the 1st 1/3 of the travel) for daily "regular" use. However, as you hammer it into an off ramp, the more the spring compresses, the stiffer the spring gets, which means you get more performance from the spring as load is applied to the springs (2nd 1/3rd is transitional from the lighter to the stiffer weight), which helps with individual tire performance as well. Progressive rate springs will have two weights associated with them vs. one on a straight rate spring. This is of particular help on the street where road surfaces are much more unpredictable, with manhole covers, potholes, and bridge seems. This allows for better suspension performance at each corner, allowing each tires to respond to the patch of asphault in its direct path. I have used progressive rate springs to autoX on and they work well. True, straight rate springs are nice for racing, but I think for day in, day out use.... Go with progressive rates... Mike "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited August 04, 2000).]

I'd go with the 305 for several reasons. A: You get some serious reliability with the FI setup, I comment here since I have to re-tune my carb for max performance when the weather changes... B: 305s are coming into their own right now... Chevy HiPo is gonna do a special on building them up, and you can get stroker kits for them to bump them up, and parts are plentifull! C: Most 305s from the Z28s and IROCs I have seen came stock with roller valvetrains... a big plus for reving quicker... D: Getting 300+ hp out of them isn't to costly! I'd throw it in, shake it down, and de-bug the gremlins that will pop up. Then budget for a rebuild and upgrade over time! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Those of you driving your T56 equiped Zs... I'm having way to much fun with this thing since I got the carb and fuel woes fixed, but have you guys noticed how easy it is to grab fourth gear??? I'm running the 3.7 LSD rear and 265-50-15 BRAND NEW GY Gatorbacks and I can bark fourth gear at around 3000-3500 rpms all day long.... I never would have expected this so easily... Comments from others?? Also what about highway driving. My car won't pull in 6th gear below 1750 RPMs.... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited August 03, 2000).]

Scroll back through this section and check topics... We have covered this one a ton of times and your answers are in this category! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I guess my 1st question is this... Is the turbo motor gonna be fuel injection fed? If so, keep in mind that fuel volume, as well as fuel pressure is important, fuel volume being more so. You are moving in the right area. The vent tube under hood isn't needed as long as you still retain the vent tube at the tank. I'd also look at upgrading the fuel pressure regulator, pump, and maybe even injectors if needed. That line will need to be 3/8th minimum if you run 300HP or higher, and 1/2 inch if you foresee reaching 400HP! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I just replaced my Mallory tach with a Autometer Monster tach.... no shift lights or extras... it fit perfectly in the existing hole in the dash. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

My flex-alite is a mechanical fan. The ramairbox is form www.ramairbox.com. Thanks for the nice words on the car... it is bruitally fast. I bark 4th gear all day long now that the carb is set up right! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

A couple of things I'm investigating are Belly pans and a chin splitter. Also going with coil overs up front allows you to create the wedge effect. That helps emensly. I'll be testing this out next year at Nevada hopefully! I've had several Zs up in the 150-160mph range and even with suspension mods they tend to get a little loose at top end. They also started to vibrate a bit, due to the inline 6 vibration issues... I tore up several crank pulleys over the years... Anyway, the coil overs and chin splitter will help a bunch and the belly pans will do a bunch to clean up the air under the car. Now, beware of belly pans... Without a wind tunnel, there is no guarantee that the air you are smoothing out isn't still creating problems elsewhere under the car... Think of that undercar air as mini tornados causing bunches of barametric pressure building and eventually causing your car to take flight! I'll hope to avoid that for 93 miles from Hyko to Lund... I've done it once in a rental car... the route was a hand full! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have at least 4inches of clearance from my pan to the garage floor... Doesn't sound like much, but it helps.. I'm using the spacers as my hood would not have cleared... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm using the moroso Tsump pan. Did you guys use the spacers between the frame and the engine cross brace (Brain fart on the area...) that the steering rack sits in??? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Welcome to the world of terminal debt... VISA and Jegs love you.... I'm glad that you are using some of our ideas! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

YEa Chirs was able to lift his front end off the ground after we pulled the motor and front cli[p. I suggest running some bars from the firewall to the strut tower, then down to the core support. If you have a roll cage, puch the bars through the fire wall and tie them into the cage. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Yea, I'm gonna float the article around... Dyno TIme is planned for August. I absolutely want that car making the most "SAFE" HP i can get without getting lean or rich and Dyno Tuning is the only way to go! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Zach, Check out my article under the Feature cars section,and read the engine build section... My motor (A 383 Stroker) cost me $3875 delvered to my doorstep, and included everything from the intake to the oilpan. I had to buy a waterpump, carb, all accessories, and ignition components, but still I'm making some serious HP...Enough to bark fourth gear in the t56 unit, spinning 265-50s at will! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Since the fuel debacle and finally getting to drive the car again, I had several complaints form friends who said the car SMELLED rich. So Friday evening my girlfriends 12 year old and I jetted my carb down. I have a BG750 double pumper and it had 74s in the priomary side and 81s in the secondary. We swapped in some 72s on the main and 79s on the secondary and fattened up the adjusters a bit and got a super smooth 1200rpm idle. Later that night, after a birthday dinner, I decided to go for a little late evening prowl to see what I could run up against... I can now bark, not scratch, but hard bark fourth gear....I'm amazed. At will I snag fourth.... Crazy. The car accelerates so much faster, and I'm guessing I just found 50 or more HP... I have got to spend some more time tuning this beast! Oh, and no one would run me...it was funny the looks I got from all the kids at the local cruise... it was priceless! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I've had prices from $200 for 6 point cages to over a grand, depending on the fabricator. I'd suspect an average shop will want between $400-600 to do it, including pushing through the firewall, which I hughly recommend. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I used rubber pads on all the contact areas so I wouldn't rub holes in the aluminum... Good Point to bring up Pete! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I have had excellent service out of all my autometer guages, and the only guage that has failed me in the last 8 years has been the Mallory unit. All my autometer guages are at least 8 years old and have been transfered from Z to Z.... Just my personal experience... However, the Summit Racing Fuel pressure gauge I have reads 3psi when the car is off...Think I'll Keep the Marshall unit I've been running under there.. I really like the Monster Tach and more importantly it is accurate and easy to read... Only guage I have that isn't Autometer now is the Speedo and it is a programmable VDO unit... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

The radiator upper support was from the Summit dressup section...standard GM upper radiator mount in chrome! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have a Mallory tach with rev limitor and shift light built in...I suspected it was reading way funny, so yesterday I went to Pep Boys and bought a Autometer Sport Comp Monster Tach and plugged it in... My car is now reading 1000RPMS at Idle, which means my readings were 500RPMS off.... No wonder my T56 was lugging in sixth gear when the thing was around 2000rpms...DOH! The new Tach is much nicer, no bells or whistles, just a tach and pointer.. anyway, I'll be sending the Mallory off for repairs and then put it in project number two! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

....After you have driven your car around town or on the road a bit, what is the oil pressure at idle on your 350/383/small block motors? At idle mine is holding about 15-16psi of oil pressure... is this normal? Also, I'm trying to lean it out, am running about 16 degrees of timing at idle and I have leaned out the metering blocks on the carb a bit, but I can still smell gas in the exhaust pipe as it idles... any suggestions? Maybe drop down a jet zise or two? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm very interested in this since I roasted while driving the car on Saturday in 93 degree east coast heat.... Need to investigate this to the fullest, as I want heat and A/C in my car. It had A/C from the factory but I ditched the components... Bad move... How much am I looking at to install a complete system in my car??? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Frank is right... it was a Lexus.... My bad! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Umm Jim, It is was loading up on idle, and I have since corrected it. Although I'm sure the rings are still recouping from being washed down a while back. However, before the plugs were swapped you could see it smoke at idle.... I've been told by a number of reputable builders that the motor will clear up over time, as it is a VERY new build and I have less than 500 miles on it. However, tell your buddy Torri that he can rest assured that the motor will come out and be completely gone over (and upgraded) if the dyno numbers don't make me happy, and definitely if the thing doesn't quit smoking. I'll be driving it much more over the next few weeks, and I'm sure I'll know something by early August as to if it will need to be pulled.... However, a healthy pay raise given to me this week, and driving that thing over the weekend has my Zcar fix renewed! I will have a 200MPH car, P-E-R-I-O-D! Mike Kelly ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited June 27, 2000).]

Jim, so you have about $450 in them total? You realize you could swap them in with your factory hub? That would allow you to keep the four lug (and your nice Panasports), but use the new rotor and caliper. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk