Mikelly

Actually this is shown briefly in the JTR manual. They show a pic of one in a car and mention that it is an option but... They are heavily bent towards the small block chevy. I'd suspect that if you got all the proper connections for the FI harness, and kept the same trans with the motor, you'd be ok. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Computer? I need more info...Which powerplant are you using and is it Fuel Injected? TPI? TBI? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

....My hotrod buddy with the 55 Chevy advised me to swap my plugs to Bosch Platinum plugs when I tlkd him my motor was smoking a lot. Yesterday before we left for the car show, I swapped a set in, and low and behold....No burning oil in the pipes...No blue smoke.... I'm amazed. I never ran Bosch plugs in anything before, but I'm officially sold! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I changed out to a PCV from a standard chevy truck 5.7 liters to see if that might affect a change. I'm gona drive the car this weekend and see how it does, although when I got gas in it yesterday it seemed to run more sluggish the longer it ran. I still think I have a fuel/ carb issue, but we'll see. Maybe the darned thing needs to be run. I'm also gonna swap in some Bosch Platinum plugs, as I hear they are harder to foul... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

You aren't going to "SNEAK" up on them at all, and I think you are nuts for even thinking that... Have you heard a healthy V8 in a Zcar? The words quiet and stealth do not apply.... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Doesn't appear that the baffle totally covers it, but I'm using the Edelbrock tall covers... I know there has to be something there or the PCV will get to much oil. The PCV is plumbed from the back of the carb to a "T" which then runs to a cannister and the PCV valve. Is this correct? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

The more points, the better. If you can swing it, get the 10 point. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Myron, I'd agree with you but I replaced the return style regulator with a regular dead head style Holley blyue pump and reg, and even replaced that regulator with one from BG which was not return style. The regulator isn't the issue, nor is the pump since I swapped it out for the Holley pump as well. However, AM Engineering has pointed me to the roll over vlave, and I've removed it and plan to test the car tonight and see if a regular vent line -8 in size will help vent the system properly. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Jim, In my above post, I believe I mention the fact that you will have to ditch the balancer... OK, so you spend an extra $150. If you run an electric fan the short waterpump is a non-issue, and the pan in my opinion would work fine. If not, then you need to add another $100. Oh well, now we add $250 to the $3295 price. Still one heck of a deal. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

...My Pvc valve is bone dry and doesn't appear to be getting any oil to it... could this be contributing to the smoky motor syndrome? Which PCV should I use for a 383 stroker??? Also, should I remove the baffle that is covering the hole in the valve cover??? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

ZZ4 Crate motor is in my opinion the BANG for the buck. Let me explain why... $3295 for the motor complete with aluminum heads and intake, distributor, waterpump, balancer. All this and 355HP and 405Ft# torque. You can not beat that with the extras you get. All you need is a carb, alternator and starter, pulleys and a flywheel. Sure, you'd have to ditch the harmonic balancer, but overall this is an excellent package for the money. Check with Scrogg n'Dickie for the price and shipping. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'd love to see any drawings you have. I've got nothing against the VelaRossa kit, but I want to keep it closer to the look of a Zcar. However, the removal and replacement of the roof and hatch area is what I'm looking at, as well as welding in the support and added re-inforcements! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I think not worrying about torque is a BIG mistake. Lingenfelter covers this in his book on small block Chevy's and remember, he did colaborate on the Calloway SLedgehammer Vette and was successful in Nevada and on the SaltFlats in Utah. My guess is that Torque is more important than Hp and where the torque lies... get a nice broad torque curve instead of a peaky one. That was what my builder focused on since my goal is autocross, solo1 hill climbs and open road races like Nevada. mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Jim, I'd be glad to give a hand, bet I could even get Chris to ride up and help. Just make a decision and buy the motor... I sent you e-mail... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Jim, I can send you pics of mine and how I did it with the Tilton 7/8 unit or you can see it Saturday when I drive up to the Tubby's Cruise Zcar meet. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Anyone have any advice on sites with technical data on doing a convertible conversion for the 76 Z Chris has given me? I know about Matt Millens site, and MadMan Adams site, but any others out there??? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Sounds like bad rotors if it only on braking....check you wheel bearings and ball joints... then check your tie rods as well. Don't ignore that one.... Bad bad bad! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I use them, and I did have vibration until I did the mod on the mustache bar bushing as described by JTR. No more vibration!!! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Mike Kelly has entered the discussion.... Do not buy one of those until you drive a car equipped with one. I did, and would not own one, period. Those are the most difficult shifting transmissions I have ever touched. SpenceZ, try to find someone in your area with one and ask them to let you drive the car with them in it, and tell them you heard the trans was tough to shift, and that you want to find out before you buy one... And Michael is right, you can get them way cheap... My buddy goit one for $700, but when he drove my T56 equipped Z he fell in love. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I really hate when these things show up... I can't recommend those hub adapters to anyone. They put WAY to much stress on the bearings and ball joints. Trust me on this one... Do your homework, find a wheel manufacturer you like... Save your beer money and spend the extra few bucks on the right wheel for your car, or modify the existing hub for a 5 lug. But don't use those adapters... they are dangerous and not worth the risk... Disclaimer: This is strictly my opinion, but I did a little research a few years ago and spoke with the Moog rep, and a guy who used to do R&D for Nissan back in the 70s and both told me what I'm telling you here. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

5 inch tach and speedo fit perfect. I'd not call it "Difficult", just a little time consuming, pulling the heater control panel and all the brackets takes all of about 30 minutes for the three center gauge pods, tyhen pulling the speedo and tach are another 30 minutes. I used the painless guage harness kit and it was a snap. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

My car has 15X8 wheels all the way around and I do not have coil overs yet. I have no problems with wheel fitment. However, I do have 3" flares on the back. 16 X9s on the rear of a flared car would fit great. I'm probably gonna fit some 15X10 wheels on the rear when I go with 285s in the back. Right now I'm running 265s on the back, but I'll upgrade later as the other car comes together! Any wheel manufacturer will make custom lug sizes and any offset you want, they'll just cost you a bunch. You also want Zero offset on the wheel. a 15X10 will fit the rear just fine with zero offset if you are using coil overs. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I drove my car over to Chris' house tonight and the car left my driveway with great fuel pressure. It got over to Chris' (6miles away) and itr was reading Zero. The carb has sight plugs on the bowls, so I checked the carb and it was fine, plenty of gas in the bowls. However, on the way to Chris' house I noticed the fuel level gauge rising and falling... I also noticed when I got to Chris' house that the fuel cell was not super Hot, but very warm to the touch. One of my mufflers is about 6 inches away from the cell, but the other is much closer, less than two inches apart... I opened the fuel cell and looked down and could see bubbles in the gas in the cell. Don't know if it is coming from the return line or what, but it has me a bit concerned. Can I put header wrap on the exhaust pipe back at the cell to help cut back on heat? Maybe that aluminum cell is to thin aluminum to help with the heat issue???? Come on guys, give me ideas... Jim Biondo's Cell is way close to his exhaust in the pics, but his cell is custom and I don't know how thin the matterial used to create the cell was made of... Car ran great though....Real strong even with the bit of smoke coming out the exhaust. That thing ever seals up and it will be a monster again!!!!!! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Jim, Mine is a poor example, primarely because I had no experience with Chevy motors. My problems were caused by me, not the builder... Who'd have thunk that Tall valve covers would have still been to short to clear the rockers... The fuel issue was bizaare, but I have it fixed now, and the trans/ Clutch issue... well lets just say that everyone else can benefit from my mistakes. As to what you should look for in a motor... I'd shoot for Quality Molley Rings, clevite77 bearings, Mellings pump, internal balancing.. You don't need forged rods and pistons, or crank, you do need quality bolts (ARP) and you do need aluminum heads and intake to help offset some of the weight. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I don't think they are "Great" prices based on what you are getting. My 383 stroker was $3900 delivered Intake to oilpan with higher quality parts than the list they have at the link, plus I have a FULL roller hydraulic valve train and Aluminum heads. That price also included port matching the intake, screening the block, painting the inside of the block, ARP bolt kit, windage tray, crank scrapper, trap doors in the pan, high volume Mellings pump, Cloyes True Roller timing chain, Clevite77 bearings, C&A ZeroGap rings, Victor Jr. intake, race prepped LT1 rods, Keith Plack Pistons, Isky cam, Kmotion springs.... All I did was drop the carb and distributor on it, Mount the headers & hang the accesories and it was running.... Call around and check crate prices... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk