Mikelly

Well I now have another area to check on the fuel pump presure drop issue.... Voltage and amperage... I have a 14 guage wire running the pump thru the 30 amp switch on the roll cage... Might be dropping voltage at the pump over time... Now for the kicker.. If this is the case, I am not gonna be able to return the blue fuel pump and regulator I just bought at my local speed shop. People ask why I shop mail order... Jegs and Summit have 100% return policies.. I'm whining I know, but it would have been nice to recoup the $100 spent on a part I now probably won't need... Anyway, I'll be checking voltage readings tonight at the pump and the switch... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm running 3.7 LSD, 1 inch up front and a 3/4 in the rear (Thought it was 7/8th, but now I'm thinking it is 3/4). I have experienced no adverse driving characteristics at all. As a matter of fact, on Friday I hit a 90 degree turn into a side street at well over 40, not hitting the brakes and not crossing the line into the other lane. No monkey motion out of the front or the rear. There was evidence of the tires working overtime, as later I came around the same intersection in my truck and saw the marks left in the pavement from the tires...all four of them. My car tracks very well. If I ever get the bugs shaken out of it, I'll throw Chris C in the passenger seat and let him give you a description of how it tracks, brakes, and corners!!!!!!! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Pete, I'm looking into circuit breakers as we speak. I'm not sure what size I'm gonna go with, but they aren't cheap. As for wiring, I seperated my wiring for the lights, horn, and interior, from the motor harness. I can cut all my accessories on with the ignition key. However, the ignition key will not activate the engine, alternator, MSD, fuel pump, or coil. All of the motor electricals run off the Moroso toggle box that is mounted on the cage. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I checked the venting of the roll over valve, and it was blocked by insulation under the rear deck. I had bolted the fuel cell up as close to the deck as possible. Thankfully I left enough threadall to lower the cell 1/2 inch. However, after wiring in the new pump, new regulator, and lower the cell to allow the cell to vent properly, the presure is still dropping rapidly. Within 10 minutes of warmup the psi drops from 7 down to 5.5! I guess I'm gonna have to drop all the lines from the tank forward and runs some compressed air through them all. I must have an obstruction in the line somewhere. Starter is still dragging, even with the Hotshot out of the system. I'm gonna exchange this starter since it got so hot. Thankfully I have a 1year replacement on it. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Chris, Stop by and pick up my copy of Zcar Magazine that had the V8 special in it. It has atleast one example of that very set up. I also might have an article in sport compact car of another Z setup like it. Take the magz and xerox them on a color copier... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

The last three posts are excellent ideas... I'll give them all a try later today, or maybe later this week. I'm gonna resolve the starter issue 1st. Taking it back to the guys I bought it off of... Gonna exchange it just 'cuz... it got hot enough to smoke.. It still cranks, but over half the life is gone I'm sure. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

500 with the plates and they are running close to 200.... Maybe I'm not too far off from my original dream... My buddy up the street had his 55 chevy with blower and double carbs out today... I was amazed at how easy he broke loose the 30 inch tires on the rear of his 4500# car.... That little 355 is huffing big time! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Today, while troubleshooting the fuel issue, I was starting the car when the starter hung and started smoking... with the fuel return line opened.... I ran to the back of the car and unbolted the positive terminal just as the casing on the wire from the starter started to melt.... I called it a day and picked up my tools after sealing the fuel lines and pulling the other battery terminal... I thought about selling the ****ing thing for a brief instant.... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Ken, I live in Virginia which isn't too far from you. Have you considered doing the work yourself? I'm sure someone out there will do it for you, but it is gonna be super expensive.... Conversions run high through shops. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Here is the setup...RCI fuel cell, #8AN and 1/2 inch line all the way up from the cell to the engine bay and then back to the return. The pump is only about 8 inches from the sump the cell. The log I have is just the BG long style fuel ports to #8AN fittings and line that run just in a line. no adjuster. The return is on the fuel presure regulator. I haven't sent the BG regulator back yet, as I'm still troubleshooting. I have a Vent rollover valve in the cell, so I don't think I have a vaporlock issue. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Running 265-50-15s and I flared mine 3 inches and can fit 285s on. Spenc, are you looking at the Yokohama AVS series tires??? Thats what I'm gonna run, and you quote some sizes they offer... just curious. BTW, I had to cut the inner fender away on the rear when it was flared. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

OK guys... Lets all take a deep breath....This isn't Zcar.com! Lets all act like adults. There is no such thing as a bad idea, even in failure... Learning is the key. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I spoke way to soon. Took the day off today and drove the car to my local hot rod shop... Between my house and the shop I lost 4PSI of presure. I went ahead and bought the Holly Blue pump and installed it and changed my plugs (What plug are you guys running??? I'm running accel 416s and the are pricey!). After changing the pump out I figured I would let her run up to temp and then adjust the regulator... Same problem... System gradually drops off. I went from 7.5 down to 5.5 in 3 minutes. Why in gods name won't this system hold presure???? I'm beat. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have experienced absolutely no additional vibration in the interior. I'd go for it and use them all three! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'd use Jim Biondo's build as a good example of a car running mid 11s with 500HP on a 407 Stroker. My build is using the same heads, but I'm running a hydraulic roller cam and mine is a 383. I also am not running fuel injection. On good street tires I'd suspect a 400HP build should get you mid to low 12s. Don't go crazy on the torque when you build it. I had my engine builder shoot for a nice broad torque curve, which got me a little less torque, but more usable torque over the rev range. Heads: Any of the Brodix/ cannfield/ or Dart models are nice. My Dart conquest units are sweet. I also am a huge fan of Roller valve trains... big performance gain there... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Also, not only ride quality, but launching a stiffly sprung Z with IRS is much easier to do than with a live axle car set up with the same stiff (Read: Road Course type) setup. One of the characteristics I love about the Z is the rear squatt when I launch it... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Michael and Chris....Move to the head of the class.. Dennis, hope this helps clear that up. Aerodynamics make my head hurt and I have a feeling real soon I'm gonna find out that I need about 700HP to get where I want to at the speed I want to go at! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I FINALLY fixed the problem with the fuel... Seems that the pump won't prime unless you loosen the outlet fitting to let the pump cavetate... crazy. I also simplified the system going to the rear of the tank, losing the cool cut-off valve, but getting the pump back to an exhaust friendly location. I also only used two 90 degree fittings this time, as I also believe they contributed to fluxuation in pressure. I now have a pressure gauge at the regulator and the fuel log.... Had both, might as well use them, right? Now I can send the BG regulator and Autometer pressure gauge back to Jegs....$150 back in my pocket... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I think they came with a slight amount of positive camber from the factory. Also, Beware! Most Zcars suffer from strut tower sag over time. My 1st Z suffered big time from this and actually had to have the towers bent to allow proper alignment.... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have no sharp bends, all nice transitions, and no cheesy T fittings. ALL AN and braded line. I double checked all the lines to make sure... even ran compressed air back through the lines after disconnecting them form the regulator and the pump.... I'm gonna unbolt the pump and lower it to below the tank this evening and see if that helps. Then I'll have to suspect the pump is bad. Something is strang and I'm clueless... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Also you must remember that with an IRS you have multiple points of pivot (Hence the broken Ujoints and Axle shafts) where a solid axle pivots on the right or left corner. People often argue that the IRS is not the way to go, and I think durability is the only bases for their argument. IF Spenc gets his built the way he wants, I'd say that would truly be the best of both worlds... But for my money, the IRS is still the most tunable, and best handling suspension on the market except for the durability issue. As for the comment about Vettes and Fbodies..I think the new C5 is a good example of GM getting it right...Finally. That car is the car the C4 should have been.... I'm keeping an eye on your rear suspension setup Spenc... Keep me posted! I plan to duplicate it! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have also experienced the bad "Feel" of the T56 in Fbodied cars. However, I know with my setup, and with running the Syncromesh fluid that GM Bowtie performance group recommended, Mine now shifts as smooth as silk. I have no idea what the problem is with the setup in the Fbodies... Pete, My buddies Mustang is horrible to me, but livable to him. Michael may be right... See if YOU can live with it 1st. If you choose to unload it, I'm sure someone in MD/Va area will buy it for their pony car... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Not so. The faster you go, the more dense the air, and the more of a wall of air that causes you to loose HP. It takes considerably more HP to get to 150 than it does to get to 120. The 1st time I broke 130MPH on a motorcycle it felt like I pushed through a wall... then I hit that wall again at 150. The same thing happened the very 1st time I did it my Zcar... Problem is that you will probably need much more than 500HP to get to that 277MPH that the chart calculates... There is no getting around barametric presure and the mass created by air. Remember the Porsche that took flight and did backflips at Road Atlanta last year? Dirty air caused that, and that car was not moving 200mph and had some really good CG numbers..... Barametric presure under hood and under the chassis of the car acts as a mini tornado... which causes pockets of air to build where it gets trapped..that air developes presure and expands and creates lift... that lift will be problem number two to overcome once you get past the HP issues ..... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Aerodynamics alone will be a tough obstacle, and then getting the car stable will also be a big issue. I think just throwing a motor in the car and running some super good gearing alone will not get you where you want to be. Spencz you have a big advantage in the sense that you are re-engineering the suspension and are gonna get the car much closer to ground than I could. Belly pans and a chin spliter will help me, but I still tihnk the car is gonna be fighting a lot of bad air under the car and buffetting the sides... Venturies in the pans are a guessing game unless you get the car in a wind tunnel and I do not have access to one. We'll see..... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

.....Took the afternoon off yesterday and spent $75 on some aluminum line, fittings, braded line, more fittings... and decided to modify the Mallory Comp140 pump per their instructions, and re-plumb my return style regulator with 1/2inch return line. I got everything nice and tidy and it all looks real professional. Now the pump will not prime. I let the thing run, over a period of 4 hours, cycling it off when it got warm to the touch... moved the lines around, raised and lowered the car... I have no idea why the pump was working before, and now isn't... any ideas or suggestions? I'm real close to replacing the pump... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk