Mikelly

Dan, It revs so much quicker and smoother that the motor just pulls faster due to the faster rev. It makes power Quicker, which is where you feel it most, and with a Manual shifter, you will be rowing gears a llot faster... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Heads are a huge area of concern for several issues. Weight is one, 45+# can be shaved off the front of the car by switching to Aluminum. others are Angle, CC size, and valve size. My build came with Dart Conquest heads loaded with 1.6/2.05 valves, Kmotion springs Ti locks and retainers, and Harlad Sharp Roller rockers. I also had some minor cleanup done to the castings and the Victor Jr. intake port-matched. Next..... Mike

OK, Now lets stir this pot: Roller valve trains, are they worth their expense? Putting a roller valve train in requires a special grind cam, special lifters, push rods and rockers. Add "Roller" to any of the above components and your valve train cost just jumped $500. Is it worth it? Well what I personaly learned is that my car revs so fast ad I have to shift so quick to keep up with the revs, that it is by far the biggest bang for my buck. We are talking about noticable performance here guys, not just a seat of the pants "FEEL", but the kind you can tell immediately. It is costley, but I won't build another motor without going full roller! Opinions? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

All you should have to do is weld in the footers and upper rear side hoop to the rear 4point hoop. Shouldn't be a real problem, as any good welding shop will have leather covers for most this. Remove the seats and carpeting and you should be good to go... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

The half shafts that i have seen fail usually fail at the u-joint, ripping it appart and taking out the brake line. I've seen two cars do this, both at drag strips. I personally suffered a failure at the drive shaft on a street race when I had my L6 motor in many years back. Fortunately I had a 75 drive shaft stored in my shed at the time and was able to do a parking lot repair and made an autocross the next day! When my U-joints failed on L6 powered Zs, they always started vibrating, giving me warning that they were going to go, but with the torque that the V8 puts out, I'm thinking that you get little to no warning. the V8 Z I saw suffer U-joint failure at the track lost his at the end of an 1/8th mile run.... car had to use the gravel trap at the end of the 1/8th... and he turned in a 6.8 on that run... Guy was scooting.. took out the brake line and cut the tire. Made for a scary few moments! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Hey Thom, you might want to consider a full 12 point cage and sub frame connectors, ditching the heavy bumpers and replacing the glass with Lexan. I'd also look into gutting the doors, and cutting out the spare tire well and installing a fuel cell! I'm running a 10:1 compression 383 stroker with 3:7 gears and a T56 six speed. With slicks and gutting the car, and running those short geear, you might see 9's if you are lucky! Mike Kelly ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I had the same problem initially. My issue was with my CSI block off plate, which was billet and much thicker than a standard block off plate. I ditched it for a conventional unit and then shimmed the mounts so the plate wasn't making contact with the setback plates! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Big issue I have always heard besides the U-joint issue, is that CV joints are smoother and provide less vibration than half shafts. I am currently running Spicer U-joints in my Axles, but I think there are CV joints in my future. We'll see how strong the Spicer joints hold up! I'm running a 3:7 LSD and T56 combo... Mike Kelly ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have a 700R4 in my GMC that I love. It has been abused hard, even done some drag racing in it and it hauls a**! The trans shifts so positive that it used to make my old CD player skip, long before I swapped to a changer.. I like them, they are economical and if you get the right parts to with it, and hook it up right, they are bullet proof! QAlmost put one in my Z when I was sorting out the T56! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well here is what I did: I originally bought a 4 point autopower bar since I was autocrossing. I then took the car to a shop in the Manassas Va area where and engineer added the front hoop around the door and windshield frames and built in door bars. The reason the system was bolt in was because SCCA rules dictated it at the time. I used 1/4 inch backing plates and Grade 8 bolts. The car did not twist and the bolts did not work loose. Now, questions have come up about welding in cages Vs. bolt in cages... Absolutely without a doubt, welding a cage into the car is much better than bolting it in. However, A bolt in cage is a better alternative than none at all. And Michale, as for its uses in day in, day out traffic, All I can say is that the state trooper, the insurance company, and everyone else who saw my car Knew that the cage saved me from personal injury. The rear bumper strut of the car was touching the strut tower, and the hood was hitting the windshield and roof. The motor was shoved into the firewall. All that damage occured when a 6500# truck hit me when he was doing in excess of 40mph and I was at a dead stop. He sandwhiched me between himself and a Ford Taurus Sedan. I walked away with a small bump on the forehead. If you have a cage custom made for the car, and don't use door bars, you will have a very unobtrusive piece of safety equipment. I am a big advocate of their use, especially in the Z, and especially with anything over 200HP. Remember, the chassis wasn't designed for that kinda torque and HP that mild modified V8s put out. And if you paint a Z, spend a bunch of money on getting the body rust free and suspension and brake upgrades, I don't think you would want to twist it up and Use it like a plastic cup, tossing it away when its life is spent. My $.02 ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well one reason I have a cage in my street legal racer, is because of a bad crash I suffered in 1996. The Z I was driving was totalled when I was hit by another car while on the way to see as prospective sponsor. That roll cage saved my life. Regardless of the "LOOKS" a cage may have, or the lack of space, a V8 Zcar puts out enough torque to warrant the use of one. Any 2700# car with 350+ HP and 400FT# TORQUE should have one, and not a whimpy 4 point bar... a full cage. Thats my $.02 Mike Kelly ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

....One way to get away from some of the need for this device is to stitch welld the seems of the unitbody every 12 inches or so. Also, tieing in the two subframes of the car together will help with torional chassis flex. I want to take my cage and run it thru the firewall to the strut towers, and back all the way to where the rear bumper struts bolted in. However, that will have to wait. One thing that Pete and Perry made me think of is the fact of too much rigidity and the torque load on the trans case. I was looking at tieing the two units together, but my design won't work simply because of the flex needed. Now, a track bar with heim joints (Sort of like a pan hard bar) might be the ticket, not sure though how much I need this with the rest of the fortification I have done. I already have the steel front diff mount in place. Also, I have driven my car a little bit and noticed no adverse issues with the drive train. Lets kick around some more ideas on this topic..... ------------------