DaleMX

Sounds like a head gasket although it could be the block or the heads. Did you use aftermarket heads? Were the steam vent holes drilled the heads? If not that could be the reason for the gasket failure. Have you looked at the oil to see if coolant is in it? Also you can look for oily resudue in the radiator to confirm your fears. I suggest draining the oil and checking it for coolant. If you find it then dont run the engine, pull the heads and check the gaskets and look for the steam vent holes that the 400's have. A real bad leak can hydrolock an engine and is not a pretty sight. That will bent rods, crack blocks etc... Dale

Sorry about using the term spreadbore. A holley 750 is a great choice, or a quadrajet. The quadrajet has very small primaries and will help with the gas mileage. But the secondaries are big so when you get on it you've go lots of power. The holley's are eaiser to tune but blow out power valves on backfires. I think more power can be made with a holley also. Dont get an Edelbrock carb, they are junk! A Edelbrock performer manifold will do you well, or the performer rpm. As long as your rebuilding you might as well toss in a good timing chain and gear set along with a decent oil pump. HEI is fine, but I think folks have issue with them getting in the way of the hood latch sometimes. You really should get the conversion book and review it before you make any decissions. Dale P.S. There are lots of options when it comes to intakes. If you decide that fuel injection is the way to go then there are folks that make TPI components that will improve the air flow. Also you can use an LT1 intake on your beast and really wake it up. I believe that Tim240 is working on that and may chime in here. Here is a web page for some info. http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/0803phr_beast/

Those farging sneaky bastages. You should put there bells in a sling! That was the name of the kings dog in that Cheech and Chong movie, the Corsigan brothers (or something like that). Dale

If you want mid 13's your going to be reving past 4000 rpm. More like 5500, maybe 6000. My SBC did that for 10 years and never had problems. Just dont abuse it. Dale

My TPI 305 ran out of juice at 4400. I can imagine a 400 would be much worse. I suspect you would be much better off with a good dual plane intake manifold and spreadbore carb setup and a CC 268 or 270 Xtreme energy cam. Put some good valve springs in it, and long tube headers and you'll have plenty of torque. Maybe Grumpyvette will chime in here and give you a good formula. Dale

Ummmm! Tempting, but her taste in cars is not my style. Give me a fat girl with tatoos and a wrench. Dale

The one I got from Advanced Auto is a nasty grey color and the body of the booster is full of rust pits. So now I have to fill in the pits, sand it and paint it black. Dale

That does look clean in the pictures. I thought my 78 was rust free, but the more I sand the more I find. That plus mucho bondo. Now I'm seriously considering another Z for my project. My frame rail has a tear in it just like yours does. That must be from a jack or an impact. What are your plans for the chassis? Dale

I seem to recall that the 455 rocket has the same dimensions and mounts as the 350's. That would be hell on wheels. Dale

You can get the AFR's with 180cc intake ports, thats why I posted it. Dont know about head swaping on a 71 small block though. I did the quick read and assumed an LT1. I see the edelbrocks are 165cc to 170cc and would no doubt be a wise choice. Dale

Wow, your determined! Hopefully you've seen the end of your troubles and will have smooth sailing tonight! Dale

AFR is my choice in heads. https://www.sslpage.com/aca/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=146 Works with your intake. Dale

Where have you guys been? That is sooooo old! Dale

Corrected data: So the way this looks a 7" wheel that is 8" wide and has a 4" backspace has 0 offset. A 9" wheel that is 10" wide and has a 5.5" backspace has .5" positive offset or 12.7mm. Sorry all, Dale

A little research shows that Savage is correct. Thanks for setting me straight! Dale

119 bucks brand new! Really nice. I got one 2 weeks ago. Tell Chloe that Dale sent ya. http://www.midwestz.com/Z_Interior.htm FWIW I dont look at the classifieds either. Dale

Well, if a 7†wheel had a 3.5 backspace then it would have 0mm offset. A 4†backspace equals .5†positive offset or 12.7mm. Looks like the 9†would have 1†of positive offset or 25.4mm. Just remember that offset is from the center of the wheel and backspace is from the back of the wheel. Dale

I just got a power booster from Advanced Auto for 89.00. Dale

I know that POR-15 has a tank sealer. http://www.prp-porstore.com/POR-15-Tank-Sealer.html Hope this helps. Dale

Well I cant talk, he's light years ahead of me. I'd be happy if I was just driving mine. Someday! Dale

If this happened to my family, I would never repeat it.

That sucks. Where do you live? Dale

Try http://www.Rotten.com its really graphic. Dale

Wagon train. Looks like that Honda SUV box. I had a jeep for 5 years and was plenty impressed with the inline 6 and 5 speed that came with it. It had 4L of displacement and with some work would have been stout. The Vtech and the rear is just a huge waste of time IMO. Oh well, to each his own. If he likes it than I guess more power too him. Personally I'm not impressed. At least he's not just throwing stickers and wings on it. Dale