silicone boy

About a month ago, I used some credit I had built up on Paypal (from selling miscellaneous parts on EBay) to partially purchase a plasma cutter. It's a Miller. I could never justify it before, but since I got the windfall, I figured, why not? It's totally awesome! The neighbors no longer hate me because I'm making too much noise with a cutoff wheel, and it cuts through metal like a knife through butter. Sure, I don't use it as much as, say, my mig welder, but when it's needed, it sure gets the job done better than any other tool. How did I live without it? I think I'm going to make a giant Z emblem out of sheet metal with it.

Most impressive car I have ever driven? That's easy. It was a Fiat 850 spyder that my friend had in high school. What a piece of crap! It was so light, we could pick it up. The build quality was typical italian-a miracle if you made it back in one piece alive. Also, it had a Briggs and Statton lawnmower engine. At least that's what it felt like (it was a big improvement over the original Fiat). Funny thing was, he managed to sell it to our math teacher for something like $3000-no wonder we barely passed that class.

I've been researching Shelby Cobra kits lately as I'm dreaming about my next project (prematurely). I came across this article about Kirkham Motorsports, who make what is arguably the best Cobra replicars over in Poland (in a former MiG factory). Kirkham has created a buzz by creating aluminum body panels for their kit that even Carrol Shelby would envy (they even plan on making aluminum block 427's, which have become as rare as hen's teeth--I suspect this will be the most lucrative aspect of their business). Why is this article relevent to our cars? Well, as I was redoing my subframes, I noticed how assymetric the car was. At first, I thought it was my inability to take accurate measurement. Nevertheless, I was able to repeat these errors. I still worried if I was getting the car straight when I welded in the subframes. Well, as it turns out, the Kirkham guys figured out that AC cars had really assymetrical frames. In fact, it was pretty pathetic how far off the cars were from what they were intended to be. They therefore created a "blueprinted" Cobra by creating a mirror image of measurements from one side and translating that into a jig. Of course, the best place to do this is in a modern fighter aircraft facility I guess the take home lesson here is: get your measurements as correct as possible and get everything aligned to the best of your ability before you weld, but don't sweat it too much, cause even the King didn't get it completely right and it did OK. (I'd take one, at least) http://www.cobracountry.com/kirkham/kirkhamfeature2.html

I wonder if there's any difference with decaf.

BobZ, I didn't coat the inside for exactly the reason you mentioned. I'm worried about it flaking off.

Hanns, Nice to know that Ii'm not such a nervous nellie after all. Great idea about the intakes. I may just do that. The project is delayed a bit cause I'm moving, but I'll get back to it soon. By the way, how are you feeding that beast with fuel? I'll have to upgrade my fuel delivery system I'm sure.

You were running 10:1 compression without intercooling and you got away with it?! What were you running? Jet fuel? I was so worried about 9.8:1 that I recently ordered a set of cylinder heads with a larger chamber volume to lower the SCR to 9:1 (my current heads have never been run, so I can sell them and come out almost even). Maybe I was a little rash in my decision, but I sure feel a lot more secure, so I guess it's worth the trouble.

This is free cheap horsepower, sure to put those Honda boys to shame. http://www.angelfire.com/nc2/mycoffeecan/page1.html

Is that a stock LS1? If it is, I'm becoming more and more impressed with that motor (as well as how light a 240 is, especially considering what it did with an LT1 in it)

I like being able to coat any part I want at any time, so I got a can of Techline Coating's Black Satin ceramic stuff. It seems to hold up really well (in past applications). I've coated my turbine housings and headers. I'm thinking of doing the whole exhaust while I'm at it, becaue a little goes a long ways. It was about $100 per quart and comes in silver also. It's rated at 2000 deg and is air cured. As for temp reduction, their website claims it does well, but I wrap my headers and downpipes anyway.

I've always wanted to use a ZZ4 shortblock and build from there. I believe you could come out ahead of a ZZ430 for slightly less and have at lease some satisfaction knowing that you built a part of the motor (you will have avoided some of the more tedious parts by getting the shortblock assembly). At just under $2000, it's a pretty good deal.

Paul, I accidently bought a pair of those earlier TPI Vette headers, and they didn't work for me upside down. Maybe because it was because I have taller valve covers. Anyway, as far as welding cast iron, I didn't have that much trouble. Either that or I don't know what I'm doing. It looks OK and there are no cracks. As for updates, I'll post new pictures this weekend. I've been making downpipes and they look really cool. I had to face the exhaust outlet forward and curve the downpipes forward and down before going back out again. Kinda looks like a giant wooly mammoth's tusks. The compressors are towards the firewall side. The air intake will be going towards the hood inspection hatch, per DJ's suggestion. I can make a cold air box here if I get the vented hatches, or I can even fab up a ram air box. We'll see.

I got one of the cheapo Gtech devices on ebay cause they were incredibly cheap ($50). Well, you get what you pay for. It looks like a pager and it's not very intuitive. I'm sure it gives decent readings, but I have to read the manual. There's not button like "quarter mile" , 0-60, etc. It's tricky and I'd like wouldn't mind spending more to get the convenience.

You're going about it right. Too many times, I think those turbo and supercharger kits out there for stock engines do a disservice. They put extreme stress on an engine without beefing up the foundation. Go with the lower compression pistons, forged if possible. You probably don't need a forged cranked with a supercharger, but if you're going to run higher boost with a turbo, you might consider it.

As impressed as I am with the motor, my favorite part is the intake housing. Is that aluminum, stainless, and what did it cost to fabricate?

The LT1 compression has always been an issue for me as far forced induction. I agree that 10 psi is a little high on a stock LT1. You'll probably have to run an aftercooler and possibly water injection.

I REALLY can't stand drifting. I see it as the ultimate in bling bling rici-ness. Not only are the cars built by the rice crowd, but the driving technique stinks. All show and really slow. Sure, a screeching drift may be a crowd pleaser, but it's not the fastest way to drive a car.

660, It sounds like you will have one sick setup. I just have to ask why (I have to ask myself the same question). I like the T25's. What kind of setup do you have for your rear end? I'm worried about whether mine will survive.

Every time I work on the car, I remember the line in the JTR manual that says "the swap is for someone who has considerable experience working on cars"--I'm paraphrasing and I know I'm not even close, but it said that this was not for amateurs. This makes me laugh because just the other day, I discovered a site called Hinsonsupercars.com which makes a kit for putting an LS1 into a 3rd Gen RX7. The site said that swap was easy, a direct drop in. Much as I would like a Corvette motor under my hood, I need another project like I need a hole in the head. I don't believe all the hype either-they say it's not difficult, reliable, and weighs less, and handles not differently. Even I am not that gullible

Something that I find that works to get that extra inch or two in headroom is liposuctioning the butt. . It's a lot less work, but maybe it costs a bit more. The chicks dig it.

Along the lines of a crate motor, I really like the ZZ4, which is a bargain with a carbed setup. It matches great with with a T5 tranny for daily driver use, and over 425 hp potential is easily attainable with basic performance mods in the future. Definitely the way to go if you want something reliable and cost effective.

Uhhh, my RX7 motor is kinda sick, guess I'll have to get a replacement. Too bad my wife will never fall for that.

Those WRX and Eagle Talon drivers must pray for rain-absolutely not fair when it does.

Goldraven, You have a great resource nearby in Greely, but I don't see him posting much anymore. John Scott was one of the early members of this forum. His experience could save you a lot of headache and dough. I'd love to help you out as well. I also have to say that the internet, with its ability to put people from all across the world together to share their experience, has been a boon to our hobby. When I joined in 2001, I was really looking to do an RX7 V8 swap. Instead, I found this site during a random web search, and found out that there was a great deal on a V8 Z just a couple of hours away. I don't mind those newbie questions because it's creating a new crop of hotrodders. I never would have considered doing this stuff myself if I hadn't seen others doing it on the web.