dr_hunt

I can chime in on the coatings aspect and provide some usefull info, not to hijack the thread. On my 400 cummins I have thermal coated pistons, ported heads, Series 4 Holset mapwidth enhanced turbo and a turbo boot which is an insulated boot that covers the exhaust housing. With the coated pistons alone I didn't notice much of a change, but I had turned up the fuel pressure from 170psi to 190psi and added bigger injectors, so EGT's stayed about the same. But when I added the turbo boot, I gained 3psi boost up to 30psi from 27psi, mind you stock boost for a 400 cummins is 24psi and the bigger turbo upped it to 27psi. EGT's plummeted from 800 deg down to 700 range during a hard pull with the turbo upgrade and dropped to 650 with the addition of the turbo boot. Mind you my EGT's are read directly after the turbo in the 90degree 5 inch downpipe. My exhaust splits after the downpipe and I run dual 5 inch exhausts through mufflers. Also with the addition of the turbo boot the boost doesn't fall off as much during shifts. Used to be that when I shifted the boost went to zero, now it hangs at 4psi and the turbo spools alot more rapidly and I don't have the black smoke rolling out of the exhaust when I shift. Fuel consumption went down. My mileage went up from 4.5 mpg to 4.8 mpg average. Simply amazing how much more HP and boost you make and how much better and more efficient it is retaining heat in the exhaust side. My Gale Banks twin turbo system has turbo boots for both turbo's and heat shields for the exhaust and turbo's themselves. I'm going to send the manifolds off and have them thermal barrier coated, as well as the downpipe too. The banks manual says the turbo boots enhance spool, maintains spool during shifts and increases boost. I'd like to play with that in a before and after comparison, so I'll try it without the boots and with when I get mine going.

Typically, I knock out that little wafer and spring, tap it for 1/4" pipe and put an allen head oil galley plug in it. Don't want or need any oil filter bypass. The oil pressure sender is plumbed after the filter so I doubt if the oil filter bypass has anything to do with it. If anything it is a restriction and would lower oil pressure. It's possible that the oil pump bypass is sticking only partially open, but your not really hurting anything anyway. The detrimental part of too much oil pressure is distributor gear wear and loss of 4 or 5 hp. You hear of washing the bearings, but I've personally never witnessed that type of wear, ever. Why are your running 15W40 anyway? If you have that kind of pump I'd run 5w30 or 0w30 for better lubricating properties.

If the pump bypass was stuck, it'd blow the filter and the sender right out of the block. It might not be opening all the way, but it sure isn't stuck closed. Oil pressure depends on clearances, pressure relief spring. I run 80psi on racing engines that routinely see over 7K in circle track using a dry sump system. I think the pressure port is down system and in clean oil from the filter so it'd probably be the pump bypass. There are typically two springs, low and HP. In loose bearing clearances, typically you have to shim the spring, at least I do to get 60psi, especially when using remote filters.

Your right, the engineering coeds look an awfull lot like men IMO, both now and back then. Rare exceptions.

The best bang for the buck is New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, world class education in electrical engineering and CS! Ranked in the top 5 colleges in those fields in the country. Cheapest tuition around, low cost of living, excellent research college, and if I'm not mistaken has the most research dollars of any institution and also the larges land holdings since it has it's own weapons testing facilities. Forbes magazine has it rated somewhere in the top 5 or top 10 colleges in the country.

The 305 heads are just generally regarded as bottom of the totem pole in regards to performance. A big cam is just a crutch for bad flowing heads. Look on mortec.com for casting #'s of the vortecs, just to be sure you get the right ones. The BBC is a good engine as long as you have regular oval port heads and not the peanut port heads. Both would take money and a job would be a plus, although I've considered panhandling on the street corner cause I hear those guys rake in the cash. Oh, well, it's winter now so I guess I missed my chance, maybe next year. For mild HP the SBC will make as much HP as you could possibly want IMO. The bbc will make more if you go insano and will fill the bill no matter what HP level you want, it's about choices and $$$. Cool, is really in your mind, it's not a tangible thing and it varies from person to person. One might think it's cool, another might not, and yet another might think your nuts. But that's my perspective.

Well, it's taking longer than I thought it would, but the work just keeps pouring in, usually, I'm all done by Nov 15th and have pleanty of slack time to work on hotrods, but the unseasonably warm temps have the orders still coming. This cold blast really shut things down for awhile, but it looks to be nice next week. Anyway, got a big contract for Dec/Jan that should net pleanty of dough to finish the TT engine and get the parts for the 434 build. The AFR 227 head pics are in my album, they look really nice. I've decided to buy a Eagle 4340 crank and some L19 Eagle 5.7 rods to finish the TT engine instead of going stock gm 1053 steel. Then the fabbing comes into play, have to raise the turbo's 2 inches just to clear the valve covers, which necessitates BOV replumbing as well. I think I'll put it in the Monte for now until I can fab up some exhaust to get clearance in the z. I ordered a blow through alky carb from C&S and I have the Banks gas holley as well. We'll start it on gas and then switch to alky later. Lots of little parts; roller lifters, roller rockers, gauges, wideband, laptop and other things to get just so I can tune it. Then just so the z isn't left out in the cold, I'm going to go 4 inch stroke and some new pistons for the freshen on the 4 year old z engine, oh and I got a bigger cam as well 280/286 .679/.645 108LSA. The z needs more cage extended to the front frame rails, body work and painted, so we'll see if that gets done in '06. We'll keep you posted.

Yeah, I had an ex girlfriend, and several high school friends that went that way, can't help them, they have to help themselves although they never really do. It's absolutely a waste of time and money to help those afflicted with a drug addiction IMO, been there done that. If I had to do it all over again, I'd just get rid of them and be done with it. Let's see 2 are dead of OD's, two are in prison, one is going to prison. I keep telling my boy the horror stories and showing him the proof, and spending all the time with him I can to make sure he doesn't have bad friends and idle hands. I've told him many times that if he does drugs, we're through and I mean it. Let the law do it's job, move on. I see that you've learned that you can't solve everyone's problems.

The only early sbc that is externally balanced is the 400. 305 balancer is ok, doesn't add anything in the way of HP. 305 heads are for low end, up to about 3500 rpm or so, mostly torque motors and are pretty worthless IMO except when used for boat anchors. Some vortec's or even some 882 casting heads would be alot better choice IMO. The HP depends on cam selection, if it's stock, probably 200 to 250 at the flywheel depending on engine condition.

Yeah, 500HP, that isn't just grannies car engine anymore! I'd really like to see an LS1 with the AFR mongoose mondo heads, .570 hyd roller like mikelly uses and see what kindo of power that'd make.

It was a joke, sorry it offended you, your not supposed to take things personally, it wasn't meant to be personal. Maybe try http://www.f150.com since it is really not z related.

Ha ha, so very true, you are the envy of many! Damn that's a nice car! Cheers!

It's just not fair, no pic's to drool over! We don't even know what color it is. Wife let you splurge alittle, just how much is in the bank that a little managed to bring home a 2004 'vette? Go ahead, tell us the truth, you stole the neighbors firstborn kid and sold/traded it, didn't you?

LOL! They didn't use the chute, so I'm figuring the wind resistance is what really got it stopped, it being a tin can and all. Yeah, superkid, that's the point. All that hype, all the BS, mondo turbo, NOS and all it could manage was 11.39. 850HP I doubt it was anywhere near that, the rest of the drive train wouldn't handle it, that is if it really made 850HP. I challenged him to a heads up race, but one of his buddies had already seen the z run the last time we had it out and told the dude that it ran 10's so he wouldn't bite.

Well, the brand name has a lot to do with it, they are noted for dying.

I'm with you on this one Davy. I was at the drags last weekend and these guys had a gutted honda crx, lexan etc, with a mondo turbo and NOS and they put slicks on the front. The track announcer said they claimed 850HP over the PA system and it went a best of 11.39@139. Had parachute and all, these guys were doing handstands and high fives all around. I think that type of wheelie rank with wimpy rice boys.

In my experience, you need stroke to suck on that restrictor as much as possible. The trick on that is going to be cam selection IMO, needs as much lift and as much intake duration as you can get. Also run as much compression as you can muster, that'll help as well. Getting the best heads that are legal will make all the difference in the world. Are World products cast iron heads legal? If not get a set of vortec's, 291, 462 or 461 heads, put 2.02 and 1.6 valves and git r done. Solid cams will make about 8% more torque if they are legal. The 5.3's are using hydraulic rollers so if you can get one of those, you'll be way ahead of the game. If your track is dry slick then tune engine and chassis for that and you'll be much faster. Pull timing out on dry slick 30 to 32 degrees total on flat tracks, a little more on banked. With stock GM heads, you can get 40 to 42 unless your running vortec's then about 34 total, run lower tire pressure and put tubes in the right rear and right front, you'd be suprised how much lower pressure you can run without it going flat. If you can run wheel spacers then add some on the right rear. Check different wheel offsets on stock wheels and pull the left wheel in as far as you can get it and put the right rear as far out as you can get it. This will help you hook better on dry slick. Run gear to come off the corner at peak torque, wherever that happens. If your running a 4 speed gear it to run in 4th, less drag on the gears. Then you can go to a machine shop and have them machine off 2nd and 3rd gears off the counter shaft, save some rotating weight and still load it on the trailer and move in the pits well. If your running an auto, go with a PG, put minimal clutches in reverse and run alot of clearance on the reverse pack, it'll give you less drag and run better. Always run a glide in high gear and always run a minispool or some type of posi. Remember to vent the rear good and high and install a filler plug that is about 3/4 of the way to the top of the rear cover. Over fill the rear with the lightest rear oil, even 50W motor oil mixed with 75W gear oil. This will help you keep from burning up the left wheel bearing and give you quicker times, just make sure you warm up the rear end while in the pits before the race by jacking up the car and letting it run in gear for awhile. With the wheels straight, measure the left front spindle to the center of the left rear wheel, same on right, now for leaf spring cars make the left rear about 1/4 shorter by making a new locating hole in the spring perch. This will make it go left like no tomorrow. Remember in dirt racing the best handling car almost always wins. Motor doesn't hurt, but handling is where it's at to be consistent and fast. Unsprung weight, reduce that as much as you can, move the shocks as outboard as far you can get those as well and still be in the rules. run gas hard shocks on the right, normal shocks on the left, unless you can run good shocks. Put zip ties around the shock shaft and "zero" them with the car sitting still and level, check them after you run and see which shock has the most travel. Increase spring rate in that corner until all shocks show about the same travel, I said about. Scale the car before and after each race, keep notes, measure ride height as well, you'll see it drop as the season goes on and you'll be able to tell if your chassis is bent from wrecks.

Wow, really nice car. Those AFR LS1 heads must really kick some butt. Hmmm, how many cars can I possibly own?

It's kind of like eating Lays potato chips, eat em all, they'll make more. My right foot is twitching already, just need some L-19 bolt Eagle 5.7 H beam rods and I can get the crank turned and balanced, then I need roller lifters and then when I get those I can determine what length pushrods I'll need. Oh, I forgot, need roller rockers and stud girdle nuts. Just a matter of time before the TT motor is ready for the road.

Looky at what what he brought me. AFR 227 competition package heads with 2.1 intakes, 1.6 exhausts, titanium retainers, roller springs. The TTSBC is coming soon to a theater near you!

You don't want to taunt a guy who is obviously this distraught. You've gotten the best advice already, document it, names of people you talk to etc. Change your routine, people are the easiest creatures to pattern. Take different routes, etc. Be equipped to defend yourself, protect others in the case this guy goes postal. After awhile, he'll probably quit.

Uh, if that were true, it is the one exception. Cranks take a pilot bearing for manual trans, so there is no drilling for that, just the installation of a pilot bearing, besides you don't drill something out to make it smaller. If my memory serves me correct used to be two OD bronze pilot bushings at one time. 400's in general are ok, I've run alot, built alot, building 2 circle track 400's now, pete is right, core shift, poor casting whatever you want to call it is the downfall, but it isn't that common. Ring seal is the primary problem with a block that has thin cylinder walls. Short filling a 400 makes a dramatic improvement IMO. If the 400 is junk, then just send them to me, I'll pay the freight. Sleeves in the cylinders cause that one cylinder to run hotter because you now have a barrier inbetween the sleeve and the block. Run heat transfer calculations and you'll see what I mean, but it is common sense as well. In the old days it wasn't uncommon to sleeve all 8 cylinders on a 400sbc for a couple of reasons.

How many different flywheel bolts does Ford make, or should I ask?

Oh, what a few of wouldn't do to be 22 all over again. WORK IT BABY, WORK IT!!!!!!