dr_hunt

Yup, back to working on cars. I had problems getting it to start, it was always really cold blooded, but now I know that is attributed to the build. It's a blow through C&S 850 aerosol billet carb, 350 +.030 4 bolt, hard blocked short fill, with a steel crank, Eagle H beam rods L19 rod bolts, TRW turbo/blower pistons, AFR 220 heads, Cometic head gaskets, Custom Solid Roller cam .630 lift, 230 something duration, 114 LSA all with the Gale banks TT system. The compression works out to 7.5:1 static, probably alot less with the cam. It likes alot of timing to start or even idle. Like 50 degrees. With the mechanical advance it was impossible to get it to run hardly at all. Now that the boy is here we pulled the distributor (MSD) and locked out the mechanical advance. Boy what a difference. 55 degrees initial timing and it runs absolutely fantastic. If I had to do it all over again I'd build it with more compression. At this altitude, 4300 ft and density air at 7000 it is a mother to get started. We are talking starting fluid and the works here. I'll get it on the lift and finish the exhaust and the wastegate pipes, finish the water injection system (factory banks) and then I need to change the gears in the rear end. It's got 4.11's in it now I'll probably go to a 3.25 or something even lower numerically. Hoping it will run somewhere in the 10's it ran 11.70's all day on motor so we will see if the 3800lb sled will go or not. The wastegates have 16lb springs in them since this is the race unit. I also have the stainless steel exhaust manifolds with this kit. I am running the greddy profec EO1 electronic boost controller and I plan to run as much as 20lb of boost on this motor. The new turbo motor for my z project is a 10:1 compression motor. I think I will like that alot better. It will be intercooled so we will see how that works.

Start your own thread, please!!!

Well, I don't think they would be that lucky again, some people don't steal the getaway vehicle and some even keep weapons. Nice story and a nice peacefull ending that is fitting IMO.

Depends on what your goal is. 400HP in a z is quite a bit for a daily driver. Shop around on ebay and you'll find some dart sportsman II heads cheap, used intake, buy some eagle rods and a new crank and you'll be there. Or go poor boy and port the heads and do the same thing. Stock heads you can get 400HP, dart sportsman II or iron eagles you'll get 470+HP. I think that is more than enough.

That is darn quick!!

No he's married! That says it all!!!

Yeah, well here it's 14, but there were other "issues" that prevented this from happening earlier. We are fine now and looking forward to happier times.

That is an understatement!

Thanks guys. I have the best lawyer around here, he ain't cheap. But I think we have a distinct advantage. I'll tell more later after it all works out.

Light at the end of the tunnel. Big lawyer meeting on Wednesday to settle it out of court. We will see how that works out.

Not this school, but the one I have to dis enroll him from. Being a pain. But I got the paperwork coming this afternoon, so should be good. Then it's off to alb to buy him some clothes as she won't let him have his that I paid for before school started. And never be afraid of the truth, be it in a public forum or not! I am not afraid of anything I have said or anyone else has said. There will be a day of reckoning, it is coming, and I'm coming and I'm bringing hell with me!

The stock fuelie heads are about 170cc intake port IIRC. The exhaust side doesn't flow well so the split duration and lift helps that. The heads don't flow well over .500 lift anyway but I'd get it as close to that as possible. 400's are big motors and that is really too small of a cam for that application IMO. I used to run a crower solid lifter cam with those heads. 244 duration at .050, .510 lift and 110LSA. Worked darn good! I've ported alot of those fuelie heads and you can make over 400hp with them on a 400 pretty easily. Stepping up to a dart iron eagle is probably the most cost effective route in terms of money and gains IMO. But it's your deal.

Here it is 14 when they decide for themselves. We had filed that paperwork already and it was pending. Meanwhile the beatings continued as he was to speak with the judge and she wanted him to say he wanted to stay with her. Well, too much is too much and it finally hit home with Clint Eastwoods words "You need to grow some balls and quit being a pussie!" He finally snapped on the way taking him back home. Fortunately his mother didn't show up so we just came back home. First it was the cops and now she has put up all kinds of stumbling blocks so I can't get him in school, which I can be arrested for and then he would be shipped back. She works for the schools so she knows them all personally. I'll get it done but it's a pain. I bought all his clothes down there and she won't let him have them. Holding his books and bball uniform so I can't disenroll him from school down there and get his records to get him in school here. Working on it hard, been to the lawyers several times already and he's leaving for 10 days tomorrow!!! I have to get this done today!

He ain't going back IMO, he's been through some bad juju. IMO he can never go back not even to visit. Seriously it's that bad.

Congrats! 21, what a momentus year!

Ever since my boy was little he always wanted to live with me. But for reasons unknown to me he stayed with his mother and I saw him every other weekend. I missed alot of his life and he missed alot with me, but that's life. We went to see the movie Grand Torino with Clint Eastwood. Man what a great movie! It hit home though with a little boy about 14 and Clint telling him to grow some balls and be a man. Went to take my boy home tonight and guess what?!! He grew some balls and he doesn't want to go back. Cops have been here almost all night talking with him and his mother ranting and raving in the background too trying to get me arrested for custodial interference. First she called the state police, they didn't do what she wanted so she called the city police, they came over and same story, so she called the sherrifs office and they didn't even respond. The state police came back afterwards and have been here 'till midnight. Never ending phone calls and text messages, just a barrage of his family and friends back home trying to talk him out of staying with me using various ploys and sympathy moves. Long story short, he is still here and tomorrow we go meet the lawyer working on things and then on Wednesday we meet with our DA. This is rough, really rough and there is more than I can say here until this all unfolds. I need some support guys, both me and my boy Bryce, but mostly him. I had no idea the crap going on and what could make a boy hate someone so much, especially his mother. Thanks in advance! Doc

Installed the front pump with no seals and no thrust washer to check the clearance. You do that standing on it's tail. Put a dial indicator on the pump and set the dial up on the input shaft. Push up on the output shaft and check the clearance. You should actually do this before you take the trans apart so you can order shims for the front pump bushing. Since I had to buy planetaries and I ended up buying a front pump cause mine was no good that was pointless. I ended up measuring .125 which is 125 thousandths of an inch. The tolerance is like .026 to .054 and for a race unit you want it as close to .026 as you can get it. The pump thrust new measures .078. So I needed .125-(.078+.026) = .021. Shims come in .010, .015, .017, .020, .025, .030, and .035. So I stuck a .020 under the thrust washer installed the seals and o-ring and installed the pump. Since I used a transbrake the valve body was already assembled. I had to install the spool valves and bolt the brake to the trans with the 7 bolts torques to 15lb-ft. No gasket is used between the transbrake and the valve body unlike the stock valve body. That is the way they come, some have aluminum separator plate, this one had a steel plate. Unfortunately they sent the wrong brake valve so they are shipping me another. The one I got measured .530 diameter and I need one that is .510 diameter. BTE uses 2 sizes of brake valves. Why I don't know and AFAIK they are the only ones that do for the PG. So, it is buttoned up and sitting on the pan waiting for the brake valve and the t-brake solenoid. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance. So the transmission is done. Now on to the engine.

Since your a nascar fabricator, I'd ditch the IRS, and go 9 inch in the rear, probably cheaper by the time you buy the diff, clutches, cv's, big brakes, etc. Shouldn't be a big deal to you IMO. I'd go with a stick car for a starting point but it's your car.

That is why I never bothered building 383's. But 400's are getting hard to find these days. I have a 4 bolt block sitting in the shop.

I think the car in question demonstrates by example that it works as it is built. To conjure what would work and what would not work is called bench racing at best, since the proof is in the pudding. The car is quite an accomplishment by the folks behind it whether they are "qualified" or not in anyones opinion. Never heard of a degree in Fluid dynamics either. I used to teach fluid dynamics at NM State University for 2 years, I have a BS and MS in Engineering and a minor in Math but I am not "qualified" either. Aerodynamics is a rather specialized field that historically has developed from actual test results more so than mathmatical theorization. Your post is off topic and basically a rant of your own and it violates the rules. I suggest you post on topic or take your complaints offline in the future where they can be discussed further. Thanks. Doc

The holley pumps are garbage in my opinion. I have several of the Carter pumps on several things. A lot of people use the wallbro pumps. Some of the aftermarket pumps are pretty noisy. I have several aeromotive pumps and they are pretty noisy, but you know when they are not working also. Mechanical pumps are mostly out of the picture for most z applications as everyone pretty much knows.

IMO the 400's are a better build than the 383's, you get more cubic inches and they breathe better also. I've never seen any problems with the cast cranks, circle track guys run them all the time making 500hp with no problems. The stock rods need to be match selected and have arp fasteners if your going stock, but why would you when eagle h beams rods are about $350. Go with a stock 400 length in the eagles and run the stock 400 pistons. A lot of people tend to run longer rods but with todays cheap gas that leads to detonation and the shorter rod makes for less dwell time as the main advantage that I see. If you run some dart iron eagle heads, 400 to 450 HP is relatively easy with a hydraulic cam and a victor jr, and makes a great daily driver even with 9:1 compression. Isky makes a great little hyd cam 236 duration at .050 and .510 lift 106LSA. I used that cam in my daily driver for years, put over 100K miles on that motor. A little lumpy but awesome power in my Monte SS, went 12.58 @ 110mph in the 1320 here at altitude with 9:1 dished pistons on alky, went 13.30 @ 104 on pump gas in my 3800 lb sled monte. In a z that would be low to mid 12's on pump gas. Yes, you read it right alky on a 9:1 motor. Don't believe anyone who tells you you can't run alky on low compression motors, they are full of it!

Yup, that is an education for sure there. Too much boost and not enough of the right kind of gas. I'd tear the engine down and see what the damage is. Most likely you'll need one new piston, rings, gaskets and maybe you can get it going again. Drop the boost and get the tune right, you should be fine.

LOL that is some funny stuff right there.

No, they wouldn't be thick enough. The bearing spacers are pretty thick. Speed pro makes an actual bearing that is that thick, no spacer but they are about $250. The spacers work ok though.