A. G. Olphart

Larger engine displacement brings larger pumping losses, and more friction in general due to increased surface areas, whether swept or rotating. My personal favorite SBC is the early (small journal= less friction) 327. Big enough to do the job, small enough to feed. With a set of Vortec heads and a relatively mild cam (avoiding excessive duration and overlap) this engine should make a pleasant/spunky street Z. Note that the Vortec heads require a special intake manifold, use 'rail' rockers, and must be modified to run wilder cams. Most Chevy heads interchange but I seem to recall that there can be issues with big valve heads and small bore blocks (besides the later generation 'won't fit' stuff). Chamber volume & C/R are obvious considerations. If a person desires to play mix and match this is a handy book: "CHEVROLET SMALL BLOCK Parts Interchange Manual" by Ed Staffel. (There may be better ones, but this happens to be the one on the end table).

I would really like to see the results of this test... I'd like to see what penalty the Scarab pays in autocross/lap times for it's better ground clearance. Using block huggers in both tests makes sense, as full length headers can make more power (and this would skew lap times). If you hold to one test this fall and another in the spring, sacking the tires over the winter can help limit air cure for more consistent adhesion test to test. It would also be nice to have similar temp & humidity on test days (or a good computer program to somehow standardize the results).

Drain tiles around the perimeter of the foundation and really good sealing of the walls could make a big difference in the quality of your life each spring. (I know, you all knew that... but I couldn't help saying it). Too big is never big enough, especially regarding wall space. Space along all walls should be deep enough for the stuff we want to use/store: air compressor, valve grinder, lathe, drill press, welders, engine(s), engine stand, refrigerator, sink, parts cleaner. Is there still room for a work bench? Everything is deeper than will fit along side a car in a regular garage, and one still needs to allow for door swing/ passage.

The odds are really good that there will be no problem with your cam. Assuming that the new lifters were lubricated before installation, the rollers would happily roll, no sliding friction on the cam, no problems. If for some strange reason a roller is flattened anywhere or does not turn freely, look further. (NOT an engine expert, just logic). When installing hydraulics I always put them in a can of oil and work the little piston up and down until bubbles stop coming out; the piston will then be towards the top of it's travel, and the rockers should adjust close enough to at least fire the engine. If one puts them in without pumping them up, there is nothing to keep the lifter pistons from going all the way to the bottom of their travel when the rockers are tightened (the rockers will actually be way too tight). The 3 that had spring pressure on them had spring pressure on them... those cam lobes were up. You will need to rotate the engine after you put the other lifters/rockers back to get those lobes down. They should then act like all the rest. You should be able to remove the snap ring/ C-clip and pull the piston to look for crud if you want to do so. They used to be a precision/selective fit, so this would be something to do one at time...

Tim, I wouldn't be real eager to try 'solidifying' a set of hydraulics in the manner you suggest! If a person can tighten the rockers down that far, at the first over-rev (valve float) engine oil pressure will force the small piston inside the lifter back up, opening the valves to where they can't close. Valve to piston contact is a good possibility. To my knowledge, the closest one can come to using hydraulics as solids would be to tighten the rockers at normal operating temperature to where they JUST no longer make noise. That way the little piston is already at it's maximum reach, and cannot "pump up" any farther should valve float occur. If memory serves, Chevy used to say tighten one turn beyond where the lifter quits clicking, and the guys I knew used 1/4 to 1/2 turn for the above stated reason.

A little like what I'd guessed. All of us on the board love your subject matter, but as the guys mentioned, the answer depends a lot on the individual and the expected vehicle usage. (I'll admit their terminology was more pungent). Good luck in setting your goals/expectations and demonstrating how your dream setup takes you there

It does sound like blown head gasket (hope, hope). Any small leak/crack can behave itself at idle, but when the pressures go up in the cylinders (high speeds, climbing a hill) you are forcing exhaust gasses into the water jacket. It doaesn't take long to boil the coolant, thus pressurizing the system and likely blowing your heater core.

Anyone live near Mike? Sounds like he could use a hand... Or a work party.

You owe the man Big Time! Who does he want you to kill?

Your clicking noise sounds an awful lot like the starter soleniod trying to do it's job, but not succeeding. When the solenoid contacts get bad enough, or the voltage low enough (dead battery or poor battery post contact) the clicking is all you get. Do you have a good ground strap between the engine and the body? A free quick battery/connectivity test is to have a friend sit in the car and try and start it while the headlights are on. If the lights go out or way dim when the starter is energized, you have inadequate battery voltage under load. (See above).

And all this time I thought the 'senior exit' was the door on the far side of the stage, diploma in hand. So educate an Olphart- what is a "senior exit"? My guess would be a science/logic sort of thing; if so, you will have to define your parameters for success (desired outcome/cost effectivness/ease of construction and such) very carefully to jibe with your preconceived results. Otherwise your research into other combinations may surprise you by leading to a different conclusion. Am I close? Personally, I like small block V8's- Chev 350, Mopar 360, Mustang 5 liter.

Good info to have on the board- thanks. (And you thought your rply was slow).

The B210 was a tall narrow tiny car. A friend of mine rolled his whilst out drinking one night. Handling to be avoided, and a drivetrain which would all need to be swapped out if running real power.

Being 19 would be great... the road looks much brighter from that end. (And you've tied into a neat hobby early on).

Definitely not a total loss- It has you headed where you really wanted to go!

Bikes Onda Beach!! I love it, a bilingual pun. As they say- Luck

You may be right... too easy. The flat plates ARE easy with a drill press, but you will need to find someone with a torch to make that squiggly (technical term) tranny mount. Buying tools is always a good investment for a car hobbyist with a place to keep them. A drill press is really handy... having holes that are accurately placed and truly perpendicular makes assembly much easier.

Oops ... Should read these things more carefully. "A green wire sticking out" in back says it wasn't hooked to a pump. Ergo, no electric pump, just provisions for one. Did you get gas through the filter?

Mike, I don't have a 71, but have crawled under a few later cars... they all had an obvious pump with rubber hoses back by the gas tank on the passenger side. If you can't see one, it ain't got it. Your mechanical pump is most likely faulty, although it is normal to be able to suck through it. (Two flat flapper valves, both of which get pulled off their seat by your suction). If you can pull fuel through, the pump should too. If you had a broken line somewhere you would have sucked air (altough a leaky one feeds in bubbles and acts a little like a plugged fuel filter: Both problems can cause starvation under load). Luck-

Grumpy- I'd like to thank you for your technical posts and their related links. I generally copy or bookmark them for reference. Nice to have available. Kevin- I don't beleive either Hp or torque measures the quickness with which power may be applied. (I think mathematically that would be some sort of derivative). Physically it is dependent on torque and the (rotational) inertia of all the bits involved. A 200 Hp diesel the size of a small house won't accelerate nearly as quickly as a 2 liter producing the same power.

Hi Mykazuo- Welcome to HybridZ. I plan to tie my strut bar to all three bolts on the shock towers to spread the load. I searched for "strut bar" (most any topic relating to Z's have been covered here!) and here are a couple of the threads that came up: http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21301&highlight=strut+bar http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20643&highlight=strut+bar Give the search function a try. 8)

I recently had this problem with an old Toyota pickup; it turned out to be rust migrating from the gas tank. It was an ongoing hassle until I took the tank off and rinsed it out thoroughly and cleaned the lines. The tank pickup line and a banjo style fitting (on a spin on filter added ahead of the electric pump) were plugging with rust particles. The particles settled out in slow flow areas/sharp turns and formed blockages that looked almost like felt.

A bit of gas into the carbs may get it to fire. Take the air cleaner off, then lift the piston on each SU and give it a couple squirts of gasoline. I've not played with SU's for some time but recall that there is a lift pin on the underside of each carb towards the rear of the car. I've seen racers priming vehicles with squirt type oil cans and it seems to work for them. NEVER TRY SQUIRTING OR ADDING GASOLINE WHILE CRANKING THE ENGINE... KABOOM!

Well PhaTTY, what was the problem when you got the head pulled? My old Datsun pickup (L20b) died recently after similar symptoms. It made it 25 miles to its' permanent resting place, the last few miles within a huge cloud of smoke. A friend who deals in used engines told me that a loose valve seat insert can drop overnight if the engine happens to shut down with that valve open... the insert contracts as it cools, and OOPs. Next morning there is a terrible clatter every time the valve doesn't close... and the piston comes to visit. My experience supports this theory (no post mortem done to prove it) as a holed piston wouldn't do much to keep crankcase oil out of the combustion chamber.

Most knock sensors are as you described (easier than spelling piezoelectric myself) and can be used to source a signal for an audible knock detection device. A much more preferable option (to me anyway) would be a smart digital ignition system which uses that signal to back a little timing out of the hot (detonating) cylinder. An audible knock detector: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=0348