pparaska

Be very careful when selecting the cam type while running Desktop Dyno. If you select "roller", it assumes a very agressive lift curve, more agressive than many street roller cams. Be sure to read the Desktop Dyno manual on cam selection - http://www.motionsoftware.com/downloads/Dyno2000310.pdf Page 73. There, you'll see that you should probably be selecting "Hydraulic Flat-Tappet" or "Solid Flat-Tappet" for street oriented roller cams. The result of selecting the "Roller" cam for a street roller will be that you will see more HP and TQ in the output then will really result from the use of the cam in reality. Like they say - computer simulations always follow the rule "Garbage in, Garbage out".

O.k. - you found the 6th gear to be of little use with that cam in the 383 before (chugging, rough running) and you sold your T-56. What are you going to do for a tranny? Richmond 6 spd? Tremec TKO or TKO II? Don't tell me you're going slush box on us .

I agree with Jim C. I'm no genius, but after reading a 1970 Chevrolet overhaul manual about 6 times, and studying "How to HOTROD Small-Block Chevys" at the age of 17, I rebuilt my first 327. I borrowed some micrometers and snap gages, and blueprinted the bottom end. I reused the pistons and put new rings in. Had the heads done, added a 600 Holley, etc. and that engine ran for at least the 50,000 miles that I was aware of it (engine got sold). It's pretty simple stuff, just alot of attention on cleanliness and being careful. Mike (zfan):I keep getting told that my Z will really wake up with the 406. I hope so, as the 327 is just ho-hum to me now. I'm hoping that the 406 scares me, since the 327 doesn't. I was wishing for more at the NHIS track day - sure it pulled strong, but I'd love some more torque coming off the corners. The Toyo RA-1s were never abused by the 327's power. I always say : "you only have enough torque and power when you're afraid to use it!" Until then, it's just a quick car - I want it scary quick/fast. I believe this 406 will get me near that point . Mikelly, Have you decided on heads and cam for that engine yet?

11.62@118!!! Not bad at all for a street car! Just kidding - that's impressive! Glad you got it all worked out.

Mike, Very sorry to have heard about all this. I had heard about the alleged inferior work by Comp Products on the Canfield castings on Chevytalk.org in a post that linked to an F-body site. See the 5th post down on this page: http://hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=18584 I posted flow results on my Canfield heads on the nastyZ28 post: http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/005042.html and thanked them for the warning. I also agree with hhott71 on the second page of that thread - having the larger AFR heads (210cc and above) machined to anything smaller than the 76cc chamber they come with makes them VERY expensive. Steam holes are like $60. AFR just Nickel & Dime's You to death! (JMO ) doechsle in his post on the second page on the last thread linked above makes a great speech on buying on price and what it gets you sometimes. Anyway, those sets of posts are EXACTLY why when I called Canfield I told them about the bad rep Comp Products was getting on the Canfield heads and that I only wanted to buy heads MACHINED AND ASSEMBLED BY CANFIELD. The guy I talked to at Canfield (Ken) sent me to Thunder Racing Product (TRP) (330-792-2451). Ken said that TRP only sells heads assembled by Canfield, and that I could get a much better price through TRP than straight from Canfield. Dave at TRP treated me very well, made sure that I was buying what I needed, etc. Good service! I've bought other stuff from Dave since then -always satisfied. Oh, food for thought - flow numbers don't necessarily equate to horsepower!

The 406 shortblock (still on the stand) that I had built was built by the same guy that did Mike's CURRENT shortblock. I was looking for a std bore 400 2-bolt block, and this guy had one. I've known him for years and trust his work. He has his own balance machine and is anal retentive about engine work like I am. If he had not given me the price HE came up with independently, I would have built it myself. He can get parts much cheaper than me and his machine rates and those of other places he uses in Arkansas are MUCH cheaper than I can get locally. $1600 included: HIS 400 2-bolt "509" hi-nickel block, std bore (Clean, clean, clean - this guy says he spends almost as much time cleaning the stuff as checking specs!) New brass freeze plugs and oil plugs New Scat 9000 crank (3.75" stroke) Clevite bearings New CAT I-beam rods with ARP bolts (6.00") Hand grind all rods for clearance to Crane 114681 cam Probe 17cc dish forged pistons Bored and honed to .002" clearance (min recommended by Probe) Grant rings, file fit to recommended specs in each bore Zero Deck block (all deck heights within .004" of each other) Fully balanced pistons, rods, crank (no heavy metal needed) to within 1/2 gram Inspect, deburr, measure, correct all parts Degree cam (using timing set and new cam I supplied) Full builid book included, with all clearances, measurements, bob weights, and other blueprint info included (hard and soft copy). There's no way I could buy the parts and have the machine work done for that price. If it turns out to be a $1600 POS, I'll be very surprised.

I believe that casting number was put on alot of blocks - hard to tell what it is. I'm pretty sure all Yenko Camaros and Novas had big blocks (mostly AL block 427s).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2963998587&category=13561&rd=1 A local Z bud showed that to me. Wow, my head is swelling. Surely you can put other cars on that desktop once you buy it. Maybe I can get a free version, since that's my car, my pic that was used to sell the desktop software on e-bay?

ZR8ED, that's not bad. I was blown away when I was having my Z corner weighted. 2810 lbs without driver and 3/4 tank of fuel. No spare, tools, etc. With me, it went to 3025 lbs. I figure the corner weight scales should be pretty accurate. But I want to go to the drag strip soon, and I'll weigh it there also.

Terry, the spacers at the forward end where the T/C rod bolts to the control arm puts the T/C in a combination bending/compression load, but it also puts a larger bending load on the bolts that connect the two. Not advisable. The issue seems to be that the urethane bushings are stiffer and cause a larger bending moment at the area of the step in diameter just forward of them. That step is sharp, and it's a stress concentration for bending loads. That's why a rod end would be a good solution. You could put the cushion between the bracket for the rod end and the T/C bracket on the frame, if you wanted some isolation.

I'll second that! To get 400 hp out of an NA 283, it will not be very streetable, and WILL NOT get decent gas mileage. The cam needed to make an NA 283 make 400hp will also make it have HORRIBLE mileage. If you want 400 hp and decent mileage with an NA engine, the way to do it cheaply is build a 350, 383, 400, etc. old style V8 with a mild cam. The more displacement, the milder the cam can be to get the 400hp, and the mileage will most likely be BETTER, even though the displacement is higher. Don't rule out an LS1, although that route is not as easy, it has been done in the early Z. Price depends on how good a deal you find. If you turbo the 283, it can stay mild, get good gas mileage, and make 400 hp. The other alternative is a somewhat mild 283 and N2O injection.

I'm not following you. Why does this matter? Sure, it's a pumping loss increase. But you also get more torque from it due to the longer throw length. It just might, with the same load on each engine. In fact I am fairly sure it would (if they were all built to the same level of performance - not a mild 427 vs an all-out 283).

Agreed. We speak Polar Moment of Inertia (PMOI) here . Great point!

So how much does your Z weigh?

Dang! And I thought I was o.k. ! Quote: Your soul is worth £10978. For your peace of mind, 75% of people have a purer soul than you.

That's a great deal. Those heads do flow better than even the AFR's in general, if you can find someone who's tested both AFR and Canfield straight out of the box. And better at .300 and .400 as well. For the roller springs and studs included, your price is excellent. Adding up what it would cost to upgrade $1245 AFR heads for roller springs will add $300 at least. IMO, AFR makes you pay for the name. Granted they are nice heads, but they make you pay more than you need to.

Well, what do ya know! Same firing order as the SBC, but impossible to get parts for in the US.

Yep - that's the deal. Glad to see you didn't go with the colored urethane - kind o ricey if it's other than black . That looks just like what I have in my car. The diff pushes against the urethane that's showing and that the extra plate that the mount comes with presses against, so I see no reason that the mount should because of leaving the plate out.

Sure don't, Dan. I'm sure it's out on the web somewhere.

The amount of flow during the intake and exhaust phases are a conglomeration of the exact cam profile (how fast and how much the valves are lifted throughout the phase), the head flow (at different lifts and different "depressions"), the stroke, bore, and rod length. That's not to mention the exhaust backpressure and the intake flow restrictions from the head port all the way to the air filter. One good rule of thumb is to make sure that the valve is opened as far as possible when the piston is at max velocity. That usually means some pretty fierce valve accelerations off the seat, etc. More total lift helps, as it provides more cubic feet of air (or air/fuel) at any point in the phase than a lower lift cam/rocker setup with the same lobe velocity. You can get away with a less lobe intensity (acceleration) if you have heads that flow well at low lift. Lots of trade offs. That's why it's always good to talk to the engine building gurus and cam and head manufacturers.

I'd think a V8 would have a higher CG, top to bottom, but the L6 is taller isn't it? So where is the CG height of each, relative to the crank centerline? I can't see how a V8 could NOT have a CG behind that of an L6 if installed with the flywheel in the same place. Add aluminum heads/intake/waterpump with headers and a lite starter and I don't see how the V8 and L6 for/aft weight distribution wouldn't be nearly the same. The weight difference in the engines is under 50 lbs at that point. Yes, I realize the transmission is heavier for the V8, but that would only shift the For/Aft numbers towards the rear. With AL radiators, there's no reason to think that the V8 would cause more forward weight in that area, except for added fluid capacity, if needed.

http://www.erareplicas.com/427/engpro.htm Dang, that DOHC 4.6L is huge!

How about an LS-6 out of the Z06 with the Eaton supercharger kit?

Revolution makes some nice wheels for the Z. Not sure if they come in 17" or not.

Speed (Dick) has it right, IMO. If you're on the street, then you probably don't want to be leaving lights dumping the clutch at high rpm, or cruising at high rpm. Unless you grew up on sport bikes. But even still, you'll draw alot of attention driving like that, and probably the wrong kind. If on the track, yeah, it doesn't matter. Except if you don't have your gearing right .... Johnc had a great point about other factors, as well as things not being equal. And on that matter, consider the manual transmissions and ratios available for doing the SBC swap (since that's the object of this comparison). Probably T-56 or Tremec TR-3550/TKO if you are going over drive. They have wide gear spreads, and low first gears. And what rear gears are you really going to put in? 3.545:1 or 3.7:1 most likely, since that's what's available mostly. Sure 4.11:1 is available, and so is 3.90:1, but not very easily found. I can tell you that my lumpy cammed 327 climbing the hill after turn 3 at the NHIS road course last week could have used some more TORQUE below 4500 rpm in 3rd gear. It kicked in there. Sure, I could have revved it further in 2nd, but I didn't want to rev it to the moon, and it didn't run well above 6000rpm anyway (a Holley Projection problem). But I wouldn't want to hear it do that much anyway. I did have to drive it 450 miles home . Under load, with the SAME driveline parts, the 383 will tweak the 327's nose. Climbing that hill after turn 3, I had visions of my 406 on the engine stand. Sure, I could pull away from even some modded 300ZXTTs, but I wanted to feel like I was ROCKETING up that hill. The 406 would have helped that. And how often do we really get the optimal parts setup (engine,trans,rear gears, etc.) anyway?