280zwitha383

I have more respect for prostitutes after that.

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The stove and the dog in the background are a nice touch. That shop looks like something I could get used to also ..... The cars not too bad either

This engine will be put into my '85 daily driver. Currently it has a 3.73 rearend and I have a 350 turbo, 400 turbo, and 700-r4 all of which would need to be built up. I'm not too comfortable with putting the 350th or the 700 behind a built 454. I could be wrong about the 700-r4 and if I am please tell me because that's the ideal tranny I would like to use. Also, would the 400th still need to be rebuilt? I have heard that they are bulletproof but I can't imagine anything being bulletproof after close to 30 years and who knows how many miles on it. It does shift well from what little I've driven it however. What I want from the truck is something that is fun to drive normally (part throttle response), reliable, and can whoop more than a little tail at the stoplight. In numbers, I would think a flat 450ft-lb torque curve and 350-400hp would be essential to even call the thing a big block or justify throwing money into it. I'm not familiar with big blocks in particular and I don't really know what's mild and what's not. If someone could give me some good build suggestion including compression ratios and cam for both the heads I have as well as maybe the Merlin or Pro Topline heads with predicted numbers I would really appreciate it. What I don't know much about in specific is the compression for big block engines. I definitely want to keep this thing running 87 octane and I don't know exactly how to calculate dynamic compression. Is there a little program for this somewhere? I have DD2000 but no flow charts for the heads and I've been too lazy thus far to put any in from CHP's website so I will do that and definitely put a lot of research into this thing before I try and throw it together. Again, thanks for any suggestions.

Well I've port matched a pair of heads and an intake and I can think of quite a few things I'd rather be doing. I'll try to get a picture up soon of the rocker arm because it is fairly impressive. It's definitely going into my collection of "mechanical failures..." I'm thinking about Pro Topline heads for my rebuild. They seem to be excellent heads for a killer price compared to other big block heads.

Yes through is right. I just bought a '79 sierra with a 454 in it which didn't run due to the guy that owned it not knowing how to shim the starter... Anyhow, once I got it running it made some typical valvetrain noises so I pulled off the passenger side valve cover and the first thing that I thought was well the pushrod isn't plugged.... then it hit me that I could actually see a pushrod . Has anyone had this happen before? It literally went through the dome part on the rocker arm and is stuck there! Several other rocker arms were loose and it's really not a big deal because I was planning on rebuilding it anyway. It has the peanut 236 heads which I kind of figured but wasn't too thrilled about. Any ideas on some affordable heads for this thing. Is home-porting worth a shot with these? I know there's a ton of meat there but I'm not familiar with big blocks too well and I don't really know what my options are for heads. I do know that they are very expensive when compared to small block heads. Thanks guys

That's good for some giggles.....

I'm not working on it..... but I would drive it anyday

Good luck finding the 240. I have seen one in town here but never one for sale. There are however quite a few 280zx's running around. If I ever find one for sale I will be all over it.

3 things come to mind: 1. I WANT TO SEE THEM CRASH INTO EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2. I want a life-size replica. 3. Where do I sign up to invest?!

The new sports cars are probably the biggest reason I want to get out of hotrodding. I don't make enough money to try and contend with the new muscle even though I could probably hang with some of them now, but what happens in say 5 years when the 600hp corvette comes out (hypothetically)? I'm not rebuilding another engine or modding the one I have anymore. UNLESS it's a twin turbo V-8...... When the then new cars start keeping up with that it's time to throw in the towel.

Well I was wondering if you guys can help me out once again. My battery gauge is always on and I'm assuming this is what has been draining my battery or atleast contributing to it. I have a fairly fresh swap so I'm guessing I wired something up wrong causing the gauge not to shut off. I have a one wire alternator that I originally just ran straight to the battery. I was surprised when I first got the engine running because I knew I hadn't connected anything for the gauge to work and I just recently noticed that it's always on (all my other gauges turn off with the ignition). Tonight I connected the blue wire for the light on the battery gauge and I also connected the stock battery wire that is supposed to go to the output on the alternator (a large gauge white wire). I was hoping this might resolve my issue, but the battery gauge is still on all the time. As it is I have almost none of the stock wiring hooked up to the engine. I have a set of relays hooked up to an ignition-switched wire and these relays run my choke, hei, and radiator fan. Just tonight I have wired my tach to the distributor and hooked the alternator up like the JTR manual describes. Any suggestions? This is all of course assuming that the battery gauge should not be on all the time, if it should then please tell me so I'll stop trying to get it to turn off. My last resort will be to wire a relay to the meter so it will only come on with the ignition on. Thanks for any input.

As a side note I would like to add that shirts stating "Got Milk?" or "Hooters" should not be made in XL.

Sounds like a good excuse to do an engine swap.....

I would say Amen but curses also come to mind.

I PM'd him a few months ago and he will answer you back eventually, a few weeks ago he still offered me the manual but now my mind has gone to other things.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against putting a 327 in a Z at all. I would love to build my wife one with a t-56 because I think it would be really fun to drive (the only reason I wouldn't build up a 350 or 383 for her is because she's a woman.... need I say more?). On the other hand, destroking a 327 would not only be expensive it wouldn't be practical. You would have to purchase mismatched parts and I would assume have them balanced all to give you less cubes and less power. It just doesn't make sense to me.

A 302 Chevy that makes a lot of power huh....... Why not just put a Ford 302 in it, I hear they make a lot of power too

....... :looks up and checks to make sure this is the "Chevy V8Z Tech Board" :

If you are rebuilding both engines, with a 327 you can run a little higher compression than you could with a 350 because the 327 has a shorter stroke. I would argue that the benefit of running higher compression with the 327 would at best be equal to the extra cubes and longer stroke of the 350. I think a 350 is the best choice for both performance and cost.

If you already have the 350 turbo throw it in there and forget what everyone else thinks about it. It's not ideal but it's not as hideous as some would have you think. On the other hand, if you don't have a transmission yet then I would agree, the 700-R4 is decent. If I had to do it again I would buy a 200-4R because of the closer gearing ratio between 1st and 2nd. IMO the 200-4R is the way to go with automatics in these cars.

I for one am scared. I'll have to blow a little shot of N02 before I know I can beat one of these bad boys in a 1/4 mile. Atleast I'll know I spent over $50K less.... hehe

I think I might have to go out on a huge limb here, but I'm going to vote with Grumpy and say no to smaller cubes also. I know he gives a lot of unsupported advice and all but he might be right in this case.....

Was that bolted in? If it was the spark plug practically touching the tubing would be my concern.

Scottie, forgive me for my ignorance but how hard is it to get a GN engine? Is that a junkyard item or do you really have to dig for it. They sound like great engines from what I've heard from you and others but I've never seen one for sale and wouldn't have even thought twice about it except for your 1/4 mile time and picture.