Where can I learn about Chevy engines and mods?

[Guest Anonymous]

I already ordered the JTR book but where on the net can I go to find out about these engines like what mods do what. Just any info to learn about the engines would be great.

[Owen]

Damn, you're all over the place ain't ya? Not to sound snobby or anything but ya gotta do some of the work yourself. A search at Google.com on engine basics, engine tuning, etc. will give you $hitloads of info.

 

You'll no doubt discover people say many different things about the same topic.

 

howstuffworks.com is an ok place if you want some basic info. Or go to your local college and buy some of their automotive technology books.

 

Good luck!

 

Owen

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

Ordering various catalogs, www.summitracing.com etc help out in some thinking. Chevy mags like carcraft, chevy hp, hotrod etc will help as well....sometimes enough can be read at the newstand, othertimes I have to buck up .

 

I got 99% of my info years back before hybridz etc from a diehard few on a mailing list AND being subscribed to a classic fbody (camaro/firebird) list and a 3rd gen fbody list......they're all playing with chevies and tons of info.....I'm sure fbody websites would have tons of info for you. If you find any free dyno software it can greatly help as well......then their's David Vizards books and many others which are quite helpful. Just searching this forum for 'cam', 'timing', 'intake' etc etc will yield lots of reading....early on a good printer can be handy if it's all new to you.

 

good luck with your reading....don't mind Owen, he's just glad he's nearing the end of his plethora of q's we've all had a few q's and have to start somewhere......

Lots of links.....camaroz28.com

[Tim240z]

A great book is 'Modifying small block chevys' by John Lingenfelter. It may be a bit advanced, but once you get to grips with the basics, this book is definitely worth a look.

Tim

[DavyZ]

A great "beginners book" is How to Build Chevrolet Small Block V8 Race Engines by Tarrant & Hawkinson. You can also try How to Build Horsepower Vol 1 by David Vizard, which is a little more basic (easier to understand) than his other great books. Good luck!

 

Davy

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks for the info guys. Owen, sorry for all the threads. I am trying to devour all the information I can. I thought maybe I could liven up the org too. I really don't know where to start and my connection is very slow. I really appreciate all the help. I prefer to ask real people who have done the actual mod rather than read a book. Usually books don't list all of the possible hidden problems. If I am posting too much let me know. But by doing this I have already gotten emails for Z cars for sale as well as people from the area I live in who are going through the same situation.

[Guest chevsun]

If you want info on chevrolet motors go to chevytalk.com in the performance section. The guys here are great and have helped me an unbelievable amount in my 377 buildup. If you give them real information about what you want to do and not just a vague or generic question you will get all the help you need. Also take about a week and read through the posts as you wont get many answers to a question that was asked last week. Good luck Steve

[Guest Anonymous]

I second "How to build Horespower" by David Vizard. Good source.

[Guest Anonymous]

Man I am trying to learn about these engines on howstuffworks.com and It looks very complicated. you guys must be geniuses

[pparaska]

Naw, not at all. Engines like a carbed SBC are really simple. You'll get the hang of it!

[Guest Anonymous]

Boy am I getting excited! Working on buying a new Z this weekend. First I need to buy the correct tools and I have none. I have a nice large garage ready for a new Z. As an estimate, how much will I need to spend on tools?

For crate motors, what more would I have to buy to make this work? Wiring?

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

"And Ross, I'M NOT DONE ASKING QUESTIONS YET! "

 

hehehe LMAO, agreed....if any of us were done with q's we may as well roll over I figure. If we're no longer learning it's not tooooo interesting. The casual humour on this forum is v. much enjoyed It's always more cautious joking with those you haven't met but at least that region is well received here when done appropriately

[Guest Anonymous]

Owen, I know you are kidding. You guys are cool unlike my other org. Maxima.org has some really crazy guys who take everything so seriously. Some of them think they have the fastest cars. With my Z I could blow them away. I was so surprised at how cheap Z mods are compared to my Maxima. For the Maxima I have Nitrous, Y pipe, Stillen intake, Greddy exhaust. All of these mods cost a lot of money and don't do as much for performance. Not like the capabilities of the Z

 

[ October 16, 2001: Message edited by: DPG HAMMER ]

[Owen]

Naturally, the first question would be...welded-on or bolt-on brackets for the rear discs

 

In case you don't know, the older Maximas had a bolt-on bracket which can be used to adapt 280ZX rear discs onto the older Zs. Mine came off an '83 Max.

 

Owen

[Owen]

DPMG, I'm just kidding Just thought some books by your side when you can't sleep at 3AM would be helpful. And Ross, I'M NOT DONE ASKING QUESTIONS YET! Remember, I started the first forum only to help myself!

 

Owen

[Guest Anonymous]

Owen Nope, I have a 2000 Maxima. No taking off parts of my car for the Z

[auxilary]

DPG:

 

for sources on engines, you can check out gm sport salvage in san jose, or rancho gm salvage in rancho cordova.

http://www.ranchochevy.com/

 

A used carbed sbc 350 can be had for pretty damn cheap, like 700 bucks ready to run. Or, if you want to get a crate zz3/4 motor, that's slightly more expensive, say 1500 bucks or so. Heck, kragen sells 60-74 chevy small block v8s without heads or carbs for 600 bucks. But, it all depends on what your budget is.

 

Depending on the Z you pick up, expect to do a LOT of work just preparing it for the v8 swap and fixing all the little issues and such. example: my Z was stock. i mean, stock stock: down to struts and springs. So my time right now is spent properly rebuilding the suspension on it completely (so i don't need to modify it the second time when the v8 comes). Same for brakes and etc.