Big Block Z can it be done?

[dsommer]

Yup!!!!

 

Who's car is this? Looks like somebody from Texas???

 

 

 

 

 

guess I don't know how to post pics, I read the sticky grrrrr

 

 

special thanks to the owner (credit for pic)

[80LS1T]

I'm pretty sure the owner is a member on this site. I know I have seen these pics posted before but that was back on the old site format.

 

Guy

[Michael]

Hmm..., that one's new to me, and I thought that I'd seen them all.

 

On this site, Ron Jones, Ratsun and myself have BBC Z's. Another is currently under construction (can't recall the member's name). Another BBC (blue, used to have a blower) has since been converted to SBC.

[dsommer]

So my question still lingers...how do you post a pic?

[Guest bastaad525]

I saw a Z local here in the valley/SoCal that had a 400+ cube engine in it. It got my attention when I noticed the heavy duty chain chaining the block to the fender well... to keep the engine from ripping the engine mounts out They guy was claiming 600hp...

[Mike kZ]

So my question still lingers...how do you post a pic?

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=98049

[Pyro]

But why do it when 500 hp and 500 ft lb small blocks are very easy to build now-a-days.

 

Then add a 300 shot of N20 and push the hp to 800 hp which is more hp than you could ever use in a Z.

 

Big block are slow revers, very heavy, very wide, suck unbelievable amounts of fuel, and are better suited for heavier cars. I know because I have one of those pigs in my truck.

 

What we really need is more LS1 installations!

 

Forget that stoneaged BBC unless it is in a 4000 lb car with a huge gas tank.

[Michael]

Pyro,

 

There are two good reasons for doing a BBC swap:

 

1. You happen to have a long personal history with BBC’s, know them well, and can build them well.

 

2. You really really really like low-end torque. That 500hp/500 ft-lb SBC won’t have the low-end torque unless it also has the displacement – which IS admittedly possible today, but a 454 SBC will cost MUCH more than a 454 BBC.

 

My longstanding goal has been to build a car that pulls like a locomotive in the 600-2000 rpm range. Can I get that with a LS1 without power-adders?

 

The BBC is heavier and it is wider, but aluminum heads definitely help. As does aft firewall relocation. I’ll be the first to admit that a BBC hybridZ is a difficult undertaking and for most circumstances a poor allocation of effort. But not for all circumstances!

 

Granted, at “streetable†power levels the SBC makes more sense for most folks, unless reason #1 above applies. Certainly I have profound regrets about going BBC myself, but not because of the weight or installation issues – it’s because of the poor parts availability and high parts costs. The aftermarket – at least that portion that caters to amateurs – has largely foresworn big blocks. Increasingly, guys who build big blocks either do it for the muscle car nostalgia, or they’re pros racing 7-second drag cars. Neither description fits the “sportsman†drag racer.

 

However, if you don’t like turbos, nitrous or blowers, want to run low-octane gas and want on-demand torque even though you’re in the wrong gear, a BBC is hard to beat.