Drove the Z today!!!!!!

[Bartman]

Congrats on getting your car on the road!

 

I was driving mine without a hood and front end (grill, lights, bumper, etc) as well. Not having a complete exhaust system didn't bother me too much, but a lot of houses in the neighborhood are for sale now:shock:. I guess a few neighbors have made comments to my wife about my "project" and how loud it is.

 

I can definitely relate to the raw power as well, and I'm glad I put in the LSD to put that power to the pavement.

 

How much difference do you think the LT4 cam makes? Does it give it a lumpier idle or any other noticeable difference from the stock LT1 cam?

[wheelman]

How much difference do you think the LT4 cam makes? Does it give it a lumpier idle or any other noticeable difference from the stock LT1 cam?

 

Bart,

I have a hard time comparing the LT4 cam to the stock one, my engine came out of a Caprice. The stock cam for it was set up to provide gobs of low end torque and ran out of steam fairly early in the RPM range, around 4800 RPM I believe. I was able to drive the Caprice a little before pulling the engine and was very impressed with how nimble it felt and the response from the engine was very good. I decided to swap the cam to move the torque up in the RPM range and get a little better higher RPM output.

I haven't driven the Z very much so I can't say alot about how it compares, really no comparison though. Like I said earlier the thing is simply RAW and the power is instant. Once I get the body parts back on and insurance I'll take it out for a shake down cruise and let you know what I think. The idle is lumpy but not to a point where it's annoying so I really like it and think the cam swap is worth it just for that. It's not a very agressive cam so the drivability should remain very good. I also swapped out the stock valve springs when I did the cam which from what I hear is really a mandatory upgrade for these engines. I have the iron heads so it was a bit more expensive for me to do the springs than it will be for you. It's possible to swap the cam and springs without pulling the heads but it's still a bit of a pain as you have the pull the water pump, opti-spark, timing cover and oil pan. I did it before installing the motor so access was easy and if I were to do it again I'd pull the engine.

My son wants to make a digital recording of it before I have the exhaust built. If we can get a decent recording I'll post it so you can hear the idle.

 

Wheelman

[hat1324]

what do I do to get my jackstand racing number?

and nice swap! i bet you drove that as soon as the last needed bolt was in

[Bartman]

Bart' date='

I have a hard time comparing the LT4 cam to the stock one, my engine came out of a Caprice. The stock cam for it was set up to provide gobs of low end torque and ran out of steam fairly early in the RPM range, around 4800 RPM I believe. I was able to drive the Caprice a little before pulling the engine and was very impressed with how nimble it felt and the response from the engine was very good. I decided to swap the cam to move the torque up in the RPM range and get a little better higher RPM output.

I haven't driven the Z very much so I can't say alot about how it compares, really no comparison though. Like I said earlier the thing is simply RAW and the power is instant. Once I get the body parts back on and insurance I'll take it out for a shake down cruise and let you know what I think. The idle is lumpy but not to a point where it's annoying so I really like it and think the cam swap is worth it just for that. It's not a very agressive cam so the drivability should remain very good. I also swapped out the stock valve springs when I did the cam which from what I hear is really a mandatory upgrade for these engines. I have the iron heads so it was a bit more expensive for me to do the springs than it will be for you. It's possible to swap the cam and springs without pulling the heads but it's still a bit of a pain as you have the pull the water pump, opti-spark, timing cover and oil pan. I did it before installing the motor so access was easy and if I were to do it again I'd pull the engine.

My son wants to make a digital recording of it before I have the exhaust built. If we can get a decent recording I'll post it so you can hear the idle.

 

Wheelman[/quote']Thanks for the detailed information about your cam, I'm looking forward to hearing how it sounds. I like the sound of a nice V8 with a cam and a low kinda lumpy idle. If you didn't hear mine before, here's a link to the sound file

http://home.earthlink.net/~570z/images/570z.wav

This is my basically stock LT1 (aluminum heads) with the long tube headers a y pipe and no muffler. It looks like I will be changing my exhaust system, so not sure what it will sound like when it's done.