Call me crazy but I think you will be able to spank a new Z06 at a stoplight.

 

Someone had to start talking about how much all this costs This year I am over $12K in parts: tranny, converter, DS, fuel system including pumps, lines, injectors, electronics, new blower, engine parts (rings, bearings), new valvetrain, wheels/tires, brakes, etc. OTOH I did get ~$4K for what I took off.

It was cheaper when I did more of my own work, but my back is kinda bad, and I don't have much time or a good place to work. At least I can parts at cost and trade for some of the work. But what this really shows is that speed costs. Each subsequnet increment in performance costs more than the last. And if you want to keep it streetable it's even more expensive.

Anyway, all the parts are in. The heads are assembled and we are gonna bolt them on on Sunday. So things are moving.

Rich Krause

 

I think you might need a little bit better fuel system to go along with the rest of those mods.

 

Yes... I'm doing everything at once, unfortunately. Some things are playing catch up. In the last month and a half I've paid for the D1-SC, the engine rebuild, the tranny rebuild, the 12 bolt and a host of little stuff like gauges, et streets, roll bar, etc.

Still on the list of needas is walbro pump, bigger injectors and fuel line, LTCC, Canton pan/pickup (hopefully this week...), 58mm TB, bigger tranny pan and cooler, spohn torque arm, alky/water injection...

That's just the needas. You should see my list of wantas.

Now you've gone and depressed me...

But... I'm just a few weeks away from the fun stuff.

 

Tony,
Sounds like it's gonna be a monster when it's done. I know what you mean about doing everything at once, that's the way i like to do things too.

I've had my 383 shortblock sitting in the garage for 8 months or so, waiting for my wallet to allow me some decent heads. I'd have tossed it in allready, but decided to wait to save on all the hassels of retuning, and all the extra work involved.

I should have my new heads in a few weeks, and the 383 in the car near the end of May. Hopefully the fuel system will be done shortly thereafter.

I wont be able to get a 12 bolt till Sept or so, so I'll just have to have fun on the street till then.

Luckily, I'll have the car payed off soon, then I'll be able to get serious with the mods.

 

Just got the twin intanks installed yesterday and the engine test fired. Gotta wire up the relay for the water pump and the intercooler fans. Put the rearend back in and start driving the thing. Should be done today.

Bill

 

Getting the car paid off is a really cool deal. Because I bought the 'vert and it was pretty highly optioned, my note was a bear. When it went away I started saving for the buildup.

I forgot about the heads on the last post. Did them this month too...

Good luck with the 383. Everyone tried to talk me into one, but I figured that with the big blower that power was going to be the least of my worries. Now we just have to get all this heat to the street...

My biggest fear is that I'm going to end up with a $40,000 smoke machine...

Nah... We'll just do what it takes to get those front wheels a few inches off the ground for the Hot Rod magazine photos.

 

Ive done nearly everything on this car. Me and a couple of friends. I had help with the tranny since I dont know those and someone I work with fabricated the roll cage but everything else has been me. Engine assembly me. header fabrication me.

That said, it would still cost about 40K to purchase everything to build this car as it sits. With the other stuff Ive done over the years, Ive easily bought a Z06. LOL

I sure hope the work of the past couple of years building this thing pay off this season. Id like to run some 8's but getting the power to the ground is going to be the biggest problem I have.

 

well i wish i could post that things are even moving along, but im still waiting for parts.

 

I'm hoping to have my engine on the dyno next week to test some upgraded parts. The rest of the car is very close to being done. There are a couple of open test days at Norwalk in the begining of May, that I'd like to attend in preparation for the North vs South Shootout.

 

I am waiting on my 4L80E transmission--should be here next week. I gave up on the "built" 700R4 after tearing it up the 3rd time out on the road. Have also heard too much about problems with the 700 and 4L60E to give them another try. Didn't want to go to a TH400 because I still want an overdrive for the street. If the 4L80E doesn't work, I guess I'll go back to the T56. Anyone here run a Jerico or G-force 5 speed?

 

The G-Force is not suitable for a street car. My friend has one in his 5.0 Mustang and I've driven it around the pits, and it is the pits - crunching and grinding at every shift unless you slam it from gear to gear (hard enough to hurt your hand!). I believe the Jerico is similar. Of course, it's also limited to 1:1 as are all the racing trannys. You could go with a really low rear gear, but AFAIK no one makes high quality gears in very low ratios. Another option is to get a 5-speed with a <1:1 4th gear. Would have a wierd shift pattern though.

I looked into all the manual alternatives and actually think the Lenco ST1200 would have been the best choice. Same issues with gears as above and has a couple of other major issues. It's huge and quite heavy. Would require extensive cutting and reworking of the floor pan to fit. And a 5-speed would be in the $6K range just for the tranny. Oh, did I mention the bellhousing and clutch issues? For all of these tranny that whole subsystem would need reworking.

There's a beefed up T56 from Tremec, good for 850ft-lbs. But as a one-off configured for an F-body it would be ~$25,000. Believe me, I think I thought of everything. I ended up going to a TH400. I considered the 4L80E, but with my 3.42's it's possible that I won't really need an OD. Heck, I used to drive a car with 4.10's everywhere, when I was a kid. If I do need OD, I'll get a Gear Vendors.

Rich Krause

 

While the gear vendors seems expensive, I've often thought that it would be a good investment if you were going to stay in the street/drag game for very long. Rebuild a weak tranny twice and you've paid for one...