As I'm still working on my final decisions with a build for my 97 Z....I've narrowed my decision to either a 4-bold mains LT1/LT4 383 cid forged assembly or a SB 427 cid forged assembly.

However, I've only had a very minimal working with carburated engines and worry that I may be taking on more than what I'm willing.

The only reason why I would go with the LT1/LT4 383 is due to the ease of drop in and go...if you will.

A couple things of worry here....

- I'd like to keep the ride emissions legal for here in Cali (Yea I know....good luck!). The car will only be driven about 2-3 times out of the week on the street.

- Will I have to reconfigure my gauges for the carburated engine?

Is there anyone on the forums who have switched to a carburated SB Chevy in their late model F-Body? If so, what issues did you run into during your conversion, etc?

I've got my eyes set on the 427 Bill Mitchell build which can be found here:
http://www.theengineshop.com/engine5.shtml

Also, if there are any of you who have working with Bill Mitchell builds....please advise on your thoughts.

Any help on this is greatly appreciated...

 

Yeah good luck.
I'd keep the fuel injection. Carburetor tuning is a pita (me and my dad had to do a tuneup on my 74 caddy when I was in high school) and at it's best won't match fuel injection at lower rpms for keeping emissions low. You can just toss that emissions legality thing out the window with carburetion.

However, have you considered doing a 427 LS* buildup? I know it's probably expensive, but it appears you've got some cash on your hands, I'd go that way. That way you've got the technology and the cubes.

Is there another state you could get a license from? It's what I would do. I've haven't been there in almost 4 years, even then I never drove, and I still know that CA testing is a b!tch.

 

Actually yes....due to the fact that I'm an Active Duty Marine I can switch my state of residency quite easily. I've already been contemplating doing that for just this reason...plus paying out California state taxes is fugly.

On the 427 LS*....I've not looked into that build yet....wonder how difficult it would be to get that to fit in my engine bay.... I've read of a couple guys who have swapped out their LT1/LT4 for an LS1, but don't know what all would be involved and how difficult.

 

For an LS type engine, lets see...

engine
tranny
wiring harness
pcm
odds & ends - everyone that does a write-up on the swap always forgets to include the little stuff.

And it should fit just fine in your engine bay, although LT1 f-bodies take a different route for induction because of the way the frontal area is set up.

And the tranny doesn't bolt up because they moved one of the holes where the tranny bolts up on the LS1, I guess with a little work that could be taken care of so an LT1 tranny would work...

Not to mention, 600 hp would be no problem at all, and you can still drive it down the street, too.

BTW I'm an active duty Marine too (if you couldn't tell by the location) - but not for very long, I'm planning on taking terminal lv. on Sep. 3rd.