Z28LT1_Just_Nasty

I was curious how the reliability of your cars are. How often do you need rebuilds? How often do you have to repair something? On any given day what would you say the percentage is of getting around without any problems?

I was just in the lounge and they were talking about cars past around 400 hp tend to break down a lot more then say the 300 rwhp range. I'm just curious what you guys are seeing.

Edit: DD Car

gemballa996

depends on how u want to get there, a n/a lt1 with 400 rwhp would be pretty rough on the streets but having a higher displacement (383,396) would help that a little bit. butyou could also get there with a small cam and nitrous and still be good on the street, or get a turbo and just adjust boost to what u want.

Z28LT1_Just_Nasty

^^^ I was asking more along the lines of crap breaking. I plan to be at least in the high twelves by the end of this summer and to gather up the money for a built transmission and rear will take me probably another year or so and hopefully be in the mid 11's by end of 07. I'm just trying to figure out the repairs bills I can expect from this thing if I'm pushing that kind of power( even more so then I'm used too)

1racerdude

Ya build a 383,all forged,pro assembled,good heads and intake,best stuff in the valve train, and ya can run it 50,000 miles IF ya maintain it.
Ya gonna break more driveline than engine at 450-500RWHP.
We are talking a 25-28,000 dollar engine also not a K Mart come apart.

OneFlyn95z28

Jims Engine went over 50k before we freashened it she needed pistons by then

blkchevyz

i got 93k on my stock bottom end and im pushing 420hp

the only things i break are clutches and rear ends

when your running a big cam, really the main thing thats going to wear out is valve springs.

calfirebird

I have had mine for about a year now and the only issue i had was a rocker come loose. The auto is starting to show the signs of the tq and Hp im throwing at it but what can you expect on a stock 4l60e when you puting a tad over 500hp and spike tq in the 600tq range. But i havent had any issues at all with mine.

SS MPSTR

Maintenance is key, but remember that anything raced (or built to live on the edge) is living on borrowed time. You can be meticulous and still have stuff break, or fly by the seat of your pants and have it live 50k miles + without issue (not likely)...your results may vary.

Z28LT1_Just_Nasty

I'm pretty much a fanatic when it comes to maintainence, I have access to my own shop with a lift and almost any tool I need to do almost anything I want. I'm expecting problems I'm just trying to get an idea of how much.

ABA383

My 383 was built in 1995 and we just freshened the top end last year with a little more porting/freshening done by E.B. Porting and a little bit bigger cam from Joe Overton (226/234) just to go faster not because of any failures..and its been dead reliable since 1995. Like Racerdude said, build it with good stuff and great machine work and maintain it...I use a Callies crank, Oliver rods and JE pistons which most consider overbuilt, but thats a good thing...a very well built transmission and a Strange 12 bolt. More stuff is in my sig, but it could easily be a daily driver as it gets 21 mpg on the hwy and looks like a stocker. It made 400/362/385rwhp on different dynos so I'm in your ballpark. And we a ditching the shorties for some cool stepped Kooks and an EWP so those numbers should change...(knocks on wood)...

--Alan

MyZb383

Dude, 11.5 at 118MPH is impressive. The new Z06s are doing ~11.6 but they trap at ~130MPH to get there. Congrats.

You have got some serious hookup going at launch. Would you mind elaborating a little more on how you did it?

WS Sick

Like my uncle allways says "check it twice then check it again".

When building a motor to push ponies instead of just drive around, the extra attention to detail pays off.

ABA383

My suspension is very simple, but apparently works very well: Stock springs and decarbon shocks, Hotchkis welded SFCs, Hotchkis panhard bar, Spohn rod ended LCAs, Spohn cross brace mounted TA-pinion angle 2 deg. neg., stock front sway bar with poly end links, Spohn 1" solid chrome moly rear bar with poly mounts and end links, poly motor and trans mounts...Vig 3600, Strange 12 bolt with 3.73s, and 255 50 R16 M/T DRs at 17 psi cold. Launch off idle and floor it! 1.55-1.57 on well prepped tracks...I may try it w/o the front sway bar, but I drive the car alot and I like the way it rides...

--Alan

MyZb383

Thanks for the info.

Back to the thread. I have about 11,000 miles on my 383. It's never been dynoed (I know, I know), but I've taken down new Cobras so let's just assume I'm in the 400RWHP range, plus or minus a few.

As a daily driver, I love it. The cam lopes at idle, but with an M6 that's a good thing, IMO. Sounds wicked. The valvetrain is definitely noisier than a stocker, but that's no big deal.

As far as reliability goes. My only casualty is tires. Other than that, business as usual, at least so far. Gas mileage is over 20mpg in sixth on the highway, and that's with a tune that's definitely rich.