Nitrousbird

Are you not planning on staying N/A. Honestly, on an N/A car, they are pretty much worthless. You can't really tune with them, since they don't indicate the exact O2 voltage....not that you can tune perfectly anyway with a narrow-band O2 sensor, but you can get pretty damn close. The only reason I have one is for a quick indication if the car is going lean while spraying (also have an electric FP gauge as well).

My roomate runs a Turbo XS RFL on his 96 SS. It has worked flawlessly so far, and is pretty loud.

Then only 350's w/ the distributor on the front would be the LT1/4 series of motors (perhaps the LT5 too, but that's a TOTALLY different animal, and shouldn't even be considered in most projects due to the extra size and MUCH higher cost than a slew of other motors). The LT1/LT4 motors use the Optispark, driving by the front of the camshaft. It does more than just provide spark to cylinders, however, it also tells cam positioning info to the PCM, for it to fire the injectors. IMO, there is nothing wrong w/ a distributor on the back of the motor (keeps wires out of the way in the front of the motor....there is enough stuff up there as it is). A GEN-I SBC is pretty much THE cheapest motor to build, and has the best aftermarket selection of parts out there.

Well, since I'm not a Ford guy, I have nothing big to add to this thread, other than heads are THE place to put money into an N/A and Nitrous fed motor, period. All this talk has made me curious about some stuff on the 5.0's, though, so I figured I'd ask, since I'm sure someone will find the answers useful (not me, just curious): - All I know of the ECU is that it requires burning new chips each time (not an EEPROM). My real question is how high can you rev the factory PCM (reprogrammed of course). How high do the fuel tables go, is there a limit to where the rev limiter can be raised, is there a limit to how fast the PCM can process to rev higher, etc. Basically, how high can you SAFELY take the factory PCM before you have to go aftermarket - How high can you safely spin the stock shortblock (on say, an 88-92 Forged piston motor). I'm not sure what the bore/stroke of a 302 is, but if it is a short stroke, I'd assume it would be fairly high. That being the case, I'm curious why no one has suggested perhaps going to a solid roller. Yes, solid roller isn't for everyone (in terms of increased maintance, shortened valve spring life, and most likely killing off any chance of using the knock sensor).

CHECK YOUR OIL!!!!! If it is foamy and white, well......you have coolant in your oil = very bad. Good way to take out your motor there Sean, bad bad bad! Also, burning coolant would cause white "gases" to come out of your exhaust. Head gasket....dunno, not sure how hard it would be on that car. I assume it is an OHC motor, I've only done it on pushrod motors.

Some of the 4th Gen F-body guys have been doing it to the output shafts on the T-56's (at least the guy's w/ traction), since manuals shock the driveline a lot and the output shaft will go if the clutch is super grabby and you get great traction w/ decent power (with a strong rear-end of course). But, even then, it hasn't been proven. There are also guys who cryo treat the Viper output shafts when they convert to those. I'd like to see if there have been any proven gains on doing it to BLOCKS. I could see there being some strength gains in doing that.

Hmmmm....never really considered U-joints. The only vehicles I've ever been in w/ bad U-joints have normally been noticable at almost all speeds/gears. But sure sounds like something to consider! Never really looked under a Mustang to see how the tranny mount attaches/works; but I know on my car (I broke 2 stockers before finally upgrading to a improved factory unit, and now a poly one), I didn't get any vibrations from it, just the damn tranny pulling up and clunking loudly under the car (THAT is annoying I might add). I'll have him take a look at the motor mounts as well. I highly doubt it is a motor-missing type problem. I've driven the car before, and it runs pretty smoothly....and the motor still runs smoothly even when there is a vibration. Thanks for all the ideas; I'll let him know. Not sure when he will actually get to fixing the problem.

Not for me, of course. smile.gif My roomate's daily beater is a 94 GT, 5-speed. Has around 145k miles on it. Other than it burns a little oil, the car runs great. He is pretty easy on it, and has owned it since about 90k miles. Very recently, the car developed a vibration problem. There is a noticable, but not insanlely bad, vibration in 2nd and 3rd gears above 2000 RPM. Does not vibrate in 1st, 4th or 5th. I had him go up to speeds his car would have been in at second @ 2500 RPM, but in 1st gear, no vibration. Had him take it out of gear at the speeds it was vibrating in 2nd & 3rd, and the vibration imediately goes away. Same as when he just pushes the clutch in. Also, going those speeds out of gear, and reving the motor up to 3000 RPM, no vibration. My guess is that something is out of whack in the tranny. The car shifts fine (has a B&M shifter), and he is always easy on this car. Clutch may be original; he has never replaced it at least. For now, he is just going to drive it. We are guessing it WILL get worse, and probably sooner than later. A cheap, stock T-5's out there to swap in. He is not really into modding this car much (that's what his SS is for), so the need for a heavily built tranny just isn't there. Of course, if he could get a built up tranny for nearly the same price, he would of course do that. Or maybe it isn't the tranny at all, but I'm not sure how it wouldn't be.

My roomate has Kenny Browns on his 96 SS, and they fit pretty well. I have SLP's on mine (of course, they don't make any for Mustangs), and they are basically a beefy version of the Kenny Brown Double-Diamonds. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go w/ the Kenny Browns.

Ding Ding Ding....and if that's the case....I'd say screw it. My Blazer has a small valve-seal leak. Smokes a little on startup, but that's it. Doesn't burn enough oil to ever have to come close to adding any, so no point in fixing it.

I don't think Ohio weather would be considered "extremely low" temperatures. Sure, cold and I hate it, but it COULD be worse. I kinda figured it was the oil. God knows what is in it now. 5W30 should hopefully help.

Alright, sadly, my g/f drives a 2000 Neon. 4-door, only a couple of options, base motor and 3-speed auto (did you guys know the Neon is the only production can still made w/ a 3-speed auto....HOW GAY). Anyway, on a cold startup, the thing always knocks. Not insanely loudly, but enough to notice. It goes away once it warms up. I asked if it did it in the summer, she said no. She always has her oil changed "professionally" (cough cough), so god knows what oil is in there. The car runs fine....sure, turtles can outrun the stupid thing, but it runs fine. My two guesses are either: 1: Neons have a known piston-slap or other cold-start motor related noise issure 2: Too thick of oil being run in cold weather. Dunno, just seeing if this is a common problem. Her car has about 60k on the clock, so it isn't under warranty. Stupid Neon.

FAST has been pretty popular w/ the LT1 guys, and the new Accell DFI 7 seems to be pretty promising too. Mototec is another system a couple of REALLY quick street LT1 guys are running, though it is big $$. Is there any software out there for the 4.6 guys to burn their own chips themselves?? I'd HATE to have to spend god knows what kinda of money to have people send me chip after chip to get it right.

Jason, I think Tommy was meaning to say it isn't hard to undo the driveshaft from our rear-end's.....mine is easy. I have 1.75" Hooker Long Tubes w/ a 4" Mufflex Y-pipe, and don't have to touch the exhaust to pull the tranny. I don't think most of the guys running true duals on our cars ever have to move the exhaust to pull the tranny either.

Yeah, I'm gonna say screw doing a FWD clutch. Heck, I've never even tried, and honestly don't want to. smile.gif And Dave, that camel toe pic used to be the background on my computer.

My headers were coated by Jet-Hot. Honestly, I'm not too pleased with them at all. Luckily, they have a 10 year warranty, so whenever I pull the motor, I'll send the headers back in. The problems: - They car in a "sterling finish" which almost looked chrome....they looked freaking AWSOME. That lasted about a week. Not they are gray. - RUST. The whole idea of coated is to prevent rust and keep engine bay temps down. I have long tube headers, so the collectors go under the car. All along the collectors, they are full of surface rust. They started rusting after a month. There is even a tiny bit of rust forming around where the primaries meet the header flange. The "Hooker Super Comp" tag also has a little rust on it. Overall, I don't know if I can really suggest them or not. I'd like to see how my headers are after they get re-coated, to see if they last this time. I sure hope they do!!

I'd like to know if MAF sensors are really "designed" to be blown through or sucked through, or if it is just simply a matter of placement. For example; my roomate's 96 SS of course came from the factory N/A. He added a twin intercooled ATI D1SC Procharger. ATI, if you install it in their "instructed way" has you splice the wires to the MAF sensor to lengthen them and put it under the car, right after the air filter. That would be the suck method. But, a lot of people put it after the intercoolers, right before the intake manifold. That is what he did; took about $10 in parts to convert it, with much easier access to the MAF sensor and no wire splicing. His car runs perfectly fine under this setup as well. Perhaps some MAF sensors are more sensitive to this than others???

Let em' rust, it isn't going to hurt anything!

What's so much cheaper (considering EFI for the same exact motor mods we are talking about doing here): - Injectors = cost exactly the same, since we use the same injectors - Fuel system upgrades will be REQUIRED on the 5.0 from what I've heard (and fuel pumps cost about the same on both cars regardless, but I'm unsure on how much HP the stock 5.0 lines can handle on normal fuel pressures...LT1 lines are around 600-700 RWHP N/A) - Intake upgrades will be NEEDED on the 5.0; stock LT1 intake is just peachy - Heads...yes, your selection of heads is better, but don't think there are not any good head choices out there (large selection of AFR heads, can still get used Canfields, GM LT1/LT4 castings can be taken quite far, if you have lots of dough and are going with an extreme setup the Arao 32V heads are freaking trick). A good set of ported LT1 castings, with new valves, springs, retainers, valve job, CNC+hand porting, the whole 9 yards is going to cost you around $1500 (unless you blow your money with places like ARE or GTP). To get about the same flow out of an aftermarket set of 5.0 heads, you are probably going to spend at least that amount - PCM can be reflashed; hell Tunercat is a $90 investment, plus $90 for the cable. Scanning software can be had for nothing (Freescan) Have to spend more for burned chips on the 5.0. Or you can do mail-order PCM re-programs for under $200. - Gaskets and head bolts or studds are going to be relatively the same cost - Cam's will cost about the same - RR's will cost the same - If you go electric waterpump, any SBC timing chain can be used. Otherwise, have to use the more expensive LT4 chain, so there is around a $100 cost savings the 5.0 has. This is ASSUMING (I really don't know), that the stock 5.0 cooling system is up to the task, that the stock throttle body and MAF sensor can be retained, that the stock pushrods can be retained, stock lifters can be retained, and anything else I may not know about. I'm also assuming (and I'd highly guess this is the case), that cam swaps can be made on the 5.0 without having to remove anything drastic. Yes, the 5.0 may be a little easier to work on in some respects, but compare the LT1 to say any of the high performance Japanese imports (Supra stick in my head specifically after helping Howard with his a little bit), the LT1 is freaking CAKE. So where is this cost savings...actually, the 5.0 looks a lot MORE expensive for the same type of mods!! And I'm talking about the mods at hand, not bolt-ons he already has, driveline mods (though technically, your rear ends may be stronger, but your tranny's are FAR weaker), etc. We are talking about the mods he plans on doing. From what I can tell, you'll be spending far more on the 5.0. Yes, I fully realize that there is a HUGE amount of used 5.0 stuff out there, but for something like this, there is enough used LT1 stuff to be had to, if you want to go that route. There is nothing wrong with modding either car, but 5.0 guys just love to think that their cars are always FAR cheaper to mod, when many times it isn't the case. Yes, the cost of the car is usually less (what do you expect, they are older cars). Certain other mods are cheaper, but if we are going to do direct comparisons, it sure looks like the LT1 is the smarter car to mod.

- Bigger injectors are a maybe. If you are running a smaller cam and so-so heads, not needed. Better heads, can get away with stock injectors and increased fuel pressure. Or, maybe just go w/ larger injectors: $175 will get you a used set of 30# SVO's or something like that - TB....my ported head/306 cam car has a stock TB. - My intake is bone stock - My fuel pump was stock, but I had to upgrade it so I could run nitrous w/ the heads/cam. If you want just 400 RWHP, I say go w/ a GOOD set of ported LT1 heads (I know a guy who does great work on heads...should have had him done mine) and a bigger type cam, be it a 306 or better yet, a custom grind matched to the heads. It will cost more than $3000 installed, I'm willing to bet. Remember, you also will want new RR's, all new gaskets, timing set (either go electric water pump and a double roller, or LT4 heavy duty), lifters if the stockers are worn, pushrods if you have the heads milled to much (or if any are bent), head bolts or studds, etc. I'd say I have about $3000 in parts on my setup. I went the more expensive route on some of the stuff though (I also did the 95 Opti conversion). And don't forget, you have to tune it too. Yes, a blower will be an easier install, but will cost you a little more in parts, and the heads/cam will be easier on your bottom end and should make a little more power, depending on how much boost you run.

Well, I didn't know we would be estimating weights. I'd presume my curb weight them was 3500lbs. Now, I'd guess around 3650-3700 (without me in the car). When I dynoed it, I didn't have the cage or sub and amp for the sub in there at the time; those were added a few weeks later. Mark, maybe you should indicate past and semi-present, since I know some of us (especially myself) car's are WAY different than what out past dyno numbers represent. As for the other questions: 1. Nothing whatsoever done to make it dyno better. Same jettings, timing maps, pulling the smae amount of timing on juice w/ the MSD box, and 93 octane pump gas I always ran. Nothing different than how it was driven on the street/strip, other than I was on my street tires rather than my ET Streets. No race gas and increased timing just so I could fluff up my dyno numbers. 2. Car is still alive today, over a year later with many more mods, and still that bone stock bottom end.

Mine is in my sig, done on Brian's dyno over a year ago. Mind you, that was 100% internally stock (valve covers had never been off), 150 shot, a little rich, and through a 12-bolt. Stock MAF housing and throttle body as well (sadly, those are still stock). Now, with my ported heads, 1.6RR's, and CC306 cam (230/244, .51/.54 lift (rated for 1.5RR's, anyone have the formula for 1.6RR's??))and a 112 lobe seperation. I'm hoping for 375-400RWHP N/A, around 530-560RWHP on the same 62/35 150 shot jettings I ran last year. Dunno if I'll get her on the dyno this year, but I will for sure next year (and she will have a MUCH needed bigger throttle body by then too). Goal of touching high 10's on the stock bottom end on the 150 shot, and high 11's N/A, though I'll probably need to do some much needed weight reduction (around 150lbs.....yank the AC I never use, BMR K-member and A-arms, skinnies for the track) to hit those numbers. That's next year's plan. Damn cage and stereo system weighs a ton.

My roomate has one, but it is on loan to a COFBA member. And if I somehow get frisky (i.e. really bored, and get my garage's built-in heater working) I may need it. BTW, Autozone does NOT rent this tool. I think he bought it at some auto parts store on Alum Creek.

I have a Harlan shift light. http://www.harlan-engineering.com/store/ $50 + $5 shipping; another $1.50 if you want the mount. I really like this shift light. I spent the extra $20 and got the blue LED option (blue LED's are expensive, which is why there is a surcharge for them). The Harlan light is very compact and easy to use. No pills to set the shift light setting; it uses a programmable EEPROM. Doesn't loose its settings when the power is cut off. LED lights are easy to see. And hell, it is cheaper than most shift lights out there, and smaller too. Yes, Harlan makes mostly F-body based stuff, but his shift lights are universal. I have mine in the A-pillar like he pictures on his website; almost looks factory. smile.gif

Nick....it isn't "your" Caddy. smile.gif Mark, Optima's are far from light, sadly. Really, it depends on how much you are willing to spend, and how extreme you really want to go. Let me give you an example. My car is a freaking pig; EASILY weighs more than stock (how much, I dunno). My only weight reduction would be the Fiberglass Ram-Air hood, yanked spare, jack, and lug wrench, and removed rear seats and belts. BUT, I've added a full stereo system, nitrous bottle, cage, heavy ass subframe connectors, heavier than stock torque arm, etc. So, what are my options?? Well, I'm yanking the A/C this winter; there goes around 65lbs. Gonna run skinnies at the track next year; easily 50lbs, plus that is unsprung weight and less rolling resistance. Gonna do lightweight K-member and upper/lower A-arms next year (that is another 42lbs). A guy I've been talking to on another board may be fabbing up a new alternator/PS bracket for people who yank their A/C and don't want to just run a 1LE pulley, which would save another 5-10 lbs. If I would run Percy's Speed glass ($1000, ouch), it is safe for the street and shaves ANOTHER 64lbs. Wow, add all that up, and I'm already at over 200lbs, in all the right places I might add. Yanking the airbags would put me even further, though I doubt I'd ever do that. BMR created a lightweight front bumper support; that would shave another 7lbs in the extreme nose of the car. A REAL lightweight battery can save another 20lbs or so. See, and that's not even going nuts; all of that stuff and all I would loose is my A/C that I never use anyway. If I were to make some REAL sacrifices, I could loose a LOT more weight (yank my Corbeau seats for some aluminum seats, yank the power steering, all of the carpet insulation (or hell interior for that matter), and countless other things. Personally, I'll be happy if I yank 200 lbs off of my car. Basically, you just have to think about what you want and don't want on the car, and what you are willing to give up. And some cars just have more weight they can shave than others (depends on the aftermarket of available lightweight parts too, which is very strong for F-body's).