So...How much does it cost to build a 380 cube ZR1?

[RICKYRJ1]

I am watching closely so I can learn from my WAZOO brothers. I will add my name to list of future builds.

[5ABI VT]

Originally Posted by XfireZ51

I think the question to ask yourself is , what power level do you want to get to? Again, you may be comparing apples to oranges looking towards the LT4 as a guide. Achievable power with few and simple mods to LT5 is rather impressive. No rockers in LT5, tappets directly actuated by cam lobes.

500+chp w just porting through to the heads, stock cams, headers and exhaust

550chp doable w stock displacement and bottom end. Add Pete cams.

Look at tpepmeir's 427 build for 700+chp and lots of choices in between and up to 441CID.

I agree its apples to oranges but its the theme I like to keep the same. As light weight as possible and rpm as high as possible. At the same time 'bang for the buck' seems to be the smart way to go. if I won the lottery though ... oh boy... I would be doing some really fun stuff with this car !

[rkreigh]

Originally Posted by 5ABI VT

Awesome info Hopefully Ill be treading down this path in the relatively near future.

What options are there for cams? are custom grinds available? Im tempted to want to do something like my LT4 build.. all lightweight, maxilite rods, hollow valves , solid roller etc.

Im thinking offset grind, longer rod, aggressive cams, hollow valves, solid lifter setup and rpm it a bit more for more hp. Not sure how the lifter setup is on the LT5. The s54 in my e46 M3 had a rocker setup that was easy to maintain lash with via swapping shims.

search for some posts from "fastlane" on his monster 421 car with deck plates and solid lifter cams. car did 900 hp "the hard way" with a custom intake and max ported heads at 9000 rpms. he had to pull the heads and change the chains often. adjusting the solid cams requires pulling the engine so it's not for the "faint of heart" to go this direction.

keep in mind one thing, the stock heads "run out of breath" and don't flow enough for max HP at very high rpms. even with solid porting, 7500 is a pretty agressive power peak and the hyd lifters can go to 8k. the chains are suspect at that rpm

solid lifters are major hassle and the rest of the build needs to be "max effort" to make it even remotely possible. then you need to be committed to frequent engine pulls to maintain the adjustment.

I'd be curious to see how long the adjustment would hold. like to see a solid cam motor that could do 50k between tune ups and valve shim adjustments but I honestly don't know if that is feasible.

not too many folks other than fastlane have gone the solid cam route in the LT5 as it's difficult. but it sure would be cool to see an 9k monster!!!

good luck on the build if you decide to do it. I think if you study fastlanes setup you'll learn alot. he did "deck plates" and stretched liners to get a better rod angle (long rods) used a big bore and relatively short stroke, and of course the custom chains he had made up for th longer deck height

as I remember his deck plates were HUGE and something like .4 thick (don't remember the exact thickness)

like to see where that car is now. it's no longer with Fastlane.

Mr. Lane Goldstein anyone hear from him lately? he is an amazing gent to be sure!

[5ABI VT]

Fairly familiar with the fastlane car it's mighty impressive to say the least. Definitely out of the budget unless of course . If solid lifters require pulling the motor it's probably out of the question unless I'm confident I can do the work myself.

I recently saw another lt5 go 9200 rpm on YouTube it's a destroked motor with an individual tb setup for an intake ill post the link up. Very very cool. Got me thinking about rpms again. If the heads can't flow the air I think it's a better bet to stick with the recipe of cubes + as much rpm as reliably possible.

Does the motor need to be pulled to do the cams ? I'm thinking about some cams and intake/ih porting or would the heads need to be ported? Not sure what's the biggest choke point on a stock motor.

[KJL]

I am also curious to know if cams can be changed out with motor in car. That would be the next mod I would consider at this point. I already have porting, headers, exhaust, chip etc...

I also see a Fidanza flywheel is also recommended by many. Is this doable with vehicle on jack stands?

[rkreigh]

Originally Posted by KJL

I am also curious to know if cams can be changed out with motor in car. That would be the next mod I would consider at this point. I already have porting, headers, exhaust, chip etc...

I also see a Fidanza flywheel is also recommended by many. Is this doable with vehicle on jack stands?

while it's technically feasible to time the cams in the car it's not really the best approach and much harder than pulling the motor to do it right

putting a fidanza in the car on jack stands can be done but again NOT really recommended. the ZF 6 speed is a heavy rascal and getting the c beam out can be a hassle without some wiggle room

get a good transmission jack and a lift, it's worth it! I haven't ever done it on jack stands before so I can't comment on how hard it is, but for sure it can be done, just much tougher

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by XfireZ51

When my 5.7L had Pete's intake cams, I really thought it was a very sweet motor. Very smooth. And it was. I was concerned about adding the exhaust cam being too much, too lumpy, too raucous.
NOW, it is just perfect IMO. So tractable, so driveable. It does exactly what you want it to do and when. It would be difficult to go back. And so if I were to go to a larger displacement LT-5, I couldn't imagine spending the money without doing the cams. If anything, the larger displacement NEEDS the bigger cams to take full advantage of the additional cubes.

Dom, did you ever remove the secondary throttle plates, or are they still tied back?

[Paul Workman]

Good topic.

I've got the porting pretty much done on mine as part of my FBI package. So, the topic of a sleeve/off-set with some of Pete's cams...is serious temptation!

However, giving up the Nikasil gives me pause, and I wonder if one is going to do that, then maybe going "whole hog" (AES/closed deck/ stoker) is the better route (for me). And too, part of the reason for pause is Pete's 5.7 often rubs shoulders with motors having over two quarts more displacement and over $10 large more invested: get what is still on the table with the 5.7...I guess is my point. (Then again, Pete probably has $10 large spent on CAM BOLTS by now too! )

[rkreigh]

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

Good topic.

I've got the porting pretty much done on mine as part of my FBI package. So, the topic of a sleeve/off-set with some of Pete's cams...is serious temptation!

However, giving up the Nikasil gives me pause, and I wonder if one is going to do that, then maybe going "whole hog" (AES/closed deck/ stoker) is the better route (for me). And too, part of the reason for pause is Pete's 5.7 often rubs shoulders with motors having over two quarts more displacement and over $10 large more invested: get what is still on the table with the 5.7...I guess is my point. (Then again, Pete probably has $10 large spent on CAM BOLTS by now too! )

I hear you. the stock bottom end is very strong even with the mahle pistons. problem is the rings in that size (stock LT5) cost stupid money. marc was looking for a source but but the time you get a custom piston in the stock bore size and pay for LT5 rings that are made out of unobtanium you can afford the liners and more common 4" bore size.

sooooo.... here's what you do. whip out the old check book and have the AES liners nikasil coated! you'll need to get the correct piston rings but end the end you'll have a super durable low friction finish

problem is the nikasil coat job is likely north of 2k!!!

I thought about doing this too after seeing so many LT5 liners after tear down and replacement. they all look NEW. it's amazing stuff to be sure.

also like to hear more about the plasma coating that ford uses on their new blocks. they spray it on the bear alum block and viola!! a linerless block that runs the numbers.

say what you want about ford, but fron an engineering standpoint they are doing some pretty advanced stuff and are the "brother from another mother" to the DOHC v8s.

chevy needs to get off their dead @$$ and do another LT5 with modern tech. they are too hung up on putting truck motors in the corvette

while I'm impressed with 455-460 hp out of the new LT1. the MY 95 put out a conservative 475 hp in 1995~!! come on guys, the new vette needs 500+ to show the world what we can do.

I guess I'm a HP junkie. anything less than 500 at the tire is "insufficient"

[Kevin]

nikasil is used by audi on their lemans 24 hour endurance winner.