Its official!

[1986Z28]

charlie(thats me) is now the official owner of a 1986 Z28, bought it last friday, has the wimpy little 305 4bbl making like 155hp, but not for long, going to build a 350, .010 under stock steel crank, lt1/lt4 powdered metal connecting rods, speed pro forged aluminum .030 over flat top pistons, comp cams cam kit(somewhere around .480 lift) stock cast heads(casting number 441) 1.94/1.50 valves. my goal is about 400 hp at the crank, going to rebuild the stock 700r4 or build a th350, going to run a 2500 stall converter, and hopefully do a 4th gen rearend swap. it has 3.23 gears with an open carrier, id like to upgrade to 3.73 with a posi and rear disc brakes, going to order up sine rear suspension stuff from hawks third gen. ket me know what you guys think










BUT HERES THE RALLY BIG NEWS!

ITS 2 DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY!!!! SO WHAT DID YOU GET ME?

[1986Z28]

what? no one cares?

[Earlsfat]

babs... i'm disappointed.

350? 400hp? You wuss. You want everyone else to have a gazillion CI engines and you're putting in paltry 350??? (just kidding - it's a little different when you have to actually PAY for those giant engines, lol)

Seriously though.. Nice maro. Looks like it's in pretty decent shape bodywise from the pic's. Is the frame and all in good condition?

Looks like you could have a lot of fun with that thing, being as you won't reallly be caring about restoring it. I think you should go with an aluminum dash and door panels. I think the straight lines of the body would work good with it. I'll post up pics of mine when I get it done.

Have fun brother.

[stepho]

Cool congrats on the car!

and for your birthday I won't steal it. Hows that sound?

[Earlsfat]

oh and HB! Drink a few for me.... And a couple for Earl.

[666_speed]

Happy birthday, looks like a good project!

[poormillionaire2]

Well, someone isn't wasting any time and is diving right in. Good luck on the project. And happy b-day, have a cold one for me.

[Rally Sport]

First off.. congrats on the car, looks pretty good from the pics.

And what I am gunna give you for your birthday is advice.. and that is "Rebuild the 700r4"

[FormulaLT1]

sweet dude. I see the makings for a very bad ass car right there.

[Blue Bowtie]

ket me know what you guys think

I think someone needs to mow their lawn.

I think you should be shopping for ground effects/mouldings. Try the classifieds at ThirdGen.org.

I think the body looks relatively straight, unless the hood is being held up by a wrinkle on the front.

I also think you could do a little better than 3932441 castings to cover the holes. 76cc chambers, less than 160cc port volumes, and 1.94/1.50 valves. Even the '083 castings with the same size valve and much tighter 58cc chambers flows virtually the same on the intake side and 25% better than the '441s on the exhaust side. And the '083s have a lot more port volume right out of the box, so they respond much better to valve enlargement and easy bowl hogging, and can tolerate porting to a more reasonable size. '441s have 155cc runner volumes and flow 201 IN/137 EX @ 0.500" with 1.94/1.50s, whereas '083s have 164cc runner volumes as cast and flow 199 IN/167 EX @0.500" with the same valves.

I think that there might already be '416 castings on the '86, which may be better than the '441s in stock form, and have very snug 58cc chambers.

But I think you have some time to think about it.

I think 400 BHP should be easy. I've had 355s doing 423HP on pump gas and a single carb, nothing special.

I think if you look closely you might find a 9-bolt axle under the car, and if you still want to swap in a 4th Gen axle, let me know - I've got dibs on your "junk" Borg 9-bolt.

I also think you have a little work ahead of you.

I think you need tyres with more/better wearing tread on the sidewalls.

And I think I'm going to re-gift the same gift you got me last year. I hope you like it. I'd tell you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

[stepho]

whats shaganappl?

[1986Z28]

how do i tell if it has a 9 bolt, my mower threw a rod through the block, and i wasnt going to dip into my maro fund to buy a new one, got some new ground effects already(along with a new driver side doorhandle) hood latch is bent and that is why its sits like that, cars has been sitting for a while so it needs tires, a battery, and im looking for some stock iroc wheels for it. going to change all the fluids before i start it, btw shaganappi is a chevrolet dealership, going to throw some subframe connectors at it, along with an adjustable panhard bar, and some boxed LCA's, interior is decent, no rips or tears in seats, needs a dash pad(if you have a good one let me know please) carpet is rough, still has the factory space saver spare, car has 62000 miles rebuilt motor, and i only payed 1300 if you can believe that

[DeusEx]

Nice car...
Reminds me of when i got my 84' z28...

[Blue Bowtie]

how do i tell if it has a 9 bolt

Umm... You could count the cover bolts. But if you're like me and run out of fingers or get confuseled before you get to nine, you could just look for the rubber fill plug on the rear of the stamped housing cover (the one with the nine bolts holding it on).

If you're lucky enough to have scored an Aussie axle,you may want to keep it. It's just a wee, tad bit stronger than a 7-5/8 10-bolt Saginaw axle. Unless you can get a Zexel-Torsen differential in a 8½" housing 10-bolt, it's not worth switching. Then again, parts for the 9-bolts are not as common either.

As for the boxed LCAs, it's very easy to cut a filler and stitch weld it into the factory LCAs, then install polygraphite bushings. Converting the factory "track bar" (panhard rod) to a accept adjustment is just as easy. Don't overlook the torque arm and mounts (both ends).

You might also want to compare Spohn's SFCs.

A STB and "wonder bar" are great if you want to push the car in corners. If you're just going for 1,320' drives, they're only extra, unnecessary weight.

[Blue Bowtie]

Oh, never mind. I missed the part about the "3.23 gears" earlier. My bad.

A Borg axle would not be a one-legger, and would have either 2.77, 3.27, or 3.45 ratios. A Saginaw axle would be 2.73, 3.23, or 3.42 ratios. Time to go shopping.