Betty White, the now not so neglected race car

[DRIVEN]

If you eventually go LS, hold out and spend the extra money for an aluminum block variant. Every pound counts when you're moving weight away from the centerline.

[HRH]

100 pounds lighter on the all aluminum. That's pretty impressive. BUT, the cast iron is more durable for flogging. Plus, price will dictate a lot into this. I can find iron blocks everywhere, aluminum are a little harder to find, but mainly more expensive. Maybe I'll just do a 6 liter.

https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/engi ... s-engines/

[HRH]

So an L28 weighs about 450 pounds after digging around. The LM7 at full dress is 580 pounds with more hp and displacement. It's no wonder so many go V8 in their Z cars. Purist be damned. I'm still going to try and get the turbo car running because losing on the head annoys me. Plus it's all there, so much less work. But I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start squirreling away cash for an LS/LM swap.

The aluminum is 500 pounds full dress, according to this website:

http://bdturnkeyengines.com/engine-dimensions

Either way, going the cheap iron block route only gets me 130-140 pounds heavier, although less since I still wouldn't be running power steering, so let's figure 550. Barely 100 pounds more for a V8 that made 270 hp stock. That sounds like a recipe for reliability if I ever heard one. The only real annoyance would be finding a cheap T56. I'd rather not run an auto trans for autocross.

Wouldn't be running AC either and that's shown in the picture, that's another 20 pounds. Realistically because it's farther back, less than 100 pounds difference is well worth it.

[DRIVEN]

You'd definitely notice it though. Not so much the extra weight but because it's closer to the corners. My dad had 2 SBC Zs. One was iron head and handled like shit in spite of a huge front swaybar. It actually cracked the LS rail from stress. The other car was iron block but everything else was aluminum and/or relocated. That car had some suspension work too. It handled quite a bit better but you could still feel the extra weight.

Just thought I'd pass along some first hand experience if you haven't had an opportunity to drive a V8 Z car before.
Carry on .

[HRH]

Yeah, the frame rails on Zs are pretty weak. Luckily, since this was a chump car, that has already been strengthened, and the roll cage goes through the firewall and ties into the strut towers. It's pretty damn rigid. Definitely appreciate the info though. If it happens, I'll see if I can get an aluminum version, 100 pounds is 100 pounds. Either way it's a pipe dream for right now. I have too many other projects to finish before worrying about the Z really. It's last on the list since racing isn't all that great in covid times.

[Laecaon]

Aluminum block or bust.

Toyota 1UZ is real light too.

[HRH]

Toyota?! BLASPHEMY!! KILL THE UNBELIEVER!!!! Can't do Toyota. I might die a little inside.

[HRH]

Holy crap, I started checking on prices for LS1,2,3s. All the aluminum engines are stupid expensive. Anywhere from 2200-5000 for a decent runner. Whereas all the iron block LM7 truck engines are sub 1000, and plentiful. It'll likely get the heavier engine. 100 pounds isn't worth another 1-4 grand. Not for what I'm doing. And if the car weighs about 2200 pounds, then it'll still only weigh 2300 pounds. In my thinking, it's still going to be further back than the L, so really it should handle just fine. If I find a good deal on an LS, I'll jump on it, but the cheap money is definitely iron block.

I did request the LS engine bible book for Christmas though, so I should have a bit of reading to do. And plenty of time to make a decision.

[DRIVEN]

IIRC the V8 Trailblazer / Rainier / Envoy got aluminum block 5.3s. They show up in the yards occasionally. Weird pan but otherwise same as 5.3 in full size trucks.

[HRH]

Yeah I read up on those, problem is, they lump in with the Corvettes and Camaros for price if bought from a yard. If I get lucky enough to find one in pull and save, that would be the best option. But something like 25% of those are aluminum block, which is pretty slim pickings. Never know though, I might find a good one.

[DRIVEN]

I'm poor so I always just assume PickNPull.

[HRH]

I would too, but when I can get an around 200k known good engine with compression numbers for 7-800 bucks, that's more worth it to me. Pretty much all the engines I grab at pns are going to be cores for rebuild unless I have some history, which is rare to get. You can back check stuff off the vin through carfax or whatever, but it's still largely a pull it and find out if it's fucked, unless you drop the pan in the yard and look for shavings. Sometimes you get lucky, but a lot of times, there's a reason its at pull and save.

Like back in the day, all the L motors were just fine, usually a carb issue or something and sat a long time, so they got rid of it. New stuff is pretty damn reliable so unless it's a dead trans or roached other stuff, it's a bit harder to get lucky. Not for rebuild of course, that's easy enough. But if I wanted a guaranteed running engine, it's a safer bet to spend way less time and 500 bucks more for a clean running engine.

[HRH]

Got her up on jackstands tonight, getting ready to drain the trans, then yank the engine and trans. Then it's a matter of how much of a core support cut I want to keep, and getting the rear end out, then the rest on the trailer for the scrap run. Got a lot of good stuff to save though. Think I'm going to cut off the roof instead of removing the sunroof. Just going to nip it close at the b pillars and keep it in one slab.

[Laecaon]

Draynor has bought multiple F bodies for 1k or lower, pulled the engine/tranny, and sold the body for his original purchase price. Free engine.

[HRH]

Hmmm, I don't know who would want the body around here. Sounds like a bit of a pain in the butt. I feel like that scene in Snatch. "I create the bodies, I don't erase the bodies." Lol. I'm on the erasing side.

[HRH]

I got the extractors and tried tonight to get the last insert out. The problem is the insert is so thing. 20mm hole making an 18mm insert. 2 mils spacer then. I tried the extractor and got off some chunks. Then took the dremel and cut two lines 180 degrees from each other to try and break out the insert. It's stuck nice and tight. Basically I have a pig's breakfast in a deep hole and I can't get it out unless I re-break out the bottom of the hole we just welded up. And even then, I risk screwing up the 20mm threads. At that point, I'd need to cut something even bigger into it. It's just become a problem.

The next time I try to convert one of these heads I'll buy the proper kit (160 or more) and take a lot more time to do it. Either way, I'm left with little options. I think what I'm going to do is use the Wynona head. I did some calculations, it should only raise the compression to 9.1:1 or thereabouts. It's an N47 peanut head with liners. Not great, I know. The intake valve is smaller, exhaust is the same. The stock boost is only 7 pounds I think. I'm thinking if I get lucky, I should be able to run that and make decent power and not melt the liners. And if it does, fuck it. Then I'll go V8.

The only other option is putting a different engine in. I'd like to stay L since I have the KA trans I wanted to use with the modified L bellhousing. Not that I couldn't put the KA bellhousing back on I supposed. But I already have it together.

The cheap easy money is the old Wynona head. It's not my first choice, but theoretically with the dish of the L28 pistons, it should run pretty nicely. As long as it doesn't blow up.

The other thought is a 4 cylinder L, or a 4 cylinder KA and turbo that. I have the aftermarket EFI on it, so the only annoyance is building manifolds, which isn't that problematic. However, I don't think I have any 4 cylinder options left in the garage to build. Don't think I have any L 4 cyl, though I might have a head leftover. I'll have to check. I suppose I could always get an L20 block at PNS and do something like that. Of course, all this requires more time and effort.

Pretty good chance I'm just going to put the Maxima head back together and roll the dice. If it blows up, it blows up. Then it will get a 5.3 Chevy.

[HRH]

Alright, found a crack in between the intake and exhaust in the middle on the old Ugly Betty head. That explains why she just wasn't running as well when I cut her up. It also means the N47 head is unusable. Fortunately, I had a P79 peanut head squirreled away, it looks good. Going to have to get it pressure tested on Monday, but hopefully that will give me something I can use to put this motor back together.

[wayno]

Wow, it's always something isn't it, I hope it works out for you with the P79 head.

[HRH]

Alright, P79 head is good. Have it in the basement ready to start assembling and have the garage stove warming up the workspace to actually put the head on today. We'll see how far I get. I have some instructions to grind a few things for better air flow, which normally I'd be all for, but I'm debating just sticking it together. Going to get the valves out first since I have to swap the valve springs, then figure it out from there.

[HRH]

Ok, the head is finally assembled! The garage is relatively warm, next up is dog walk while it's still light, then scraping the block clean. Then install head studs, then put on head. I was going to adjust the valves too, but I think I'm going to say screw it and just settle for getting the head on the block today and torqueing it down. That in itself seems like a milestone.

I'm using the mid-grind cam from Wynona, the P79 is basically the same chamber and intake valve. Exhaust has liners, that's the only difference. Fortunately the manifold on this car is diamond shaped just like the Maxima, so there won't be any issues save liner vs. no liner. Either way, it should work just fine.