frenchyd we're a bit off topic (that's never happened here) but I've planned for an engine rebuild, custom driveshaft, custom rear end, springs & possibly sway bars.
The fabrication work is not my problem, my fabricator wants to do this so, any issues that arise he will tackle as part of the challenge. He as the ability to install the Datsun body on top of an F5000 car if he wanted to.
In reply to Tom1200 :
I have no doubt based on your assurance that indeed he can do as you say. However, you still face the unknown.
Hopefully unlike most racing projects yours will work perfectly the first time with no further modifications.
KISS = less grief. Or so we naively believe.
If we move forward with the project it won't be until December of this year............at least now I know what I'm going to do with the exhaust.
In reply to Tom1200 :
Hopefully you'll find suitable aluminum heads, intake, water pump, etc to minimize the engine weight. Plus I would error on the side of power at High RPM over torque at low RPM. Also a 4 speed instead of 5 speed because with that much power to weight you will not need overdrive ( which all T5's have). And I think the 4 speed will be lighter.
If it were me I'd error on the side of lightness over power. Part of the magic of your car is it's lightness. Simply by use of a V8 power shouldn't be an issue. Too much power will cause weight gain as you try to figure a way to control it.
I'm not a big fan of LS engine noise. The LFX sounds fantastic though.
I think in general overhead cam V8's sound better... the 4v Ford mod motors in particular sound absolutely amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzpDOFOvdek
If you don't think this sounds good, you're wrong :D
This is why I got laughed at when I said the exhaust I 'want' for the BMW is going to cost a lot of money.
Its currently dual straight pipe into the OEM muffler from 1994, and surprisingly quiet and people don't believe it's a small-block under the hood, which is cool in a sleeper kind of way but....
I'd like for it to have a bit of a voice that still makes people second guess what engine is under the hood. So I have been looking at crossover designs, pipe sizing and muffler options, hopefully I can make it not sound like a ragged out small block with flowmasters on it.
Of course, I have been told all the old tales of losing horsepower by using mufflers or crossovers or changing pipe diameter...
In reply to DjGreggieP :
Sounds like an electric cutout would solve the noise issue for you without all of the headache of swapping the exhaust around.
I find the most of the time I hear any modern engine that sounds like garbage is the owner has deleted the resonators when they put on an exhaust.
@frenchyd all of the parts I speak of are available from Jegs/Summit etc. As for the transmissions the 4 speed is maybe 10lbs lighter and I may actually need the overdrive for some tracks. I'm only looking at the 250-300hp range the motor wont be stressed at all.
@Z31maniac duly noted.
Stampie said:
I'm a GM fan boy but Ford V8s sounds better. It's the firing order iirc.
AFAIK, Early ford firing order is the same as GM. But they do label cylinders differently so that's confusing.
In reply to Tom1200 :
You probably will find that in aluminum the heads aren't that much different cost wise than having yours properly rebuilt.
If you're going to go to Holley, in the past they've had factory sales post Thanksgiving that is lower priced than outlets like Jegs, Summit, etc. are and they are very helpful regarding jets fuel pumps etc. They didn't offer carbs set up to use E85 but that might have changed in the past few of years.
If you're replacing the cam, if you over cam it slightly you'll find the bottom end a tad bit softer ( easier on rear end etc) with the ability to continue to use it as you find more power.
iansane said:
Stampie said:
I'm a GM fan boy but Ford V8s sounds better. It's the firing order iirc.
AFAIK, Early ford firing order is the same as GM. But they do label cylinders differently so that's confusing.
One time, I drew 8 circles on a bar napkin, wrote some cylinder numbers on it, and some firing orders. I found out that the regular Chevy firing order and the old Ford firing order were mechanically the same, and the Chevy LS firing order and the 351W/5.0 HO firing order were as well.