170K Mile Engine Refresh

[Ashen 6.2]

Originally Posted by trashbasket

lol aint that the truth. Be careful, its a slippery slope. I had 650whp, then that wasn't enough. Went to 800whp, now I'm preparing to go to 1000whp. All the while for the street, 650 rwhp was honestly fine. Get all kinds of stupid issues past that point not to mention the $$$. Do the suspension/gearing work, and use the power you have more effectively is my suggestion. Dyno numbers < Track times

Its a very, very slippery slope...

[SSFury]

Originally Posted by trashbasket

lol aint that the truth. Be careful, its a slippery slope. I had 650whp, then that wasn't enough. Went to 800whp, now I'm preparing to go to 1000whp. All the while for the street, 650 rwhp was honestly fine. Get all kinds of stupid issues past that point not to mention the $$$. Do the suspension/gearing work, and use the power you have more effectively is my suggestion. Dyno numbers < Track times

That actually sounds really reasonable. And yes, 650 is fun on the street. I have a '23 ZL1 also thats 650 out the door from the factory. But I'm not going to track a car that's under warrantee and I'm going to be making payments on for the next foreseeable future.

That's where the SS comes in. And Yes, Arizona, it is for the Tucson Dragway. I actually havent been to the track yet. I was prepping the car to take to the track for the first time when the coolant and shavings were discovered in my oil. So since things have to come apart to anyways, just looking to use this opportunity to make any upgrades people think would help.

I see Texas Speed makes "Brawler" heads that are supposed to be a direct swap for LS 3 components, they say they add 25 HP. Thinking about doing that, not sure yet. I have lots of time.. I just had to pay $900 to register the ZL1. For 1 year.. cant wait to pay that again next year...

[morepowerjoe]

Originally Posted by SSFury

That actually sounds really reasonable. And yes, 650 is fun on the street. I have a '23 ZL1 also thats 650 out the door from the factory. But I'm not going to track a car that's under warrantee and I'm going to be making payments on for the next foreseeable future.

That's where the SS comes in. And Yes, Arizona, it is for the Tucson Dragway. I actually havent been to the track yet. I was prepping the car to take to the track for the first time when the coolant and shavings were discovered in my oil. So since things have to come apart to anyways, just looking to use this opportunity to make any upgrades people think would help.

I see Texas Speed makes "Brawler" heads that are supposed to be a direct swap for LS 3 components, they say they add 25 HP. Thinking about doing that, not sure yet. I have lots of time.. I just had to pay $900 to register the ZL1. For 1 year.. cant wait to pay that again next year...

You do know that 650 whp is different then 650 crank right?

[Moto-Mojo]

I live vicariously through these threads. I'm too old and cheap to spend big bucks on something that will inevitably either break, or become unsatisfactory. But I love to read about y'all's journeys!

As a child of the 70's (born in '56 but too young to take advantage of the real 1960's muscle) and having lived through LOW performance cars of the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, 400HP is fun on the street too. More than once this car has almost gotten away from me. I cannot imagine 1000HP on the street. But good on ya's who have it!

[SSFury]

I hear ya Moto, my problem is what used to be my "Fun money" to build up the SS, is now going towards car payments for the ZL1. The cool thing about that, is it free's up the SS to do whatever I want.. but I can no longer afford to DO what I want.

[AlisoBob]

Originally Posted by NiteProwlerSS

I agree with this, have you actuallty verified this? Its hard to trust people these days.

If you drove it to the shop without any hint of trouble, I find it real hard to believe you oil was full of coolant and metal shavings......

Or, that was just a BS story you told the wifey to justify the build.

[AlisoBob]

Originally Posted by SSFury

what used to be my "Fun money" to build up the SS, is now going towards car payments for the ZL1. The cool thing about that, is it free's up the SS to do whatever I want.

Your doing this totally backwards. Leave the SS stock, as your grocery getter, and build the ZL1.

Your really considering pumping $$$$$ into the SS? At the end of the day, it will still be slower than the ZL1.

[ariZona28]

Originally Posted by AlisoBob

Your doing this totally backwards. Leave the SS stock, as your grocery getter, and build the ZL1.

Your really considering pumping $$$$$ into the SS? At the end of the day, it will still be slower than the ZL1.

I'm kinda in the opposite camp. Mod and tinker with the SS since it already needs major surgery. There wil no doubt be plenty of late night wrenching sessions in the garage that may leave you angry and frustrated. No better cure for that than a nice therapy drive in your unmolested 650 HP ZL1. And if it's a hot AZ summer night you can even crank the A/C!

[SSFury]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

I'm kinda in the opposite camp. Mod and tinker with the SS since it already needs major surgery. There wil no doubt be plenty of late night wrenching sessions in the garage that may leave you angry and frustrated. No better cure for that than a nice therapy drive in your unmolested 650 HP ZL1. And if it's a hot AZ summer night you can even crank the A/C!

You got it exactly right. She needs surgery. Let's be honest, at 170K miles, the seals are going bad, and should be changed anyways. I can park it in the garage, put it up on wheel chocks, and take my time fixing whatever needs to be fixed. Whether it be cheesy things like Lifter trays, timing chain cover, or just oil pan gasket, and head gaskets.. When I reinstalled my heads after the cam change, I installed ARP Head Studs, so I don't even need to buy new bolts to take off the heads. People laughed at me when I did it, saying I wasted my money, now I'm going to reap the benefits of fore-planning.

Saying "Don't mod the SS" isn't even a thing. It's had 14 years worth of mods, there is very little stock on it now days, except the engine lower end, heads, and transmission. And it needs to be gone over, even if nothing is severely wrong. Might as well take this opportunity to fix things, since I already missed my first attempt to take it to a race, so that when its ready, I don't miss the next one.

[morepowerjoe]

Originally Posted by SSFury

You got it exactly right. She needs surgery. Let's be honest, at 170K miles, the seals are going bad, and should be changed anyways. I can park it in the garage, put it up on wheel chocks, and take my time fixing whatever needs to be fixed. Whether it be cheesy things like Lifter trays, timing chain cover, or just oil pan gasket, and head gaskets.. When I reinstalled my heads after the cam change, I installed ARP Head Studs, so I don't even need to buy new bolts to take off the heads. People laughed at me when I did it, saying I wasted my money, now I'm going to reap the benefits of fore-planning.

Saying "Don't mod the SS" isn't even a thing. It's had 14 years worth of mods, there is very little stock on it now days, except the engine lower end, heads, and transmission. And it needs to be gone over, even if nothing is severely wrong. Might as well take this opportunity to fix things, since I already missed my first attempt to take it to a race, so that when its ready, I don't miss the next one.

That's exactly what I would do too!