I've been saving every dime i get latley to get rid of my sorry LO3....and have been planning on getting a crate motor....My Uncle has the ZZ4 350 in his Nova...and says he loves it....i was wondering if anyone has put one in their 3rd gen...and if so if they liked it

I purchased the ZZ4 shortblock and built the rest up. I'm hoping for 425 hp anyway. One thing that surprised me was they are made/assembled in Mexico. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I think most of the present GM crate engines and production engines come from there. Anyway, the engine is nearly completed but my car isn't ready yet to drop it in. I think I will be very happy with it from what I've read.

Replacement engines have been, but the performance crates are not.

I wasn't sure. I did notice at a local swap meet that a Chevy dealership was present at and had their crate engines on display. They all had the made in Mexico stamp on the blocks. ZZ4's, ZZ383's, I think. I also noticed the vortec heads had the made in Mexico stamped in them. The heads were purchased from Scoggin-Dickey along with the shortblock.

You might want to try the search function. This particular topic has been covered a lot!

I did this swap and the engine is awesome. It is real streetable with a 670cfm holley SA carb but still has 355 hp and 400lbft of torque.

I did a lot of research before buying this engine - going to shops, calling crate engine dealers, reading online, etc. What I found is you would be REAL hard pressed to find a better deal having some shop build a similar combo (4 bolt main, Al heads, 350HP). You wouldn't even save much money doing it yourself.

If you are looking for a great street engine with lots of torque, this is your ticket. It has the most torque of any of the 350 crates out there. It would be a good truck engine too. The power is great too. It's got enough power to push you back in your seat out on the open highway.

I've had the ZZ4 crate for about 1 1/2 years now and have been very happy with it - no problems or oil leaks. Also it is a direct bolt in except for one pass. side accessory bolt hole you will have to drill and tap. You also need an oil filter adapter and probably a different starter to match the flywheel.

One thing about the ZZ4 I see as a limiting factor are the heads it comes with. If you want to go out and make 400+HP you will probably find yourself upgrading the heads to ones with bigger valves (the ZZ4 heads are smaller than most aftermarket 350 heads). I don't see this as a problem with the ZZ4 - just the way it is designed - more torque at the sacrifice of more HP.

Bottom line, if you arent into hardcore high HP drag racing yet this is a great engine with a great value to get you around on the street with a TON of torque. I've been real happy with it.