I have yanked the L69 305 in my '84 Z28. My Ram Jet 350 should be here soon. Can the rest of my car handle all this power? What do I need to accomodate all this power?

 

SFC'S, boxed LCA's and poligraphite bushings in the rear to handle the H.P. If you want it to handle as well, STB, wonder bar and poligraphite in the front.Every car could use a shock upgrade if it hasn't already been done. I'm pretty happy with the spring rates and sway bar size in my 84, H.O. Z28. I see no reason to change them.

What tranny do you have? T5's are marginal but will work if you're careful. 700R4's are a little better.

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Nor Cal Mike
Red 84 Z28 HO, stock L82 350, L69 carb, intake, and air cleaner.
5 Spd, 3:73 Posi, 1 5/8" SLP headers, 3"cat connected to
stock L69 exhaust, KYB's, homemade SFC's,STB and wonderbar
Some are faster but mine's fast enough.

 

mike I have the stock 5 speed trans. with a balanced aluminum driveshaft and stock rear.
I'm not sure what the ratio is, do you think I will have problems with this unit?

 

I would get sub-frame connectors too because your car is going to be twisting on launches a lot more than it was. You should have 3.73 gears in the rear since you have a 5spd L69 car.
Let us know the results of your swap. I have been admiring the ramjet in all the mags lately.
Later,


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84 Z28 305HO, 5spd, 220,000 miles, Edelbrock intake, Hedman headers, low restriction exh(w/cat), K&N air filter. Best 1/4 so far 14.649 at 94.77mph

 

84 H.O.,

We're stretching the suspension and chassis topic a bit. But hey, I started it in my reply.

Dito on the 3:73's. My car came equipped with posi so yours might have as well.

The T-5 will work if you use your head. If you want to speed shift or do burnouts the entire drive train is suspect.

Back to the suspension subject: anything that will make your platform more ridged will help you apply the H.P.to the asphalt instead of twisting up like a pretzel. This would be the case with the L69 and is compounded by higher H.P. numbers. All of the above mentioned suggestions are necessary. Does your car have T tops? If so you can multiply those factors again.

My car has T tops and it has stress cracks in the roof @ upper rear corners of the side windows (I think it's called the "B" pillar). This is caused by chassis flex.

Bear in mind that any modifications to increase traction will put more pressure on every other part of the equation. If you're not dissipating energy potential as wheel spin or body twist, that energy will be transfered thru out your entire drive train as it seeks to create forward motion. The weakest link in the chain will break first and so on.

If you have room, save that L69. It's a real sleeper motor. Mine is tucked away in the corner of my garage.

Mike

[This message has been edited by Nor Cal Mike (edited March 17, 2001).]

 

thanks alot mike, my car does have t tops and i do intend to figure that into the equation, do you know if one company carries all the suspension components i need? I've heard kenny brown is really good and i do have the money to spend for quality components. i know about the L69, I have street raced many cars in the month i've had it and beat them with just a dominator intake and open element air cleaner. I plan to rebuild it and supercharge it for another cheap camaro.

 

I can't help you with that, most of that stuff on my car is home made. I have two kids headed into college so store bought parts are a luxury for me.

Poligraphite parts are a no brainer, they're all pretty much the same.

. If you can weld,you can get LCA boxing plates from Jegs for 20 bucks. But if you can weld why spend 20 bucks on two little plates that you can cut out yourself for pennies. Steve Spohn sells some pretty clean tubular LCA's pretty reasonably.There are also adjustable and non adjustable LCA's. You will spend more for the ones with Heim joints at one end. If you race, their worth the money. If not, save your money to buy dinner for your girl(or your daughters college).

I like SFC's that run from end to end, behind the rocker panel and also brace diagonally to the area near the trans mount.

I like 3 point STB's, though I haven't seen any on a car with a Ram Jet. A brace intended for TPI will probably work but you are in uncharted territory on that one.

Wonder bars are available from any IROC in the junk yard. For what you pay the junker plus the cost for a can of spray paint you can probably get a brand new one from a varity of places. They aint rocket science.

Throw that open element air cleaner away and put your stock H.O. cold air set up back on.Open air is model T science and isn't as good, especially if you're running a healthy motor that is only a quarter point or so away from preignition. I'd rather run cold air and advance the initial timing to the edge to squeeze a few extra pony's. But that doesn't belong on a suspension page.

Mike

[This message has been edited by Nor Cal Mike (edited March 18, 2001).]

 

I recommend the Spohn subframe connectors...

If i were you i would start putting some money back for a 6spd to complement that engine...

there are several places to get the other parts...

www.spohn.com
www.bmrfabrications.com
www.jegs.com
www.summitracing.com

just to name a few...

good luck...

later,
Chris

 

craig the ram jet looks great in the crate!

 

It will look ever better when it's fitted in the bay

We want pictures when it's installed

Rob

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1987 IROC-Z Auto (LB9)
Black/grey interior with the stance of a streetfighter
I like to think of her as Arnold Schwartzeneger in a dinner suit

Mods
Custom exhaust. 4 Inch pipe from the headders all the way back to a single muffler at the rear. No Cat. K&Ns, AFPR and Air foil.

Future mods:
Cam change
New torque converter
New heads (maybe corvette L98)
Strut brace
Sub frame connectors
Ram Air

Current G-Tech times
0-60mph 6.26 seconds
1/4 14.74@100.2mph