I'm putting the L48 back in . Just because I like doing engine swaps (just kidding about the liking it part) There's nothing wrong with the 383, it does what it's supposed to: makes the car haul butt! Here's my reasoning:

1. Can ONLY use the power the 383 has on the track. All the roads I drive OTW to work are 45 MPH tops. People drive 55, but if I get a shot at a clear road and a WOT sprint to 55 twice per week I am lucky.

2. Buying the Vette in the first place was my wife's idea. Now she's afraid to drive it. She NEVER gives me a hard time about ANYTHING I do to the car, and it makes me feel bad she can't even use it. She is in full support of my final goal

3. MPG and insurance. I drive, not trailer, the car to Bradenton and Moroso to race. Bradenton is 90 miles away and Moroso 150. The L48 got 12-15mph in town, over 20 on the highway. The 383 gets 6-7 around town, 15-17 on the highway. I'm paying insurance on 3 cars instead of 2. Our Prizm is getting sold. I'll end up with the Vette and a tow vehicle for reason 5.

4. Stress on the stock driveline. My BTO tranny will handle it, but not sure about Ujoints, 1/2 shafts, and differential. Olivier went through 2 differentials behind this motor. I already have 18 1/4 mile passes and 12 1/8th mile passes and I don't want to wear the motor out before I get to the good part, reason 5.

5. When funds become available, I'm going to buy a back-halved track car and use the 383 in it. I didn't make this decision in a vacuum. Glensgages knows his stuff about drag racing and showed me that you don't have to be fast in brackets, just consistent. He has shown me what kind of car setup is consistent and reliable for the track. Olivier has moved in that direction, at first I thought he was nuts for wanting a solid rear axle, but if you're pounding the rear end with his kind of HP and going in a straight line, there's no need for an IRS (he paid a LOT for a HD IRS but mainly becuase the solid axle conversion was taking too long). Dep also recently ran a thread about solid rear axles. They just make sense for a track car.

So for now, I'll still be able to run in brackets with little power to break anything and hopefully consistently. In the mean time I'll be saving money for a back halved Vette and have the 79 as a driver for my wife to run her errands or for me to take to work.

 

Sounds like a good well thought out plan that will give you something to do and look foreward too at the same time, as well as bring your wife some fun. Good luck.

 

Your point about solid axle vs irs for straight line "work" is valid. I have never drag raced my Vette for the same concerns about the rear end. But autocrossing is another matter.
Good plan,and good luck with your new racer.

 

Are you sure you want to listen to Glen, he lives awfully close to Pittsburgh and may have been altered by all that steel foundry smoke travelling over the hills to his place?

Now on the other hand, I live only miles from 3 Mile Island and we're just fine here, we don't even need street lights because we all have the "glow."

Your approach sounds like a plan to me, although I am doing to opposite, I am swapping in a 383 because I sold my 2003 Cobra and all I have left are trucks and SUVs, I have the need for speed. The little lady is the daughter of a Stock/A national record holder from the 60's so all she wants to do is go faster.

 

WOW, thats alot of work just so your wife can drive it....are you sure about this???

 

Just swap out the cam, will decrease upper end power, increase torq and increase gas mileage.

 

You may want to re-think letting your wife drive it.

My wife managed to wreck her Yukon and My "Pet" truck both with in 7 days of the first accident. I'm thinking that she will never drive "Her" vette again...it should now become my vette.

 

yeah, but she's worth it! Glen sent me links to a few race cars for sale online. When my wife saw one of the C2's she said "GET IT NOW"!

I don't feel comfortable enough financially to buy one right now, BUT with that kind of support from my wife, it's the LEAST I can do.

Besides then I can drive the 79 on the street again with a clear conscience, not worry about wearing out my race motor, or wasting a ton of gas.

Besides, the L48 will be in a slightly improved environment since the 383 install. Better fuel supply (went to electric), better carb, and better cooling (electric fan).

 

mark
what are the specs on the 2 cams?
?
i'd keep the 383 but go for a wide LSA that will get good mpg, yet still pull strong at top end.
it will have LESS torque and be wife friendly. Yet have excellent high rpm HP for the track.

 

Matt,
The cam in the 383 is a solid cam: 238/248 degrees @.050, .525/.540
the cam in the L48 is a Comp 270H hydraulic 224 .470 If I remember correctly.

One thing working against me in the high RPM scenario is my 3.36 gears.

 

Sounds like a plan....except for one thing...the purchase of a back-halved vette. If you're going drag racing, you would be better off with a different type of car. In all my times here and on other boards, I've noticed that people say they get more oomph for their drag money with non-vettes. If you spend $X on a drag vette and $X on a (nova, chevelle, camaro), the non-vette will be faster. Bence13 went through all this same stuff a coupla years ago.

 

your reasoning makes good sense..it's the same philosophy i am using when I build my next engine... 427 small block... mild cam and head.. I just want the displacement...

 

Sell both and buy a LS1.

 

You're completely right. I gave that serious consideration too. I LOVE the Gen 1 Camaros. BUT I won't be able to run in the Corvette Challenge with my race car if it's not a Vette. I know I could still run the 79 with the L48, but I think it would be hard to switch back and forth. Besides, the Challenge is a safe, friendly environment for me to make a complete jerk out of myself the first time I run the car.

It's tough to compete with Norm and all the LOTAHP and Olivier and all his money!

 

sounds reasonable to me....driving them is whats fun

 

Hey, now!!!!!

I resemble that remark!!!!!


While it IS true that you'll get "more-cluck-for-the-buck" with anything-OTHER than a Corvette, a Corvette is 'different' and 'special':
I speak from experience, with a 27,000 original-mile, one-owner '79 Z28 that won it's fair-share of bracket-races, but people walk right past it.....
it is "just another Camaro....." in staging lanes FULL of them.

As for Bence13_33's Corvette, I personally saw him click-off 12-teens at a buck-16 many times, and the car was drunk with horsepower, but he was asking the stock chassis to do things it couldn't possibly-do:
I believe Iso's thinking is that, under the body, a back-halved Corvette isn't any different (structurally) from any-other back-halved car (other-than wheel-base), offers the best platform from to build a drag-race car, regardless of how-quick and fast you'd like to go, and he'll STILL be in Corvette out on the strip (which REALLY scares the NCRS-crowd!)!


A properly back-halved (narrowed frame-rails, 4-link 9" Ford housing with H/D axles, 33" x 15" slicks, etc.) car won't break a sweat with Iso's 383 SBC:
I'm planning-on building a very similar '80 Corvette, but with an even-milder motor (355 CID, 425 HP), and my chassis will probably 'laugh' at what I'm throwing at it!!!!!

 

mark
i like least cost solutions,
so swap in the 350.
next year
swap in the 383 for the race.
i can swap motors faster than cam swaps. in your case it is almost zero cost

 

You're right Matt. I can swap motors faster than cams....esepcially since I've never actually done a cam, but I have done motors.

Anyway, it'll just cost me a few new exhaust gaskets.

After pulling all the accessories tonight, I'll be glad to have a race car with no accessories to work around. My 79 has working air, PS, PB. Just more stuff in the way that complicates motor R&R.

 

What a minute. This is all making way too much sence here. Driving a mild L48 daily (because ur skills can now keep ur C3 classic on the road) and building a race only car for fun is too good an idea. Just because u got into the 12's before i got my mtr to run again doesn't mean u know what u want. And with plenty of late '70s & early '80s C3s collecting dust in garages throughout the country because no-one can fix thier computer controlled Qjet carb or Backfire(Crossfire) Injection (or afford to), not much chance of finding a nice donor car to back-half. Waiting for a good deal to save big $$$ is foolish. Spend, spend, spend and then spend more $$$ rather than let ur hobby car sit around for the right parts and it's timely for u to work on it while saving money.
Since insurance won't cover ur car at the drags why would u want insurance coverage for ur daily driver/hobby classic C3 if crashed?

What ever pushes ur piston iso - do it. U can write ur own equations now. cardo0

 

That doesn't help Cardo

There are few nice cars available now but I have to wait! :ack

I know, I'm trying to use common sense, when owning a Vette in the first place violates all the practicality rules of common sense.

Update; the 383 is swinging from the hoist our of the engine bay

Tech time for al considering engine swaps: this time I didn't pull the radiator, just disconneted the hoses. With the electric fan setup and no shroud there was plenty of room. Also, I only disconnected the wires from the starter and was able to do this from the top with the headers out of the way. The starter cleared the fram without problem. Power steering bracket attached to the motor mount is still on as is waterpump. I'll switch all that over tonight. I have an electric fuel pump or else I probably would've had to remove the mechanical one before plucking the motor out.