Please pardon my ignorance here, but I am looking to understand how you motor heads learn your information and gain your understanding of engines and associated parts.

My whole life, my Dad, Grandfather, Uncles....all of them knew, talked and understood all these wonderful terms and knew what parts would make for better performance.

My Dad for example, had a 67 Chevy II that he had a roll cage put in, a five gallon fuel tank for racing, had a 350 bored 40 over, hemispherical heads, stacks, a magneto ignition, etc. While I understood most of this, there are other things that give me more issues.

I was reading a post that followed a poor guy performing a 383 build on a C4 that lasted almost 2 years and about 8 grand! He, and others, were taqlking specific numbers of cams, lifters, springs, rod lengths, plenums, Sr's (super ram?), ECU (which I understand), etc. How do you guys gain this knowledge? and what do I need to do to understand and get into it as well?

There were also things in the discussion that made no sense to me as well. The young man stated that his machinist stated that an externally balanced motor would not last over 6000 rpm's. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. From the old days, I know that my Dad built several drag cars that won every strip up to the grand nationals on a car with a harmonic balancer and it was turning over 10,000 rpm, so why would 6000, be an issue? Also, I don't understand why a corvette isn't already turning 65-6800 RPM's like many other cars that were built in the day. I was reading where they guys were talking about 4500 or 5000 rpm maxes. Can someone explain this to me?

Last one for now, I would also like to understand why all the mods using the ECU's and injection. I know there are arguments for better fuel economy and in some cases better output in horsepower, but aren't mods using ECU's more expensive and more complicated then simply changing the car over to being carburated?

I really don't understand the desire to continue with throttle body, TPI, cross-fire (which I can tell you in my day when the cross-fire engines had been out for a year or so, people couldn't wait to dump them).

Bottom line, I am looking to obtain a c4 with the intention of using it as a project car for myself and my sons to work on together. I wasn't able to do this with my Dad, and would like to do it with my kids. I thought about getting an older car, but I really don't want to get into that kind of money. Many articles I read says that a C4 project is a good starter project car, and is a cheap one compared to many others. Besides, I always wanted a corvette, and this gives me an excuse! I have never owned a sports car (unless the fiero counts, which I wouldn't!) and would really like to know what it feels like to build one up myself before I get too old.

I would appreciate any assistance anyone cares to offer.

Thanks.

 

Hi
I have fitted a 383 with forged internals to my 85 last year and it did not cost anywhere near the post you were looking at, i did need to use a different harmonic ballancer but my engine will hapilly run past 6,000 rpm with a supercharger. Yes a mini ram (short runners will allow it to rev past 8,000 rpm however i have all my horsepower from idle to 6000 not 4000 to 8000 rpm.
I have been there and done that with high rpm engines, THEY DO NOT LAST.. Yes 8,500 rpm is nice but the piston speed is so high the oil cannot lubricate the bores, had a massive lip within a few thousand miles. The valve collets let go of a valve before the pistons wore into the water jacket.

I now have an engine with a blower delivering the same if not more horsepower and does not bog down below 4000 rpm, great right from idle.

The biggest issues with rpm's is the long narrow inlet runners that restricts the airflow needed for more than 6,500 rpm, these runners give the great low down torque that can launch these cars from a standing start.

A c4 is a great car from the factory however if you want 600+ horsepower buy a C6 ZR1, with a C4 you will need to fit a ford nine inch diff as even the best prepared Dana 44 will only last so long.

Maybe you need to look at the callaway sledgehammer 800 hp and 250mph (407kmh) way back in 1988, only now 30 years later the Bugatti Veyron costing how many millions is able to match its top speed

 

That's quite a question!

Sounds like you might already have a good foundation. For me, I blame my brother. He was a hot rodder when we were young. He's a few years older than me, but I cought the bug from him. He taught alot of good solid fundamentals of how these things work. And still does actually as he has earned a good living working on automobiles.

It takes some time, some research, and some wrench turning. I. however, would still rate myself as a complete novice compared to many on this forum. But it all starts with a good understanding of the basics, and there has to be some passion in there too.

 

Knowledge is accumulated over time. I started messing with cars when I was 13, a 53 VW I bought from my uncle for $45, and drove around the backyard. Did my first engine swap at 15, a slant 6 in a 61 Valiant, and on and on. I was in the car business for 20 years, but just do it as a hobby now. Just buy a project car, and jump in. There is a wealth of information online, and you need to be prepared to make some mistakes, and f up some stuff, but you will be building knowledge. There are no shortcuts....enjoy the journey.

 

The short answer is:
- you need mechanical aptitude
- you need time to gain experience
- you need guidance from others
- you need to get in there and get your hands dirty

Don't try to do everything on a project all at once. Have fun!

 

One of the best ways to learn about cars is to get your hands dirty. This was after I wiped most of the grease off:

 

I happen to like that "put you back in the seat" low end torque that a TPI car brings to the table.

With (relatively) simple bolt-ons my prior '88 built nearly 300chp, ran low 13s, would beat any bone stock 300chp LT1 or 330chp C5 down the track, would shread the tires on the street and still pull 30mpg highway.

Back in '97 I bought a TPI '86 IROC-Z and that began the transformation from carb tech to EFI tech. I still have quite a few books on basic EFI and TPI in particular.

It's been a run learning curve with more to learn; enjoy the trip if you so chose.

 

Don't forget desire and passion.

For me, at the end of the day, working on the car is almost as much fun as driving it. Although I might use morethan a few explicitives while turning wrenches (which is half the fun), I enjoy the learning and the accomplishment of DIY repair and improvement.

 

Started for me when I blew up a lawn mower around the age of 7 after I removed the muffler and governor. Take a Shop Class. Most of anything you buy today is screwed together really well (or has a warranty that lasts the length of the Lease since no one really buys a new car anymore).

 

I started taking things apart as soon as I could walk and talk.I can do/fix anything.

 

I worked in a gas station / repair shop through high school and college, so I learned over time. Best way to ramp quickly is to take a class. Another suggestion is to buy a service manual and then start working on small, simple repairs and maintenance projects. Whenever you're in doubt, stop what you're doing and ask questions either here or elsewhere.

 

Also, the Internet is an Awesome learning tool!

It takes a lot of time to learn about all the parts of an automobile and some people just don't have the mechanical ability to understand some things.

Before you start on a project car, set a Goal and Budget for what you want the project vehicle to be such as, Drag strip car, Weekend cruiser, Show car etc...

You may want to start out with something mechanically sound with some cosmetic issues if you're not able to do the mechanical repairs or buy a cosmetically nice looking car with some Minor mechanical issues but, you should stay away from any vehicle with both issues since it can get very expensive fast! ($25k-30k+ is a typical budget for a nice driver project)

Also, Know your Limitations!
If you have to pay for Paint and Body work factor that into the budget.

Don't go cheap!
Do it right the first time. It usually ends up costing more time, labor and money trying to skimp on parts or procedures. "You Never have the time to do it Right but, You Always have the time to do it Twice!"

Triple your Budget!
Whatever you think it's going to cost, triple that figure since unforseen problems and damage will surface.

Have PATIENCE!...
Good things come in Time...

 

I was reading a post that followed a poor guy performing a 383 build on a C4 that lasted almost 2 years and about 8 grand! He, and others, were talking specific numbers of cams, lifters, springs, rod lengths, plenums, Sr's (super ram?), ECU (which I understand), etc. How do you guys gain this knowledge? and what do I need to do to understand and get into it as well?
Sounds like that guy had more of a desire to get every last hp than to settle on a design an go with it.

There were also things in the discussion that made no sense to me as well. The young man stated that his machinist stated that an externally balanced motor would not last over 6000 rpm's. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. From the old days, I know that my Dad built several drag cars that won every strip up to the grand nationals on a car with a harmonic balancer and it was turning over 10,000 rpm, so why would 6000, be an issue? Also, I don't understand why a corvette isn't already turning 65-6800 RPM's like many other cars that were built in the day. I was reading where they guys were talking about 4500 or 5000 rpm maxes. Can someone explain this to me?
There is a big difference between building an engine for the street or the strip. Yes, drag strip motors are built for high RPM runs, while most stock street vehicles, especially C4 Corvettes, are built not to run that high. They are built for moderately high torque at low RPMs. Us gear-heads like to take it up a notch or two.

Last one for now, I would also like to understand why all the mods using the ECU's and injection. I know there are arguments for better fuel economy and in some cases better output in horsepower, but aren't mods using ECU's more expensive and more complicated then simply changing the car over to being carburated?

I really don't understand the desire to continue with throttle body, TPI, cross-fire (which I can tell you in my day when the cross-fire engines had been out for a year or so, people couldn't wait to dump them).

There are several advantages with using fuel injection like you have mentioned. The difficulty with hot rodding a fuel injected engine is that you have to "reprogram" the computer. Combustion is just: air, fuel, spark. Rebuilding the engine is mostly for increasing the air flow: heads, intake manifolds, headers, exhaust; while the tuning (ECU) controls the fuel and spark. If you change the characteristics of the air flow, you need to change the characteristics of when the fuel injector sends fuel, and when the spark plugs fire. Sometimes you can get away with not changing the program, but then you are not in as good of a tune as you could be. Will you see more power?, probably. Will it be as much as it could be if the computer was reprogramed?, probably not.

 

Also, Fuel Injection systems always monitor and adjust the incoming air/fuel mixture whereas Carbureted engines can't automatically adjust for higher/lower altitudes or changes in the air/fuel mixture.