SBC 123!

I was thinking about the challenge results the other day and it occoured to me that the top 3 cars all were powerd by small block chevy's

gen 3 sbc powered BMW

gen 1 sbc powered VW

gen 2 powered F body

which is especially suprising since this was autocross and concourse only!

I guess I need a small block in my MR2

It's funny you should mention that, Dave. Paul Costas and I were laughing about that at the banquet. It's a big happy family of V8 goodness.

Of course, you point this out on the very day we decide to go from a V-8 car ('61 Buick motor) to a 4 cylinder turbo.

According to Wiki:

In 1961, Buick unveiled an entirely new small V8 engine with aluminum cylinder heads and cylinder block. Lightweight and powerful, the aluminum V8 also spawned a turbocharged version, (only in the 1962-63 Oldsmobile Cutlass version), the first ever offered in a passenger car.

I think this is the same engine you're running. Maybe you should keep the V8 and just add turbonium.

There is no cheaper horspower than a SBC. It might not be elegant, but it works for not much money. That and they will run on the verge of exploding longer than a lot of engines will run.

Toyman01 wrote: There is no cheaper horspower than a SBC. It might not be elegant, but it works for not much money. That and they will run on the verge of exploding longer than a lot of engines will run.

As a Ford guy, I unfortunately have to agree with the above statement.

evildky wrote: I was thinking about the challenge results the other day and it occoured to me that the top 3 cars all were powerd by small block chevy's gen 3 sbc powered BMW gen 1 sbc powered VW gen 2 powered F body which is especially suprising since this was autocross and concourse only! I guess I need a small block in my MR2

The LS family will bolt to the Chevy F40 6-speed transaxle found in the Cobalt SS.

Just so ya know....

...and 2 of the 3 were automatic's!

I found it interesting that all 3 were different generations of sbc

The one thing the SBF has going for it, compared to the SBC, is it's slightly smaller size.

Why is there no medium block?

pinchvalve wrote: Why is there no medium block?

I think the 350-455 Buicks could be considered "medium" blocks. They are way lighter than a big block Chevy, Ford, or Mopar. Not even very much heavier than a small block Chevy

Because all is right in the world when at the throttle of a V8 Chevy

Gearheadotaku wrote: Because all is right in the world when at the throttle of a V8 Chevy

I heard that the Chinese have a single character for that sentence.

I'm still waiting to run across info on a cheap 5 speed that holds up to gen3 or gen4 power levels that bolts up

Also who ran the BMW and what was it exactly?

In reply to Taiden:

It was the Vorshlag team. The car was in the mag a few months back but they brought it back with a really cool BMW art car paint job. It has a 5.3 LS truck block and lots of fab work using E36 suspension bits. Unfortunately the only trans they can budget for is a V-6 Camaro 5 speed. I think this year's drag run claimed trans #3.

Why are there so few manual trans V8 F bodies? Or is it just that there are so few V8 F bodies?

Isn't the ford WC T5 stronger than the GM T5? The fords seem more common (in my area at least). Should still bolt to their aftermarket scattershield right?

RossD wrote: The one thing the SBF has going for it, compared to the SBC, is it's slightly smaller size.

In general you're right, though the front-mounted distributor on the SBF comes in handy when trying to fit the engine in some applications. But SBF stuff tends to be a lot more expensive.

Conquest351 wrote:

evildky wrote: I was thinking about the challenge results the other day and it occoured to me that the top 3 cars all were powerd by small block chevy's gen 3 sbc powered BMW gen 1 sbc powered VW gen 2 powered F body which is especially suprising since this was autocross and concourse only! I guess I need a small block in my MR2

The LS family will bolt to the Chevy F40 6-speed transaxle found in the Cobalt SS. Just so ya know....

Tell me more about this.

Taiden wrote: I'm still waiting to run across info on a cheap 5 speed that holds up to gen3 or gen4 power levels that bolts up

The NV3500 from the 99-04 1/2 ton Chevy pickup works, but the gearing is all wrong for sports car use. A tremec T5 works too, but is not cheap. Thats seems to be the limiting (sort of) factor with LS engines. If you want a manual it's either an old muncie 4-speed (goodbye overdrive if you need it) or a big bucks late model 6 speed.

Unfortunately GM skipped over a good 5-speed to go directly to the T56 when the Camaro/Firebirds started making good power (LT1 & LS1 models). The NV3500 from a S10 has a little better gearing than the full-size trucks, but still not ideal for sports cars. Shifter location for the NV3500 is a bit too far forward for car use as well. Good thing is the 6-speed prices seem to be coming down some, while the older 4-speeds are going up. If you have taller rear gears, there are some good deals on the Richmond 5-speeds out there (no overdrive with Richmond, 5th is 1:1).

I think thats why I tend to gravitate to the imports, automatic's in the japanese entheusiast cars are kinda rare, while domestic tend to make a lot more automatic entheusiast cars, and I like banging gears

81cpcamaro wrote: Unfortunately GM skipped over a good 5-speed to go directly to the T56 when the Camaro/Firebirds started making good power (LT1 & LS1 models). The NV3500 from a S10 has a little better gearing than the full-size trucks, but still not ideal for sports cars. Shifter location for the NV3500 is a bit too far forward for car use as well. Good thing is the 6-speed prices seem to be coming down some, while the older 4-speeds are going up. If you have taller rear gears, there are some good deals on the Richmond 5-speeds out there (no overdrive with Richmond, 5th is 1:1).

One can easily go down to a 2.79 or 2.93 rear diff in the e30. Is this low enough dya think?

Well, check the ratio's in the trans you are looking at along with your tire size and desired speed in each gear.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Well, check the ratio's in the trans you are looking at along with your tire size and desired speed in each gear.

Yeah. I admit laziness on my part. I'll do that.