427 forged motor?
 

If you were going to go with a 427 forged motor (in my case, in a C5 Z06), what would you consider as the best route to take?

I'm thinking that if I can't find the C6 Z06 I want for a price I can swallow, then I may just go ahead and get a 427 motor put into my C5Z. My current motor has over 85K miles on it, but it's still running real strong. But just something about that "427" number applied to a motor seems *magic* to me.

I would want to be able to tweak up the boost on my STS turbos quite a bit, so the motor has to be able to handle that. Of course, I'm expecting I will need the rest of the drivetrain beefed up a bit. Not planning on taking it to the track or beating up on it, but I just don't want anything to break that I may be able to prevent with a little bit of pre-emptive upgrades.

So throw some ideas at me.... :brick2:

I don't know about motors, but there's a real nice Z06 for sale on this forum. Jim in St Pete has a C6 Z06 for sale. He is trying to get rid of one of his 2 Z06's.... Both low miles and very well kept.

Well one of my requirements is that it have the 3LZ interior. I'll be honest, I'm not all that crazy about the standard interior in a C6. Looks like more plastic then anything and just doesn't look like what I would hope for in a Corvette.

I came close to finding one from a guy out in Ohio that was Cyber Gray with the 3LZ package, but he had the old style wheels and I want the chromed aluminum spider design. Car had 3500 miles on it, and honestly the price he wanted was too high for a used car and not having exactly what I want. So close, but no banana.

The local dealer here in Tallahassee has one I would like, but they apparently aren't interested in coming off of their price. Soooo, I can live without a new Z06, and am checking out a PLAN B. I sold a lot of my guns, but unfortunately a good chunk of that money is going to have to go into a garage. I can't see buying another new expensive car just to have to battle the rodents over it. So the money I have to spend on a car is the money I got from selling my guns MINUS what I need to spend on a new garage. That particular bottom line is non negotiable, unfortunately.... With me planning on selling my business and retiring this year, I'm just not going to dip into my savings for my toys.

So, that's where I am at right now........ :shrug01:

people seem to go ape sh!t over the Warhawk block. I have no real world experience with them just stuff I have read...

good luck with plan B :thumbsup:

Yeah, I've heard some people really like the LSX block, but it's cast iron and I want aluminum because of the weight difference.

Rich, There is an ebay site that has remanufactured/rebuilt 427 blocks, complete up to the fuel delivery system, with a warranty for around $2500.

Problem with those 2500$ blocks is they arent forged. Youll spend about that much or more just on forged parts.

I used to follow all the C6Z guys doing the auto swap/1k+ hp drag monster and majority of them all used Warhawk motors as mentioned before. Some of them were full street trim, and daily driven which is scary haha.

Think the only thing you might have to tweak after the motor are heavy duty clutch and strong differential.

Been doing some reading on those Warhawk blocks. :thumbsup: They sound like the way to go...........

Anyone know how much boost the STS turbos will produce without pressure blowoff valves? :hehehe:

You can get BOV's that dont emit a loud sound. If it were my car, I would go for the loudest, specially with a nasty turbo spool...its a show of dominance lol.

Gotta have that "whine" as you blow by them...:dancer01:

Erik at HKE does some amazing builds on blocks also. don't count him out. There are a bunch of decent 06 z06's out there for the low 40's. You may not get exactly what you want, but after you sell your car you will have money to make it exactly what you want. You are in a good position, there are alot of people who need to get rid of there cars due to money problems. Take advantage and pic you up a gem. my .02

Sell my car? Whatever gave you that idea? Even if I do get a new Z06, I'm still keeing the C5Z.

But I've got some time to look around, as I need to get a garage built first. But that isn't going real well either...... :banghead:

I sent you a pm with Steve Leonard's phone number. He has built many bad azz 427s. He is a great guy and knows his stuff.

Good Luck

Thanks! Does he have a website, by any chance?

Nope. He's just a one man show, very honest and maticulous. He built my 383 and one 427 that i know of for a TampaBay Posse member. He's never in a hurry and makes sure everything is top notch.

Give him a call, he will be glad to speak with you, he's originally from Tennessee and is here in Tampa.

Does he go by a business name?

Steve built motors for us for several years....one of the better builders around. He dosen't do many now as he is working mainly with the Mazda spec racers and has been planning on a move to AZ.

OK, after talking with a few potential candidates to build this 427 motor for me, along with a bunch of other drivetrain upgrades, here's what I am going to get:

• Warhawk 427 short World Products WARHAWK
  aluminum LS1 block. 9.240" deck height, priority main oiling, billet main caps, 6
  bolt holes per cylinder, pt# 086220. Balanced, blueprinted & assembled
  shortblock. Parts: Callies Compstar 4340 4.0" stroke crankshaft, Callies 6.125" H-I rods w/ ARP 2000 7/16" bolts, Wiseco 4.125" forged turbo duty pistons w/tool steel wrist pins & anti friction coating on skirts, NPR stainless chrome top(for high heat applications)-napier 2nd-3mm oil rings, Clevite MS2199H mains, Clevite CB 663 H rods Dura Bond cam bearings.
• WARHAWK LS7X 285cc intake runner complete heads for Hyd. roller, 6 bolt holes per cylinder.Parts: Manley 2.200 intake valves, stainless 1.625" exhaust valves, Manley Nex Tek dual valve springs good to .700" lift, Manley titanium
  retainers, Manley machined locks, Manley machined locators, Viton valve seal w/steel jacket.
• Competition valve job, lap in valve job, blend in valve job to intake & exhaust ports & chambers, measure chamber volume, mill heads to desired chamber volume,measure & set valve guide to stem clearence, set up springs for specific camshaft.
• Cam Motion Hyd. roller camshaft
• Manley one piece chromoly push rods Roll master double roller timing set w/ torington bearing & nitrided gears. Rocker arms Jesel Pro Series shaft mounted adj. roller rockers 1.8 1.8 ratio 4 Bolt Kit Warhawk accessory kit: Rear cover &
  gasket, oil galley & water plugs, valley cover, ARP 6 bolt head studs Head gasket Fel Pro MLS head gaskets for Warhawk block Melling LS Melling 10295 high pressure, coated oil pump/ ported LS Vett Power Bond SFI Corvette 10%
  underdrive balancer w/ARP balancer bolt assemble complete longblock ( degree cam, check P to V, install heads, set up valve train)
• Ported LS7 intake manifiold
• New water pump.
• FIDANZA OR SPEC TWIN DISC CLUTCH (1300 HP CAPACITY)
• NEW SLAVE CYLINDER
• PFADT POLYEUROTHANE TRANS AXLE BRACE
• DTE TRANS AND DIFF BRACE
• PFADT C5 POLYEUROTHANE ENGINE MOUNTS
• BUILT 342 DIFFERENTIAL 300M HARDENED OUTPUT SHAFT AND BEEFED UP CLUTCH PACK
• REAR ALUMINUM DRIVE SHAFT COUPLER
• AEROMOTIVE FUEL SYSTEM (1000 HP CAPACITY) INCLUDES BILLET FUEL RAILS AND STEEL BRAIDED FUEL LINES W/AIRCRAFT FITTINGS AND PRESSURE REGULATOR.
• FUEL INJECTORS
• STARTER (LIFETIME WARRANTY)
• REMOVAL AND INSTALL
• Custom tuning

All for a lot more than I wanted to spend, but a real bargain, nonetheless, for all the goodies I'll be getting with this package. I'm thinking about adding a new tunnel plate to the list, and maybe other doodads as I think of them while the guts are all out of my C5Z.

And the shop I have chosen to do this job, after careful consideration of all the offers I have received, is (drum roll, please!)

Chris Harwood aka Xtreme MotorSports

I'll be running a check over to him sometime this week and he will start ordering parts and getting everything accumulated for the surgery. That way my car will be down for a minimum amount of time when everything is ready to pull the car into the operating room.

I figure this will be just as much fun (maybe more so) than getting that new C6 Z06 I was looking for. Certainly less money out of my pocket, and I will have enough left over to get that new paint job I've been thinking of. Maybe get a new custom leather interior as well.

Now, hopefully I won't snap mine or Connie's neck when I stomp the accelerator, nor wind up going sideways at 100 mph. I'm certainly going to be cautious about the power this thing should have on tap.

So why am I doing this? Heck, just because I WANT to! Just something about the *427* engine when in a Corvette sends tingles down my spine. So if I am going that route, why not go whole hog with it and get a fire breathing and snorting monster of a motor as well?

Anyway, I'm going to try to get over to Chris's place as much as I can when the build and install is taking place so I can video a lot of all this. That should be a lot of fun as well for me...

Excellent choice on all components.....the Pfadt stuff will help the rest of the drivetrain as well.:thumbsup:

Rich......ya G-O-T-T-A post pictures of this "surgery"!
Andy

yeee doggyyy
 

We are "VERY EXCITED" about this build...I know Rich will be one HAPPY man when it is done !! I cant wait to see his face the 1st time he drives it :)

Rich will be there as much as possible to get plenty of video and pics so I am sure you will all be kept up to date.

We are grateful and honored we were chosen to head this up and while we dont have a "big" following on this site we will certainly make sure we continue to prove ourselves :dancer01:

:vette::party::peelout 1::hurray:

I'm trying to think of additional upgrades and bling to add while the car will be opened up on the operating table. I should have put in an insulated and stiffer tunnel plate when I had the headers installed, but I didn't know a thing about them at the time. So they are on my list.

Can anyone else think of anything I should consider?

Since I'm not buying that new C6 Z06 3LZ that I planned on with my gun sale money, I've got some extra $$ in my pocket to play with for this project. I know I'm going to need some new wheels, since one of those chrome plated ones I got from House Of Wheels a while back has the chrome flaking off at the tire bead and is slowly leaking air. I like the looks of chrome, but I think I will go with polished next time. They can be a pain to polish up, but at least the finish won't flake off and cause me to have to replace the darn things. Plus it appears that many of the chrome wheels only have the outside lip chromed, and everything else is just a flat gray looking finish. Just doesn't look very good to me that way.

When I get retired, I will have some time on my hands and will try my hand at wet sanding. I'll probably ruin the finish, so then it will be time for a new paint job. But maybe I can learn something that will come in handy later on just by trying it. But I do want to do something about the scratches and rock chips sometime.... Heck, we've taken that car to quite a few Corvette shows and have an unbroken streak of not winning any trophies or awards. Even at a small show with 50 cars and they gave out trophies to 45 of them, we STILL came away without a trophy... :lmao: I dunno, maybe I'll leave it as it is, even with the rat chewed hood liner so I can keep the unbroken record I am amassing, well, unbroken....

All the extra power why not some big brakes and deep dish wheels?

Maybe projector style headlights, unless you like the flip-up style.

Well, not sure I need big brakes. Not intending to do any playing at the track where I need to worry about slowing down from 150 mph+ a lot. Or if I do it would be a onetime shot just to see what it is like. But they would look better, at least in the rear. I've always thought those small brake rotors just look out of place in those wheels.

Yeah, I've seen some really deep wheels I really like. Been kind of holding off till my current rubber wore out before taking a closer look at the options. Not sure how big of a wheel/tire combo I can fit on the C5Z, though. I would want to go the max without any fitment issues.

As for the headlights, I've looked at the projector style, but the ones I saw just didn't fit like I thought they should. All sides weren't flush, and they just didn't seem to fit the part on a vette. Besides, I don't drive much at night any longer, it seems. But that could change once I rid myself of my business and have more free time.

I do like the looks of the tigershark front end for the C5 and think it would actually be better for airflow into my turbos' intercooler. They aren't that expensive, and maybe if I wind up getting the car painted anyway, that would be the time to think of it. Not sure Connie likes the looks, though. She doesn't like too many of the changes I do to the car until she sees the results. afterwards. Her philosophy is kind of "well you really liked the way the car looked when you bought it, so WHY change that?" There is something to that, I suppose.

Thanks for the thoughts....

Chris said something about brakes too awhile back

He said your def gonna need better brakes eventually to stop all the HP your gonna have.

Not saying you will or wont test it but when you do test it , your def gonna want that car to STOP QUICK LIKE !! :eek:

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY !

Music to my ears Rich. I am very excited for you. There are a few things I want to do to my Vette, as money and time allows, and am keyed-up just planning it. You are getting it done and it must be a blast with the anticipation. :dancer01:
Please keep us informed.
Lou

check these guys out for your clutch --------------> http://www.powertraintech.com/Files/...0Clutches.html

MOI is even more critical with the large increase in HP.

You may want to consider beefing up the transmission while its out.

Make sure the air gap is set on the clutch installation. Many shops skip this important step because it is a time consuming extra process.

Throw in a remote speed bleeder for the slave. You may need an adjustable master cylinder as well.

Projected CR Ratio?

You will want to know what your breakaway and rotating TQ is and what the gap will be on the rings.

You will love the tunnel plate. Get the thickest ceramic coated one available. The thing gives you three benefits, reduced heat, reduced noise and better handling. I would never part with mine.

I beleive FAST now has an intake for the LS7??? I could be wrong.

Wish you the best on the project.

LS7 Intake-330cfm
L76 Intake-300cfm
Fast 90 Intake-300cfm

Taken from a post on ls1tech, by Richard at West Coast Cylinder Heads. Said none of those intakes were ported, straight out of the box numbers.

Xtreme is MORE than capable on this build and any advice from an idiot hack like you is an insult to them.

On the brakes, I totally agree. More HP = the need for better stopping power.

Thanks Rev! Dang it feels nice to have someone have our back every now and then..:rofl1:

We are DEF not most shops and we def dont "skip" steps when it comes to ANYTHING we do :NoNo:!!

Rich has had work done by us before, nothing this major before but still work

and I am sure if he thought we would shortcut anything he wouldnt have

even considered us.

I dont want to start a big uproar or argument I am just hoping you didnt

mean what you said to come out as it was read cause

that wasnt nice.:confused:

I have complete confidence in Chris, just as I would have had with everyone else that I approached about this engine build for me. Which quite frankly was a VERY short list. Had I not, I wouldn't have asked them. When I weighed all factors I considered, Xtreme Motorsports was just the most logical choice for me.

And as mentioned, Chris has done some work for me, and quite honestly, Chris has always treated me like a friend he was helping out, even finding things that needed to be done and doing them at no extra charge, not just some customer paying time and materials.

I have absolutely no doubts at all that I will be pleased as punch with what Chris does with this build for me. The guy takes the quality of his work personally, and is committed to do the best he possibly can for everyone who wants his help. Seriously, isn't that the kind of guy you would want to be working on YOUR baby?

Glad to see you continully show your lack of class Tracy. One would hope with age you might improve. But some things just never change.

But hey you're always worth a good laugh anyway. :wavey:

On a side note, pretty funny that a lot of the advice I passed along to Rich in my post came straight from Steve Leonard, Tracy I'll be sure to convey to him what you thought of his hack advice. LAMO

You seem intent on taking something personal where there was no intention.

My post was in response to this:

and I offered my HACK suggestions, LOL. No intention was meant to be negative towards you.

I dont know your shop nor you. I did not reference you or your shop in anyway nor meant anything negative in that regard. Quite honestly I am perplexed as to how or what you have taken offense to?

If I came to your shop for a clutch install I would be asking you if you were planning on checking the air gap on my install and would have made the same statement I did in the post to you in person. And after the install I would have asked you what the exact measurement was. This is a problem????

Just seems a little touchy. I'm sorry you took offense where none was intended. I honestly thought according to what Rich posted in his annoucement,

that these were his plans and he came to them on his own, had I had an inkling he was given this info from a shop I would not have posted at all. I merely offered advice to Rich as I had been following this thread.

Sincerely, congratulations on the getting the job, I'm quite sure Rich made the right decision.

I wish you continued success and look forward to seeing the finished product, I'm sure it will be top notch. And I 'm sorry you were offended, was not the intention.

Take care

Thanks !! I was hoping I was reading too much into it. With us not knowing anything about each other I was confused. The list was the list we gave Rich and I guess thats what got confused.

Rich, Mrs Xtreme, when is be build scheduled to start?
Take lots of pictures. Maybe one of the Vette Magazines might be interested to follow the progress. Lou

We hope to begin within the next week or so. With a completed engine and ready to go car by mid October if everything goes as planned :)

As far as an article...that would be cool. We are doing like 3 articles at once as we speak so a 4th wouldnt hurt us :crazy03: just depends on what kind of articles are already out there with 427 builds.....

Brad, I can see where some misunderstandings might have taken place here. Thank you for looking out for me and trying to help me in my decisions with this build...

Anytime brother. :thumbsup:

Rich,

With all the HP this motor is going to put out and with the TT setup, will you have enough meat on the rear tires to get this thing to hook up? Are you going to consider some sort of fender flairs or wide body modification on the rear to get more of a tire patch on the ground?

Good luck with the project! And get the bigger brakes, your going to need them even if you think you won't use them!

Rich

Actually, I'm thinking I will need wings on the car before I will need brakes. :hehehe: Maybe have some way to redirect the exhaust AND split off the turbo boost to rocket propel the car when launched.

Anyway, Chris and Keli have the check so they can start ordering everything for the build. Guess that will wait for them to get back from their race in Savannah this weekend.

I'm hoping this will all be done in time for the St. Augustine excursion in October. Otherwise I'm going to have to try to talk Connie into taking her car there for that trip.