Thinking about a Z for the first time

[ajmcforester]

Make sure you check out hybridZ forums they tend to cover more of the mod stuff and engine conversions. Also in the 70's a company made Chevy V8 Z cars and I think they also had conversion kits, you might want to collect information on the Scarab Zs. It sounds like you plan to put more power than they did, but it would help you determine some of your starting points.

The Z is a very responsive car in turning, when a V8 is added it louses a lot of the responsiveness. I think the V8 adds more weight higher in the car by how it fells driving one with a V8. Try to get the engine low as possible (what anyone wants to do), and buildup the support in the front suspension area to gain as much as possible back. If your planning to build a car for straitline speed you need to look for something with a solid axle, not independent rear suspension it will put the power down better, but does not turn as well.

I forget what magazine I read the article from, but Peter Brock put an LT motor in a 510, really nice job. The article came out about a year or 2 a go, was in a fairly popular magazine. If I remember correctly the 510 has a solid axle disign.