mg62

Honey, you've gotta do a load o' laundry, 'cause I need new underwear ....

Unbelieveable!!! The torque is amazing, both off the line and when you go WOT while already at speed. The scream of that engine when you stomp on it is like being too close to the Shuttle launch pad.

I strongly recommend to anyone thinking about getting a ZZ4 for the Vette ... RUN DON'T WALK TO YOUR GM GOODWRENCH DEALER NOW!

Line up beside me now, ricers. That's it. A little closer .... Let's have some funnnnnn .....

Cookwithvette

Glad to hear it!

1Bad69

Mark....put a shift kit in and get rid of those gears and you will really need to do some laundry... :D
i think we should take each other for a quick ride before we go tomorrow and dwayne too.... :yesnod:

VetteNut72

Welcome to the ZZ4 club :cheers:

I remember when I first put mine in 3 years ago. Nice engine even stock and there is lots of room for later mods. I just got mine running again after addition of P/P Performer heads, LS1 HOT cam (218/228 525/525), GM 1.6 rockers and Pro Flo EFI. I stepped on it a few times today and the @#$% thing even scared me (which I thought was very hard to do).

pictures at: http://members.***.net/vettenut72

mg62

That's exactly it. It's scary. But ... fun scary.

1980ZZ4

Congrats!! What gears and tranny do you have in it?

mg62

Thanks. As far as I know, the gears are the stock 3.08 set.

The tranny was alleged to be relatively new when I bought the car in March, but I don't know what it is. I do, however, know that the tranny seems to like this engine a lot more than it did the old one, because the shifting is now smooth, vigorous and aggressive.


[Modified by mg62, 10:05 PM 6/8/2002]

1980ZZ4

I also have the stock 3.08's. I'm looking at changing them out to 3.55's or 3.70's. I drive about 25 miles to work so holding the engine at a high RPM is a concern. However, I'm still considering a 700R4. I'd suspect with a properly tuned ZZ4 in front of a 4 speed auto trans...gas mileage should be over 20 if driven sensibly. Glad your happy too. Best of luck.

mg62

A guy I know here in Toronto (not a Forum member, yet), just dropped in a 700R4 behind his ZZ4. If you'd be interested in talking to him about it, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you his thoughts. Let me know, and I'll put you in touch.

theandies

Welcome to the dark side :yesnod:
I know when mine stops scaring me I am going to "upgrade" it with the hot cam and other goodies. I have 3.36 gears and a Muncie and at 70 mph in 4th I am turning 2800 RPM's. I am sticking with the 3.36's, it seems to be the perfect balance between launching performance and highway speed economy. If I had an overdrive I'd switch to 3.73's, I had them in my 1984 Z28 with a 5 speed and it was a great gear with an overdrive.
Have fun
John


[Modified by theandies, 10:28 PM 6/8/2002]

SuperFast80

Mark, glad to hear you were pleased with the performance. I am going to need to power up to play with you guys now. :yesnod: :lol:

CDaniel525

told ya you would love it :D

VetteNut72

Mg62

I have 3.70s in mine after making the switch from 3.08 before I put in the ZZ4. The engine stays up in the power range after a shift much better with the taller gears. It will however decrease your top end MPH.

The greatest thing about the ZZ4 is torque! I was out driving today and a 300zx pulled along side of me at 55 and wanted to play. I blipped the throttle and he downshifted and nailed it. I kept it in 4th and walked away from him. When are these guys going to get it. You would think that when they pull up next to you and they can't hear their stereo anymore that thats a car they shouldn't mess with.

Oh well, I don't ask for lessons - but I do teach one every once in a while.

mg62

Thanks guys, it's truly an awesome ride. With all that power (dramatically beyond anything I've had before -- most powerful previous car, 240 HP supercharged '98 Grand Prix GTP), it's difficult to imagine the need for performance-enhancing mods.

But maybe it's like stereos. No matter how good it sounds, you eventually get "used" to it, and want something that sounds better, crisper, tighter, louder. We'll see.

How big a job is swapping the gears? What's it likely to cost (parts & labour)?

theandies

I don't know about the quality of their work but most of the Catalogs have a rear end rebuild service, $500 to $600 for most. You could probally find a good mechanic in the area that can do it for less though. Be careful if you do it yourself, posi's can be tricky to set up and you can ruin a set of gears really fast if not properly done.
John

mg62

Hey John, no risk of me trying that myself!

Cali,68,L-79

I wish I had the forethought to get the ZZ4 before I had the original motor rebuilt :cry At the time I was more concerned with matching #'s but now if I blow the motor I am butt out. I could have bought the ZZ4 and kept the original block on a stand in the corner of the garage until it was needed for resale....Well if you guys get too old for the excitment let me know I'll take the ZZ4 off your hands. :lol: :lol: :lol:

mg62

Don't hold your breath, amigo!

Cali,68,L-79

:cheers: :cheers:

:lol: :lol:

VetteNut72

I had mine done at Western Differential here in Tucson. I brought him the diff and it still cost $1,000. New posi and quality gears cost $$. The better the quality of the gears, the quieter they will mesh. There are several manufacturers of gears for our cars some cheap, some not so cheap.

With new HD side yokes and good posi unit, a quality gear swap could run $1,400.