What Drive train and Horsepower are you sporting ?

I was wondering what type drive train and horsepower is everyone sporting in their Sebring?

Mine is a 1970 LT1 350 from a corvette street machined to run on pump gas with a 750 cfm carb, streetmaster manifold, accel ignition. camel hump heads, 4 speed Borg Warner T10, 355 gears, 8" rear. 425 hp

My original drive train was a stock 350 crate motor coupled to a T5 5-speed. Probably 200 - 220 HP.

That motor is gone and I'm putting together a 383 to take it's place.  Ported 441 iron heads, roller cam and rockers.  Edelbrock Performer manifold and 750 carb.  MSD distributor and box.  I'm setting it up for low and mid-range torque, so the HP numbers won't be wild.  Somewhere in the 350-400 range.

The motor will be backed up by a close ratio T56 6-speed and an 8.8 rear with 3.73 gears.  May change the rear ratio after I get the car on the road and see what it wants.

Mike

Est'd 355+ hp from my GMPP "ZZ4" 350 c/w head-porting, "Harland Sharp" roller rockers {1.6:1}, Comp. Cams hardened push-rods and guide-plates, Edelbrock, 600cfm, elec. choke, mech. secondaries carb, old, round-port, Sanderson CC3-45, block-hugger headers, built Th350, 8"Ford rear c/w 3.25:1 Auburn diff, 8" rear wheels & 275/60 x 15 T/A's.
Jimbo

Mine is 88 iroc z 350TPI bought as bone stock with dynamic efi tuning. Turbo350 with shift kit and B/m converter. 8" ford 2.79 gear with Yukon posi..next year 3.55. 215r65x15 front 255r60x15 rear 235r60 drag radials 2015 Car was runner up in point standings 2013, point champ 2014 Humboldt County Dragway. 2 years and more than 90 competition passes plus practice runs. 8.51 sec 1/8 mile best time and wondering if anyone else beats on their car this way.
Loren

I wrecked this one and let the insurance company take it.......big mistake.  It was a roller cam 302 with HO Ford / Motorcraft heads, headers, Elderbrock intake, Holley carb and Mallory ignition.  The I added a Paxton Supercharger and got it up to est 420 Hp.
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Joe Yannone wrote:I wrecked this one and let the insurance company take it.......big mistake.  It was a roller cam 302 with HO Ford / Motorcraft heads, headers, Elderbrock intake, Holley carb and Mallory ignition.  The I added a Paxton Supercharger and got it up to est 420 Hp.
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So what was it like to drive with that power level?

We are thinking a 2004 GTO LS1 and T56 with a nice health cam and tunning will give us around 500HP. I also have access to a 351W, but I am leaning toward the LS powerplant.

If I was starting from scratch as you are I would make sure to go with something that is all aluminum (block and heads) to take as much weight as possible off the front end. Pick the one that sounds the best to you because at the end of the day, whether it be 450 or 500hp, with a car this light its sure to scare your pants off. When I bought mine it had an LT1 350 with the camel-back heads, accel ignition, roller rockers and 11.5:1 compression, good for an estimated 400hp. It was scary. I have a really tall ratio in the back (2.79) and could still spin tires through all four gears. Previous owner had done a top speed test on a closed track and had to let off at 160mph because the top wanted to lift off, he said it was still far from redline and would have done 185mph.

As far as driveability, a modern fuel-injected engine will make it easier to live with in town, it all depends on the setup. I could daily drive mine but it wouldn't be an entirely restful drive. My old engine threw a crank bearing two summers ago, i'v built up a new engine which should be good for 500+hp, you can check it out on my build thread in the build threads section.

If you end up putting a modern LS engine (LS7, LS9, or even LS1) I'm sure you'll make a few people on here jealous

David V. wrote:If I was starting from scratch as you are I would make sure to go with something that is all aluminum (block and heads) to take as much weight as possible off the front end. Pick the one that sounds the best to you because at the end of the day, whether it be 450 or 500hp, with a car this light its sure to scare your pants off. When I bought mine it had an LT1 350 with the camel-back heads, accel ignition, roller rockers and 11.5:1 compression, good for an estimated 400hp. It was scary. I have a really tall ratio in the back (2.79) and could still spin tires through all four gears. Previous owner had done a top speed test on a closed track and had to let off at 160mph because the top wanted to lift off, he said it was still far from redline and would have done 185mph.

As far as driveability, a modern fuel-injected engine will make it easier to live with in town, it all depends on the setup. I could daily drive mine but it wouldn't be an entirely restful drive. My old engine threw a crank bearing two summers ago, i'v built up a new engine which should be good for 500+hp, you can check it out on my build thread in the build threads section.

If you end up putting a modern LS engine (LS7, LS9, or even LS1) I'm sure you'll make a few people on here jealous

Yeah, that was one reason I was looking at the LS1 from a GTO, it's all aluminum and the accessories are mounted tight to the motor. I also think the car screams for a manual transmission. I have three 8.8 gear sets of 4.10, 3.55 and 3.0. Nice to hear what gearing people are running. I was planning to use the Cobra rear end with the 3.55 gears my CTS-V, but I backed off on it, when I picked up this car.

The power I'm not to worried about, our 29 Coupe is running about 400hp and probably weighs in about the same as the Sebring will. The coupe can be a handful, but that is more because it has all drum brakes and a 40 Ford straight axle which means handling isn't an issue, because, well, there is none...

One thing for sure, once I get serious about building I will be bugging people.....

I have a four speed manual and love it, although if I were starting from scratch I'd want 5. Six is a little too much shifting in my opinion.

If you're going drag racing you'll want a short ratio. However if you want a more of a fast weekend cruiser/ grand-touring car I would go with the 3.0 ratio with a 4-speed manual and a 3.25 or 3.55 with a 5-speed. I think you'll be surprised at how good your highway fuel-economy is. My motor isn't even fuel injected and I get close to the same highway MPG as my 4-cyl non-turbo Saab 900 (approx. the same as an old corolla). City is higher, but that's because of the doubled cylinder count. Still not too bad since I don't need to rev it out to get going.

To be honest, these are probably the two hardest decisions you will have to make
Manual steering vs. Power steering (I have manual, other swear by power steering)
and most difficult of all what suspension setup?? I doubt there is a single person here who is entirely satisfied with their suspension. Getting the ride height right usually means having a back-breakingly stiff setup. Right now i'm running adjustable air shocks in the back and some pretty stiff springs up front, its liveable and looks good. My next move is to upgrade the front to adjustable coilovers, but....$$$

I'm not a drag racing guy, I see it as an exercise in finding the weak point in the car and replacing it... I'm more a build a car for livability and enjoyment. I see this car as a jump in and run to the coast for the weekend on the twisty road, about town, or even down to Monterey for the weekend. A friend of mine just finished an 818 and is all about auto-crossing it, not sure that would be my thing.

I have wondered about the stance on the cars, most I see online sit to high for my tastes.

I'm still trying to figure out just what this thing is I bought!
350 block/ TPI injection/ hooker block huggers/ MSD/ 90 Camaro ECM/ 4plus 3 Doug Nash (say what you want..so far I like the 7 speeds a LOT) not sure on heads yet not camel hump though
Anyway just bought it last month and drove it from New Jersey to California then over to the coast and such... about 3500 miles so far, no major squawks... frightening low and mid range!
The guys I bought it from said 400HP ( I think everyone says 400HP) whatever, it hauls ass.. All C4 independent suspension all around, coil overs on front, big vette discs, power brakes. tru track rack (manual) 3:42 vette posi rear with adjustable suspension and transverse spring --
So I am learning this car.. we cruised mostly 82 mph on I-40 turns 2100 RPM at that speed (did a bunch or Route 66 stuff too, some top down in Dec...another story). SO far best shift point seems to be about 5000 rpm haven't had it much above that yet... looking for a place to run flat out at some point... pretty light car so I think I could bury the 160 mph speedo pretty easily, hopefully nothing flys off the body...at that point.. hoping this spring and summer brings some great touring and well a couple speed runs just 'cause well it's fun!

Just an FYI, if you go for anything over 100MPH, take the top off, whether hardtop or softtop, will be much safer. Had to get my softtop re-sown once for this very reason.

I planned on taking it up incrementally, and for sure with top down. I did take it up to 110 with the top on, seemed ok, but just doesn't seem wise. Also curious about the hood latch...seems to be post primary with a secondary small hook latch. Do you have any hold downs or does the latch seem ok at 170 mph?
The shape looks like it may provide some down pressure above the grill, but there is a lot of "open space" under the hood for airflow..just wondering...

I've personally never had an issue with the hood. As long as the latch is well mounted you should not encounter any problems. I would just make sure it's well closed before going to a strip or track day. If ever you make a dedicated track car out of it, then it might be worth mounting some hood pins for the extra peace of mind when the body flexes. The double skin on the hood keeps it pretty rigid though.

I have the ZZ4 350 Crate engine / 355 HP as well coupled with an 700R automatic. Plenty there to scare me enough yet a very reliable and easy driving combo. 3.55 gears with posi that hooks up really well and puts you well into your seat. These are just fun cars...

Just got it running, scared the crap out of me.

Congrats! It will get a bit less scary over the next few drives, never less fun though! Be careful if it rains!

David

Right foot excess + rain = Trees n' posts in the way !!
@2,400# plus fuel and driver ... "Cruzin Nites" are {way too ...} slowly approaching.
JimboQuick

It is coming out of storage this weekend. About 20 degrees C in forecast so a nice start. Have to dust off the parts I bought over winter and refresh the "to do" list. Time to get dirty and scrape some knuckles!

Hello Everyone. I am new to the site. I bought my Sebring in 2008 in Reno, Nevada. I rebuilt the Chevy 400 small block and Chevy THD 350 trans in 2009. Added a B&M Hyro Stall converter to  handle the 400+ Hp to the Ford 8' rear.  The 400 is bored .010 over using flat top pistons, with BIG Procomp aluminum  roller rocker 72cc heads.  A Holly 750 Street Dominator Carb pumping fuel through an Eldelbrock Air Gap intake with 220cc runners....turned by an Elbelbrock high lift cam. Ignition is Pro Comp digital. Exhaust Header are Sanderson huggers finished off with Super Trapp dual exhaust.

Lookin good! Nice to see another midnight blue Sebring, your engine install is very clean. Welcome to the forum! I hope you find lots of useful information and share your future mods with us.

Sincerely,

David-AHR administrator

Thank You for the welcome David. Sorry for not introducing myself - I am John Goodman from Arroyo Grande, CA. USA. On the California Central Coast. Happy to be here!

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355 cubic inch, 430 horsepower, 4 speed, posi rear.