I was hoping to get some feed back from owners of the fast burn 385 with the hot cam & 1.6:1 rollers as sallee calls it their zz430 replica. It's for a 69rs camaro it will be replacing the original 327, I have a new TKO 600 on the way but I can't quite decide on a motor. I drive this car quite a bit 12-14k a year. Fuel mileage isn't my greatest concern but I don't want something ridiculous either. I want a motor that has good power but it needs to be reliable as well is this a good pick? my old 327 210hp would barely beat a late model 4banger. WIll the zz4 run with a late model camaro? I know my car probably can't hook off the line like a new model, but I'm not real worried about that I want to be able to blow the tires off anyhow. If anybody had either motor dynoed I'd love to hear about that also. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

I have a ZZ4 385FB Crate Motor in my 69Z since May 2005. I have been thinking about putting the ZZ430 hot cam kit in it but now my wife say's my car is already to fast and any more hp and I will probably kill myself with it. The Fast Burn is a very reliable engine, always starts and has power to spare. I added MSD 6A ignition, Crane Gold Race 1:5 Rockers, March pullies, Holley 700cfmDP, Thorley Street Headers and a 2 1/2" FlowMaster Cross Flow exhaust system. I wish you could hear this thing, unreal. My 4:10 Posi and 4 speed Muncie coupled with this engine really work together well. This engine is a blend of the old school and the new school under one hood. Just to give you an idea of the power this engine puts out I have layed out 20-30 feet of rubber in 4th gear.
Maybe next year I will go with the ZZ430 upgrade.
Schoon

I have the Sallee Chevrolet zz383 in my '68 and love it. Other than the usual tweaks, fixes, and adjustments that go along with a major engine and accessory swap, it's very reliable. I went a little overboard getting the 383, but wanted more power.

I know of one guy locally (Joe C on this forum, I believe) that got the Sallee zz430 and he loves it. I asked him specifically about it before I commited to mine. He said it's reliable, powerful, and gets around 18mpg with over 15" of vacuum. Should be a good choice for you.

Thanks for the input! 18mpg & laying rubber in 4th!!! That sounds like a great combo!!! Thats having your cake & eatin it too! Thanks again its just a big purchase & I dont want to regret or wish I went a different route later.


Also what size headers should I run with the ZZ430 I have 1 5/8 hookers that are in great shape. Will they choke the motor?

Another option is the GMPP 383/425. David Pozzi's wife Mary has one in her car and likes it.

20-30 rubber in 4th? how fast were you going? Rpm?

I started out with a Fastburn 385, then upgraded to the hot cam and 1.6 rockers to make it a ZZ430. The FB385 was excellent - the ZZ430 even more so. I was astounded that a motor that idles so smooth could pull so hard. Just for the heck of it, I had it bored and stroked to 383 and still ran it with the hot cam. Very torquey street motor, and in that state was essentially what a ZZ383 is. Feeling a 383 could use a bit more cam than the hot cam, I installed a custom grind Comp hyd roller - same duration numbers as a Comp xr282hr, but with a bit less lift. It flies.

While the Fastburn heads don't have the popularity or sex appeal of the AFR's, the General did his homework on these - they are excellent heads.

I think you'd be happy with any of the three. (FB385, zz430, zz383) If I knew then what I know now, my choice hands down would be the ZZ383.

As you probably know, GM recommend 1 3/4" headers with the fastburn head - mainly because the exhaust prots are so big it's hard to get a good seal with a smaller primary tube. CarlC who posts on this board says it's possible to use the 1 5/8 tubes. To get them to seal you'll probably need to elongate the bolt holes in the header flange and slide them up a bit. A bit of radiusing with a grinder wouldn't hurt either. Hopefully Carl will see this thread and give you some tips. I run Hooker 1 3/4 supercomps.

Of course, if I'd bothered reading all the responses, I'd have noticed that Carl already replied. The 383/425 he speaks of is a zz383.

Hooker Supercomps need to have the bolt holes slotted for proper port alignment as well. About 3/16" will do it, but a gasket match is easy to do.

BPOS summed up quite nicely the sentiment I had after all the research I did on this forum about these engines. For the same reasons stated above, I went with AFR 195 heads to avoid the header bolt hole issue. I already had Hooker comps and a very good exhaust system in place and didn't want to have to mess with that as well.

In the end, I went with the zz383 for two reasons: 1. I know myself, and I didn't want to get into a coulda, woulda, shoulda over getting the smaller, cheaper engine vs. the larger. And 2. The old adage, "There's no replacement for displacement."

I am running Dough Thorley DTE-376Y1 Headers with 2 1/2" flowMaster Crossflow exhaust and the engine doesn't appear to have any back pressue and sounds great.

JoeGs works super, the idle is almost too mild for the lope at idle crowd. It will work with a stock convertor. I could see absolutely reason not to use one.

Yeah I heard about the header issue I'm gonna try to make the 1 5/8 hookers work, if they don't I'll go with the 1 3/4. My biggest dilema is zz430 or zz383. The 383 will cost more cause it doesn't come with the intake HEI or water pump. Salle sells a zz383 with a claimed 450hp 488ft/lbs. that includes a carb & plug wires air gap intake & aluminum water pump for $6195.
Does this sound like a good deal? The carb is a holley 770 avenger. The zz430 on the other hand is $4995 from salle & will add up to about $5400 with a carb. Is the zz383 worth the extra $795.00 Will it make that big of a difference in my 69 camaro. Will I be able to use all the extra torque the zz383 has or is it more applicable to a heavier car? I'm dying to order a motor & get this project rolling. Any answers to these questions is reall appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

Lance, We are at the exact same point...I am replacing a 327 in my 69 coupe car. I am planning on going with the SC383PE. It is more $$, but from what I hear, well worth it! My car sees about 5k of driving a year, but when I do drive, I want to enjoy it. Good luck in your decision! :thumbsup:

Dano

Guys, I got the bug now about this gm zz 383. I am currently running a 355 mule motor and Afr 195 heads with the Comp xr282hr. Correct me here,, form what I am hearing from you is that this motor will work with my cam and head components. So I presume its available in a short block??? I still have my one piece flywheel and Thorley 376-1 headers,,, sounds like a bolt in???

Look at the HT383 partial engine. It's a factory roller block - not sure which cam you have. Non roller stuff will work in it as well.

http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/frame.html?/ChevyPartialEngineBlocksStandardDeckSmallBlockV8s/HT383_Partial_Engine_Block.html

I am fairly new to all of this, but I too, am looking to replace my 327. I have spec'd out a few crate engine combos, but the turnkey 385 look like a great deal. Does this seem like a good value at $5100?

http://sallee-chevrolet.com/frame.html?/ChevySmallBlockV8s/385turnkey.html

Thinking about uprading the cam and rockers myself....

thats what I was thinking,, Scoggin Dickey at my back door, sure save on shipping..

What a great thread! GM may be hurtin' trying to sell their new cars, but it sure sounds like they're making $$ selling engines for the old ones!

Unless you're super picky, it really comes down to getting what you think you'll be happy with. All the motors are strong, and will beat the pants off the tired 327s they're replacing.

I started out the same way: FB385 hooks you for the price. You then look at the zz430. Both are turnkey motors I believe. But then you look at the zz383 for the torque and HP - albeit a long block that needs a few pieces, it's only a few hundy more.

I started with the HT383 short block, and had it built to the zz383 specs. When they got to the heads, I had Sallee's special 58cc AFR 195s put on. I already had an RPM Air Gap, Demon 650, and Multi-spark HEI dist. Having their engine shop assemble my order probably cost about $350 more, but I got exactly what I wanted with no wasted parts.

Looks like people better think twice before messing with our "vintage" cars with so many hot, new engines in them these days. Good luck to everyone making these decisions. It's a pretty exciting time as far as our cars go.

Hey Lance,
If you are driving a 67-69 you need to watch out for HEI clearance. I had to switch to a MSD distributor to fit it in. Or you can modifiy you firewall. The HEI that comes with the crate motor is way to big.
Schoon

I wanted to thank everybody for their help & advice on deciding on a motor. I ordered the zz383. I can't wait!!

Thanks again!

Just a word of advice to everyone here about the GMPP crates. All are great engines. Just make sure you put a good coat of paint on them before you install them because they RUST bad, espically the block. The block paint is horrible from the factory.

Some of the engines can benefit with a cam swap. Such as the zz4 and 285FB motor.

Also I would bet rid of any intakes that have EGR valves. Distracts from the car and the year of the car IMHO.

Enjoy.