'96 Z34 Monte Carlo. Pics are up!

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Jon:

Believe it or not, the timing belts I find to be cake on this motor. They intimidate alot of people because it has 4 cams. Pretty easy to get to the timing belt and even easier to install. Pretty hard to screw up imho.

Now the alternators ARE a bit of a chore, but not awful, just costly in time.

GTU89:

The dash cover is carpet yes,and it fits perfectly. Fit and finish on it are nice and it looks appealing to the eye.

The blank spot in the front under the hood is where the red Chevrolet emblem should be. It's been missing for some time.

Those are factory strut tower to radiator support braces and they are there for GOOD reason with this motor.

Woody:

I actually agree! Not many cars I would say I couldn't beat hands down in the GTZ stock for stock between 6 and 4 cylinders. This thing is an absolute MONSTER off the line and through the first two gears though. Tremendous torque! I think it would get me good outta the gate,but I think my Quasar would catch it by the time I was grabbing 3rd gear running redline shifts. But yeah, they have impressive power. I too had the chance to drive a Lumina Z34 / 5 speed years ago and I was giddy afterwards. Thrilling is the word I would use!

Kurt:

Thanks for the comps man and I couldn't agree more. These cars are absolutely big, comfy ,and roomy. I'm 6'6" and have ZERO problem getting comfortable in this car. Took it 130 miles round trip to Gallup,NM today and it ran flawlessly all the way there and back. I barely touched the pedal (maybe depressed it an inch?) to go around some traffic and went from 80mph to 95mph ,BAM, that quick. Surprised me actually.

To tell the truth , driving this Z34 compared to my SCX and GTZ makes them feel small.... This car feels like a BOAT in comparison.

99GaGT3xoo:

I like the color too. I'm having an issue here. The more I drive this car, the more tempted I am to keep it for a DD and winter driver to give the SCX and GTZ a full winter siesta.

[SuzukiGhostRider]

You should hear the names the call the LQ1 guys on 60*v6... lol

Good luck replacing the alternator thats ALL I have to say

I had to help someone do a timing belt on one and he didn't listen to me and wait for me to finish helping him check everything and ensure the belt was on right and it ended up costing him $550 to have someone else correct it after. Those are not fun motors to work on.

Why do they call them names? Because they get their asses handed to them or because the other guys hate the LQ1? Just curious. I'm intrigued.

I wonder, did you friend with the timing belt job, not know enough to rotate the engine over by hand at least TWICE after installing the belt to ensure everything was good to go?

[3X00-Modified]

No he just didn't wait for me to check everything over and he fuked up the tensioner, so he turned it over it started then two seconds later it skipped teeth and started tapping as if it was hitting valves so he brought it to a shop to have them tear it down and check all the valves. IIRC it actually didn't hit any but it was off quite a bit, not sure how that happened, but it might have been a 95 I'm not sure. 96 is when they became interference engines.

I personally don't have a problem doing timing belts, I did my wifes Impreza, that was only a SOHC but I've also done my own DOHC Legacy timing belt, tensioner, pulleys, and idlers.

As far as my original comment I guess you really do have little to know sense of humor... Its somewhat of a given that a pushrod guy would bust on a DOHC guy, and honestly there are quite a few faster pushrods than the DOHC motors, they are somewhat of an unloved option.

[GTU89]

Jon:

Believe it or not, the timing belts I find to be cake on this motor. They intimidate alot of people because it has 4 cams. Pretty easy to get to the timing belt and even easier to install. Pretty hard to screw up imho.

Now the alternators ARE a bit of a chore, but not awful, just costly in time.

GTU89:

The dash cover is carpet yes,and it fits perfectly. Fit and finish on it are nice and it looks appealing to the eye.

The blank spot in the front under the hood is where the red Chevrolet emblem should be. It's been missing for some time.

Those are factory strut tower to radiator support braces and they are there for GOOD reason with this motor.

Woody:

I actually agree! Not many cars I would say I couldn't beat hands down in the GTZ stock for stock between 6 and 4 cylinders. This thing is an absolute MONSTER off the line and through the first two gears though. Tremendous torque! I think it would get me good outta the gate,but I think my Quasar would catch it by the time I was grabbing 3rd gear running redline shifts. But yeah, they have impressive power. I too had the chance to drive a Lumina Z34 / 5 speed years ago and I was giddy afterwards. Thrilling is the word I would use!

Kurt:

Thanks for the comps man and I couldn't agree more. These cars are absolutely big, comfy ,and roomy. I'm 6'6" and have ZERO problem getting comfortable in this car. Took it 130 miles round trip to Gallup,NM today and it ran flawlessly all the way there and back. I barely touched the pedal (maybe depressed it an inch?) to go around some traffic and went from 80mph to 95mph ,BAM, that quick. Surprised me actually.

To tell the truth , driving this Z34 compared to my SCX and GTZ makes them feel small.... This car feels like a BOAT in comparison.

99GaGT3xoo:

I like the color too. I'm having an issue here. The more I drive this car, the more tempted I am to keep it for a DD and winter driver to give the SCX and GTZ a full winter siesta.

Alright, this is sorta off-topic, but for a dash cover, would you recommend velour or polycarpet?

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Carpet on the dash cover.

Jon, I wasn't upset at all. I figured you meant push rod vs OHC, but thought maybe there was a funny involved. I was truly just curious to see if I was missing a good line.

Yeah ,if his was a '95 or older that's why he didn't bend any valves. You're right about when they went interference due to a head re-design.

[99GaGT3X00]

99GaGT3xoo:

I like the color too. I'm having an issue here. The more I drive this car, the more tempted I am to keep it for a DD and winter driver to give the SCX and GTZ a full winter siesta.

haha i know what you mean. i wouldn't be able to leave it alone and if i had it long enough wouldn't be able to give it up.

do you guys get snow in your area? between this color and BRM i'm torn.

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Yep ,we get plenty of snow. We had a few storms last year that dropped 6" or better. We're pretty high up in the mountains here. 6500 ft. elevation.

Gallup ,which is only 57 miles from here got it's first snow the other day. Just a dusting, but I think we're in for a long cold nasty winter this year.

I just keep thinking I could have a LOT of fun with this motor and car!

[3X00-Modified]

apparently LQ1's are not that fast... Granted this has 200k on it and I do not know what the compression is on the engine but its a bit slower than the 15.4 bone stock you quoted before... You also never stated the current mileage of the Monte Carlo you have. And who knows if this guy can even leave the line properly.

Post from 60degreev6

Ran the GTP finally

Posted this on w-body.com and thought I should embarass myself here as well!:

Well since I'm going to have to miss the last autocross, I finally decided I'd run the GTP like I've been wanting to do for the last 3.5 years I've owned it. Made 5 runs.

1996 GTP. LQ1, 4T60-E, 200,000 miles.

Quick rundown of the engine mods:
CAI
Magnflow mufflers
FFP underdrive
FFP dogbone
I left WOT shift point set at 6800 RPM

Best ET:
15.97 @ 87.23
60 foot: 2.306
1/8: 10.30
1000 ft: 13.38

Best MPH:
16.10 @ 88.29
60 foot: 2.335
1/8: 10.39
1000 ft: 13.51



Obviously that's pretty slow ET and MPH, but wasn't out of line of what I expected. I would've liked lower or mid 15s, but honestly thought maybe I wouldn't even get into the 15's. I've never been to the dragstrip before and really don't know what to make of the 60 foot, 1/8 mile, 1000ft times. Pretty inline for what this car is?