Progress!
Well, it appears if I keep my pace, I’ll be doing semi-annual posts. That’s fine because it gives me a chance to make a lot of progress on a project and then wrap it all up in one post.
OK, it’s not really fine, but it sure sounds better than admitting I’ve been lazy on keeping this place up-to-date.
So, progress, here goes:
- Ditched the Corvette C4 rear-end and chassis for a custom chassis
- Picked up an 80′s Jaguar IRS, narrowed each side by 5 inches (turns out this was probably an inch or two too much. Brakes are inboard.
- Created a “4-bar” link for the IRS. It’s actually a 2-bar with large urethane-style bushings and gromets attached via 1″ DOM tubing to a 5/8″ heim-joint. More later.
- Picked up an LS1 from a guy in Santee, CA for $1500. It runs perfectly
- Picked up a C5 Corvette oil pan for said LS1 for $60 from the Pamona Fair Grounds Father’s Day swap meet
- Picked up a T-56 (F-Body style) 6-speed manual trans for $1300, fully rebuilt, in the San Fernando Valley
- Created modest engine mounts, though I’m not entirely pleased with them and will probably need to address this differently in the coming months. More later.
- Learned how to tear-down, shorten and rebuild a GM steering column. I’m offering this service now for $150 per column if it is not a column shift. $250 for column shift style. Parts are extra. No shortening. Too much liability. Thanks attorneys.
- Found cool bolt-on roll-bar brackets from Fiber Tech in Santee, CA. Welded the steering column bracket to it for the front mount
- Mounted the brake/clutch pedal assembly inverted (swing pedal style, rather than floor mount) on the left side of the column.
- Gas pedal will probably be swing type to get the proper pull motion for the throttle cable. This car will not be DBW (drive by wire). After having driven a handful of cars with it, I’m thoroughly fed up with it. The pedal lag is stupid.
- Firewall support is now in place.
So, over the next few weeks, I’ll be detailing out the process of doing each of these, to hopefully make life a little easier for those trying to build your own chassis.
A rule of thumb I ignored, even after hearing it, I recommend you heed:
Start with the wheels and tires you want with the wheelbase and track you want. Build the rest of the car around it and everything will turn out fine.
Had I done that to start I would not have had to go back to the frame and “Z” it up 4 1/2 inches in the front to accommodate the cross-member.
I have pics of most everything listed here, and those that I don’t have listed, I can snap photos of.
