Plastic Fantastic 2

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 11, 2018

those are neat... I'm hold out for one older then you

time to fill the hole in the deck

looks to be about the right depth now

and fitting time *hack*

close

glued

not close

hmmm... is it supposed to veer off to the left? wonder what that would do for aero?

maybe I can counter balance that with a step on the right side?

hmmm.... glue it - nice to have lots of clamps

and as if by magic, it's now lined up.... if anyone asks, it was totally accidental and I have no idea what happened

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 12, 2018

Time to Camaro-ize my Corvette. (I told a friend that I was doing this, his look was aghast at putting a Camaro rear end in a Corvette until I pointed out the year)

it is 4" wider per side - which corresponds nicely with the 4" flares

I'm pretty much doomed to upgrading the front because these brakes are large by huge

the basic is this - the front mounts will need a new mount welded to the back of that cross frame.edited The rear is in line with the frame, but I'm not sure how much of a step it is compared between the two.editededited

another view

there's the difference in track width - I know, deep offset looks cool; center offset handles better

as for suspension.edited you'll know the moment I do.edited The Camaro is basically a coil-over, so if I weld a new mount plate - it would work, but I'm not sure how well so we will see - I may use a transverse spring....edited

bobs77vet · Apr 12, 2018

dude you are on fire......that looks awesome

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 13, 2018

so I finally finished buying the new gauges.edited fuel, oil, temp, water, and wide band sensor

good thing I put the bung in place

and rearranged the car on the lift

then took an easy task to cut the hole for the fuel filler

mark

install

more random suspension pictures

yes, 3.27 gearing

this should be fun to see if it works

yeah, don't need locks

gratuitous side shotedited

and filler drying so I can blend the nose in

rtj · Apr 13, 2018

bobs77vet said:
dude you are on fire......that looks awesome

X2. Looks good.

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 13, 2018

I just ordered the C5 spindles for the front.edited I haven't, yet, decided whether or not I'll use stock C5 A-arms or build my own....editedI'm thinking maybe stock lowers with custom, adjustable uppers... the biggest issue is, since I'm turning the spindles around - making certain my bump steer is controlled... I'm using the stock, C3 steering because while rack and pinion is neat; I'm not certain it's necessary for a fast, track car.

Feel free to weigh in on that issue.

bobs77vet · Apr 14, 2018

how about just the weight savings of going to a rack and pinion set up.....i didnt think much about the drag link set up and it weighed a lot as I recall. and besides those pitman arms are useful for using with a hydraulic press, they are nice and flat and have a big hole in them.

i guess you could always do it later

vette427sbc · Apr 15, 2018

I seem to recall reading that steering arm design was different for front and rear steer applications (good chance Im wrong here)... Just throwing it out there before you spend too much time on getting the rear steer to work. Also If youre making your own control arms, be sure to take the C5's KPI into account with your upper arms. I happen to be selling a set of fully adjustable SPC arms for a C3...

Cant wait to see more of the camaro rear!

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 15, 2018

we may need to talk about those SP3 arms.... your wish, however, has arrived
this, needs to fall out

nice, new brakes... that will never be used

today's tutorial.

How to remove trailing arms in 2 hours or less
first, loosen the outside nut and take all the cotter pins out (including the one that holds the shims in place)

then pry out the outer-most shims (it actually is pretty easy)

then cut the bolt on the outside
now move to the inside bolt, cut the head off

knock the head off with a air chisel

pry in, cut the bolt on the inside
remove.... this took - to this point, 3 hours.
If anyone needs a 3.36 gear rear.... it's for sale.

it seriously took more time to get the tools out and ready, I went through 2 blades - mostly because you're only using the very end.... I used them later.... see below
first fit without obstruction... well, the well boxes are obstructing

beside the boxes, problem 2 is apparent in this picture too

better seen here

I'll build a battery boxy for behind the passenger seat.... cap the rest

in all of this, getting windows tinted.... I hope he does a good job because I know hundreds of people who'll use him if he is

tinting booth

a few cars

but here's where I'm at now

I'm considering simply welding the entire structure in place.... it would be stronger and eliminate some bushings... as far as I can see, all the bolts would be accessible - which is why I have a production pause going on....edited

I think it looks pretty cool

I suspect I can use stock C7 wheels

for anyone who subscribes to this forum, this is way too easy... best part is I should get my money back from selling my 3.36 gear rear that just came out.

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 15, 2018

and a little more
got the mounts out

I need to shave 1/4" from here....edited

the yellow marks are the centerline of the old set up

give or take, that's about ride height.... 28" tire

so I welded some scrap to hold the front up

and some motorcycle straps for the back

there it is, hanging from the car

my are those big brakes

I should be able to finish this up this week, then *hack*, back to bodywork.... hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be able to get a first coat of primer.... and I still need to build the cage.... lots to do.editededited

rtj · Apr 16, 2018

Wow, those guys looking for a cost effective modern replacement will wish they’re gone this route (instead of the mustang irs).

Plus, lots of aftermarket upgrades available.

What was the final part cost with shipping?

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 16, 2018

rtj said:
Wow, those guys looking for a cost effective modern replacement will wish they’re gone this route (instead of the mustang irs).

Plus, lots of aftermarket upgrades available.

What was the final part cost with shipping?

$850 from Georgia to Seattle.

Kacyc3 · Apr 16, 2018

Does it look like it would work with stock body but aftermarket wheels?

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 16, 2018

Kacyc3 said:
Does it look like it would work with stock body but aftermarket wheels?

not with the widest suspension. You'll have to verify this (because there is a conflict on the various webs as to how wide the track is), but the non-SS Camaro (v6, 4 cyl) have a 62.5" track width. If that is true, then you could with a positive offset.

So here's the work behind that

Stock C3 Corvette hub-to-hub measurement is 57.5" (verified on my own car).
If the Camaro is 62.5, then you're 'only' 5" difference or 2 1/2 inches per side. The stock C3 wheel is a 4.5" backspace on the 8" wheel. Said another way, you have 3.5 to the rim face. Most modern cars have the hubs closer to the wheel face, even the BMW wheels - which look super-deep have hubs that are only 12mm back from the center and the center of the wheel is convex.

Now with that said, the listing for a 2010 SS is 64.5 track width, that translates to 66.5" hub face to hub face.... which means probably 64.5" hub face - and that puts the hubs flush with the face of the wheel in the location of the stock wheel. In that case, you'll have to decide if you want to move the wheel further out in the wheel-well (and you have about 2" to get flush with the lip). A lot of people run 10" rims (with the same backspace) on stock C3s - so there is some play here.

the tl;dr is a highly qualified "yes" you can...

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 18, 2018

So this set of pictures is after disconnecting the sway bar and seeing how close to perpendicular the axle is moving.edited I think, this is just a guess, but I think the mounts would be about 1 1/2 below the cross bar on the C3... no big deal to cut and re-shape, but that's my eduguess as to where this is going to end up
pictures

zero(ish) at full drop

3 degrees at full compression (which is about 2" into the tire so not going that far)

I know it seems like 4 but it was zeroed and moved before this picture....

that's about middle of the travel (it has roughly 6 inches maybe a touch more if pushed - which is kind of amazing itself since that's about 1 inch more then my H3 Hummer had on the front)

29" opening at full drop

If I was a snot, I'd not tell you that it's really easy to get the suspension where it needs to be....
level this bar - at ride height this bar must ABSOLUTELY be level.... the suspension is designed to toe in/toe out during travel - and it actually helps it turn, but it must be level otherwise steering inputs won't be predictable.

all that's left is rotating the axle so the tire goes (close to) straight up and down in the wheel opening.edited With that said, advanced suspension says you want the wheels to get closer together on the inside of the turn and wider on the outside.... HOWEVER, not too much otherwise you'll have to steer after every large bump... in this case, 1* is enough (which is back to my prediction as to the orientation of the axle as view from the side... tl;dr - front needs to go down about 1 1/2 inches, I think)

the tire size Custom Image Corvette designed the flares for is 28".... that means this is basically the most downward travel

Sunday I said I needed to take 1/4 inch off... no, it needs 1/2 inch

and knock that cussable front support offedited

done

and if you look really closely, you'll see the wheel is more centered

Thursday I'm going to start making front brackets then start pondering what the rear is going to look like.edited the last fun bit will be figuring out the coil over mount... there is an elegant solution for the driveshaft... but that you'll just have to wait to see

69427 · Apr 18, 2018

Looking good, man. :thumbs:

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 20, 2018

thanks.

so I measured.edited 26x12.3 .... you'll see how I verified this at the end

oh an 9" backspace ... means I can use Z06 wheels
of course all things do not work perfectly the first time.... one hole was just a tad undersized.. easy fix on the drill press

1 degree difference - the transmission is 2.85 degrees

now to put it in place for permanence

trim, tack

knock apart,

tack again in the right spot

get the welds I can't reach from the bottom

and there it is... front is still on temp stands, but it should all be in place Sunday

hmmm,, I think these brakes are bigger then stock

verification.... fits

and yes, centered even

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 21, 2018

Parts arrived...edited
clever solution (probably should have done the other one so I could use a smaller U-joint but this means I need to put enough motor in front of it to warrant the use of the 1350 u-joint... otherwise, I'll be laughed at).

these arrived too.... now all that's left is everything

bobs77vet · Apr 22, 2018

its coming together very nicely.

SuperBuickGuy · Apr 23, 2018

Lohnes may joke about Mullet cars (Brian Lohnes, owner of Bangshift.com and ___ of a ___ with a ___ for a ___.... for those who are getting this on broadcast).... but I know you're here for your fix of all things mullet and plastic.edited For that... we carry on and add Camaro to my Corvette (I win the trailer park war)

so I put the other tire on.... and it wasn't right... close, but not right