New Member - 56 Corvette Road Race

[mfain]

Nearing completion of a 34-year project. 56 Corvette road race car with tons of modifications. Emphasis has been on suspension and, believe it or not, aerodynamics. Latest of 4 suspensions -- full independant of my own design using some C4 Corvette and lots of aftermarket parts: ATS, Woodward Steering, Lefthander, Howe, Guldstrand, Drive Shaft Shop, AFCO, Speedway Engineering. Drivetrain: all aluminum BIG block with Tremec TKO 600 Extreme moved back 12 inches. Body: Rear fenders widened, removable air dam with carbon fiber splitter, removable rear deck with integral spoiler and adjustable carbon fiber wing, diffuser. Tires/wheels: 18 inch HREs (10.5 in. front and 13 in. rear) with 295 and 345 Michelin Pilot Sport Cups (street tires). Other: full cage (SCCA/NASA), Fuel Safe cell, fire system, etc. Have pictures, just haven't figured out how to post them due to attachment size restrictions. Looking forward to seeing you guys on the track.

[mfain]

One shot of the car for those interested

[68protouring454]

KILLER CAR MAN, MORE PICS PLEASE......:cheers:

[speedjohnston]

Thats my kinda car. :thumbsup:

[camcojb]

that is cool................. :thumbsup:

Jody

[[email protected]]

That is one sweet machine!:hail: Hail to you.


T:cheers:

[waynieZ]

Awesome car. Sir more pictures please .

[NOT A TA]

Welcome! Your car is AWESOME!!! What tracks do you go to?

[JV69z/28]

Thats my kinda car. :thumbsup:

:drool: Yeah me too! More pictures please.

[mfain]

Per your requests, a couple more pictures. I will take pictures of the suspension and include them soon. I have a little clean up work to do on the firewall -- I found a way to move the motor back another 1.5 in. (from 10.5 to 12 in.) and I'm adding a new Tilton pedal assembly and Woodward NASCAR steering column (to save weight). In response to NOT A TA, this car hasn't been on the track yet -- I am shooting for late this year at Firebird Raceway and PIR, Phoenix, and Spring Mountain Mototrsports Ranch, Pahrump NV.

[mfain]

I found a fairly current picture of the front suspension.

Pappy

[70rs]

Nice car! Do you have any pics of the drivetrain? Rear suspension? Best of luck with the first track outings. Get some video if you can, I'd love to see that car run!:thumbsup:

[mfain]

I don't do a very good of keeping up with the pictures. I will take new ones of the rear suspension/drivetrain. For now, I've included a couple of constructions shots (several months old). You can see the front 4-link pick up points (fully adjustable for anti-squat/dive), the 16 inch-wide wheel tubs, and some of the duct work that runs to the rear end and trans coolers in the trunk area. The toe links are also vertically adjustable to control rear bumpsteer and the lower link adjusters give a fair amount of camber gain/moment center adjustment. In the "wind tunnel" shot, you can see the C-4 bearing carrier and the 4-link through the wheel. The outer axles are hooked to a very beefy/highly modified C-3 differential by Drive Shaft Shop aluminum (1000 HP-rated) half shafts. The "trans" picture shows the mods to get the TKO installed with the engine so far back. The older engine picture is a mock-up, but it shows the set-back (before I moved it the last couple of inches). The firewall is now flush with the forward edge of the windshield. Note the removable cowl for distributor access. The headers are 2-2.125 stepped tube with merge collectors and a 3.5 inch Dr. Gas crossover into Flowmasters.

Pappy

[Tom.A]

Very nice :thumbsup:

[70rs]

Thanks for posting more pictures. I can see the huge amount of work you have into the car. The suspension should give you every kind of adjustment you'd ever need.Very nice! Can't wait to see more.
Eric

[Beegs]

Holy cow!!! Nice ride....I can't believe I just said holy cow....lol....haven't said that in 20 years.

[Bryce]

that is awesome!

[Lessk]

Major props on the wind tunnel! lol

Nice car!

[groovyjay]

Awesome project! I just finished restoring my 56, it's pretty much all stock, yours is simply amazing stuff!:hail:

[mfain]

Response to groovyjay. I like your approach to the C3-R, especially the Guldstrand 5-link. I used a C-4 outer bearing carrier, but the geometry is basically the 5-link that GM adapted from the Guldstrand and Greenwood 5-links. I used much longer, adjustable forward links to cut down on the roll steer, and the toe link is adjustable vertically at both ends to adjust bump steer. The Driveshaft Shop built the custom rear half shafts and the stub axles are from Tom's Differential (heat treated). I have just redesigned the bracket for the inboard pick-up points for the lower strut rod -- I am using upper control arm adjustment "slugs" to facilitate multiple vertical mounting points (to change roll center and camber gain) without the change in strut rod length that eccentric cams cause.

[CamaroPat]

It's great to see a car that looks that good being build to be driven and driven hard! Can you recommend any good books or technical information sources to learn about suspension and chassis design? You certainly know what you're doing and I'd like to be able to do the same thing myself. I can't wait to see your car in action, it looks amazing and well thought out.

[mfain]

To answer your question (above), probably the most concise and informative material regarding front suspension geometry can be found in the technical section of Tony Woodward's Precision Power Steering catalog. I think it can be found on line at woodwardsteering.com. His discussions of Ackermann, toe, and bump steer geometry are on the mark and a must for those considering building their own front suspension. The front suspension geometry (and its ability to perform effectively) are heavily based on the relationship of the end of the rack (or drag link) and the tie rod end of the steering arm. The tie rod needs to swing in an arc that is complimentary to the arcs of the control arms; therefore tie rod length and angle (up or down at one end or the other) dramatically effective bump steer. I have seen a couple of aftermarket suspensions that have the wheels straight ahead at rest, but toe in or out as much as 2 inches with full bump or droop. Problems like this can become severe when the track width is changed and the rack length is not -- the result is a tie rod that is too long or short which causes bump steer. Mr. Woodward's technical information gives a great explanation of these and other suspension geometry considerations.

[Flash68]

killer car man!

[skatinjay27]

DAMN!!!!!!!!! thats is one bad azz vette!:D :D youve got some MAJOR skills!

are you in vegas or AZ, the houses/surroundings definitely look to be from one of the two.

[olds]

what did you use for those link bars that connect/support the lower spoiler to the bumper cover?

[mfain]

Olds

Those are spoiler/splitter braces sold by Joes Racing Products ()(www.joesracing.com). They make some pretty trick stuff. The braces were the lightest and most aerodynamic that I have been able to find.

[olds]

Olds

Those are spoiler/splitter braces sold by Joes Racing Products ()(www.joesracing.com). They make some pretty trick stuff. The braces were the lightest and most aerodynamic that I have been able to find.

I like those, I might use them on my front or rear spoiler in the future. Very nice car by the way