Dead Cat spy shot

[Payton King]

Well folks,

The car formally known "Rain Maker" and for a while represented as just a flying middle finger, has finally hit the ground to be reborn "Dead Cat."
As in "you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a pro-touring 69 camaro"

The guys at 21st Century finished up the install of their C5 drop subframe, did a mild mini tub to fit the 285/19's in the rear along with building me a new 9 inch. The roll bar/cage is finished and the rest of the suspension is about to be installed so they can complete my exhaust. Then it is off to paint.
Please note that the doors and fenders are not mine, but off of another car in the shop just to get an idea of clearence and stance. The rear should come down another 2 inches after the car is finished due to weight, the front is set at ride height.

Thanks for giving it a look. I know it is not much now but it is the first time the car has been on the ground at ride height in 3.5 years...its the small stuff that makes you smile.

Payton

[XcYZ]

http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/king1.jpg

http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/king2.jpg

[XcYZ]

http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/king3.jpg

http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/king4.jpg

[Steve1968LS2]

Ha!

I loved that name since the first time I heard it.. and besides.. who doesn't love a dead cat??? ;)

the C6 wheels look great on the car.. so when is the estimated completion date?? :)

Keep us updated! :thumbsup:

[Payton King]

If it leaves 21st century in two weeks, hopefully in paint by june 1st, and then it is up to me to put it all together...I will guess August 1st. Of coarse I thought that I was going to take it on the power tour in 2004 and you can see how well that worked out.

[907rs]

Looks great Payton! :)
With the chassis mods complete It'll move along quick now. Any idea on ground clearence vs. the stock subframe?

[slck6t9]

Payton car looks great. I really like the C6 wheels. What color are you going with?

Scott

[ryans67deuce]

Awesome!!! Looks great Payton. I look forward to seeing more pics soon!! :thumbsup:

Ryan

[Payton King]

Thanks for the response guys. I will try and get some measurements as far as how low it is and try to compare it to stock. The subframe is a 1 inch drop plus another .5 inches in subframe bushings. Although you cannot tell in the photo, the only thing that you can see hanging below the rockers are the DSE subframe connectors. The exhaust when built will be the lowest part of the car. I am guessing about 4.5 inches at the lowest point. You cannot run a stock 1st gen suspension this low without it having about 1 inch of travel or less.

The color is going to be yellow. After seeing Steve's new 68 I almost went with that color, but I have been saying for 3.5 years it is going to be yellow so there you have it. I will be running an SS hood as well.

[Edward Bednar]

Payton the frame clearance is no different than the stock ride version you drove in our test car. You'll recall we didn't have any clearnce issues in and out of driveways and ramps.I believe I remember the clearance to be in the five and a half inch range. We'll go back and check though. The way our drop version of the frame works is that it drops the body over the frame and drivetrain which is why it was necessary to modify Payton's firewall and trans tunnel. The exhaust will be the lowest part of the car but Payton's going with a 3 inch to breath that strong LS motor he'll be running. Still I don't believe there will much of a problem if any.I'm out of town so the photos are the first time I've seen it on the ground. I'm almost as excited as Payton is. Can't wait to see it in paint Payton. Ed

[Keith]

Payton, those C6 rims really set the car off, love them. The car's going to be beautiful..... :cool:

[Steve1968LS2]

Payton the frame clearance is no different than the stock ride version you drove in our test car. You'll recall we didn't have any clearnce issues in and out of driveways and ramps.I believe I remember the clearance to be in the five and a half inch range. We'll go back and check though. The way our drop version of the frame works is that it drops the body over the frame and drivetrain which is why it was necessary to modify Payton's firewall and trans tunnel. The exhaust will be the lowest part of the car but Payton's going with a 3 inch to breath that strong LS motor he'll be running. Still I don't believe there will much of a problem if any.I'm out of town so the photos are the first time I've seen it on the ground. I'm almost as excited as Payton is. Can't wait to see it in paint Payton. Ed

Hmmm.. that frame would make for a great tech story.. test the 68 with the fatman frame and Mustang II suspension then install the 21st centrury unit and show what kind of gain there would be. should be easy to quantify.. then pull the heavy BB and put in a high HP LSx motor and show the gains from getting hundreds of pounds off the nose.

Looking good Payton.. can't wait to see more progress :thumbsup:

[rwhite692]

Payton, the car is really looking good. Keep the photos coming! :thumbsup:

[jonny51]

Payton car looks great. I really like the C6 wheels. What color are you going with?

Scott
I agree the C6 wheels look great,much better than C5's.The C6 ZO6 wheels would really look cool.Anyway nice ride can't wait to see the finished product.

[Steve Chryssos]

Hmmm.. that frame would make for a great tech story.. test the 68 with the fatman frame and Mustang II suspension then install the 21st centrury unit and show what kind of gain there would be. should be easy to quantify.. then pull the heavy BB and put in a high HP LSx motor and show the gains from getting hundreds of pounds off the nose.

Make it happen!! And publish some hard data.

[BC69]

Looks good, those C6 wheels are gonna look great on the finished car...hell, they already do look good.

Tim

[c.schulz]

Way to go Payton!! When you go for your yellow color look for someting that is on the hightech side to match the theme of the car.The trick new C5 suspention,wheels,and the LS1.Maybe some gray or silver stripes.Yellow hounds tooth interior to go with.
Here is a pic of my old 69 that was yellow on yellow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/cschulz/69int1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/cschulz/69int2.jpg


Chris

[Payton King]

Thanks for all of the positive responses. I like the new Z06 wheel better, but I will have fitment issues on the rear. The fronts are either 9.5 or 10 inches wide which would not be a problem, but the rears are 12 inches wide and I did not do a full mini-tub and the offset is going to be different. In the articles they say that the Z06 rear quarters have been flaired 2 or 3 inches. I may think about it next year if I can get this thing on the road.

Chris, I remember the yellow interior in your 69. Very slick! Only problem is I have purchased the black/white hounds tooth over a year ago.

I will be testing the car when it is done for some "hard data" but I will have nothing to compare it to. 3.5 years ago I pulled my 350 to put in a procharged 468...and look what happened.

[c.schulz]

With a white seats then are you thinking white stripes???That would look very new and fresh.

Chris

[Payton King]

Sorry Chris the seats are black with the blk/wht hounds tooth. I did think about a white stripe for something different.

I thought about you last night watching rides with all of the modelers working on Syn (us). I know that was ford and you are a GM guy...but the same stuff, clay, clay and more clay.

[69MyWay]

The C6 wheels look great. The front is SLAMMED! That is awesome!

Can't wait to see more pictures!

[Edward Bednar]

I know some of you may not have caught Payton's posting earlier when he gave his driving impression for our test car. He mentioned then that I had hooked up a a G-tech that day and ran a couple skid pad runs on only about a 75 foot radius. This is the only data I have on our test car at present. We had not tuned the suspensionc yet and I was able to sustain .92 to .94 g's .This is with stock C5 Corvette wheels shod with nothing particularly special tire wise. We will tune it and we will wire the car for real hard data. I will of course pass this along when available.Payton's car will also get a shakedown as well as Conrade's big block so several diferent rentions will be available in the next couple of months. Ed

[awr68]

Payton looks great!! I can tell you are really chompin' at the bit to drive it...that's a good thing, just don't rush final assembly!!

I love the head on view with those lower a-arms nice and level at ride height...that screems excelent craftsmanship and design!! :thumbsup:

[Raige]

Hey the car look fantastic.. ARe we going to beable to order the front frame by chance and if so what kind of price? Shoot me a email for details ect please...

[Payton King]

Yes, they are selling the frame at www.21stcenturystreetmachines.com
Give Ed or Jim a call (704)243-1566

[Steve1968LS2]

Yes, they are selling the frame at www.21stcenturystreetmachines.com
Give Ed or Jim a call (704)243-1566

When I get my 68 I will have to consider this for a project.. test the MII fatman sub then bolt this in and record the improvement (if any).. Would be nice to know.

Shouldn't you be at the beach?? ;)

[Payton King]

I should be at the beach, but I am home now.

I would love to see that comparison. You can be dubed the "Mule Rider"

Was not Stielow building the Mule for that exact same purpose? To change frames and different engine combos and run tests?

[Raige]

Yes, they are selling the frame at www.21stcenturystreetmachines.com
Give Ed or Jim a call (704)243-1566

Thank you for the reply Payton.. And i will give them a call

[Jay Hilliard]

Looks great Payton. I know you cant wait. When you get it back, I would love to come to Charlotte and check it out. I'm only a couple of hours away, if it's not a problem.

Going to be one awesome car. :thumbsup: