Mr. Wizzard

345x40x17 Toyo Proxes TQ's

tyoneal

Larry:

That looks great. I can't wait to meet you, and go on a GS cruise/ I'm hoping mine will be close to finished by years end.

If we could get a few others to join in, life would be grand. I cannot imagine what people would think as we drove by, or spent some time at the track.

Your car will be perfect when you are finished with it, and will probably be one that people will use a target since you make the special lightweight parts, and anything else you come up with.

Thanks for the pictures they are always welcome.

Take care,

Ty

Mr. Wizzard

This event should be a blast: http://www.runngun.us/ and it's not far from the DFW area.

NW-99SS

WOW, that's all I can say! Your Mongoose build is how I wish mine was completed! I also share many of the sentiments you have posted on your website (which looks great!).

I am a brand new Corvette owner and just recently traded into a low mile Mongoose Grand Sport (27xx miles). I can't believe your engine build - it is almost to the letter what I am hoping to do in the future for my GS as well (please forgive me if I steal some of your ideas and experience when I create my LS build with individual throttle bodies!).

I just want to say that you have a masterpiece of a Grand Sport! Being only 32, I never had the chance to have any of your first-hand experiences with the original Grand Sports, but having read you page, I am very jealous of the races you were able to see!

Again, fanatastic car, my wish is that one day, mine is half the car yours is!

jim lockwood

Larry, the front end looks great with the narrowed suspension. I'll be interested to learn if you can tell any difference in the feel of the car once you have it all dialed in.

Jim

groovyjay

Wow, the front end is spot on. Will you be able to tuck those 345's under the flares at the back? This car gives me the goosebumps every time!

Mr. Wizzard

When I have the new engine parts ready for assembly, we'll pull the body off the car to facilitate the header construction. I plan to narrow the rear suspension at the same time, as I'll have to do some fabrication to move the suspension and coil-over links in-board. I'll likely go with some shocks that use a different upper mount as well. I also have a few other structural mods up my sleave for the chassis, including the frame mounts for the seats, a firewall stiffener, etc. If I can get a smaller diameter flywheel and clutch can, I'll also lower the engine a bit while I'm at it.

gilbybarr

After reviewing your link I am speechless! Love the white GS.

Mr. Wizzard

I cut some seat back / rails from some 3/8” plywood yesterday. I still need to make a small adjustment on the seat back angle, but it looks like the USDM Integra Type R seats will be a perfect fit for the car (even on the narrow passenger-side). I bought a lot of 5/16” aluminum plate stock Friday for the real pieces, so hopefully I’ll have time to machine them this next week. Naturally, they will have plenty of holes in them to match all the other bracketry on the car. During the process, I’ve looked long and hard at some Kirkey seats, but their high-side bolsters just look like getting in and out of the car would be difficult for an old fart like me. The finished weight of the Type R seats will still be several pounds less than the Mongoose seats, so all will be good as soon as they are re-upholstered.

The high here in Cowtown is supposed to be 106 today, so I took the car out for an extended drive this morning after some front shock readjustment. Even with no front sway bar the car feels much better than with the old (wide) front suspension. The ride is also much improved, some of which I attribute to the new front upper control arms, which pivot effortlessly compared to the poly-bushed C4 pieces they replaced and the new shocks with 300 lb. springs, so I’m very pleased at this point….just wishing the weather was cooler.
I have all of the spherical rod ends, so I should be able to finish the sway-bar install shortly, and the front suspension should be complete.

BTW, the car really loves the new front brakes too. Now, I don't have the (larger and lighter) rear brake rotors from Wilwood yet, so I’ll wait to play with balance until they are installed, but the car definitely feels a lot better as-is.

Mr. Wizzard

As you can see, the latest modification has really changed the look of the car.
I've always wanted to see what the car would look like with the headlight-covers the same color as the car. I have another set of the clear covers, and they swap in a couple minutes if I need them.

groovyjay

I'm speechless. Perfection.

Mr. Wizzard

Here are a couple more pics. I continue to be astonished at how different the car looks now.

tyoneal

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Larry:

Damn the Grand Sports just get prettier every time I see them. I REALLY like these last pictures, they look outstanding.

I can't wait to get my posterior in mine.

I was going to mention about the seat issue. I have a Kerkey in mine, and yes getting in is a bitch, however I am going to simply cut off the left rib support altogether. As broad as my shoulders are, I'm going to be up against the door anyway, and it will make it a piece of cake getting in and turning left, I hope to still have all the advantages of the Kerkey seats. The seat mounting ideas you have sound really good. You might be able to sell an extra one before to long.

Since you are ahead of me quite a bit, what are your thoughts on this approach?

I'm a big guy, always have been. Lots of sports before, now lots of gravity induced re-shaping. This said I really want to have as much room as possible for a helmet, racing suit, and just general comfort.

I am temporarily stalled on mine. I am waiting to get my body moved onto the narrowed C4 chassis. In the mean time, I work on the smaller things.

Please post some more when you get a chance. I look forward to the day when we can meet face to face each with our own GS.

BTW: what size tires have you decided on that seam to make the best sense for the street? (Size and Brand) I'm guessing you are running 17 inch wheels.

Thanks for all the updates, keep it coming for the rest of us are still dreaming of driving our own. Are you still working with Mast with your new engine?

I know they are doing the IR's with Hillborn (I think) but of course they don't offer a cross ram. It drives me crazy that they don't make a CR manifold. Kinsler's are beautiful without a doubt, but I just wish they were not so damn expensive.

I don't know if you have mentioned this or not, but will you be using the CF intake trumpets, or is it possible to get some nice period looking aluminum pieces?

Take care,

Ty

keystonefarm

It is amazing how different the car looks with the narrowed front end. Much more of a vintage look. It's a shame that no one makes a 45 series 17'' tire like they did a few years back. The additional sidewall helped to fill the wheelhouse. As far as the seats are concerned, when Gary had my new GS at Carlisle the seats were in the car but not installed just sitting there. I did a seat test to see how I fit. My leg room was good but I had very little head room and if wearing a helmet I would have probably touched the interior roof panel. What Gary said he would try and do was make up a seperate top and bottom cushions and use no seat shell . The car was in the upholstry shop on friday and I have not seen any pictures yet. Idea was to lower the seat position and provide some side support to both lower and upper seat cushions. Since the cushions will be bolted to the floor structure there will be no fore and aft adjustment. Will be interesting to see how this idea turns out. ----- Ken

Mr. Wizzard

I thought long and hard about using Kirkey seats, but my bad back told me that it would prefer not to be twisting getting in and out of the car.
Mast isn't building the engine for my car. I received a set of heads from Horace, which I plan to rework prior to bolting them on the engine. Horace's heads are very nice, but they aren't finished to the level we do things here and they'll make a good core pieces to begin with.
All engine work, including dyno break-in will be done here at our facility. The engine will be built with Honda-like machine work and assembled with tolerances unheard of by most V-8 oriented businesses.
Ty...If you go to our web site (TheOldOne.com) and select Grand Sport from the menu at the top of the home-page, the article outlines everything we've done to the car.

Ken...the lower portion of my seats touch the floor, and while I built the seat brackets so we can adjust the seat-back angle, we elected to make them non-adjustable as the mechanisms would have raised the seats higher. As short as I am, the driving position is absolutely perfect.
Toyo makes a 235x45x17 tire as well as a 245x40x17 tire, but they are only .5" larger in diameter than what's on the car right now. I still plan to get a set for the front, but I haven't decided which size to buy yet.
I've wanted the vintage look rather than the "bull-dog" configuration since purchasing the car, so I'm very pleased they way everything is going. I won't narrow the rear until I remove the body to build new headers for the big engine, as there's a lot of cutting and welding we'll have to do. Please keep the pictures coming this way.
Larry

Mr. Wizzard

Got some new Toyo 888's for the front of the car. We also bolted up the parts we fabbed for the sway bar. The car really seems to like the combination of the gumball tires and very little body roll.

groovyjay

vstol

Larry just got back from Carlisle and talking with Gary and Ken is always a pleasure. It would have been nice to have your ride there as well. Would it be possible to get a little more info on your headers you fabbed, specifically a snap shot of how you tied the pipes into the collector. Last do you still like your Toyo combo? Many thanks Kevin

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...ica-kinda.html

Mr. Wizzard

If you scroll through this article, you will see pics of them. Note, that we were in a hurry due to my Dad's health, so they aren't as nice as I had intended. The headers we will build for my "big" motor will be very nice....
Larry
http://www.theoldone.com/grandsport/...grandsport.htm

vstol

Thanks Larry I was just looking for the view of the pipes going into the collector/tube. What size is the exit on the collector/side pipes. Many thanks


Jim L. I remember right when I was building my GS I think you had a similar set you built, if so can you drop me a line? Many thanks