Red 69

Yesterday, while at the track I met this fella who recently put a Tom's unit in his rubber bumper car. Note the use of coil overs and the custom tube saddle to mount the pumpkin. I think it was a 75 car, anyway, I forgot my glasses and was pointing and shooting. Maybe someone here would like a look.
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Cookwithvette

Neat. Thanks for sharing.

75 Stingray!

Can the diff still be removed? Looks like gear changes would be difficult.

litevette

That guy has a beefy rear end

big_G

Ummm, that talk belongs in O/T forum...

comp

pic's ,,, no paint is weird

litevette

That's one thing I noticed. A few hours and that stuff could look really nice.

68 NJConv 454

I agree, it also looks like he doesn't have an upper strut rod...and his fuel cell is held on by good ol' tie wraps, haha
I like the half shaft safety loops, i will be going that soon.
Nice pics.

Red 69

The driver builder emphasized it is a work in progress. He didn't say he was going to paint the suspension, but said he had much work still to do. He did mention an aluminum dash and other interior work and adding an upper strut rod. He never heard of Dragvette, so I suggested looking at their new 6 link kit.

Those are not safety loops, but his differential support system. If you look you will notice there is no crossmember bolted to the top of the differential cover. Instead, he has his tubular system bolted to the cover bottom and welded to the frame. I do not know what advantage that provides, if any, just making an observation. Also, the rear spring is gone in favor of coilovers. He had the battery box and storage area cut away. He showed me a top view by simply lifting the three compartment frame up. I missed taking that picture. When I went back to talk some more he was not by his car, maybe next time.

I really liked the car and thought it had lots of potential, but the BW 4-speed would not have been my first choice. It had a Lakewood BH and all the goodies, but a TH400 is too good and simple to overlook. He had a welded support bar bolted to the seat belt mount below and retractor above and attaching both sides. It doesn't substitute as a roll bar, but does stiffen the birdcage. Remember, this is a work in progress.

That Tom's differential is definately cool, but at half the cost and way less hassle a straight axle is very tempting. The owner/builder was a very nice guy who was enjoying his Corvette his way and it don't get better than that!

litevette

Wish I had that guys skills, tools and the time to use them. Sounds pretty trick. Looks pretty tough too.

68 NJConv 454

Red 69: "Those are not safety loops, but his differential support system. If you look you will notice there is no crossmember bolted to the top of the differential cover. Instead, he has his tubular system bolted to the cover bottom and welded to the frame."

Wasn't referring to the pumpkin saddle, just the half shaft safety loops(pic below) that mount to the frame cross memeber. Although I didn't notice there wasn't a differential crossmember until you pointed it out.
Inventive setup, not sure why he removed the diff crossmember unless he found it too weak, but that would require the body lifted to work on the diff pumpkin. He's got skillz with a welder though. To each his own.
Nice post.