Tom400CFI

I'm working on a "Vette Kart....based on an '89. Right now I've got it stripped, fuel cell, rear mounted batt, suspension adjusted back to correct height and corner weights, seats/harnesses installed, brakes gone through, exhaust built/done...I don't care what class it would be put into; with the tires it currently has it probably won't beat a stock mini van. I'm in it for fun.
That being said, here is my question; What needs to be done to make it "legal" to run solo II? Does it NEED a cage? It will have one...but damn, I'd live to give 'er a rip as it sits and then see the progression going forward...

To give an idea, here it is. Older pic, but this is roughly how it looks now (batt moved, belts secured, etc. since pic)....

Supercharged111

Just curious, what was the inspiration here? Motor Trend/Roadkill or Cleetus McFarland? Maybe Spec Vette Kart is the real ticket.

mattastick

I think the biggest thing you'll need is a place to put your numbers, lol. From a tech perspective, the biggest thing is safety stuff. Those belts need to be attached to a harness bar of some kind, but that's the biggest thing I can see. If the fuel cell and battery are secure, brakes are solid, throttle return springs are good, then you should be good to run.

From a classing perspective, anything goes in AM, as long as you're over 900lbs with driver, so you're safe there. Technically, you need body work covering your hip, when you're in the driver's seat, but if you're going to have a cage with door bars, I'd just throw some sheet metal on there, and put your numbers on that.

Tom400CFI

Cleetus irritates me. His $$$ situation is way outside the realm of a guy like me. No, it was Roadkill. At first I was pissed about what they did to the 'Vette (cutting it up). Then when they "Kart'ed" it, I thought it was dumb....until I saw it run on the track, then it hit me how freakin' awesome a 'Vette would be with all the great parts that make it a 'Vette...w/o any of the burden of the equipment that makes it luxurious. A "naked 'Vette", with a 1000 lb diet. I liked it. I had the idea in the back of my head...while I was pursuing a different idea; a Triumph TR6 w/a sbc, upgraded brakes, susp, etc. Well, rot-box TR6's are still $8k plus so that was a turn off and while I was shopping for TR6's, I found this '89 'Vette that was mechanically sound, but had been in an accident. I knew that for the $2k price, I could easily get my money back if the Kart idea didn't work out. So I'm doing it.




Thanks for this info! I might drag it to the next event and see if they pass it through tech or laugh me out of the event. The seat belts are mounted/bolted in the original seat belt points for the Lap portion of the belt, and I bolted the shoulder restraints to the frame in the back of the car.

Good point about the number. Hadn't even given that aspect a thought. I may have to fab up a little number plate for it.


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Tom400CFI

Anyone else, thoughts? Am I close to being able to get through tech w/this thing, yet?

IansInGarage

Could also reach out to a person running the event you wish to attend. They may be able to give you a simple checklist.

Tom400CFI

Yep, I had tried that already before I posted here. They hadn't replied as the UT SCCA region forums is basically dead; they've all moved to Facebook and I'm not a Facebook'er.

One guy did finally reply though and felt that the car would be in "A Mod".

"18.4 SPECIALS
Cars not otherwise classified which meet the following minimum specifications are considered as Specials and are assigned to Modified class A (AM).
A. Bodywork
1. Any bodywork used must be made of metal, fiberglass, or other suitable fire resistant materials. Body panels are not required except as specified in section 18.4.A.3.
2. Full and unobstructed access to the driver's seat must be provided.
3. Firewall and floor shall prevent the passage of flame and debris to the driver’s compartment. Belly pans shall be vented to prevent the accumulation of liquids.
4. Fenders are optional and design of same is free. Sharp edges are not allowed.
5. Minimum of one seat, capable of supporting the driver in an upright or semi-reclining position is required. Location of the driver's seat is unrestricted.
B. Chassis
1. May be of any construction deemed safe.
2. Minimum wheelbase is 72.0” (182.88 cm).
3. Minimum track is 42.0” (106.68 cm) front & rear.
4. Minimum wheel diameter is 10”.
5. All four wheels will be sprung from the chassis.
6. Brakes must conform to those specifications listed in Section 3.3.3.B.13. The brakes shall be a dual system, arranged in a manner to provide braking for at least two wheels in the event of failure in part of the system.
7. A roll bar conforming to Appendix C is required.
8. Five-, six-, or seven-point driver restraint systems are required per Club Racing GCR Section 9.3.19.
9. Vehicles shall have a Master Cutoff switch complying with Club Racing GCR Section 9.3.34.
10. Aerodynamic devices may not have an overall width greater than 75.0” (190.50 cm).
11. No aerodynamic device may extend more than 66.0” (167.64 cm) above the ground.
12. The total area of all wings shall not exceed 20 sq. ft. (129.03 cm2 ), computed as previously described in Section 18.0, Modified Category, “Aerodynamics.”
13. Movable side skirts are allowed.
14. The sides, front, and back of the cockpit area must be at least as high as the driver’s waist"


At the moment, I'm "out" on 7,8 and 9 as I don't have those items (yet).

SuperL98

Tom ... I hesitate to point someone off too another forum ... but there is a guy, on the Grassroots Motorsports Magazine forum, that has done a similar LS1 C5 cart.
Long 25 page discussion on it ... maybe if you dropped in there you might get more relevant responses, at least read through it.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/fo.../129865/page1/

Tom400CFI

Cool....THANKS!

STANG KILLA SS

just went threw all 25 pages awesome.
not sure why he didnt ditch the sliders etc to get the seats on teh floor, so he wouldnt have that wierd tall cage.

Tom400CFI

Yeah, I'm definitely not digging his cage. Weird looking. I'm hoping that mine ends up looking more sleek.


On thing though; that C5 frame looks a LOT better than the C4 frame...that's for sure. I love how smooth and finished looking the C5 frame is.

Tom400CFI

EDIT: THIS POST BELONGS IN ANOTHER THREAD. KEEPING UP FOR THE PICS, BUT POST 12 & 13 DON"T RELATE TO THIS THREAD. SORRY.

I made another quick trip to Pick 'n Pull yesterday to grab the L05 truck pulleys, PS pump and alternator. I learned some interesting things with the new pulleys;
As stated earlier, the 'Vette has "custom" offset pulleys. That was confirmed when I got the truck pulleys home. The truck pulley is about 1/4" longer/deeper offset. It's also about a 1/4" larger diameter. I didn't think it would fit, but it does. Here are the two crank pulleys; truck on the left, 'Vette L98 on right...




And here is the truck pulley installed down in there, on the damper. It fits! Barely.....




Now the water pump, that is a unique part to the 'Vette. First, the shaft is larger than the truck pump shaft, so the truck pulley won't fit over the shaft.




The 'Vette pump must be a "small chevy short pump", because with the truck pulley on it (as far as it will go on) you can see that the belt wear marks are offset way too far toward the engine. And that is a pulley that should be offset 1/4" further away from the engine, than the stock 'Vette pulley. So the truck pulley won't work on several counts, and I ended up having to use the original 'Vette WP pulley, spaced out 1/4" or so.




So here is the truck pulley, truck alternator on the truck bracket, with the 'Vette WP pulley spaced out 1/4"...all nice and lined up.

Tom400CFI

I'm not sure how I'm going to route the belt yet. My plan was to route it as follows, moving in the direction of belt rotation:
Crank pulley, under WP pulley, up and around alternator, down to PS pulley, back to crank.

Problem with that, is with the big truck pulley, the belt just barely rubs the rack mount on the k member. I could clearance that...or just get an underdrive pulley. But the other problem with this routing is that it gives me very little wrap on the WP pulley, and not a ton on the PS pulley too.

I came up with another idea; if I add an idler or tensioner to the upper left WP bolt, I could route it:
crank, tensioner, alt, ps, wp, back to crank.

This is what that routing would look like (roughly) and what the accessory assembly currently looks like:

Supercharged111

Why not just keep all the existing Vette stuff? Or did I miss it in a previous post?

Tom400CFI

I'm an idiot. I meant to post this in the build thread.

I wanted to reduce weight, size and complexity of the accessory drive that is on the stock engine. Eliminate AC and Smog pump, etc. You can see it HERE

oharal

I strongly suggest you read a guide from one of the major belt manufacturers about how to properly and therefore safely install your harnesses. Those shoulder belts won't pass tech at any sanctioned road race.

Wait is your battery held on with a bungee cord?

Tom400CFI

Sigh....


I strongly suggest you use some reading comprhension. It helps. Ba-leeve me.

It was an older pic. To give a rough idea. I think anyone with a few brain waves knows that a bungee'd battery and seat belts dangling isn't going to pass tech.

I was more interested in the chances of it passing tech w/no cage, but perhaps the roof bolted back on...or whatever. 4 point belts and no cage are keeping me out at this point though (from post # 7).

HERE is where the battery is mounted TODAY...and the belts are bolted to the frame of the car, at the rear of the car.

GoGators!

Tom440CFI, i am the builder/owner/driver of the LS1-KART, the thread previoulsy mentioned from GRM.

WRT classing for SCCA solo, i submitted to the SEB for allowance to run in EM, which is really where vette-karts should be classed. they (naturally) rejected that notion. So.. i run AM, and figure F*** PAX. I am still a long ways from refining mine, but hope to run towards the top of the raw time list each event.

WRT the cage build. its the first i have ever done. i drive the kart on the street MUCH more than i do on autocross. i drive it to work frequently and i drive ~50 miles round trip to our primary autocross location. on the street i have no desire to wear a helmet. i also have no desire to have my skull come in contact with the 1.75" DOM tubing in an otherwise minor colllision. hence the flared out design. i think it looks odder in picture than person. but its my skull and my cage so.... whatev!





There is a pretty active FB group, vette hacks, that has ~10 guys with active builds.

GoGators!

Link to my autocross videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/KDYGator/videos

fleming23

Not trying to debate the merits of doing this, or your skill in building one but just wanted to drop this link in here. Hopefully this trend of building sketch-*** "exo" cars slows down and people think about the risks involved.

http://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/...ier/1134560955