0Corvettes by George

I have a nice 1998 conv. six speed Corvette
I have a decent 1960 corvette.
Thinking of putting the '60 body on the '98 chassis/drive train.
Major problems?
Anyone here who's done this?
Thanks,
George

firstgear

I would suggest you do some basic measurements and you will find the C5 is much larger than the C1. Also there is no frame on the C5. You would have a lot of hurdles to overcome.

John McGraw

Hi George,

Probably the best way to accomplish this would be to use an aftermarket chassis. I think the best chassis out there that uses a complete C5 drivetrain, is the one built by SRIII. I have built several resto-mods using both C4 and C5 components, and I have always used a new chassis. I have seen people put a C1 body on a C5 chassis, but it was a buttload of work. Which 60 are you planning on doing, the purple one, or the FI car?

Billy Dawson over in Sequin builds a nice chassis, but it is configured around C4 parts and not C5 parts. SRIII builds a real nice chassis and has all the little issues figured out. The C1 has enough room for the C5 transaxle to fit behind the seat, but C2 cars do not.

I am starting on my 3rd SRIII chassis right now and have been extremely satisfied with engineering and workmanship. Stop by my place when you get up to Austin, and you can look at the workmanship of his frames. I am just starting up on a 65 coupe with C5 front and rear suspension, with a winters quickchange center section and front mounted transmission. I appreciate your hospitality a few weeks ago, and really enjoyed seeing all your projects.


Regards, John McGraw

0Corvettes by George

Hi john,
Thanks for the input.
The pink Floyd car may be sold, so the FI car will be used.
My Cobra is on a tube frame with C4 components-----wonder how that will match up?
G

blue63cpe

To the OP ,what John said is the way to go. Firstgear you need to look at some pics of the C5/6 FRAMES, I keep reading here that the C5/6 has no frame when in fact it has a much better frame than all previous corvettes. Maybe your thinking of the C4 with its unit body style frame or is it because you can remove all the body panels from a C5/6 and still drive it?

ZBRA

The SRIII is what I will putting under that '64 I bought from you last year.

aussieross01

Why is it, that there is a popular belief that C5'd do not have a chassis??

Check out my web site prodigy-z06.com
We put a heavily modified C2 body on a C5 Z06 rolling chassis.
Alternatively:- Google C5 frame to prove my point.

There was a yellow C1 that had been built on a C5 frame, it's certainly doable:- anything is, depends on how much time, money and expertise you want to throw at it.

firstgear

Not worth the effort or money when there are other better and cheaper solutions

BOB WINSKI

We are in the process of doing a 60 and we are using a SRIII chassis.Bob W

aussieross01

Cheaper, yep agree with that.
Better, no way. I personally would rather have a factory chassis anyday, especially a C5. On top of the obvious benefits of a C5 engine/drivetrain, suspension componenets you can run ALL the neat C5 features, climate control, active handling, ABS etc , etc.
BUT, it is a lot of work. Your parts bill would be lower if you used a donor car, but your labour cost would be through the roof:- unless you did the lion share yourself.

It's just another way of approaching your project.
I personally would prefer to run all genuine factory stuff, but nearly everybody chooses to run aftermarket tube chassis, because overall, it's cheaper, and easier, and still gives a great result.

There are body mods needed to be done with the C1, and heaps with the C2 to use the C5 chassis:- that in itself is a dampening to many who strive to run a standard body.
You need to ask yourself what you want, do your research, formulate a plan:- then don't look back, and go for it.

Best of luck.
Rgds
Ross

aussieross01

1960FI

Sorry, should have added.
If you want to run a standard body, forget all notion of using a C5 chassis.

There, that should make your decision making process simpler.

There are three guys I know of in this forum that have used aftermarket tube chassis on their projects, one of them John McGraw, has already responded to your thread. The other two that are also quite experienced is Poorhouse, and Rich Lagasse. All these guys are experienced, helpful, and most importantly, know what they are on about.

On the other hand, if you fell adventurous, and you want to chop up a body ( shock horror ), and modify to suit a C5 frame, drop me a pm.

Rgds
Ross

Procrastination Racing

The only problem I can see is you have two decent cars now and you will end up with one maybe decent car, depending on the effort and the money spent.

There have been many discussions about taking decent original and somewhat rarer cars and doing resto mods to them. My belief is you start with ones that are not special to customize. Let those that survived survive another decade or two.

That's not so say I'm against customizing or building an old one with a modern drivetrain, just don't take one that is all together and tear it all apart. There are many cars out there that someone used as a project that are just begging to be completed and this is the opportunity to complete it as what you want.

aussieross01

I started with junk for my project. Didn't upset the many purists out there, or more importantly my wallet.

0Corvettes by George

Sending you a PM.
George

0Corvettes by George

Hi John,
I'm getting serious about the conversion.

1) Will the SR111 will accept all of my '98 components (suspension/drive-line)?

2) Do I need to flare the rear fenders for tires and soft top?

3) What do these frames cost (any discounts available?), and what is the wait (if any) to get one delivered?

I'll see when I can schedule a trip up to see you.

Thanks,
George
geopar@gvtc.com
210 748 4693

John McGraw

Hi George,

SRIII makes a chassis for the C1 that takes the complete C5 drivetrain.

You do not need to flare the wheelwells, but many people put the GTS Customs quarters on them for additional tire size. 245 tires are about the largest tire that will fit in a stock wheelwell. I just sold my 59 with a SRIII chassis, and that was about my only regret, that I did not put the GTS quarters on. The car could break loose the tires way too easily. It was fun drifting around corners, but sure would have liked more tire on the car. The GTS quarters add about 1" more tire on each side, but do not radically change the shape of the quarter. It does not add a big bulge like on your Cobra, it is very subtle.


Mike's chassis runs about $7K for a bare chassis, and about $12K for a roller with all suspension. Last frame I bought was about a 8 week wait, but I have waited close to 16 weeks, when he was busy.

Come on down anytime, you are always welcome!

Cell # 512 394-2221

Regards, John McGraw

ChattanoogaJSB

I can't believe the C5 chassis is one iota better than an SRIII. To wit, Jeff (1coolc2) just won LS fest, almost swept the event, in his SRIII '67. The car is not only stunning, but as he proved, stomped even the C6 Z06's.

In the minds of many, myself included, you will create a frankenstein trying to hack the body to fit the C5 chassis. Of course, that's subjective.

0Corvettes by George

You have a PM.
G

uxojerry

A bare frame for $7k with you installing all of the C5 suspension is not a bad way to go. The rear mounted C5 transmission will have to go. SRIII kind of has a tubbing kit for the rear so you can run the c5 wheels/tires. Sounds like a pretty inexpensive way to get a C1 resto-mod. By the way, thanks for the 68 roller. If you find any more 68 body/trim parts laying around, let me know.

John McGraw

Nope, Mike sells a C1 chassis that uses the C5 drivetrain, including the rear-mounted transmission.

You can't do this on a C2, because the rear wheel centerline is too close to the back of the seats, but the C1 has sufficient clearance to make it fit.

They have pics of the chassis on their website.


Regards, John McGraw