Well it looks like I will finally be starting my new project, a 1965 coupe. I will be starting with a nice solid body that I had purchased about 3 years ago. The project will use a SRIII Motorsports tubular chassis, I was SO pleased with the 67's performance that the decision was a no brainer for me and Mike Stockdale has been a tremendous vendor to work with.

I had purchased a friend's 2009 Z06 that had 17K miles on it when it was struck by a woman driving a Volvo. The crash had severed the front left upper and lower control arms, fender and nose piece. Overall the car was not severely damaged, but did suffer some minor frame damage near the cowl...so, it became mine for salvage cost This donor car will provide much of the hardware needed for this project.

Mike managed to finish up my frame just in time for me to pick it up while I was out in Indy displaying my 67 at the HRIA show held at Lucas stadium this past weekend. That worked out great, but I had to come up with a way to get the car home AND the frame. That's where we had to come up with some ingenuity and I framed up a stand to mount the frame up over the 67 The structure is completely X braced and was mounted to floor of the trailer so that nothing could move, dang this thing could had acted as a roll cage in the event of a trailer roll over

So, I hope to be able to start mounting the body to the frame and start all of the fabrication process. I will start a build thread once I actually make some progress I'm hoping this car tops my 67 convertible effort, it should have some unique twists to it that I think will make it a little different than most approaches ....stay tuned

R/
Jeff

 

Sounds like a cool project, good luck and keep us posted on the progress.

 

Looking forward to it! Great transportation idea for the frame! It is going to be tough to out do the 67!

 

This should be a fun project to follow along on the forum. Keep the pictures and progress coming!

Don

 

Jeff,

glad to see you get started on the coupe. I started mine last month as well. I am within a day or two of having a rolling chassis. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, which has slowed me down a little, but I am getting back to where I can work in the shop, but I still have little endurance.
What center section did you decide to use?

Regards, John McGraw

 

I love the '67, and can't wait to see more of the build!

 

This will be better than anything on prime time TV. Can't wait to see all of the progress updates. Good luck with the build.

 

That 65 you started with didn't look that bad. Was it beyond restoration?

 

What was your question again????? Sorry, I keep getting distracted by your avatar

The 65 was definitely restorable if I wanted to invest more time and money than it would ever be worth. It is a base 250hp PG car that needs total restoration. I am letting it serve other folks who are looking for parts that they need for their original restorations. The car will go on to serve a higher purpose....mine My plan is to keep true to its original form while updating performance, technology, and some visual touches....but most of all, a car that can be driven hard in Auto-X, drag racing and power stop challenges. I think most folks will appreciate the final product, I know I'm sure excited about it!

John,

Great to see you back on your project. I need to make a trip back out to Austin and have a beer with ya . I am using a 9" in this one, Mark Williams is building the 3rd member and will be good up to 1000+ hp. I like this package because it offers lots of options in ratios/equipment and fits nice for what I plan on doing with the car. I look forward to following your build as well

R/
Jeff

 

That's a nice lay out of your 67 LS-7 in Vette magazine.

 

Thanks,

I was very happy with the article and pics. It was not the typical "it's really shiny and has a cool stereo" lol. Vette magazine does a really nice job talking about the build of the car, they did make an error and give my Uncles body shop credit for my hood hinge creation....hmm, I was pretty proud about that fabrication work and he got the glory for it...ha ha.

R/
Jeff

 

Come on out, I am always here!

I figured that it was a 9", given the distance between the rear frame rails. I agonized over this decision for months, but tire size won out, so I narrowed the rear frame rails and went with a quickchange. I hope I do not regret not using a 9". Hopefiully, with the addition of some angle cut gears in the quickchange housing, it will not be too noisy on the street.


Regards, John McGraw

 

[QUOTE=1coolC2; The 65 was definitely restorable if I wanted to invest more time and money than it would ever be worth. It is a base 250hp PG car that needs total restoration. I am letting it serve other folks who are looking for parts that they need for their original restorations. The car will go on to serve a higher purpose....mine My plan is to keep true to its original form while updating performance, technology, and some visual touches....but most of all, a car that can be driven hard in Auto-X, drag racing and power stop challenges. I think most folks will appreciate the final product, I know I'm sure excited about it![/QUOTE]

Well said! It looks great and I'll be following this build.

Dave

 

Jeff,

Are you going to "cage" this car, so you don't get thrown off of every dragstrip, when you run too fast?

I am still wrestling with this decision.


Regards, John McGraw

 

John,

It's a MUST with this car. I plan on racing it and all catagories will require roll over protection. If I only planned on a few events here and there, I probably would not bother, but this thing is going to see allot of "use" . What size tire are planning to use on your coupe?? I'm going with a 345 rear.

R/
Jeff

 

Is it going to be a close match to your convertible, or will you go another direction in styling?

I look forward to watching the build.

 

I am going with 345 as well. Mike told me that keeping 345 tires under the stock quarters would preclude the use of a 9 inch, or at least a 9 inch that could be removed once the suspension was in place.
Are you going with widened quarters?



Regards, John McGraw

 

I will be using the same syle 1/4 that I used on the 67, I like the slightly wider stance and it allowed me the room to fit the 9" and still get it out easily if necessary

R/
Jeff

 

Hi Jeff,

Thought I saw something different on your frame.
The new Michelin Pilot Super Sports are improved over the PS2's I had on my car.
For drag racing 16" or 17" will work better. Still have your number in my phone (hangar flying )

R/ Jim

 

Thanks,

It will be similar, but in a completely different way if that makes any sense Styling will be similar but with some fresh ideas and some things I thought about after the 67 build. Bottom line, If you like the 67, I think you will love this coupe

R/
Jeff