Alright, eventually, i wanna buy the old 1969 hard top corvette stingray, or a nearby year. This is because i love the shape, the idea in my head was black, with white racing stripes, fat tires and chrome pieces on little parts of it.

something like this would be the general idea
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/corv...corvette-4.jpg

the major problem ive been told though is that the stingray has a slanted radiator which means that not enough air gets in for big engines and i wanted to put in a 540 big block in.

my uncle having had one with a 427 told me he used to have overheating problems when starting and stopping in traffic or driving in the city.

As much as having a 540 block isn't needed, i wanna build an utter machine which you have trouble handling. The thing is, how can i get this big block cooled? im thinking i might need a separate set of fans which cool the engine whenever there is start-stop motion.

But im not sure what will fit in the engine bay with such a large engine in their and whether or not it can get cooled properly

I also thought i might make it an all wheel drive car (if possible -- might cost a lot ) with 70% rear and 30% front and adjustable if possible so that i can make it complete rear or all wheel.. still, not sure if its possible for this. Because i know the 800-1000 horsepowers i intend to be going to the wheels wont be able to handle only at the rear, but i want to be able to have all kinds of fun with it. Im guessing this would be too hard and too expensive, unless someone has done it before. But i want to be able to hold as much traction as i can from zero to 100km/h and still be able to do anything in the car while its rear wheel drive, obviously rwd is more important, so if i lose that by this setup cause i cant switch where the power goes, there is no point in it.

does anyone here have any suggestions on how i can cool this car? or about an all wheel drive system?

Also, was wondering how much it cost to restore and replace the engine on a working model.. without too many faults to the few specs ive added in this topic?

cheers
Josh

 

You have to remember more horsepower means more heat, so you have to design your cooling system to the engine requirements.

I have a '69 427/435 and it does not overheat. It rarely goes over 180-190 degrees unless I'm sitting in traffic on a very hot and humid day. The stock cooling system is adequate, but that's assuming everything is in proper operating order which isn't always the case in a 40 year old car.

The fact that the radiator is canted really doesn't matter if everything is as designed. The seals have to all be in place or you will lose air from it going around the radiator rather than through it. The air deflector underneath needs to be in place to make sure air goes up to the radiator rather than under the car where it's wasted and creates turbulence. The fan clutch needs to be operating properly, the belts properly tightened, fan shroud in place, etc. Lots of little things all designed to work in harmony to keep a big block cool.

If you drop in a 540 engine, I would suggest installing an aluminum radiator...less weight plus aluminum transfers heat more efficiently than the stock unit. I would have a radiator core built with more fins per inch than stock...that increases cooling area for higher efficiency and heat transfer. It's supposed to be better than additional rows in the core but added rows is a help as well.

You may want to add electric fans instead of a mechanical fan and fan clutch. It can be thermostatically controlled and you can also add a manual switch to run the fan as you want. I would also add Water Wetter or a similar additive to the coolant for increased thermal efficiency.

Cooling that 540 is certainly doable...others have done similar installations with even higher power outputs. It takes mixing and matching the right selection of components. It needs to be well thought out. You don't want to simply buy a bunch of parts, no matter how high the quality and throw them together and expect good results if they aren't matched to the job.

 

Very true, thanks for that, I had been told it would be almost 'impossible' but i guess my uncle did as you said, bought parts that werent suited to his engine. With this being the case, ill spend some good time designing what im doing.

Also, whats the cost of a full restoration in your opinion, without my infamous AWD system that i doubt anyone here would approve haha

 

Radiator , just get a Dewitts aluminum with some fan packs and you should be OK for $1,000.

To start figuring cost you should be able to get a 1000HP 540 for $26,500

http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/p...572bbc_nai.pdf

You will need a custom tube frame chassis. An off the shelf tube chassis would be $14,000. Anything is possible, just how much you want to spend.

http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/196382corvette.html

Somebody could probably convert to 4 wheel drive for you but your talking really big $ for that.

If you don't go 4 wheel drive probably $15,000 will get you a transmission, clutches, drive shaft and axles to handle the power.
http://www.lencoracing.com/ST1200MasterPage.html


You could get away with a $10,000 Corvette as all you would need is a body, everything else would be custom. Oh and you probably want new paint and interior plus wheels and tires to support the 1000Hp add $15,000 for that.


Or just buy this one on Ebay for $295,000

 

so that came to about 80k US so for me thats about... 120k + Australian, about the same as i expected it to be..

thanks for all the figures, of course, im betting the price will go up due to things that havent been added but looks about right, if i can get the right body at 16000 australian thats right hand drive in australia ill be pretty dam happy but im not sure of the 76 stingray or the 69, ive been looking at both and they both look quite brilliant in my opinion, and there is a 76 for 21k AUSD

ill have to wait and see

 

Get the package for importing cars from Vehicle Imports in Canberra, that will explain what your up for.
Much easier to bring in a 30+ year car.

 

What do you mean the package? and where can i find it?

would you reccommend bringing all the parts to Aus and assebling here? or taking the shell and getting it done there, then bringing it back?

 

You can drop about $6,000 out of the engine price if you go with an 800 HP street gas motor.

http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/p..._572bbc_na.pdf

or many other choices:

http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/new_engine_chevy.htm

 

I got a question for the race gas, is there two tanks for normal and race? or do i have to fuel with 100+ octane all the time? cause i dont think around my area im gonna find many pumps, so the 800 horsepower motor would be the best choice, specially if i can supercharge it, (not that thats needed)

 

Are you serious about AWD? Have you actually looked at a C3 to see how it goes together? I won't say impossible because someone will prove me wrong, but I will say virtually impossible.

 

yea, it may be virtually impossible, but someone always has a way, but i dont want to spend 100k on that haha

was wondering if there was a possible way already done.