Plan Review Please
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,399
Likes: 247
From: San Jose CA
How do you define "mildly built"? 350rwhp through an auto is going to require a pretty significant investment in drivetrain. Think good heads, a decent cam (mid 220s-230s on duration), high rise dual plane(performer RPM Q-Jet) or single plane intake (not many in a spread bore config, the Weiand 7525 is the only one I know of and that's a low rise single plane).
As for shocks, the KYBs are a much better bet than the sensatracs you listed before, I'd go all the way up to bilstein sports, myself (and have, multiple times on multiple cars
).
As for shocks, the KYBs are a much better bet than the sensatracs you listed before, I'd go all the way up to bilstein sports, myself (and have, multiple times on multiple cars
).
Pro
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 582
Likes: 9
How do you define "mildly built"? 350rwhp through an auto is going to require a pretty significant investment in drivetrain. Think good heads, a decent cam (mid 220s-230s on duration), high rise dual plane(performer RPM Q-Jet) or single plane intake (not many in a spread bore config, the Weiand 7525 is the only one I know of and that's a low rise single plane).
As for shocks, the KYBs are a much better bet than the sensatracs you listed before, I'd go all the way up to bilstein sports, myself (and have, multiple times on multiple cars ).
As for shocks, the KYBs are a much better bet than the sensatracs you listed before, I'd go all the way up to bilstein sports, myself (and have, multiple times on multiple cars
).And good point on the 350rwhp. My last set up was a 355, world products sportman II heads roller cam with 224 degreed duration and with a 4 speed it was 335rwhp. 350rwhp is not mild.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,399
Likes: 247
From: San Jose CA
Pro
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 582
Likes: 9
It is a weiand stealth, works from 1500-6700 rpms. I have a 650 DP and a stock duel snorkel air cleaner (modified to fit a Holley carb) and it clears the hood of my 79. I did a dyno test with the stock air cleaner and a 14 in open air cleaner and the stock one made about 15 more hp.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 420
Likes: 5
From: Springfield Missouri
Take a look at my thread.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...post1587341846
My build is some what similar, it may give you some ideas.
Do use the rubber body mounts, but as far as the control arms I have had both the rubber and the poly bushings. The poly handles better but although they are firmer I don't think there are harsh. In a unibody car poly will feel harsh.
I'll keep this in mind as I aggregate more opinions on poly vs rubber.
I like my borgeson box, the increased gear ratio is nice and it gives good road feel. I thought about rack and pinion but know some one that the inner hemi joint failed on his year old steeroids rack and wrecked his car. Also you have a bit of a decrease in Turing radius. But it was still a hard decision on what to do, I do like that the borg box some what looks like it was normally there on the car for the factory.
I did stainless fuel and brake lines. Had problems with the SS brake lines on the flairs sealing, took some rework. Did use 3/8 fuel main and return so its there for fuel injection way down the road.
Good to know the size needed for fuel injection. I'm not planning on going there, but setting up for it would be a good idea so I dont have to redo it later.
I used bilstein shocks, I feel they are entry level good quality shocks. High end shocks are hundreds of $ per shock. Also I highly recommend a composite rear spring, but that may be in the Vette brakes kit you have listed. I used there duel mount composite spring.
The KYB's come in the VBP kit so I'll end up using those unless I can somehow get a discount deal if they'll subtract the shocks. As to a composite monospring, I'm not sure I like the idea of those. Everything I've read about them seems to indicate that they have no failure period to indicate something is going bad: they just up and break, crack, or otherwise fail. At least with a worn out steel spring you can tell because they start to sag. I really think I'm going to stick with steel.
I have used vintage air on three different vehicles. It is cold and is easy to install. I will not be using it on my vette or any other vehicle that has factory air. Every vintage air units I have used the heaters were under sized, also I do not like that you do not have a provision to bring in outside air into the a/c system.
No worries about an undersized heater. I'll only be driving in warm weather, and on the off-chance I do cold-weather driving Im sure the heater will be sufficient. As for outside air; I prefer to run my AC on Max or not at all.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...post1587341846
My build is some what similar, it may give you some ideas.
Do use the rubber body mounts, but as far as the control arms I have had both the rubber and the poly bushings. The poly handles better but although they are firmer I don't think there are harsh. In a unibody car poly will feel harsh.
I'll keep this in mind as I aggregate more opinions on poly vs rubber.
I like my borgeson box, the increased gear ratio is nice and it gives good road feel. I thought about rack and pinion but know some one that the inner hemi joint failed on his year old steeroids rack and wrecked his car. Also you have a bit of a decrease in Turing radius. But it was still a hard decision on what to do, I do like that the borg box some what looks like it was normally there on the car for the factory.
I did stainless fuel and brake lines. Had problems with the SS brake lines on the flairs sealing, took some rework. Did use 3/8 fuel main and return so its there for fuel injection way down the road.
Good to know the size needed for fuel injection. I'm not planning on going there, but setting up for it would be a good idea so I dont have to redo it later.
I used bilstein shocks, I feel they are entry level good quality shocks. High end shocks are hundreds of $ per shock. Also I highly recommend a composite rear spring, but that may be in the Vette brakes kit you have listed. I used there duel mount composite spring.
The KYB's come in the VBP kit so I'll end up using those unless I can somehow get a discount deal if they'll subtract the shocks. As to a composite monospring, I'm not sure I like the idea of those. Everything I've read about them seems to indicate that they have no failure period to indicate something is going bad: they just up and break, crack, or otherwise fail. At least with a worn out steel spring you can tell because they start to sag. I really think I'm going to stick with steel.
I have used vintage air on three different vehicles. It is cold and is easy to install. I will not be using it on my vette or any other vehicle that has factory air. Every vintage air units I have used the heaters were under sized, also I do not like that you do not have a provision to bring in outside air into the a/c system.
No worries about an undersized heater. I'll only be driving in warm weather, and on the off-chance I do cold-weather driving Im sure the heater will be sufficient. As for outside air; I prefer to run my AC on Max or not at all.
How do you define "mildly built"? 350rwhp through an auto is going to require a pretty significant investment in drivetrain. Think good heads, a decent cam (mid 220s-230s on duration), high rise dual plane(performer RPM Q-Jet) or single plane intake (not many in a spread bore config, the Weiand 7525 is the only one I know of and that's a low rise single plane).
I'm not the one defining mildly built: that's what I (eventually) will be asking you fine folks to do when the time comes to start engine work.
I was thinking 350 rwhp because of a little mental nag that an engine should be able to make its displacement in hp. Perhaps I should be thinking of hp at the flexplate instead of the rear wheels, or maybe give up on a fixed HP number completely. Regardless, engine-building considerations, parts, etc are not at the forefront of my mind at the moment. As it is, I may just freshen up what I have, when I get that far.
As for shocks, the KYBs are a much better bet than the sensatracs you listed before, I'd go all the way up to bilstein sports, myself (and have, multiple times on multiple cars ).
As above, the shocks are what come in the kit from VBP. If I can negotiate something else with them, I'll consider it.
I'm not the one defining mildly built: that's what I (eventually) will be asking you fine folks to do when the time comes to start engine work.
I was thinking 350 rwhp because of a little mental nag that an engine should be able to make its displacement in hp. Perhaps I should be thinking of hp at the flexplate instead of the rear wheels, or maybe give up on a fixed HP number completely. Regardless, engine-building considerations, parts, etc are not at the forefront of my mind at the moment. As it is, I may just freshen up what I have, when I get that far.As for shocks, the KYBs are a much better bet than the sensatracs you listed before, I'd go all the way up to bilstein sports, myself (and have, multiple times on multiple cars
).As above, the shocks are what come in the kit from VBP. If I can negotiate something else with them, I'll consider it.
Pro
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 582
Likes: 9
Don't get me wrong about the vintage air systems. I think they are good, but I have found that in some situations you need the out side air to keep the windows from fogging up. Some times the only way I was able to keep the windows from fogging up was with the defroster on hi and cold and it would freeze you out. But in the Corvette you most likely will not be driving on cool raining days so you should be fine.
I have been running a composite spring since 2007 on my car. In 2004 I had replaced the factory spring with a new steel spring and in early 2007 the tip of it broke of while driving threw the Chesapeake bridge tunnel. It sounded like a shot gun and the spring dragging on the ground sent sparks out the back. The car went a little side ways when it happened and sent me into the oncoming lane and I just missed hitting a 18 wheeler head on. The interesting thing was that the sway bar was able the support the right side of the car enough to keep the suspension from completely bottoming out.
Please consider a composite spring. I believe that you will not regret it. If you ride in a car with a soft stock steel spring and then one with a stiff composite spring you would be amazed at the difference in handling and how nicely the composite spring rides. I think that almost the harshness in ride quality that C3 Corvettes have can be eliminated with a composite spring. Just at least do some more research on the springs.
I had a 2012 Nissan Altmia Coupe that had a firmer ride than my vette and I have a stiff rear composite spring and 550 front coils. Now the Nissan was a little bit more forgiving on the really big bumps than the vette is.
I have been running a composite spring since 2007 on my car. In 2004 I had replaced the factory spring with a new steel spring and in early 2007 the tip of it broke of while driving threw the Chesapeake bridge tunnel. It sounded like a shot gun and the spring dragging on the ground sent sparks out the back. The car went a little side ways when it happened and sent me into the oncoming lane and I just missed hitting a 18 wheeler head on. The interesting thing was that the sway bar was able the support the right side of the car enough to keep the suspension from completely bottoming out.
Please consider a composite spring. I believe that you will not regret it. If you ride in a car with a soft stock steel spring and then one with a stiff composite spring you would be amazed at the difference in handling and how nicely the composite spring rides. I think that almost the harshness in ride quality that C3 Corvettes have can be eliminated with a composite spring. Just at least do some more research on the springs.
I had a 2012 Nissan Altmia Coupe that had a firmer ride than my vette and I have a stiff rear composite spring and 550 front coils. Now the Nissan was a little bit more forgiving on the really big bumps than the vette is.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 420
Likes: 5
From: Springfield Missouri
Don't get me wrong about the vintage air systems. I think they are good, but I have found that in some situations you need the out side air to keep the windows from fogging up. Some times the only way I was able to keep the windows from fogging up was with the defroster on hi and cold and it would freeze you out. But in the Corvette you most likely will not be driving on cool raining days so you should be fine.
I have been running a composite spring since 2007 on my car. In 2004 I had replaced the factory spring with a new steel spring and in early 2007 the tip of it broke of while driving threw the Chesapeake bridge tunnel. It sounded like a shot gun and the spring dragging on the ground sent sparks out the back. The car went a little side ways when it happened and sent me into the oncoming lane and I just missed hitting a 18 wheeler head on. The interesting thing was that the sway bar was able the support the right side of the car enough to keep the suspension from completely bottoming out.
Please consider a composite spring. I believe that you will not regret it. If you ride in a car with a soft stock steel spring and then one with a stiff composite spring you would be amazed at the difference in handling and how nicely the composite spring rides. I think that almost the harshness in ride quality that C3 Corvettes have can be eliminated with a composite spring. Just at least do some more research on the springs.
I had a 2012 Nissan Altmia Coupe that had a firmer ride than my vette and I have a stiff rear composite spring and 550 front coils. Now the Nissan was a little bit more forgiving on the really big bumps than the vette is.
I have been running a composite spring since 2007 on my car. In 2004 I had replaced the factory spring with a new steel spring and in early 2007 the tip of it broke of while driving threw the Chesapeake bridge tunnel. It sounded like a shot gun and the spring dragging on the ground sent sparks out the back. The car went a little side ways when it happened and sent me into the oncoming lane and I just missed hitting a 18 wheeler head on. The interesting thing was that the sway bar was able the support the right side of the car enough to keep the suspension from completely bottoming out.
Please consider a composite spring. I believe that you will not regret it. If you ride in a car with a soft stock steel spring and then one with a stiff composite spring you would be amazed at the difference in handling and how nicely the composite spring rides. I think that almost the harshness in ride quality that C3 Corvettes have can be eliminated with a composite spring. Just at least do some more research on the springs.
I had a 2012 Nissan Altmia Coupe that had a firmer ride than my vette and I have a stiff rear composite spring and 550 front coils. Now the Nissan was a little bit more forgiving on the really big bumps than the vette is.
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