Blu Sting:

Give is an update on the aluminum trailing arms.

George :smash:

 

blue,
In my opinion it`s not the arm itself that is the heavy part but all the stuff that gets bolted to it. ...redvetracr

 

I agree. The arm itself is a small percentage of weight of the entire TA assembly.

Mark

 

I don't have a weight on one, but the fabricated steel t-arms sold by Vette Brakes are significantly heavier than the stock sheet metal arms. Of course, cast iron calipers, hub carrier and steel half shafts aren't light either.

 

UPDATE:

the new arms are coming along great-- only obstacle so far is that my MIG box won't hold the 16" spool of wire i have, so i have to fabricate an outside hub support. plus i'm still reseaching what size coil-overs to use-- thinking 11" OA length extended might be the best option. i'll have some more pics soon of what i have done so far. my only real problem is lack of time- i have too many projects going on at once.

as for the weight issue, stock T/A's bare weigh about 25lbs for the pair-that was with a bathroom scale, so the weight could be under a bit. new aluminum arms are expected to drop half that. i currently have one side of my rear suspension apart, so i've been planning making other lightweight pieces, including the caliper mount bracket, aluminum halfshafts and a driveshaft, and an upper aluminum cross member.

all in all, my goal is to get my heavy fat whale down to a lean 2700, lower if possible, which is where carbon fiber panels will come in to play.

BTW, i'm also fabricating a 6 point cage if anyone is interested. i can get a pretty decent price on material. i'm starting up a small automotive machine/fab shop on the side here in philly, so i'm always looking to meet potential customers, especially C3 owners.

Stingray75TX@cs.com

vette75TX on AIM.


[Modified by blue_stingray, 12:43 PM 3/2/2002]

 

Lets talk ALUMINUM.

To me lightening the car takes bit by bit. A little on the trailing arms, a little on the brakes. Putting helium in the tires in place of air. Will maybe I am getting carried away.

This is where my 1969 stands with its diet as it sits in the garage tonight:

Chev. 1970 LT-1 aluminum intake replaced cast iron intake.

Edelbrock Aluminum torker heads replaced cast iron heads.

Chev. bowtie aluminum block replaced iron block.

Edelbrock Aluminum water pump replaced cast iron pump.

MSD billet Aluminum tach drive distributor replaced iron distributor.

VB&P Aluminum front hubs replaced steel hubs.

VB&P composite rear spring replaced steel spring.

And this is my wish list:

SSBS. Aluminum brakes replaced cast-iron brakes.

Aluminum radiator to replace brass.

Aluminum drive and half shafts to replace steel.

And the biggies if you can help?:

Aluminum trailing arms.

Aluminum rear end housing to replace iron one, must directly bolt into a 1969.

Can you HELP???

George :)


[Modified by 999, 9:49 PM 3/4/2002]

 

Well you Obviously need to use the Wilwood DynaliteII brakes with my Aluminum front bracket. These calipers only weigh 2.5 lb each!

 

Keep us updated! I'm wondering how you'll fit a coilover in there...I've been looking at it myself and the only way I see it possible is by cutting up the frame and using control arms like on the viper.

 

Look at this:



Found at http://www.acp-euskirchen.de

Marck

 

Hello! That's what I'm talking about! Oh man, I'd love to have a set of those bad boys on all 4 corners. Twinnie, I can't read that website, can you translate any info pertaining to those brakes (i.e. brackets, rotor, hat, calipers)?

 

I'll translate it for you!

Hang on.. it'll be here in a few moments!

Marck

 

Monty,

The rotors are STOCK! Only drilled.

The calipers are Brembo's I think they're Porsche Turbo's, not the GT's (those for 13" rotors) All are 4 piston calipers.

They're 4 piston brakes and the guy (ACP) fabrikates the brackets himself.

I'm not sure what they cost, I remember something like 1000$ for the front and something similar for the rear.

You can email the owner Jörg Vögelsang here:
acp@acp-euskirchen.de

He understands english!

To see more pics click in the page on "bildergalerie" (image gallery)
and then there are categories
Autos (self explanatory)
Motor = engines
Zubehohr = accessories

Then in the accessories page it says this above the images of the brakes:
"Brembosattel Vorderachse ( links ) Hinterachse ( mitte ) für 68 - 82´er Vette"
Brembo calipers front axle (links) Rear axle (middle) for 68-82 Corvette

Then under that it shows the koni coil overs w/ this text:
"Umbausatz auf Koni Gewindefahrwerk Vorder und Hinterachse ( 68 - 82´er Vette )"

Conversion kit for Koni coil over suspension front & rear axle (68-82 vette)

There's not that much more info on the site!

The pics pretty muich speak for themselves. You can clearly see the CNC'ed
caliper bracket in one of the pis.

I have an email from Jörg somewhere, I inquired about that stuff a year ago or something like that and I'm seriously wondering if it's not something for me too. I was looking at the 6 pistons Wilwoods but these are a bolt on! The Coil overs look great too. Oh,.. please email me, I have a question for you!

Marck



[Modified by Twinnie, 4:57 PM 3/5/2002]

 

Oh and something other of interest!

I was looking thru the pics and I noticed this:



It's a C3 w/ a rear suspension made up of C4 & C3 parts.

We as 80-82 can drop in a C4 diff/carrier. It exactly fits the frame (I checked this, have 93 IRS) Now , I was looking for a way to mod the frame to fit the dogbones but this looks much easier. weld 2 tabs on the trailingarms for the upper rods and you're done.

The only thing you need to do also is mod an older model front Diff to frame mount (the thing in the center) to accept the C4 rear end. The C4 one has bolt holes for the torque arm. :D

Marck

 

Found the email!
________________________________________ ______________
Mark,
we offer two Kits (Front and Rear) and you`re right it works with
the Stock discs.
Each Kit consists of 2 Brembo Calipers (used,but like new condition),
Brake Pads,Brackets and braided (Stainless Steel) Brake Hoses.
The Price of each Kit is 2500,-DM
________________________________________ ______________

2500,-DM is around 1000$!

Marck

 

WOW! There's the answer to my differential problem - how to make it live behind 1200hp?. I can't believe how simple that is and I hadn't even thought of it.

 

Yeah, I was baffled by the simplicity too.

I had been trying to fit it like that but was wondering if the angle of the upper rods would be right. I think I have just found the answer I need!

Time to throw in the 93 Dana 44. BTW, it's a 36 in that pic. (EDIT! Nope..it's a 44!)

Our diff is really flimsy. The bearings are soo small. W/ the crossfire I managed to trash one and the second one had a blue & burred posi pin from heat. These things are for the birds.

Marck


[Modified by Twinnie, 6:00 PM 3/5/2002]


[Modified by Twinnie, 6:07 PM 3/5/2002]

 

Even though our diff and the stick shift C4's use a Dana 44, the C4's seem to be stronger. I've know of a few cracked 80-82 diff cases in high torque/high traction applications, but I know several guys who are running in the 9's with a stock C4 Dana 44 diff. Heck, John Meaney uses a stock C4 diff in his 1300hp twin turbo. I also like the fact that this easily incorporated the upper control arm. I think I'm going to do this. I need a new 4.10 anyway...

 

I know the guys from ACP - actually, I live 1 h away and they put in the new engine last year plus did some other stuff to my 1970.

Let me know if you need any more info or translations!

Regards,

Chris

 

So can you guys explain why you like Brembo calipers so much?
is it just the cool name? or the foreign mystique?

 

Not Brembo's specifically, but either them, Alcon, or AP Racing are what I'm looking for, 6 piston in front, 4 in the rear. As soon as I finish up the turbo project, that's my next upgrade - serious brakes.

Back to the C4 diff being a practically bolt in for 80-82's - I wonder if the Dana 44 diff from my 82 will fit into a C4 diff carrier? Then you wouldn't even have to modify the pinion mount.


[Modified by Monty, 8:56 AM 3/6/2002]