Thanks. There were no mods. The kit fit great. As far as how it goes, i was going to weld in some support, but im gonna keep an eye on it. I have to trust people that know more than i do about this. Ryan from ADS was a great guy and knows his stuff.

 

OP,

I have looked at this thread several times over the last 3 years. In May 2022, I put a $1K deposit on a 1996 Collector Edition LT4. I flew from DC to Missouri (Missoura) with a one way ticket. I test drove the car and paid the remaining $18K for it. Yes, I paid $19K overall for a 96 with 76K miles. I'm sure I got shafted by at least a couple grand, but hey, it was the middle of the inflation bubble created by our politicians and I wanted the car.

I have put another $4-5K into the car, primarily new tires (which it needed as the "new tires" it had were from 2006, in great shape though) and a Ram clutch conversion. The rest has been upgrading or replacing old worn out stuff. I have driven the car 10K since, but I wish I could drive it more. I have a 21 month-old boy and I don't think my wife and cops would be happy with a car seat in a Vette.

Anyway, the point that I'm trying to make is that, it is time for you to wrap this project up and start getting a return on your investment. It's been 23 or so years since you acquired this vehicle, and from the looks of it, you have not enjoyed it at all. I'm looking at this from the outside and no horse in this race...but consider this:
- How much $$$ are you willing to throw at this car?
- When is it going to be done?
- Is it ever going to be done?
- How long do plan on keeping it?
- What if you find yourself in a financial emergency and need to sell this car to recoup "some" money?
- What would you expect to recoup anyway?
- You posted about a pretty difficult situation with your wife...what toll has this car taken on the family (time not spent with them, financial, stress, etc.)

From the looks of it, you are 6 months to a year ahead of me in age. I just turned 50 this month. We are over the hill my friend...and on our way down. For me, time has become my greatest priority.

While I am positive this has been a great experience for you, I ask you to step back and consider how much you have invested, especially time into this car.

Here is what I would do if I were in your shoes: Get this thing repainted IMMEDIATELY, then drive the F*****G wheels off it.

Respectfully,
Ric

 

I understand what your saying. The $ i have in it is all in a huge folder of receipts that ive never added up. Never saw it or treated it as an investment at all. My friend described it as a journey, not the destination....But i do enjoy working on it. I have no other 'toys' so the $ isnt an issue. Yes, past few years almost destroyed me, but with what im doing now to it i plan to enjoy it finally. If the trans didnt give out in July, i was going to drive the **** out of it. And as far as the paint goes, believe me i know. Its almost a joke at this point. EVERYTIME i set $ aside for it, something comes up. EVERYTIME. But good thing with that is i dont have to worry about scratching it! lol

So suspension done. Trans comes out soon to be fixed. D44 getting prepped to install. Then paint and its done. And then i WILL enjoy it, hell or high water....And no, never selling. They can bury me in it. Probably will.

 

Paint is not a requirement

Trans, diff...then step on it. It's time! The paint will come whenever it comes.

I am really glad you are nearing completion.

 

Ric

With all due respect . . I think it is incredibly presumptuous . of YOU . . to tell someone else what they should or should NOT do with their car project.

Sorry , , but I see that is just arrogant. and misguided. . . and unfortunate.

Have a GREAT Day.

Bill

 

Bill,

I respect your opinion; however, I am neither arrogant, misguided, or presumptuous.

The OP acquired the car in 2002...that's 23 years ago. Yet, he has driven it very little. If the point here is to work on the car indefinitely and learn from it, then it all makes sense. I'm certain the OPs intent is to build up a car and drive it. At some point in our lives, we all need a fresh set of eyes on a given situation to make sure we haven't lost track of what's really important. I would rather see the OP at cars and coffee with a car missing the paint job. At least we have a chance to look under the hood and talk about what's been done.

I'll tell you what's really unfortunate...your insults. Oh well, such is life!

 

Trans out. I drop it off to the shop this Friday, along with some of the parts I picked up for it. He is also gonna increase the stall, but ill know more when I meet him and discuss it further.... Fingers crossed.

And ill be getting help re-installing it. Im done doing this myself.


Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!!!!

 

Just curious as to what happened to your transmission. It appears as if it is pretty fresh. You may have related the fault inside the thread but I don't have the desire to read ~300 posts to find out.

And by the way, don't let someone else try and tell you when/how to enjoy your project. None of their fkn business.

 

Thank you sir, it didnt bother me at all.


I do believe the rear sun shell failed. Right in my driveway after a 45 min, uneventful drive. Was a horrible grinding in reverse, forward was fine. On the lift in neutral, I could rotate tires forward, but not backwards a quarter turn before locking up. When I dropped the pan there were tiny pieces of what looked like a roller bearing. Fluid looked brand new still. The sonnax website actually showed the common failure, and the pic they posted looked exactly like what was in my pan. So I have the new one. I do believe you gave me some advice on it in another post, as I know your the go-to transmission guy here. So thanks!

The shop that is doing this is new to me, but was highly recommended to me from a few people with performance vehicles. When i spoke with him he told me all he does at this shop is performance trans. The shop owner lets him build them there, but cant offer any kind of written warranty, which I understand..Ill know more Friday when i bring it to him.

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ans-issue.html

 

happy New Year - hope this trans goes smoothly for you

 

 

Still waiting on sonnax. But got the sonnax reaction shaft for it. Supposedly will have other part in beginning of April. Oh well. Front and rear planetary sets will now be 5 pinions. I was thinking of the sonnax set for the front that changes the gear ratio but decided against it.

 

Heavy duty sonnax reaction shaft....

 

So this has been fun.

After having the Sonnax input housing on order (and paid for) since Jan 2026 I cancelled the order. Once a month id email them and ask for an ETA and it was always "next month". Enough.

So I ended up talking the the guys at 4l70.com and went with their 4l78 setup. This is not the strongest one they offer, but is good to 600 hp. Only reason I went this route is the 4l79 setup they have is patented by them, and it takes their own frictions and steels. I was assured the parts for it will always be in stock, but my luck if anything was to happen and I needed new frictions and steels, they wouldnt be available. The 4l78 setup takes the regular size frictions and steels. They also told me they have a lot of drag cars running the 4l78 setup with no issues. So thats the route im taking.

So they dont have the hardened input shaft however. They told me if I can get one, ship it to them, and the will press it into the new setup with the input sleeve as well no charge. So apparently I found and bought the only Sonnax hardened input shaft in the country. $800. Ouch. Its on the way to them and they said 24 hour turnaround and its on its way back to me. Once I get it, im hauling *** down to my builder with the new parts.

My goal is to have the car back together by mid May. And im gonna drive the **** out of it. There is a Corvette show June 6th near me, and I plan to be there.


EDIT - I forgot, my torque converter stall has been increased by about 300-400. So that should put me around 2900-3000.

 

glad to see finally getting some movement on things - patience you had waiting on those "next month" parts - crazy - hopefully the rest goes smoothly for you!

 

Thanks! Hope this goes quick and smooth.