you seem to be thinking of only lenthening them towards the front.
but how about going the other direction??? to the rear...

the factory spindle mounting points for the rods are well forward of the axle centerline. and with custom mounting brackets on a solid axle conversion, they could be mounted slightly to the rear of centerline, if need be. thus adding a considerable ammount of lenght to them...

new adjustable plates to mount the links to the frame at or near the stock location would be fairly easy to fabricate, to allow adjustable angularity, for better anti-squat.

 

Can run in the 11's with my six speed 396 LT-1 with a 1.9 60' time. All it takes is a light spin of the BFG DR's for a burnout and a launch at idle.
Never broke anything with this approach. Run mid 11's with a more aggressive launch and 1.7 60' times and have no rear problems either.

The problem most guys have is when they want to get into the low 11's and high ten's. They get the dual disc clutch, raise the launch and bam. The solid rear end then is given serious consideration.

You really have to decide what your goal with the car is. If you want to keep up with the C5's and C6's in your C4, have fun on the street and race in the Corvette challenge, you do not need the solid rear.

Just my .02

 

i agree the the C4`s can make excellent serious drag cars.
not only do they look great (the pic. of yours in your posts is proof of that), but they also have advantages in weight bias, wheelbase, total weight, and aerodynamics. plus, they often have easier engine access than many of the "traditional" platforms... besides, those cars often need a considerable reworking of the rear suspension, and a beefier axle asy. replacement as well...

 

Interesting info

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. With spray, an occasional trip into the 10s is not likely to destroy your rear-end. Trying to bracket race one in the 10s would be a quick end to it. If you keep 60's resonable, you should be able to run these all day in the 11s.

I don't think NitrousSam is worried about the mid-11s and higher though. Something tells me 10s and deaper is his goal - and I know he is not alone on the forum.

 

Red rocket I also said in my quote a 350 not a 400 and that in includes a 396, they have torque. you can walk a larger CI motor for the line and the displacement will help excelerate quicker, that's the benefit of torque. A short stroke crank will never excelerate as fast as a longer one with everything being equal

 

As you get into this project, you might find there is no possible way to build a complete bolt-in for the probable price range you have to hit in order be able to sell them. So as a suggestion, you might consider the cost of fabricating the bolt-in with everything needed except the center section. Maybe that could be done for a couple grand. There should be interest at that level too. Good luck.

I think it is/will be a shocker to many what a high performance rear-end costs. Like, it can be as much as the engine!

 

Have you seen this?
http://www.cwiinc.com/9inchsuspension.htm



A custom case holding a 9in center section for an IRS application.
It wouldn't be too hard to adapt it to the batwing.

Didn't someone already adapt a quick change center section using a custom batwing?
http://www.1speedway.com/irs_quickchange.htm

 

Those do look nice, but Ill bet they are very expensive. Also, for drag racing you would still have the axles etc, that would be weak.

 

I have not been so lucky. You can see my times in my signature, and im on my 3rd 44 now. They just flat wear out and parts break. I have broke the pin going through the spiders, wore out clutch packs, broke a tooth off of the pinion etc.

 

I'm in the same boat and I manage to break rears with even less power than you have. I've had my D44 rebuilt twice and I went through two D36s prior to that. With all the cash I've spent on rears in the last four years I probably would have been better off investing it in a solid axle.

All this for a car that runs mid 12s

 

My Neverlift Solid Axel was less money that what I spent on D44 over the last 5 years. For me it was a no brainer.

 

I would do it. I have used 3 D36's and then converted to the D44. I havent much track time with it, but when I recently took it apart it looked good. But I have a not so sticky track.
And if I ever decide to put some real power out, I would like to know at least the rearend will outlast the 700R, until something better comes along (maybe I can fit a Supra automatic in here ??)

 

lol...supra autos suck, i have a supra and i'm now putting a th350 in it

 

Wow, didnt mean to steal the thread. There are some 600+ RWHP cars here in Hawaii that love there autos. Thats my ignorance thinking that they were tough, based on their stories and the fact a 700R is not as reliable as we would like.
4L80E, is that stout enough

 

4L80 is a neat piece and a heavy duty unit also. I believe you will find that there are some mods you will need to make in order to get it to work in your C4 but all good things tend to require some updates.

 

The 4L80E trans Raptor makes with the stand alone computer and the $700.00 c4 tail shaft is the next step.
I have a built 700R4 and I get about 50 runs on it and bang.I only run 1.49 to 1.55 in the 60'.
I bought Red L98's spool and car creations chunk and bat wing from him.
The spool is a nice Idea but also not the way to go for the money.
I still have not drilled the axles so they will stay in the spool.The tires bounce like a basket ball.If you spend the money to set up the D44 like I have so far and not complete , $3200 in the used rear from Red L98 I have $300 in the shocks,$250.00 for bearings on each side which go about every 75 runs. Weld wheels ,with 12 in MT Drag slicks 28 inches high,The wheels are 15 inch wheels.No one has mentioned that with the solid axle you will be able to run different tires,wheels.I still had to grind my brake calabers to fit the wheels.
Using the solid axle and stock brakes would you still have to grind the brakes or are you stuck with 16 or 17 in wheels that are limited to only a slect tire range for drag racing.
It's is a great idea Nitrous Sam but I think the real $$$ would need to be much higher just for liability reasons.
I would be in if it would even be $4000.00.
I have spent over $10K on my transes,I have a company (Monster Trans ) that said they could build a trans to hold the motor a 434 ,wrong,once again lip service.
I think you should think of a version that just the racers could use first with a cut floor board where the trans mount is used and a covering under the seats to make it look good from the inside of the car .I would do away with the C-Brace.Just a thought to get the project off the ground.When the bucks start to build ,then modify the rear to be a true bolt in using the c-brace.
If you race you need a drive shaft loop .I spend more time installing and removing my safety equipment that the trans itself.Drive shaft
Loop ,blanket ,C-Beam.Right now I run 3 loops,with a solid axle you could cut that to one.
Just my o2 worth.
Let me know if you can make this happen.

 

the auto trans sucks but the 5 speeds are bad A$$

 

Sam, I hope you can do this as a street setup as I cant afford to turn my car into a track only car. Personally, if it requires some welding that a DIYer could do, I have no problem with that.
Also, if you can keep corvette brakes, due to the emergency brake setup, that would be needed for a street legal car.
By the way, what would be the problem with switching the tailshaft housing and using a std. style crossmember instead of the c-beam? I understand the housing on the 700 trans. is not a big deal to switch, dont know about the 6sd guys.
If the price goes up from your orig. estimates I am still interested. Im looking at the one from neverlift, but I would prefer the 9in instead of the 12 bolt and also the antilock brakes will not work on the neverlift conversion.

 

I class race a 90 with a 12 bolt and it rquired that we build a xmember. THe cost to put the axle in using the original transverse spring was less than $4000.00 The best 60' that the car has seen with a NHRA legal stock L98 has been 1.37 and e.t./mph of 10.93/119