project go fast..78 vett

[supersize75k5]

Car is a 78 corvette..threw a rod and made a strainer out of the oil pan.


so lets add some power shall we?


-Derebery performance 350 ci 400 HP 430 TQ..dyno numbers spit out 447 lbs at 3700 rpm and 417hp @ 5700 rpm, its tuned and purchased as a turn key http://www.dpmpower.us/smallblock.php...should melt some tires compared to the stock tired 350
-Transmission selected is a stage two bowtie over drive 700r4, 2200 stall. complete with holley tv cable, new throttle, shift lever brackets and hard parts..:cheers:
To put the trans mount in the right place, a bowtie overdrives cross member will be put in place of the old unit. http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/catalog/catalog_inc/viewitem.php?ITEMID=112
next on the parts list is a new aluminum radiator with built in electric fan and t-stat contoler.

other things going on, rebuild of rear suspension, rebuild of rear drive line, gears changed to 3.73, body mounts, clean up and detail of engine bay. frame/firewall etc.. tranny temp guage/ tach, hoses, lines and all the little stuff oh..and hooker header side pipes

should be a fun project and Ill post pics as we go. Any feedback or info is more than welcome.

 

[supersize75k5]

Having 2 issues..
1. is the water pump is hitting the timing chain cover bolts, seems to be about 1/4 inch of an issue..The pump is the vett specific one as I had read that using the wrong one will cause alignment issues with the pulleys or vett accessory brackets.
so since the block is a vortec block I assume we are now looking at possibly having to purchase some new brackets and pulleys?

2. is the hood clearance, the crate motor comes with a high rise intake as well as a spacer for the carb. We tried it with out the spacer and still could not fit the slimmest of the three air cleaners I had to try on it. We then removed the installation/fire blanket from the hood and it just barely fits but is touching. Other air cleaners you guys know of that will work? I am pretty sure we can find on that will.

oh the fun..:cheers:

 

[y5mgisi]

thats pretty much awesome.

 

[Elroy303030]

Nice ride. I love Vettes. Have a 88 Conv. myself.

 

[pauly383]

Shawn , I thought you worked on musclecars and was a car guy

1. Corvettes were an engineering exercise to package everything in that chassis . You need a short water pump and the Corvette timing cover and motor bracketry .....OR you try lots of combos yourself .

2. You should use the l48 intake and accessories , it will still flow ok , and the no one will know the difference when you pop the hood , which clears stock stuff . But you don't pop the hood on Corvettes , you blow by people

You really want the fancy stuff , get a cowl hood , its not like its worth anything anymore without the matching number block anyway

 

[pauly383]

BTW , WE WANT BLOWN D44 AND HALFSHAFT PICS WHEN YOUR DONE

 

[supersize75k5]

Paul this car does have the factory 2 inch cowl hood, its a 25th anniversary special edition yada yada car..


I need a long water pump, bummer is this motor is already nice and sealed up.. I think the long water pump will be the solution along with some nice aluminum brackets and pulleys, or maybe just chrome. At any rate the all of it was going to be powder coated as is a lot of other little things, so this just puts the powder coat cost towards the solution.


looks like there are some solutions in the air cleaner department though so I can breath now as I did not feel like trying to match the paint on this paint job if I was to purchase a larger cowl hood than the factory. As for the intake.. its paid for so its staying!

 

[pauly383]

It ain't special anymore , its just a car with a new motor

I didn't mean the stock cowl type hood , I did mean the larger zl-1 type hood

As for your water pump , I can see the pics now ( you know my work connection ) . And I do see you have the short water pump already , which is what works with the radiator location .

Your going to run electric fans with the long pump instead of replacing the water pump backing plate bolts with shorter or flatter headed bolts , correct ?

 

[supersize75k5]

correct, no much clutch fan

 

[Stomis]

For the air cleaner I would opt for some sort of mocked up ram air system. Get a carb hat with dual outlets and mount up some tubing and cone filters behind the headlights.

 

[supersize75k5]

had to find a place for the tranny gage and I decided to get creative and found this place for it. At the same time the factory dash piece had a crappy tape deck and looked really weathered and cracked. Picked up this one, modified it and also replaced the plastic bezel and the printed circuit. Later I will paint the neadles to match. came out really sharp! The cd player was only 79.00 and also has the wiring out the back for an ipod. I want to find alittle doc thingy and mount it in the grove on the console where people would put change..

 

[az_762_nato]

lookin good man, keep it up

 

[scrappyk5]

Nice looking vette. I cannot wait till mine is done body and paint wise.
I have been working on my 1976 vette mainly mechanical. I actually put another motor in mine last year and had issues with the water pump being slightly more shallow, which it rested against the timing cover just by a hair. it does not leak though and thats fine with me. you have to watch the p/s pulley, it will be close to the crossmember, if you were to change pulleys. I have a torker 1 intake manifold on my 350 and the 3" aircleaner just touches the stock cowl. I am going to get a L88 hood scoop for mine which is about 31/2" tall. that will give me the height I need.

 

[ramjet gmc]

nice vett

 

[supersize75k5]

last weekend got the side skirts back on, had to drill out a couple of snapped of screws the drilled and installed the baffles in the side pipes so I should be able to think now when I start it! This week ill work on the belt alignment, fan wiring and misc stuff in the engine bay.


these baffles look nuts

after the tv cable is done at the tranny shop the rear suspension gets pulled apart, gears get installed and the wheels are off to get powdercoated satin black cant wait!

 

[supersize75k5]

still chugging along

serpentine belt conversion, had the brackets powdercoated too...sweeet

rear suspension

complete tear down

new brakes, calipers, stainless steel lines, cross line, rotors, trail arm rebuild. bearings, bushings, brackets and crossmembers getting powdercoated. Gears are back from the gear shop. Went with a eaton unit and 3.73 gears.

ill post up interior pics too, rebuilding the seats, new foam and leather too.

 

[supersize75k5]

pics

 

[lectric80]

What did it cost you to have the brackets powder coated? I was just planning on painting the ones for the Blazer, but if it is cheap enough I might do powder instead.

 

[supersize75k5]

for 2 crossmembers, 2 radiator little brackets, 2 misc brackets, and both motor brackets it was 74 or 64.00

not bad at all

 

[lectric80]

Thanks for the info Shawn. I think that is a better option, and I want these to be clean for a while. Plus the aluminum pits so easily, I want the surface sealed up.