Getting closer........

[Jim Nilsen]

nice Jim! I like the way how stock it looks (apart from the wheels nothing that gives away what is underneith!)

Thanks, that is what I was trying to do and it seems I pulled it off. The neighbor who came by yesterday asked me if it had a vette rear end because he swore he saw it when I went by. He has been into cars for years and knows his stuff and he noticed but was still unsure,lol. Once you get close up the details start to show depending how much you know and then your eyes and mind get a reality check that takes you into a whole other world. Even the engine is somewhat deceiving when you see it.

I am going to have fun answering questions forever. The deception is more than just a way of hiding it all and I wonder if the hardcore stock purist will get deceived for a few moments? So far noone has said I ruined a perfectly good car,lol.

I keep hoping it will stop raining before it starts snowing. I have about 35 miles on it now and want to get the whole racepac setup programmed along with the EFI before the end of the season. With all of the things popping up with the engine and having to pay attention to all of the other details I haven't had a chance to get it all done yet.

This car has so much tech inside that I will never use yet the simplest things are right there and have room for expanding as long as the mind can follow.

I have to make use of the rainy days to finish it up in the engine bay and the interior.

The fun has really just begun. Building is not the fun it used to be. The gatification is still there when it gets done but with the fact that it runs the way it is and I want to drive it makes the last details not seem so desireable at the now moment. I want to see 6000 rpm on the tach and feel it in my seat.

Talk to you later.

[Jim Nilsen]

Seeing the cars get weighed at RTTH5 and hearing the numbers that the cars weighed before they were scaled left me really wondering what the Cormaro would weigh ?

It seemed that the extra weight that adds up at the end of the build surprised everyone who weighed their car during the build process. 500 lb. seemed to be the magic sneek up number from the expectations. That being the norm and thinking I would come in at 2850 lb or so and hoping for less like everyone does I am not too disappointed at what the scales I have read. They probably aren't the most accurate but they give a good guide line and clue as to where the weight is.

Here are the numbers....

LF 820
total 1652
RF 832

LR 724
total 1484
RR 760

total overall weight 3136


This is almost exactly what an 85 Vette weighs. The car sits 1" higher right now than a normal Corvette at the suspension. I will drive it for awhile and see if it settles any more, it has gone down half of an inch so far. I don't really think it will go down much more but we will see.

If I had an LS engine instead of the all iron block and heads engine I have it would be closer to 50-50 front to rear. I have 1/2 of a tank of gas right now. I also have carpet , inner fenders which will be aluminum and not weigh much and the rear bar bewteen the roll cage,rear sway bar and the shoulder harness for the belts. At least close to 100 lb. more I would guess.

So all in all it is not a heavyweight but it is no lightweight either. The best thing going for me weight wise is that I only weigh 140 lb. and holding .

I am having trouble remembering the calculation for F/R % so if someone wants to do the math, go for it.

I am trying to decide what alignment specs to use? I have found the specs at Vette Brakes website and they are still kind of vague when it comes to F/R specs and what is the best variance for camber. I keep thinking I am close enough to 50-50 so equal amounts of camber front and rear would seem appropriate but maybe I need more up front? The rest of the specs are pretty straight forward for each class of driving.

I can hardly wait for the damn sun to come back out, I am not worried about the cold, the heat that radiates from the engine and exhaust really warms it up inside when it is idling and maybe it will still keep it up when driving in the cooler weather ? The car is air tight from what it seems and when I wash it for the first time we will see if we have leaks anywhere.