Project: Love 69 - My Corvette Build Thread

[FLYNAVY53]

Great to see more progress.....dig the radiator mounts!

Can you give me some more info on the Delphi HES 29 pin plug? What tools are required to pin the male and female side? I plan on using a similar style "cannon plug" on my build once I get to the wiring.

[vette427-sbc]

Great to see more progress.....dig the radiator mounts!

Can you give me some more info on the Delphi HES 29 pin plug? What tools are required to pin the male and female side? I plan on using a similar style "cannon plug" on my build once I get to the wiring.

Thanks!
This is the male side:
https://www.waytekwire.com/item/3879...ar-Connector-/
The female side is currently backordered so I used a TXL version female to get me by for now. Nothing special needed to pin the connectors. I’m sure there is a specific crimp tool for the pins, but you can get by with a regular crimper, just takes much longer to get a proper crimp.

[FLYNAVY53]

awesome, thanks!

[the dan]

Got some Progress going on dawggg

[nickcornilsen]

What pedal ratio/MC Size did you go with?

-Nick

[vette427-sbc]

What pedal ratio/MC Size did you go with?

-Nick

Hey Nick- I changed the stock corvette ratio from 5.4:1 to 6:1. Using 7/8" masters front and rear.

[Sleeper68]

Slow, wiring is hard to show progress through photos. Here’s a few highlights... Doing my best to design this as an OEM might.

Ditched the generic Spal connectors for these high current weather proof ones from amphenol

Hi Chris,

I had a question regarding your fan connectors. What product line / part number did you use? Amphenol is a huge corporation, we use a bunch of RF shielded cables and mil spec connectors but I have never seen the ones you're using. They look very robust. I'm using the same fans you are on my Camaro.

Thanks in advance

Ryan

[vette427-sbc]

Hi Chris,

I had a question regarding your fan connectors. What product line / part number did you use? Amphenol is a huge corporation, we use a bunch of RF shielded cables and mil spec connectors but I have never seen the ones you're using. They look very robust. I'm using the same fans you are on my Camaro.



Thanks in advance

Ryan

Hey Ryan- Amphenol makes them but I think they are a Deutsch design. Easy to assemble and no special crimper needed.
Here is the male side:
https://www.waytekwire.com/item/3882...nnector-Plug-/

[Sleeper68]

Hey Ryan- Amphenol makes them but I think they are a Deutsch design. Easy to assemble and no special crimper needed.
Here is the male side:
https://www.waytekwire.com/item/3882...nnector-Plug-/

Thanks man, I really appreciate it.

[vette427-sbc]

A major milestone reached tonight! I’m finally rolling and steering! Still have to tweak the rear alignment and ride height but I’m super happy with how everything came out and fits. The front flares look like they will be perfect and a 2.5” rear flare should give me plenty of rear suspension travel. I’ll get some more detailed pictures with a better camera tomorrow.
Wheels are Forgeline DS3R 18x13 and 19x13

[croooksie]

Just spent 3/4 of of my day at work reading this thread from page one. Its been a long time since I found a thread so interesting. Awesome build!! Makes me jealous of my brother corvette now.

[FLYNAVY53]

Love the progress Chris.....what color are you going to paint her?

[vette427-sbc]

Just spent 3/4 of of my day at work reading this thread from page one. Its been a long time since I found a thread so interesting. Awesome build!! Makes me jealous of my brother corvette now.

I appreciate that! I like the direction your Camaro is heading as well!

Love the progress Chris.....what color are you going to paint her?

Thanks! When I bought this car it was already painted and I was never crazy about red, but now that its been on the car so long, I cant see it being anything other than its (mostly) current color, C5 corvette Torch Red

[FLYNAVY53]

Personally, with those wheels, (not being a Red guy) I'm a huge fan of British Racing Green.....keep the light grey engine bay, interior, underside, and get a dash, seats, and wheel wrapped in black leather. Perfect Trans AM meets Street car.

That being said, she's gonna look amazing no matter what you do.....cant go wrong with a steal bumper Shark!!!

[vette427-sbc]

That Camaro executed the trans am/ street car combo perfectly (and the green is one of my favorites)... One of my big inspirations for this car is the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. I rode in one and thought it was the perfect balance of class and racecar. I do plan on putting a full interior in the car, the only chassis gray inside is the pedals, the rest is Alcantera and soon to be carbon with a minimalist theme. I love the green, but I think I want something a little "louder"
Who knows, I have a while to think about color, and now youve got this whole green idea in my head

[FLYNAVY53]

Haha....you're welcome. That Camaro is one of my favorite builds of all time. I do dig the idea of the Challenge Stradale inspired C3.....kind of parallels my Outlaw 911 inspired C2.

[vette427-sbc]

A few more pics with a better camera...
I also wanted to praise Mark from Forgeline for being extremely helpful throughout the process, which was surprisingly easy, and for specifically recommending the DS3*R* design which looks fantastic with the exposed hubs. Overall an A+ experience

[vette427-sbc]

Moving along...

I fired up the Mercedes/VDO power steering pump. Happy with its performance so far. I did this same test on asphalt today (video is on a painted concrete floor), with the same performance.
8 degrees of caster, 335 tire, 1460 lbs on the front axle. Pump draws 40A. At rest it draws ~10A
https://youtu.be/cPV_pjWuA4k

I also tried to simulate some auto-x driving by jerking the wheel left and right rapidly. If you go from zero steering input to max pressure demand, there is a very slight delay. BUT this is with the car not rolling at all. That may become unnoticeable at parking lot speed +

Had IDIDIT make me a Pro-Lite column for the C3 platform. Very happy with the column and their quick release.






Im going to start with a set of L88 flares from ACI and modify these to fit the vision I have for the rear bodywork of the car. Hoping to get a little more tire to show towards the bottom, and to slim the bulge by about 1.5"

[vette427-sbc]

A little behind on updates, but here’s where we are now... Thanksgiving weekend, DMP fabrication paid me a visit and took my Vette back to New Hampshire with him to complete a few small projects. Here are some picture updates:
First project was to create a lightweight replacement for the lower bumper crossmember. The factory “bottom feeder” openings in the lower valance have been closed off and the new radiator duct will be where the factory crossmember was. The crossmember will also serve as a structural member to attach the front splitter to.






Hollow stainless hardware







A quick strength test



It’s hard to portray how big these front tires are with the car on the ground... I think this picture shows it well

[vette427-sbc]

Hopefully everyone is in good health, here are some of my “quarantine” projects I’ve been keeping myself occupied with.

The first is a carbon fiber wiper door... this is one of the few non-composite body panels on an early C3 Vette. It’s cast pot metal, and fairly high up on the car. A good place to lose some weight. A lot of people will put a long style hood that eliminates the wiper door, but I happen to like the way it looks and it’s a cool feature of the early cars.
I chose to over-mold the original door because the gaps between it and the fenders were always a little big. Going over it should help tighten the gaps. It will be bodyworked and painted once it’s fit up to the car.

Two layers of 3k fabric and a peel-ply finish layer