wich would also mean 80 something? or did i miss something.....:Funny_Smiley:

BAAAAAA!!!!!!

More progress today.
Finish stripping down the front subframe to get it ready for trimming :)

Here it is all naked:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/918d9d7d.jpg
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/02f15a3b.jpg

Good bye 60's technology steering:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/faddf3af.jpg

And here's a shot of the drivers side hole in the oil pan on the old 455. There's a matching hole on the other side too :D
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/a7554c2a.jpg

I was almost sad pulling out what will probably be the last real Pontiac motor the car will ever see :( ah well, time to modernize :D

Then I dragged the vette clip underneath to see how things were lining up:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/86c60510.jpg

Definitely need to lop about a foot off the front but that works for me. I'll most likely keep the front of the factory subframe so my bumper and core support fit with no issues.
Then I centered it underneath the factory rails to see how they lined up:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/d1b6e65c.jpg

And here's a straight down shot from the top with the vette clip directly centered under it:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/f58cd556.jpg
Yeah, notice you can't even see the vette rail cause rail to rail is almost identical as is the thickness of the rails. From the looks of it this is going to be easier than I thought :).
Here's hoping. More to come in a day or two ;)

The more things change...

Looks like a Great line up!!!! gunna custom fab off of the Vette chassis, or join the 2 together?

I say z cut that shit and join em up

Taking the K.I.S.S. approach. I think I'm just going to notch my factory rails as needed to slide the vette sections in and weld them up solid.
Not looking to do any more re engineering than necessary. Doing it that way I can keep my core support, bumper mounts, and probably even the front subframe rollcage supports intact.

Only hurdle I need to sort out now I'm thinking is ride height. I want it lower but not on the ground. Clearing speed bumps with the front lip would be nice lol.

well go find out what a vet frame height is at full droop with the tires still on the ground then hang yours at the same hight that should get you close

or better yet figure out how much is going to be on the front end and the spring rate of the springs you want to use then bring the A arms up to there stock locations and match it all up

My biggest problem right now is figuring out how much higher it sits without a motor in it. I'm planning on keeping the vette cradle along with the factory vette mounts so I can't exactly mock up a motor while it's all in pieces.
After I know about how much an aluminum headed 6.0 will make the nose drop my calibrated eyeball can set ride height from there.

Ok, got sidetracked putting a transmission in my truck but getting back at it now.
More goodies came in :)
My 9" third member, nodular housing, hd pinion support, billet bearing caps, Detroit locker, 3.82 gears. Used NASCAR take out with about 500 miles on it:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/9d2e2db3.jpg
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/06cdefa8.jpg

Got my tires in and mounted up too. 275/40/17 sumitomo's up front and 295/45/18 nitto 555's in the rear. Basically wanted to keep the tires about the same height as my old ones just with bigger rims. Side by side it worked out perfectly.
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/1ca18510.jpg
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/c8ab2380.jpg
Now that I have my tires mounted up I can mock everything up and build the car to fit them ;)
Started cutting my factory subframe yesterday but the plasma cutter decided to give me a hard time so I didn't get very far. Gonna try and make some progress tomorrow.

Don't you love the wheels!!!? I have the chrome versions. Looks good man! Keep up the progress.
:klab:

nice....git r done!!!

Have it ready for May so you can take 2 F buckets on the cruise!!! :D

love those wheels!!!!!

Yeah, the more I look at them the more I'm liking them. Gonna change the whole look of the car. Something I think it's been needing for a while.
Hell, it's had the same wheels on it for the last 15 years lol.

Half ass mocked everything up today and I'm very happy with the choice.

I'm working on it :)
Alex, I'd love to have it ready for the quabbin cruise but financially that may be a stretch. We'll see though. I was contemplating that today :D

Anyhow, passed the point of no return today. Here's the first rough cut:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/a338e63e.jpg
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/f1f86a04.jpg

Loosely bolted the fender on to guesstimate where the wheel had to sit in the opening. Loving the look. Can't wait to see it all together where it belongs:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/a278b5f1.jpg
And from the inside. Had a bit more trimming to do. I'd rather cut a few times than cut too much:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/a9e7b289.jpg

And here's where I wound up. Just lopped out the whole center section. If I tried to keep what was there I would have had a thin strip left around the vette upper control arm mounts. Decided it would look better this way.
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/65dc6820.jpg
Had to cut out the rear support bar for the front subframe support too. Unfortunately where the vette engine cradle bolts drop through the frame was the same location where that bar was. Oh well, I have more tube. I may end up redoing the whole front of the cage cause the front cradle bolt may have the same issue with what's there. Left it for now though to keep my frame lined up :).
Here's where I left off for today. More to come soon:
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/2037bed3.jpg

Looking good Matt!

i say wen shes done shes fast but drives sideways like them old ford pick em up trucks.......

looks great so far matt !

Doubt my skills with a tape measure do you lol?

lookn good

im gunna go with.... your using a TAPE MEASURE!!!!!

Whats wrong with a tape measure?

I think pizza is under the impression that unless you have laser measuring equipment I couldn't possibly be right.
Guess all those custom built cars from the 20's all the way through the 80's must all have dog tracked down the road :)

This isn't my first rodeo. Yeah it looks scary but it isn't exactly rocket science ;)

My friends shop builds ALL his race cars/projects with a tape measure.

Don't forget houses are built with tape measures pizza! Should laser level your house. :gayfight:

Jesus guys i cant bust yah balls?!?!?!?

Not on this site buddy!

Well I was returning the ball busting...That sounds quite wrong...:homo:

Actually that sounds quite normal around here! lol

:qft:

And it's up and tacked in place :)
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/6ccd737c.jpg
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/032a3886.jpg

All of my measurements for the frame and cradle are dead on even. It's also nice and level in the chassis.
Track width looks like it's going to be pretty good as well.
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/5287bbfe.jpg
This just looks cool to me pokin out of a first gen wheel well.
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/404d3f2f.jpg

So, the rails and cradle are square in the car. All dimensions side to side and cross corners are equal. Double checked factory corvette service manual and both sides are supposed to be equal. Need to do some more figuring though as the drivers wheel is a little further forward. Hoping it's just something alignment related. Ran out of time today. Had to grab the little one from school. Hopefully more tomorrow if I can find some time.
If my wheel issue is simple it won't take much to lock everything down and finish up the front. Chassis wise it's coming together nicely :)

Thats Kick Ass!!! Tape Measure..... thats why your shit aint straight!!!!!

F ewe lol. It is straight. All the points they show to use in the factory manual are dead on square. Just the wheel is back. If I kick the subframe back then my motor will sit noticeably crooked :p
I'm thinking it's in the alignment settings. I just kind of tossed all that together to make the chassis a roller so I'm hoping that's it. Otherwise it's a bent control arm or something?

Well it's not like those suspension parts came out of wrecked car or anything. Oh, wait... :haha:

^took the words right out of my mouth lol

looking good man!

lookin good so far! keep workin I wanna see it done :) lol