TrackAire

I have a magnesium C6 Z06 front cradle that is in great shape.....if I decide to sell it what is a fair price?

1stls7

How did you come about getting this?

TrackAire

I bought it from a local Corvette owner last year who was building a hard core drag race C6 and was mix and matching parts from two cars to make one. IIRC, he was using the Z06 hot rodded engine in an automatic C6 Vette. The cradle is complete from hub to hub with the a-arms and steering rack. My thought was to swap my C5 cradle (like what GSpeed did) to shave off a few pounds. Not sure if I'm going to go this route since I already have AMT mono ball A-arms and my C5 and to fit the magnesium cradle I would need to use the lower C6Z06 A-arms (I think its the lowers, I'd have to look at my notes) and then have them mono-balled. I have two other automotive projects I'm working on that is taking up a lot of my time.
Just trying to avoid as much down time on my C5 to maximize track time this year.....I can't believe March is a few days away.

Chets LS3

No, your arms swap over just fine.

TrackAire

Thanks for the info.
That would be good since I've already had my C5 A-Arms mono-balled. I'll double check my notes but I thought that GSpeed listed as having to use the C6 A-arm also change to the C6 steering rack.

Chets LS3

nope I did this after gspeed with their assistance on what did/didn’t work. Your abs bracket might need to be modified. One Ps line will have to be changed up. Also your motor mounts will have to be notched.

Mark@AMT Motorsport

The mag cradles seem to go for between $600-$700 on average.

rbl

I wonder what the "few pounds" translates to in reduced lap times? Certainly appears to be a HUGH project for a questionable benefit, if any, and for certain a value degradation of the original car come sale time ... just a thought.

Mark@AMT Motorsport

I think it's about 15lbs lighter. For a full blown racecar it's worth considering if you've exhausted most other weight loss options.

TrackAire

With my driving talent a 12 to 15 lb reduction wouldn't mean crap....but I really like cool stuff and doing functional mods to the car, even if I'm not capable of reducing my lap times. But lighter weight does help regarding tire and brake wear so there is that. But as you said, it's a big dollar investment for nearly no lap time improvements.

As far as value, my car is so far from original that is not even a consideration any more (coilovers, monoballs, race seats, two piece rotors, roll bar, vented hood, detachable steering wheel, etc). But my car is a street legal car with full interior, working AC, stock engine, etc. It does have a TC Design roll bar that adds quite a few pounds (compared to a harness bar) but was on the car when I bought it and makes a great harness attachment point with some added safety in a rollover. With me in the car and a full tank of fuel I'm at 3383 lbs. My goal would be to have the car weigh in at under 3000 lbs with no driver and no fuel load. I'm literally 50 lbs from that goal....there are just a few modern car models that are V8 and under 3000 lbs dry. I think it would be cool to have those bragging rights in a 20 year old car with a steel frame and no carbon fiber bits and pieces.

I'm just running out of time to start another Vette project as weather here has been fantastic for track days....hence my reasoning for selling the cradle and associated parts.

rbl

We agree then ... ,makes no sense. Save you time and $$.

If you want bragging rights and a cool w/V8 with juice get an older Miata and drop a corvette engine it in. I saw one on track at VIR. Under 3K weight and away you go .... Or, sell the cradle and buy more beer!!

Chets LS3

You also get into the little bit better and more attainable c6 steering rack.

Grabbed_Crow_Mobe

ChetsLS3 - What do you mean by "notched" motor mounts. Are the holes in a different place in the cradle or are the stock mounts improperly sized and need to be trimmed (I have aftermarket motor mounts if that helps)? And what mods (if any) did you need to do to the steering column so it would mate to the C6 steering rack? Pics from "the red car" look like they replaced the steering column entirely with something custom fabbed.

I've been considering this mod for a while as my C5 rack is long overdue for a rebuild and with all of the recent rebuild horror stories, I'm afraid to touch it. The weight gain is a nice side benefit (although I'll need to add that weight elsewhere as ballast anyway). My ABS has been relocated, my PS lines are all custom fabbed and can be easily modified if necessary so I should be good there.

Thanks!