John McGraw

I think these rear wheels will support wide enough rubber to finally give me some traction!

http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/...e/IMG_0958.jpg


http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/...e/IMG_0957.jpg

The rears are 12" wide, and the fronts are 8.5" The front rubber will be 255 45x18 and the rears will be 345 30x19. The tires should be in by the weekend.

The drivetrain should arrive Monday, so I should have the body back on for final fitting before paint by next weekend.


Regards, John McGraw

62Jeff

John, what engine did you end up choosing? The CTS-V LSA unit is great, made my CTS-V feel light as a feather.

John McGraw

Jeff, I changed my mind! I just ended up buying the connect and Cruise 480 hp LS3 with their 4L70E supermatic trans.. If I decide to supercharge, I will put an Ebelbrock on it. I was thinking hard about the GM 525 hp ASA LS3 motor, until I took a ride in one! It would have driveability issues with an auto trans and a stock converter. It has a lumpier idle than the LS in my Chevelle wagon, and no power under 2K.

The more I got to thinking about the additional costs and fabrication with the LSA, I just decided to go normally aspirated for now, and add a blower later, if I decide to. Saved over 5K on the engine alone, and that does not take into account all the intercooler, pump,lines, and all the other special stuff. I am still unsure that I can get a A/C condenser and an intercooler in front of the radiator, and still be able to have the hood clear when it is up.

The Edlebrock blower will pump the LS3 up to about 630 hp, for the same money that the LSA gets to 560 hp. In the end, I just looked at that $6k or so premium that the LSA would have cost, and thought about all the other stuff I could buy with that money. If I could have found a pull-out LSA from a wreck at the right price, I would have gone that way, but the few that show up, bring more than I can get a brand new one for!


Regards, John McGraw

62Jeff

John, sounds like a good plan. I've got the Edelbrock on my otherwise stock 07. Dyno'd at 501 at the wheels in August, Houston humidity. You will be very happy with the driveability of the Edelbrock system, should you decide to pursue it.

BLee

Very nice. Are you mixing paint yet?

vintagecorvette

THAT BEAST IS AWSOME!!!!

John McGraw

Bryan,

I will paint some small panels this weekend, but I am going to hold off on the main body until the weather cools down a little, and I have the drivetrain in place, so I can fit the body one last time. I wan to be sure that there are no areas of interference before I start putting color on.


Regards, John McGraw

DansYellow66

That looks like the old style quick-change rear end (were they by Halibrandt??) the old hot rods use to run. I guess they are selling updated, strengthened versions now.

Looks great

65Corvette

Sweet!

John McGraw

Yep, that is a Winters Quickchange rear end. It is just an IRS version of their famous champ car unit. These units are very strong. This was the only center section that we could find that would fit between the frame rails after moving the suspension mounting points in for tire clearance. A 9" ford would have fit, but it would have been impossible to remove once the suspension was in place. This rear is over 5" narrower than the slimmest 9" IRS unit we could find. Besides, it looks COOL!


Regards, John McGraw

Poorhousenext

John,

What brand of tire will you be using?

Michelin's Pilot® Sport PS2 look like a good match for car or for best handling if you don't mind less wear life & fuel ecomony, Pilot® Sport Cup.

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-sele.../compare-tires

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-sele.../compare-tires

John McGraw

Jere,

I seriously considered the PS2 tires. When you get into these tire sizes, you don't get too many to choose from. The number of companies that make 345 tries are few and far between and most are a directional tread pattern. I finally settled in the new, Nttto Invo tire. The price was very attractive when compared to the PS2, and the Nitto 555 tires on my other cars have served me very well.

Both the Invo and the PS2, have a asymetrical tread from inner to outer, but both are non-directonal. The 555's are directional, which would eliminate the ability to rotate tires. On all my other cars except for the wagon, the tires are the same size and diameter on all 4 corners, so a directional tread pattern was not an issue for rotation.

The tread pattern is not as sexy looking as some of the directional patterns, but nobody sees the pattern while you are rolling!

Regards, John McGraw

Poorhousenext

John,

I'm running Nitto Invo's on my 66, based on diameter (tall tire) offered in 18.00" tires foremost, wet traction 2nd, dry traction 3rd ride comfort 4th, and quietness 5th were the other considerations when comparing to other tire Mfg offerings.

The tread pattern is not that bad. It at least gives impression they could be a performance tire.

http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/invo#tech

I've found over the years, little need to rotate rear tires from side to side if I have positive traction, same with front side to side. Seems they were always worn the same. May be my driving style.

If tires were same size at all 4 corners, then rotating worked to get same mileage out of each.

By the way, what rear gear ratio are you starting off with?

firstgear

John, we need some photos looking into the wheel.....

groovyjay

1coolC2

Ha ha...traction??, are you kidding!! My 07 Z06 could not hold with only 505hp at the crank!! Rest assured John, you will still smoke the crap out of the tires Consider the Nitto NT05 in your selection, I have found them to be the stickiest of the bunch Looking great, keep the pics comming!!

Here are some shots of mine with the factory size 325 tires on 12" rims mounted up with the body.

R/
Jeff

firstgear

Jeff, looking real bad!

John McGraw

Herb, Here you go:

http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/...3DIMG_0987.jpg

http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0986.jpg

Nothing special, just a set of repro ZR1 wheels.



Regards, John McGraw

John McGraw

Jere,

The set of gears I have now are 3.22 in the high position and 5.28 in the low position. I only got the high position so high because I was going to use the 6L trans originally, and with that super low first gear, the 3.22 looked good. I finaly decided after the last car, that I did not want to go through that much surgery to get it to fit, and it really does not buy you much to begin with, so I went with the 4L trans. I am sure that I will have to buy a set of bevel cut street gears for it to keep the noise down, but I am going to drive it for a while and see how the 3.22 gearing works on the street, before I buy my street gears. I would guess that the 5.28 in the low position, will be just about right at the track.


Regards, John McGraw

John McGraw

[QUOTE=1coolC2;1581540982]Ha ha...traction??, are you kidding!! My 07 Z06 could not hold with only 505hp at the crank!! Rest assured John, you will still smoke the crap out of the tires Consider the Nitto NT05 in your selection, I have found them to be the stickiest of the bunch Looking great, keep the pics comming!!


Jeff,

I really considered the NT05 tires, and may still buy a set just for the track. When I started thinking about what the real intent of the car was, I decided to go for something that would last a little longer with daily use. I just could not see the NT05 being very long-lived, because they are so soft. I have a buddy that has a set on his Corvette, and they feel like chewing gum after they get warmed up!


Regards, John McGraw