OzzyTom

After a substantial delivery wait (4 months), my crate motor finally arrived in little ol' Adelaide last month.



just a stocky small block ....



I initially intended to run my TH400 trans, but changed my mind.
Real sports cars have three pedals, after all.

So a TKO600RR was ordered, and arrived the following week, courtesy of Classic Chevy 5 Speed.


Great bunch of guys.... provided a lot of info regarding my clutch installation concerns....My vette has been converted to right hand drive, so I had to fabricate a custom clutch pedal bracket and install a suitable master cylinder in an appropriate location on the firewall. Was a bit of a challenge, but having a great mate with 40 years of mechanical engineering experience supervising, it was done.


When I pulled the old motor out I found my radiator was significantly blocked, so a dewitts perfect fit rad was orderred. Very nice original appearance, more efficient, and reduced weight a bonus.

Project has been progressing over the past few weeks.....
Tidying up the engine bay, fitting heat insulation on the firewall and underfloor panels, and test fitting bell housing, clutch components and trans prior to installation....







A close fit for the clutch master cylinder, but OK.....





After a year of planning and waiting the moment arrived to start the engine.... It's a special moment.
The anticipation, the expectation... the concerns... and finally a release of anxiety.... It's alive !!!!

woo hoo !!!

I've still got some more work to do on the interior....
the dash wiring is a real rats nest....
I want to get the air cond operating properly too, so there's a couple more items to attend to before its ready to test properly.

But the important thing..... it's alive!!!

silver 76

Looks GREAT But the stering is on the wrong side looks like a hydro clutch setup? Nice job

OzzyTom

Whadaya mean wrong side...... It's the right side !

yep, McLeod hydraulic thrust bearing setup, using a common trailer brake 3/4" master cylinder.
The bracketry on the inside of the firewall was the tricky bit.... Getting the geometry right for proper position and travel and alignment with master cylinder bore. There was some flex noticed, but that was rectified by adding a support brace to the existing brake/steering column support brackets. Very rigid now.
I optioned the McLeod 11" Street comp clutch.... Clutch feel is good.... not to heavy.

Eddie 70

Its going to be a totally different car when you get the chance to drive it. I was really surprised by the difference the TKO made in the way my car drove. It makes the car a pleasure to drive on the highway. You will love it.

Tell us about that parts hauler you are using. What kind of truck is that? Looks like a modern El Camino, something we do not have here.

billla

Sa-wheet

Can't wait for the fire-up video!

OzzyTom

I'm really hanging out to get it on the road.... My old 327 had 145hp at the rear wheels the last time I had it on a chassis dyno.... I'm expecting more than 370 hp at the treads with this new stroker
I think I'm going to have traction issues

As to the parts hauler..... It's a ute.

I think you guys in the states call them sports trucks.

It's a Ford XR6T utility.....
Only available in Australia.... no exports.
It has an Ozzie designed factory 4 litre inline 24valve DOHC intercooled turbo six in it. Factory rated at 322hp running 5psi boost.

I've made a few mods though.... Running an APS kit.... huge intercooler, bigger jets, wastegate mods and bigger cat with dual 3" SS exhaust along with some custom tuning of the computer running 16psi boost.... has about 530hp now.
Utes are extremely popular here.... they're affectionately known as the working man's 2-door sports car... a lot of tradies have them (plumbers/tilers/carpenters/joiners/mechanics etc etc)


The reason I've thrown some serious money on my vert is to get similar performance as the ute. Ute weighs about 4100 lbs and runs mid 11's with M/T ET street radials. ~ 285hp/ton...

Vette with new alloy headed engine, manual trans and alloy rad will weigh about 3400 lbs..... I estimate about 300 hp/ton.
If I can get some traction, I should get into the 12's

OzzyTom

G'day mate...

footage after installation....

http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...%3D383idle.mp4

All I can say, it sounds bloody awesome.
Starts at the flick of the key.
Instantaneous throttle response....
has a great sounding idle.... (edelbrock #2207 cam: 242/240@0.050 with 112* LSA / 0.594/0.594 lift)
Definitely sounds like a real muscle car without getting too radical for the street.
Blipping the throttle, you can hear the air whistle as it gets sucked into the carbie.... there's a lot of ponies in there waiting to be given their freedom....

After I've run the motor in, I'll get the vette onto a chassis dyno and see if the dynosim numbers you crunched for me are close to reality....

cheers
tom

68roadster

Really nice set up! 68's baby

C3Racing

Huge props

yellow-fever

Very nice. I would like to see a picture of the interior and dash after it has been converted to right-hand drive. Were C3's built this way back in the day and sold in Australia or England?

ptroxx

Great sounding ride.. Love to see more pics... good luck..

OzzyTom

There were NO official GM Corvette RHD models exported to Australia.
LHD cars were NOT able to be registered in OZ in the early days, so conversions were done by enthusiastic individuals.

RHD conversions vary significantly depending on who does the conversion. I think mine has turned out pretty well.....


Pic above with original 327, hood, TH400 trans and 16" steering wheel.

Each state in Australia has different registration rulings regarding left hand drive cars now. In South Australia, any vehicle which was manufactured more than than 30 years ago CAN now be registered in left hand drive configuration. My car was converted to RHD before this ruling came into effect.

cheers

tom

RHD '68 L89

Hey Tom, Congrats!
I recognise the blind bat working underneath as well, send him my regards!

OzzyTom

G'day J

That blind bat you refer to is a legend!

Nothing fazed him when it came to custom fabricating components for this conversion.

He's got a couple of exciting projects on the go himself.....
A '63 Dodge Polara Hardtop ... awaiting a big block Mopar crate engine which will run twin 4bbl Barry Grants on a cross ram intake ... ~ 700hp.

and he's also building a '34 Ford Roadster running a FI 427ci small block chev.

At the SA club, he's affectionately known as "Sideways Phil" .
I think you can guess why.



I am still having a few issues with my car though..... can't get the motor to run right under load. Idles fine, but put it in gear and let out the clutch, and it is coughing and spluttering.

The plug caps are too close to the headers and the heat is causing the spark to short out.

The exhaust ports are about 1/4" higher on the new heads and plug clearance is an issue with the 1 5/8" headers from the old motor.

I'll need to make a new custom set of headers to gain more clearance... May as well get 1.75" primary pipe Tri-Y setup built to maximise performance.

I bought some heat insulated plug covers today, but they haven't helped much. Car idles great, and no load throttle response is very sharp..... but put a bit of load on it, and it runs like crap.
Not sure if its only ignition lead related..... might be a problem with the carb also. After the first run on the road, the motor wouldn't idle at all. Tried ajusting the idle mixture screws, and they had no effect at all.
Phill removed them and blew some air through the opening. Reinserted the screws, tweaked them up and idle was restored. So there is a possible contaminant issue. I have an inline fuel filter installed, so am unsure why this would have occured.

The joys of working with cars.....

cheers

tom

OzzyTom

Starting to get cold and wet down here in the southern part of the world.... time to put the vette away for the winter.

Here's some shots of car at present, and a better quality sound clip of the new motor with the full exhaust in place.



I had clearance issues with the original headers, so had a set of 1.75" primary Tri-Y headers custom made. Ouch!


I had a 2.5" stainless steel twin pipe setup made, with an X pipe and some Flow master mufflers

BUT there was too much resonance between 1200 and 2200 rpm... drove me nuts.
And the X-pipe made it sound like a late model LS1... didn't like it at all.



Ditched the X-pipe and Flowmasters, and had dual 2.5" system with reverse flow mufflers fitted (pictured above)....
now it sounds like a real classic muscle car again!




Motor only pulled 310 horses and 365 ft-lbs at the rear wheels with the Edelbrock carb... (rated at 475 hp/ 466 ft-lb at flywheel)
I had tuning issues with the Edelbrock AVS carb, hesitation off idle, and it would stall doing U-turns.

I fitted a Holley 4150 Street HP (double pumper) and now there's no issues. No hesitation off idle, and better throttle response at all rpm.

edit: added dyno update.
Black curve below is with Edelbrock carb (310 rwhp, red curve is with Holley 4150 Street HP (double pumper) (324 rwhp).


The dyno run was stopped at 5500 rpm due to excess roller speed [> 200kph].
I have since fitted 3.7 diff gears, which should allow more rpm to be pulled in 4th gear on the dyno.
Not sure why there is a dip in power at around 5000 rpm?

I'm still hopeful for around 350 rwhp, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen in stock street trim.
I might need to fit an electrical fan / electrical water pump to free up some neddies.
Never the less, it feels awesome as it is, and is more than enough to put a grin on my dial

Jud Chapin

Very nice! Best of luck with it.

DEMITRISTYLES

Thanks for the update. Very nice Vette!

TopGunn

Beautiful Job Tom!

I almost hate to bring it up but how did your concerns about driveline angle and vibration turn out? Any issues going down the road??

Bill

ENG40

Sweet!!

OzzyTom

Hi Bill,
It's the one thing I haven't sorted out yet.

I have made some tapered shims to put between the diff and cross member.. to add about a 2* angle.
I just haven't had the time to fit them in and see if it sorts out the vibration.
I'm not convinced in my own mind that it will make a difference.... but it's worth a try.
The strange thing is the vibration disappears when I put my foot on the clutch. ???

The vibration occurs between 45 and 50 mph in any gear, but only when the driveline is all "locked" up
from crank to wheels. If I am driving in gear at 45~50 mph the vibration is evident, but if I put my foot on the clutch and seperate the motor from the gearbox, the vibration disappears.... That doesn't seem consistent with a driveline angle issue, does it?

I have managed to get about 2500 miles on the new setup, and I love the performance from the new motor and the transformation the 5sp manual has made.
It's awesome. Just this vibration to tackle to make it perfect. Now that winter is setting in, and less opportunities for cruising are available, I'll rip out the rear and go through it. It could even be a wheel bearing, half shaft or diff issue.

I'll pull it all apart and check it out.
Got to get it right before spring.

I fitted a new Sanden A/C compressor and got the a/c to work.... for 1 day. Found my condensor was leaking badly. Need to source a new one and get that done too. But I have confirmed the control system works, so that's an easy job.

ps... I was out on a club run recently with a few buddies.... about 200 mile round trip down south, where the roads are good and straight and long.....

Pulled up alongside my mate with his 2000 C5, doing about 70 mph, when we both floored it.
In 3rd gear, I just pulled away.... yee haaaa!
Popped it into 4th at 100 mph and kept pulling strong.
I backed off at 120mph as I had papers and plastic floating around the cabin.... the turbulence with the roof off was creating whirlpools in the cabin, and pages from a magazine in the rear compartment were being torn out and began floating around.... wierd, but true. I grabbed a couple of pages and then realised I was going too fast to be mucking around like that. Popped it into 5th and coasted back to ~80mph.... looked in the rear vision mirror, and the C5 was only just catching up.

Got to love it when a build up comes together and the results meet expectation. The power and gear spacing is excellent for what I do with it..... lots of open road cruising, with occasional autocross and drag race.
And plenty of torque to choof around the neighbourhood at low rpm, scaring grannies and little children, whilst also capable of lighting up the rear with lots of tyre smoke...

Who needs a big block.....!
I love my 383.