Merlin522

Well, today was the day! I think I am now going to change the vision statement for this car from “Worlds Fastest, Best Handling Daily Driven C3” to “World’s Scariest Street Driven Corvette”. For any of you that want to take rides in it, my only recommendation is – bring a change of pants. You are going to need it. I no longer even care about quarter mile times, top speeds or any metrics. That all changed today. All I care about is trying to learn how to drive this car without really hurting myself. Just sitting in this thing while its running takes away any desire to race. There is no point. Just being in the car automatically makes you feel like king of the hill. Putting any pressure down with the right foot quickly becomes a lesson of focus & of survival. For the first time in my life, I have now driven a car that truly activates the “fight or flight” reaction from one’s body. I’ve discussed my sensations of driving my Hayabusa at full tilt. This Vette warps time in ways the Busa never could. The car is exactly what I had hoped it would be & then some. There will be faster cars. There will be cars that handle better. I doubt there will ever be many cars out there that will scare the living daylights out of you like this thing. There are possibly cars out there on the street that have more power than this thing, but the fact that you are in a convertible – sitting right out there in the open air watching the car shake, watching the blowers running & the largest street tires they make instantly turn into smoke makes it even that much more intense. Every car I have ever seen with this much power is running drag tires, tubbed rear ends, full roll cages & harnesses. With Merlin, one is sitting in a basically stock configured convertible with a full tilt dragster engine just inches away. It’s a sobering reality to say the least. I think this car could cause a crack addict to completely give up the habit.

Let me just say first off – no, I don’t have any video. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to get to drive the car when I went down there today. We’ve had a number of technical things to deal with & I wasn’t sure if Chris was ready or not. Trying to plan video shoots & other such things around everyone’s schedule is a waste of time – but I digress. Building this car has been one incredible trip. I’ve been planning this car since I was in college all those years ago. It really goes back to when my dad, who had always been a Caddy man, came home from work with a 79 L-82. It was brand new & totally blew my mind. My mom had an absolute cow, but the 4 of us kids were beside ourselves. I still remember sitting in that car with the huge fins on both sides of the hood. It was pure sex on wheels. I have dreamed & studied & slaved for over 20 years to build my dream car. Maybe my brain works a little differently than others, maybe I had something to prove or maybe I just like being a showboat. Maybe I’m just a power mad megalomaniac. Really, the truth is somewhere in between. I love cars, I love power & I love Corvettes. Put that together with a slightly warped brain & voila!

Today all of my dreams & aspirations became reality. For all of those people who have done ground up restorations or built custom cars that took a long time, you know how I felt. This car had so many detractors from the beginning that it’s amazing it was even built. If it wasn’t for the fact that I am a stubborn mule, it probably never would have been completed. For all the reasons that people like or don’t like Merlin – I can tell you one thing that is a fact. The car is just plain scary. Just being around it & getting in it requires an extra level of awareness. Whether you like it or not, when it is running – it commands respect. When things go wrong with a car like this, they can REALLY go wrong. You feel that fact just standing next to it.

Since I don’t have pictures or videos of this one, all I can give you is my thoughts & a play by play. There were some disappointments, some things that turned out better than I could have ever hoped for & other things turned out – well, just weird. For the first time since building this car I can finally say that it was a success. The car is drivable. It is no longer guesswork, but fact. When I got out to the shop, Chris was sitting at the counter. We walked back there & I was elated to see that all of the issues from last week were dealt with. He asked me if I wanted to go for a ride & I about had to clean my pants out right there on the spot. Does a bear take a proverbial dump in the woods? Hell yes!! The computer system on this thing is amazing – it is what really allowed the car to happen. Cars like Monty’s & mine simply could not have been used on the street 20 years ago without the help of these onboard computers. Even with all of Chris’s years of tuning experience, Merlin had been idling up around 1,400 rpm previously & was quite rough. We cranked her up & I watched in amazement as the laptop & modules started going to work. Within a few minutes, the computer had smoothed out the idle. I read the screen. 950. SWEET! I looked at the tach on the car & the needle confirmed the number by hovering just below the 1K mark. That was one of my biggest worries solved. Next Chris suggested we go give it a drive. We couldn’t drive too far because there is a cooling issue we have to deal with. Zoops gave us the wrong style water pump so the impeller is actually spinning the wrong way. DUH! Fortunately it was nice & cool up here today and relatively dry. For those who have never seen a full tilt dragster engine running in a street car up close, it’s awe inspiring. I was mesmerized just sitting there listening to it run. Pure heavy metal. Even those folks who doubted the car or don’t like me personally, would be instantly transformed into believers just sitting there watching the car shake. It just looks like pure power sitting there. Standing next to that car running makes my Viper seem like a bone stock Honda Civic. I asked Chris to take the first drive for a number of reasons. I have never driven a 1000+ HP vehicle – especially a dual blown one. I had no idea what to expect. I also didn’t feel that I fit well enough in the car to take it on the first drive. Chris is used to piloting 1,500HP supercharged cars, so it made sense. The cruise was precarious at best. There were no seat belts in the car yet, my head sticks out 6 inches past the roll bar & to make matters worse, I’m holding the module & laptop while we’re getting ready to take off.

The first thing that blew me away was just how drivable the car is. Fortunately we went with a manual tranny because if this thing was automatic, it would be a whole lot scarier to launch. Now when I say drivable, I must temper that. Driving the car means that you slowly let the clutch out & idle. No problem - we back right out of the garage without any issues. Right off the bat, the power steering system starts complaining & spewing fluid. Good grief. That power assist deal is just a piece of crap. We had to pull back in, adjust the thing & add fluid. Then we had to sit there & spin the wheel back & forth to get the air out. FINALLY, it seemed good to go, so we backed out again. Again, I was elated at how easily it shifted & pulled out of the hole. We sat there in line waiting to merge onto Pacific Hwy & finally traffic cleared. After 3+ years of this thing, I expected the hounds of hell to be unleashed & was downright disappointed when we got rolling. Damn, my Viper pulls harder than this thing! I couldn’t believe it. I was so frustrated & disappointed. We turned the corner to go around the block & I yelled over to Chris that it doesn’t feel like it has any power. It felt TOO docile. He smiled at me & gave it a little gas. Before I even had the chance to brace myself, the 345’s immediately lit up in unison. Very few of you have probably ever been in a car producing over 700 pounds of torque – let alone over 1,000. The frightening thing about this car is how low in the power range all the torque comes on. Let me tell you, it scared the hell out of me. I know how squirrelly my viper feels sometimes. The throttle reaction on the Whipple quads is like nothing I have ever seen or felt. The second Chris touched the pedal, the tires were immediately smoking & we were getting ballistic. Release the hounds!! I’ve never felt so scared & so fired up at the same time. We pulled up the stop sign & I asked Chris how much throttle he had given it. He told me “about 5%”. Let me tell you, this car is going to take some serious getting used to. We took a right at the light & there was a school bus that had just stopped to let out a bunch of kids. For obvious reasons, we went very slowly & cautiously for fear of hurting someone. I’m used to people gawking & staring at the Vipers, but the looks on these kid’s faces were like nothing I have ever seen. We might as well had been aliens in green suits. Every one of the kids just sat there with their lower jaws on the ground as we drove by. It was so funny to watch their reactions. So we come to the next stop sign & Chris says he’s going to try & give it a little more power. By this time the temp is really climbing, so we have one more shot & then have to get back to the shop. Now when I say he gave it more power, I mean he lightly depressed his foot a centimeter more than the previous time. There is NO stomping on this pedal & there never will be. Stomping on this pedal means instant injury or death. He lightly tapped the throttle & the next thing I know we are instantly thrown into a violent side to side fishtail. We went back & forth about 3 or 4 times very quickly. I looked over at Chris & he had the weirdest look on his face. I had never actually seen fear in him before, but his look just said “that’s enough for today”. The closest thing I can come up with to describe how I felt would be something akin to drinking 20 cups of coffee & having an orgasm simultaneously! Pure adrenalin. That’s about as alive as I can ever remember feeling. When we got back to the shop, my feelings of fear had turned into feelings of amazement, pride & an overwhelming desire to drive this beast!!!

Now it was my turn. We let it cool back down again & did some analysis of the software. We had to pull the tele all the way out & tilt the wheel as far skyward as possible for me to get in. We then had to clip the turn signal. I simply can not shift the car without mashing the lever. We snipped it off about 2 inches from the column & put a rubber piece on the end. Hell, I would rather use hand signals than not be able to shift the thing comfortably. Taking out that lever was just the ticket. Well, to make a long story short, on my very first shot, I was able to easily move the car back & forward. Getting around in a parking lot, my biggest worry of all, is no problem at all. The project is an absolute success. The most I got to experience of the engine was about 5 or 10% max. We didn’t dare take it out any longer for fear of hurting something. We need to do a software upgrade, address the power steering & water pump issues and do some more tuning. I don’t think we ever really got into the boost today & that is a good thing. Even the slightest timing problem at heavy boost could be disastrous. I got just enough of a taste to know what real power is & to know that the car will definitely work on the street – with great care. I can tell you this emphatically. This car requires great will power & respect. It is civil & drives around quite nicely if and ONLY if you are gentle with the right foot. We added an extra strong return spring to the throttle, which really helped. It requires a little effort to push down the throttle which makes it easier to increment. Having driven it today & barely even gotten into the powerband, I can’t begin to imagine what it is going to feel like at speed. Let’s just say I am going to need a really long road.

It looks quite certain that I will be driving the car over to be dyno’d at Steve B’s house on Saturday. Steve has really been a great resource & although initially was one of my staunchest critics, I think he & I have really met in the middle. I respect his experience with these kinds of cars & I think he has really come to like the design & workmanship of what me have made. I PROMISE you all that I will bring a video recorder & capture the dyno testing. I will likely be driving the car home after the dyno test, so that will also give me a chance to start preparing some videos while driving. To those of you who have supported me this whole time, I can’t thank you enough. I am going to try my hardest to drive this car all the way to the Cruise-In next year & take as many people for rides as I can. Just sitting in a car this powerful is like pure drugs injected in your veins. You can just feel the big block rippling power, the dual blowers whining away & the unreal howl coming out of the pipes. If I seem a bit over excited by this whole event, you’re damn right. It’s pure testosterone, baby. LONG LIVE THE CORVETTE!!!!

Shark Racer

Amazing. I never thought it was possible to build a car like that...

I can't wait to see the videos! I bet nothing beats being there with it though. I am so glad to hear you finally got it on the road. Miles and miles of smiles, man! I wanna be just like you... 20 years from today.. I'm in my second year of college, and all I can think about is vettes, vettes, vettes... You're definitely an inspiration to us young programmers!

-Steve

Merlin522

Pacin'California - Steve, all I can say is - dream your dream. Anything is possible. If Milli Vanilli can get a hit record, then ANYTHING you want can be yours. It just takes a lot of hard work & dedication. I hope if people take nothing else away from watching this car get built, it will be that fact. Not a dime of my money came from inheritance or the lotto. It all came from hard work & saving. There is no magic formula to success. Just set your sites & never give up. Be the best you can possibly be at whatever you do. I've faced death a number of times in my life & I feel more & more comfortable with it every day. Even if you never reach your ultimate goal, if you at least go out trying your hardest - you'll always be able to live with yourself. I go down to San Fran quite a bit - maybe if I drive the car down one day, I'll look you up & see if you feel like going for a cruise in the beast.

LT1driver

Steve, Sounds like a really bitchn ride my man. :cool:

Maurice

Congratulations! Have fun trying to sleep tonight :)

Merlin522

I've already had to work out once tonight to calm down. I think I may need to have at it again to actually sleep. The old adrenalin was really pumping today! :cheers:

Rottenrob

That is truly wonderful, what a blast just living through you. I'm heading to the Pacific gathering tomorrow, and I'm sure we all will be hailing such a glorious effort. Too sick, too cool. Congratulations!!!!!!!!
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :smash: :smash: :smash:


[Modified by Rottenrob, 11:36 PM 11/15/2002]

Merlin522

Rottenrob - Thanks Rob, I really appreciate it. It means a lot to hear that. Now I just have to find a way to not hurt myself! :cheers:

71vettman

Thats awsome its finally all done. I cant wait to her some numbers from the dyno. Whenever people start braging about thier "incredibly fast imports" I find it satisfying to tell them about your car......It leaves them with no comeback at all :lol: . Im going to school for Highperformance Motorsports right now and hopefully one day Ill have an engine in my vette like yours.......completely insane :cool:
Kevin

'79ProwlerOrange

DAMN IT! i wish i lived closer! oh well ill be there at cruise in IV with which ever vette i have at the time. if i own rich's i'll race ya! we would probably sit and spin for a little while, but eventually, mine would hook up! :lol: id get 1/2way down the track until you could blast by me in a stealth bomber type blur. :lol:

i think i know who won the burnout contest everyone... :lol: congrats steve, im glad to hear its a true life fact. ive been telling people about your vette for months now, and alot of people are interested. now that is moving, and will soon have video of its propulsion (accelerating seems to civil a word) i can show others why i have been so :crazy: about this specific vette.

i can relate about the school kids thing. i was driving my vette a couple days after paint (last wed) and i happend to be crusing arround when a bunch of schools were getting out. i drove by an elementary school and got nothing but cheers and dropped jaws. since i have the *ahem* muffler-delete option *ahem* (:lol:) i did a 4500rpm revv. yea, the moms looked at me like i was the devil, but the dads, and kids got a big kick out of it.

now, my one negative comment. I would have done a coupe! :p: :lol: :jester :jester :jester

cant wait to see it at the cruise in. :seeya

almost forgot! did you notice any problems with heat buildup? the bumper concerns me, but others have stated very valid points... :confused:

427V8

Steve!
Sounds like quite the rush! Which Cruise in are you talking about? the bowling green one or the Corvette forum one? Either way it looks like I really have to go now! :smash:

The closest thing I have been in to your car only out out 950hp or so but was in a '32 ford that weighs like 2000 lbs and does the 1/4 in mid 8 seconds ( with the boost cranked up and nitrous added ) That car was casically unmuffled, and could spin the NN50's at any speed putting you back in your set quite nicely!

So good luck with the beast and take care!

MIKER

Congratulations, Steve! What a great accomplishment.
Somehow a simple CONGRATULATIONS :cheers: just doesn't seem to be enough to signify the completion of such a HUGE project.
I'm glad to hear that MERLIN I is complete. I've enjoyed following the progress and will look forward to the creation of MERLIN II! :cool:

Mystery Machine

Unbelievable . What an achievement. Obviously looking forward to more tales of pant-staining! :lol:

Clink69

Steve,

That is really awsome man. I would love some day to have a ride in that monster. I think you need to practice on a long and very wide road from the sounds of it. congrats

Chris

:flag

Eddie 70

Steve, I have been one of the many following this car from the start. I am glad to hear that you are that stoked about it. It sounds like, from your description, that the car is all you were hoping for. Congratulations. Now, how much of a pain is it going to be to fix the water pump problem. After having driving it once I could hardly stand the wait again.

theandies

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

That cracked me up. Congratulations :cheers: :cheers: and If you ever drive it to northern Virginia please give me a ride. Like you said at the end of your post:
LONG LIVE THE CORVETTE!!

John

78Vette-SA

Congrats Steve... :cheers: It's gotta be a great feeling.

Thanks for helping to inspire me to go out and begin finishing up on my own project. I look forward to the ragmag write-ups! :D

PatsLs1vette

Steve, congrats,finally roadworthy at last.There were a few people out there that said it couldnt be done and youve proved them wrong,anything can be done.The feeling of driving it around mustve been an incredible rush,ive had a chance to drive and work on a modified viper a few years ago ,and that was unreal on the street,and a 750hp asphalt modied(circle track car),i can only imagine a 1000+ hp vette :eek: You and monty have 2 awesome rides :cheers:

Scott78

Congrats Steve on having the patience to see it thru. I hope it's all you wished for when you started the project. After your description of the power it exudes it sounds like it came close. I'll not hesitate to cross the country to see it. Be careful and enjoy.

Scott

GDaina

Congrats to both you and Monty for your achievements. I expect to see both your cars, side by side, in future publications of car mags.

:cheers: