Full tilt lives
 

Well... after 2 years of fiberglass, welding, tweaking, cutting, grinding, etc etc etc ... FULL TILT lives.

Here are some pics....

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...007702&thumb=1

Posting pics on this site continues to be a mystery to me... so for a complete build, in pics, please visit:

http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/FullTilt1977/

Would love to hear what you guys (and gals) think of her.

Thanks

Gonna try this one more time.....

http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...0827103655.jpg

WOW


http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...0901100609.jpg

Well going from this pic below, to what you have now is F'in awesome..you did a great job. love it all.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...vetteburn7.jpg

That is gorgeous!! You can tell you spent many hours working on Full Tilt!!

What color is that??

Rogman

Awesome, what are your rims and wheels ?

I love the paint and the tilt front end. I'm not a fan of the doors but after seeing them and thinking about it, they would be pretty handy to keep from dinging up the doors. These things are so long it is hard to get inside in confined spaces like the garage.

Nice work

Wow!

tilt.....
 

Would you believe I thought this was just another steering column post, so I skipped over it for I dont know how long. Way cool tilt. :iagree:

From one fellow tilt owner to another, that hood is BEAUTIFUL!:cool::cheers: Fantastic ingenuity and fabrication not to mention all the fiberglassing, wow. Beautiful job on the interior and the engine just blinds me. what is your hood resting on by the firewall?
Kuddoos to you on a fantastic vette!!

WOW :eek::eek::eek: that is beutiful. well done.:rock: right click and save.:thumbs:

Wow simply fantastic. Quite a transformation. :cool:

Thank you all for the kind words!

Rogman, yes, I have well over 2000 hours in building this beast. Most of the car is hand made ... the color is a custom blend of candy red with a ton of rosetta red pearl mixed in. I really could not tell you exactly how much as I mixed it by "feel"... I sprayed 5 coats of color and another 5 coats of clear.

DM, the rims are custom made, my design, Billet Specialties ground them for me., They are 20 x 12 in the rear, and 20 x 9.5 in the front.

I followed the re-build on the "other" Corvette forum. While the "doors" are not for me I love the car. Your work is outstanding! The body and fabrication work is only out done by the paint work. This car is the complete package! Very nice.

On a side note care to share how you got the 12" wide rear wheels under the back of the car and kept them inside the wheel openings. :)

Ross. Thanks for the compliments. The rear of the clip rests (and locks into place) on 2 bear claw catches.

You can see them better in the build photos.....

http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/FullTilt1977/

3J... we spent an enormous amount of time playing around with the offset and backspacing in order to get them to fit. But they do! I also added about 1/2 inch to the wheel lips, both front and rear, to get them inside... but it's such a small amount that noone has ever noticed they aren't stock.

Amazing result.:cool:

I followed your modthread and I am impresssed :thumbs:

Cheers

Frank

I just finished looking at the 176 pic's you posted, Amazing transformation,

Not a huge fan of gull wing door's, but it work's really well with your whole combination.

I do have one ???? from your pic's, did you paint this in your garage ??????

Amazing and outstanding workmanship, :thumbs::thumbs::cheers:

I must admit I am not a fan of the customs....but, this work is just over the top.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are a very talented man. I can not even begin to fathom the amount of time / monies that went into this build....but, it has paid off for you big time. Great work and I love the color choice... :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:





Stay in tune....:thumbs:

Thanks... You should be very proud of your work... She is a beaut!!!

Rogman

Cruzin,

Yes I did paint it in the garage. Well.. the car port actually. My wife would have divorced me if I had painted in the real garage and filled the house with fumes!

i am speechless!! what a great job on the car. You have a lot of talent the car is awesome.

[QUOTE=77custom;1579590403]Ross. Thanks for the compliments. The rear of the clip rests (and locks into place) on 2 bear claw catches.

You can see them better in the build photos.....

http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/FullTilt1977/

So you have a cable that runs under the firewall that attaches to the Bearclaws that releases the hood?

yes. it is set up to release like a stock hood release under the dash. Both clamps/releases act as one. Was a real PITA to make... but works like a charm.

Thats what i thought, very ingenious, very Kool. so how much fun was it aligning your hood, bet that was fun. i've had lots of fun w/mine lol.

Ross... yes. that is the simple explanation. the reality is that both releases work in tandom via a hard wire connecting them... BUT.. it works left to right... and I needed something that worked up and down! So I had to fabricate a small piece that is mounted up beside the upper bolts in the brake housing that transfers that motion. Not real hard... but a very tight fit. Hard to explain in words.... but rather simple in design.

and for the entire front clip... aligning it was not that big of a deal... once I figured out how to fabricate the hinge mechanism. Everything else was simple (if not delicate) bodywork.

Did you design/fabricate your hinge assembly? Or is it a factory/aftermarket job?

Love your car BTW !!!

Your hinge fabrication is just brilliant, love all the lil tricks you did. my hood is the 1pc ecklers hood which the installation is varied on who installs it. i bought mine in 1990 w/all the body mods already done but the rest of the vette was junk so i replaced everything. the 2nd day i drove it i hit a bump and the hood released and i'm driving blind grinding the center grill on the road, happened twice in a 1/2 mile so i parked it till i put hoodpins in. It's just awesome working in the engine bay w/a Flip, so much room. Your hood is so awesome, as is your whole vette.:thumbs::cheers:

The car looks awsome, you have alot of time in just the firewall. I also have a 77 with a tilt front end that has been an on going 10 year project. On your tilt, does your front end go up and out or just out ( I hope that makes since). Mine just tilts forward and the nose hits the ground making very little working room. I'd like to figure out how to get more of an opening before the nose hits..
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ictureid=53659
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ictureid=53660

Your car is stunning! Amazing job to proud of!

THANKS MRAnt!

Shamby... Love what you are doing to yours! I don't recognize your front clip though.... is it a modified "Mako" clip? If so... that is probably the reason why it won't tilt forward any more than it does.

I solved that problem by making my own hinges from scratch. I built off the existing frame and moved the hinge points (which are two 3/4 inch rods... one on each side) as far forward into the front clip as humanly possible.... making it tilt up rather than out.

The entire clip is supported by 4 gas struts that balance so well one finger will raise or lower the entire clip. BUT... it did take me over a week of playing around with various strut pressure combinations to get it right!

I also had to build a square steel tubing frame to carry all that weight from front to back considering the hinge points are now well forward of the actual balance point on the clip.

I hope that makes some kind of sense!

Keep up the great work! Maybe some day soon we can put them together!

Best.... Robert

Oh... and ROSS.... is you look closely at some of the build pics, you will see the bear claw catches. Once they garb a hold of the "male" pins I welded onto the rear of the steel support frame... the entire front clip locks into place. I haven't tested it over 150 mph yet... but so far, it stays right where it should.

Love to see more pics of yours!

Remarkable show of craftsmanship and talent,

one beautiful 77 you have

Neal :thumbs:

77Custom, I really don't know much about the front clip except that I believe it was sold by Ecklers for a short time, but made by American Sports Cars/Stinger Fiberglass. The clip is a one piece with 4" flares. The pivot point on mine is at the lower part of the radiator. The way mine opens is very impractical. The car needs to be on ramps to open the hood.

I've been through all your pictures several times. Love it, I even like the doors.

More info on that front spoiler,i'm really digging it.

Thanks Chevyman!

Shamby...I had a feeling that was what it was. Very rare if I am not mistaken. Ecklers sold very few of them. And yes... that is why I scrapped every aftermarket part out there... they just don't open correctly.

MandT... Thanks! The front spoiler/splitter are kind of like the rest of the car... I looked around at every aftermarket product out there.. hated all of them... so I got out the cardboard, fiberglass, and a TON of resin and created my own. I would love to say that I had molds for any of the parts (front clip, rear wing, front splitter, etc etc) but I don't. Usually just made things as I went... and probably threw away more fiberglass from things that didn't quite come out the way I wanted than is still on the car!

Oh i'm sure your good to go at 150mph, them bearclaws look quite solid. heres my pics.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v323/rosslato/

Ross... I love your ride ! Your powdercoating and chrome bills are more than mine! Didn't think that was possible! Fantastic undercarriage!

Do the hinge mechanisms on your clip come off the car WITH the front clip? And where do they attach to the frame? Hard to tell in the pics.

Ross. Here is a pic of the hinge mechanism, and the headlight system I fabbed. Probably reduced the total weight of the front end of the car over 400 lbs without the "bumper steel", and all the headlight crap.

http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...ilfrontend.jpg

http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...echanism-1.jpg

All the electrics on the front clip (headlights, turn signals, horns & power to the headlight actuator are connected through one quick release 12 pin connector.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...00936Large.jpg
See that 5” L bracket that’s bolted to the top of the crossmember on the end? That’s the mount for the hood, theres one on each side so 2 bolts and it’s off w/the hood or on, pretty convenient. I gotta go out to the garage later and I’ll take a good pic. none of my parts are powdercoated, I used por-15 engine enamel ford thunderbird red, see here http://www.por15.com/ENGINE-ENAMEL/productinfo/EEPA/ I just brushed it on, leaves no brush strokes and I swear it looks powdercoated. even my VB Aarms came PC’d Black so I brushed on the por-15 engine enamel , came out awesome. the tank is also por-15’d. the stuff looks so wet. BTW I noticed on your front spring endbolts you had the Hex side up in 1 pic and down in another, which way did you finally go?

Great Fabrication on the hood, would love to see your vette up close and personal. you an engineer?

Were they "gull wing doors" instead of "Lambo doors" they might look better. But, man, what a HUGE amount of work that would be...:D




Nonetheless, it's one fantastic custom.


I like!!!

Hey KT you are correct they are called the Lambo door's, and not gull wing
and usually i don't make a call like that. :hide:

But it is the festive season and sometime's thing's just happen :thumbs:

Ross.... I did graduate from Georgia Tech about 25 years ago! But my degrees are in Computer Science and Industrial management. Just got REAL lucky having a father who could literally build/race ANYTHING with wheels and a motor! And thank God a bit of that rubbed off on me!

KT... Funny you should say that. I thought about true "gull wing doors" (like a 55 Mercedes) for over a year! The real problem exists in having very little (if no) roof support for hinging, the fact that vette doors weigh a ton, and they have no upper frames! I Thought seriously about making steel frames (around the window glass) ... fabbing up steel t-tops, welding them together... and creating "Gull Wings"... that was really the easy part... but the amount of work involved in re-enforcing the center of the car (center t top frame) , and making hinges that could support that much (off balance) weight was too much thought for me at the time!

The "Lambo" hinges I have are from Street Car Customs. The guy does great work! BUT... I wanted to be able to open the doors in the original manner, as well as tilt them up, so I redesigned his hinges. Nothing that a grinder and some thought won;t fix eh?!?

The doors on Full Tilt open both ways now... standard, or Lambo.

Sorry to ramble on about this... but like I said, I spent ALOT of time trying to figure the Gull Wing thing out!

Happy New Year

Robert

77Custom, did you completely remove your wiper assembly?

Too much Moosehead perhaps?....:lol:





Gull wing doors. That would be some awesome undertaking wouldn't it?

Shamby... yes I did. Full TIlt will never see the rain anyway, and they were just damn ugly on the new firewall I built! So away they went.

I also dumped the Ac and the heater completely. Hell... who needs heat anyway?

I wanted a VERY clean look when the clip was open.

What caused the fire that started this hole thing?

That car is amazing wish I had the time to build anything half as wild as that your car is just cool!!!

Thanks for the kind words Jesse.

The short version of the Saga of Full Tilt is:

I built a mildly custom 77 back in 2004-5.... showed it, raced it, drove 4 Power Tours, blew up 3 motors..... well, you get the idea.

In March of 2009, the perfect storm occurred... i had a full tank of 110 race gas in the tank, and when starting the motor, the carb (Barry Grant Mighty Demon) backfired.... at the exact same time the electric fuel pump decided to short in the ON position. This started a fire on top of the motor.... which was being fed by high octane gas at 140 gpm.

I emptied TWO fire extinquishers on it as it laughed at me. LUCKILY... I was across the street from a fire dept... they were onsite in minutes, and managed to put it out before the tank blew up ! THANK GOD for steel braided lines and AN Fittings! And damn, fire burns QUICK !

When I tore it apart.. I decided to do something totally crazy... and 3 years later, after hand fabricating damn near every single part of the car from the windshield forward, Full Tilt lives.

Here is what I started with:
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...7/DSC02665.jpg

And FULL TILT now:
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...LTCOVERART.jpg

You sir.........are a craftsman !

Those wheels look awesome on your car, nicest on a custom C3 I think ive seen. Forgive me if I steal your idea and get the same ones.

Robert: I have followed your build for a long time and I missed the part about you figuring out how to make you doors open both ways. That is very impressive.

You do amazing work! that car is a dream!

dmee... Thank You. I designed them... Billet Specialties custom ground them for me... waited one year (per agreement in 2005) and are now selling them. I don;t know what they call them however.

Brent... I have followed your build as well... WOW. You are as determined as I am to make things perfect! KUDOS MATE !! Can't wait to meet you at a show, on the road, or for a beer .... and the later is on me!

Best,

Robert

Awesome
 

I have been on a similar path for 6 years on my 71. I have been inspired by your incredible build. Very very high bar
I love it.
One question: The firewall is smooth but you shaved off the vertical panel that but seals the high pressure area in front of the windshield from stalling air under the hood causing overheating. Have you had any issues there or is that overblown?

I've got a '77 C3 and will trade you straight across, no questions asked and I'll even deliver anywhere in the world...

http://www.azpower.com/vette/77_vette_3.jpg

...just in case you're dying for a new project :D Not sure if a buff-job would bring the paint out any, but if you squint just right in front of a light blub, it doesn't look as bad...if you just wanted to paint my car, I'd be a happy camper!


MxB

Hey Robert,
What were the mods to the hinges ???
Mine only open about 18 inches.
My wife complains "it aint enuff",
I tell her "you should be happy with 18inches"...!!!:D
Is it an easy mod ???
I saw a guy trying sell "gull wing" door hinges for c3 vettes on feebay !!!
When I enquired,
he said the hinges attached to the top of the door frame (WTF ????) .
Must really know his vettes huh ??:crazy2:
Again... AMAZING car,
Congrats,:cheers:
Gav.

Bob... I bet you would trade! I would probably need you to toss an airplane or something into the deal on your side though !!!

THANKS LAddams !!!

71VETTE... I don;t have a problem at all with overheating. But I am running 3 electric fans !! Twin pullers and a huge pusher on a four core rad.

Brent and Gavel... really wasn;t that hard to modify the Street Car Custom hinges... just took some thought! BAsically take them apart, and grind down the "stops" about 1/2 an inch. That will double the distance the doors will open regularly.

And GAV... that guy IS a moron !!

Best,

Robert

Gooday again Robert,
I'm not quite sure where to grind down the stops.
Here's a pic of my hinge can you explain please.
Sorry for being a pain, just can't picture it in my head.
Thanks,
Gav
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...58457988_n.jpg

the style isnt really my cup of tea but the engineering and work that went into it are absolutely freakin' amazing! i have 25+ years experience in building custom cars and motorcycles (i owned a bike shop until getting my neck and back broken in 2007) but i have never even come close to doing what you have on your car. i would LOVE to see it in person some day if you ever get to the Columbia SC area. my wife who doesnt know where the oil goes in a car even said how nicely done the job is.

GAV... it's not that side of the hinge that contains the "stops"... its the smaller part that actually bolts to the door itself. It has a strange little tab kind of thing on it.. cut that off, grind smooth, and the door will open much farther. Sorry... but this is REAL tough to explain in writing !

Bucky... THANKS MAN !!! My wife calls me nuts.. but she loves the results. I appreciate the compliments from a builder. It means the world!

dmeesq.... I believe that Billet Specialties calls my rims "FASTLANE II". Just FYI....

So after FULL TILT has been built for months now... I decided it was about time to tune her up!

Here she is running:

http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/...0121140612.mp4

Other than a small oil leak around the timing chain cover... she runs great. Got a small leak in a brand new set of Hedman Headers got to send them back. .... but she runs VERY cool around 160-175 degrees... and for a 13.5 to 1 motor, I am pleased!

Robert, just watched your video, to see full tilt that way and not just in still's, is totally amazing.

Unbelievable craftsmanship with every detail, if i ever make it down your way on vacation i would love to see it in person. :cheers:

Thanks CruzinZ! Come on down... I'll buy the beverages!

Very nice custom :thumbs:

140 GPM? You'd be out of fuel in 8 seconds.

Thanks Lemans... and yes, you are correct, that is a typo... should be GPH! Although at 6 miles per gallon, you're not far off the mark I pretty much have to stop for gas every chance I get!

HEre is the pump:

http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/...0704131618.jpg

...reminds me of the time I first heard a guy say those rather infamous words: "She'll pass anything on the road except a gas station!"


MxB

Car looks great. Not to high jack ur thread but since there r a few of us with the tilt frontends together here I would like to ask if any of you sealed off ur tilt front end by the windshield? Mine has some large foam in the back of the hood for some reason. I guess it seals all the hot air in for what reason I don t know. Any of yaw tried to install some hood vents like the viper acr have on their hoods? Any other ideas on under hood venting? My bb. Gets hot under their.

airtime,

I keep mine open on the back to vent air. I also have a vent cut into the hood scoop as well. So far, Full Tilt runs all day at about 190 degrees.

i was just curious why someone had put that foam between my hood cowl and windshield. i am going to remove it. i believe it will let the air pass/ flow better thru the engine compartment and remove some extra heat. my car runs cool water temp wise but i feel like heat is getting trapped in there. i was thinking of cutting out my shark gill area area also. i am going to try and see if i can find some of those viper acr hood vents and see how they fit our hood lines

Robert - amazing looking car. The first few pics and I thought you've really done some amazing work and it must have cost a bundle of time and money. By the time I got to the end of the post, I was even more impressed - very nice work, and obviously a lot of thought!

Question - the lambo doors, I did a google search on street car customs, and didn't have any luck finding your guy. I found street beat customs and dream car customs - both with lambo doors... Care to share a link or info on your guy? I have a buddy with a 69 with lambo doors, but they don't open wide enough before the stop to go up - love your idea about grinding off the stop a bit...

OK... it has been a while since I have posted anything on Full Tilt... she is running great, and has a new home! My wife and I moved, I restored the new (old) house for us... and have been slammed at work. Maybe this winter I will have a chance to out the finishing touches on her.

Thought you guys might want to see some pics of Full Tilt now.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ctureid=128801

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ctureid=128800

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ctureid=128797

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ctureid=128798

Enjoy!

Robert--

Always enjoy seeing new pictures of Full Tilt!!!! She's a beauty... Congrats on getting back into your new (old) house... Sure the wife is very happy with that!!!

Rogman

Wow, that's such an awesome color! While I'm not a big fan of the new wheels, I've seen many examples done right! You've got to have the right 'stance' to make it work and you did a great job on that one!

I've never seen a mid-70's C3 that I thought looked really good with a spoiler.....until now!

:thumbs:

I'll agree, usually a spoiler looks tacked on and tacky, and I normally don't care for the customs, but yours is in a class by itself. Very nice work.

That car is pure awesome! Wouldnt think to put the spoiler that far forward but wow! looks amazing.

Rogman, yes the wife is pleased. And so am I. I actually have a nicer garage/shop now! But she has forbidden me to paint in it! EVER! LOL.

Thanks all for the kinds words.

All I can say is SWEEEEEEEEEEEET. Great job. :thumbs:

Just read all these post and looked at all the pictures ..AMAZING Job ..I dont know what else to say . ..... Super Car

A LOT of incredible work-

Last I heard - it had received some damage-thanks to a concrete wall a few months back...

But he was going to redo it and run CNG-

http://www.fulltiltcng.com/

http://nebula.wsimg.com/e254ec96cb27...&alloworigin=1

Richard

Amazing car. Robert has not been around much of late. Hope he checks in and lets us know what's up and how things are going.