C4 Frame Project

[chevynut]

That's a pretty interesting design Bamanomad, if not significantly overkill. Seems like GM put rubber bushings in the ends of the batwing for a reason. It's not hard-mounted to the frame on a C4 Corvette. Even the C3 Corvettes had the differential isolated from the frame by rubber cushions, as do the Vipers and most other IRS cars that I know of. It may work just fine though.

[BamaNomad]

It's not my design; it's Billy Dawson's at Corvette corrections. He's sold well over 100 of them for C1 Corvettes and around 25 for Classic Chevys (as of about a year ago), and he was doing between 2 and 3 a week at that time. I DO understand your concern, as I currently own 5 Corvettes (2 C3s, 2 C4s, and a C1) and as I said earlier, I had the same concern over the 'hardmounted' design... until I drove his '55 sedan...

If you want to know any details about his design, call him... I'm sure he would talk to you even if he knew you were a competitor..

[chevynut]

Bamanomad, if he's doing 2-3 a week I'm not a competitor. This is just kind of a "hobby" for me since I only do it part time. When we work steady, I work maybe 10 hours a week. We have 4 projects lined up right now and I'm telling guys I'm booked until October now. I don't plan to do much from September through January since I plan to hunt a lot.

[NickP]

It's not my design; it's Billy Dawson's at Corvette corrections. He's sold well over 100 of them for C1 Corvettes and around 25 for Classic Chevys (as of about a year ago), and he was doing between 2 and 3 a week at that time. I DO understand your concern, as I currently own 5 Corvettes (2 C3s, 2 C4s, and a C1) and as I said earlier, I had the same concern over the 'hardmounted' design... until I drove his '55 sedan...

If you want to know any details about his design, call him... I'm sure he would talk to you even if he knew you were a competitor..

Cool stuff there Bama. You mentioned you had driven a unit with this in place, can you expand your comment with some real world feedback? First, did you drive it more than one or two blocks? Highway time? Noise? Grip? Corner?

[BamaNomad]

I'd been talking to Billy for several years; initially planning to buy one of his chassis for a '60 Corvette I have, but he had his '55 sedan at the 2015 TriFive nats, and he *insisted* I drive it... We took it out of Beech Bend, and around thru to the south side of Bowling Green; total driving time of 30-40 minutes or so. It drove great, rode quietly but firmly, turned and cornered like it was on rails... in summary, I told him it drove/rode like a new car (better than MOST new cars!).. total experience was better than any trifive or custom/modified car I'd ever driven. In terms of driving 'feel', it handled / steered much like my 1990 ZR1 (I have 3 of them over the past 20 yrs, ranging from 18K to 35K miles), so I'm not comparing it to a worn out car. His car has the LS3/430 hp eng with 4L60E trans (new from Chevy) so it ran great also... see images...

[55 Rescue Dog]

Thanks BMAD. Those are great pics of what looks like a great set-up, and the ride height, stance, and wheel/tires look spot on. A better fresh air intake would be consideration though. Would love to know what traverse spring rates he's using?

[chevynut]

Nice 55 Bamanomad. Looks like he did a great job on it. Do you know what those wheels are off of and what size?? A C6?? They work well on the car. Looks like he's using the ABS Power Brake booster. How did you like the brakes, if you member?

[55 Rescue Dog]

Or does it have manual brakes, which is the direction I'm headed for simplicity, and less weight. A good manual set-up can't be beat for feedback.

[chevynut]

[rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017]

Nice!!! I also like the wheels. If I was to be negative about anything why route the a/c hoses behind the fender you hide maybe 6 inches of hose vs routing it out the stock location.