The last picture of the rear
 

just looks mean!

thanks guys - I talked to a local fab shop that does some sprint cars mostly but all sorts of cages and am thinking of having them bend up a cage. I have never bent tube, but not having done something has never stopped me before so I may just buy a bender and go for it because I would like to learn how to do it, but in the long run I will spend a lot more money buying benders and F'ing up tubing to learn than just have it done. We will see which option I pick, he said he is super busy (it is the off-season for racing so for fab shops that is on-season) so I may just go for it based on timing.

The other thing I am trying to figure out is if I want to do a rockered suspension system. I have a rocker concept designed up in engineering software and just need to have four of them machined (I don't have lathe access), but am assessing the real value. My Penske shocks from the Porsche have somewhat limited travel since I only was tracking the 914, so building a ratio into the rocker means I can have the tire move more than the shock, which is better since this is now a street car and our roads in CO are pretty rough. It also moves the shock and coilover inboard and out of my way near the tire, but that is less of an overall concern. It would be nice to get some more clearance around my rear axles and move the coilovers away from them. But then I have this rocker assy to place in the mix.

I had a plan for how I would run the fuel cell, but I set it in place and would really like to change its orientation and that would definitely mean I need to rocker the rears. Joys of actually fabbing v. thinking about fabbing, you have to fit everything in when you actually build it :D

I am hell bent on having a back seat in the final build and that makes a few things a total PITA. Having a back seat means I can scare up to 7 people, the three with me and the four in the car next to me :thumbsup:

Oh yeah, as for wider fenders, the front track width is going to wider than the rear at these settings and I can get a fair amount of tire rotation at the front, more than I had on the 914, so I should have no rubbing issues and still be able to make turns on the track. U-turns will be 3 pointers, but that is a small sacrifice to be able to get to ludicrous speed with wider front meats.

been super busy with work travel and family in town, but...
 

got a little progress today. Had some "surprise" work travel to NorCal right after I got back from DC area, then my mom drove into town last weekend, so it has been hectic again lately, but I did get some progress today - I worked with the machinist at my job to machine up the first of four bearing carriages to make my suspension rocker arms to move the shocks/coils inboard. We had to lathe out the center and then cut an internal groove for the spiral locks and he did an awesome job.

Now I need to see if I can make the pieces for the rocker and weld them on without distorting the hell out of the little housing. He has the bore tight to just over .001" which is way better than I could have done, but leaves me little room for overheating while welding.

It is hard to see but I have two bearings in there so they can react any moment trying to twist the arm and force it to only pivot about the bolt. He is going to make the other three housings tomorrow and then next week I hope to get in there and lathe up some 1/2" spacers for the bolt.

The nice thing will be that I can build a ratio into the rocker arm that matches the ratio at my lower A arm between the shock and wheel center - that will mean I should have a 1:1 wheel rate and therefore a 1:1 motion ratio. That is nice because I was buying really stiff springs for the 914 trying to get a good wheel rate, now whatever I want at the wheel will be exactly what the spring rate is, no motion ratio math to mess with.

Cant wait to see finish pics

been an interesting past couple of weeks, an update...
 

Behind the scenes I have been attempting to pick up a Z06 since I have been missing my Grand Sport. I thought I had one bought in TX but that fell thru so I gave up, but then ran across another one that actually I prefer so I am glad the other fell thru. Now that deal is getting a bit shakey as the seller didn't realize how much he actually still owed v. what we agreed for purchase price but it is still moving toward a June 1 close date - hard to make a straight deal!

Then today I ended up talking to a guy about my 914 and he sent me a deposit tonight to buy the roller I had advertised a few months back, so now I am moving the suspension back off the Nova and putting it back on the 914. This is a good thing actually because he gets a great deal on a great roller that was a well tuned setup and I can reconsider the Nova design and try to run C6 Vette parts to keep the car GM instead of mixing in Porsche parts. It will cost me more in the end than I got for the 914 to replace the pieces I was going to reuse, but apparently wasting my money on cars v. saving it for later has not been a problem to date! I won't be able to build this stuff when I am old anyway so I might as well work then and play now, right? :relax:

So, it will slow the progress on the Nova here while I regroup and configure a new shock, brake, and suspension package but I think it is a move in the right direction. In fact, I am hoping to be able to set the car up to run the exact same wheel offset as the Z and then I can get multiple sets of wheels I can swap between vehicles depending on what I am tracking and what I am streeting. Was not really interested in running 18s on the Nova as I dislike large wheels as a general statement, anything over 18s being out of question. On the Nova I really liked the fit and look of the 16s, but getting bigger brakes onto the heavier car makes more sense than sticking to a particular look :) And the 1" larger diam rear v. front look of the modern Vette is actually the one thing I really do NOT like about the cars, everything else is great. They look so much better with 18s all around.

Anyway, it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks piled on top of some pretty aggressive work stuff sucking up some of my weekend time as well but all will be back on track in a month or two.

Tim two steps forward ten steps back!! That's why it sometimes takes a while to build these cars. In the end I'm sure you will be happy with your new direction. Love the progress you've made so far, I just love the 66-67 Novas, I've a couple and want one again!!

I hear you Rick - I got the Porsche almost completely back together today. That is what is nice about the suspension the way it is, within a few hours it was off the Nova and back on the Porsche - it took me longer to get the engine and trans out hahaha. But then I am looking at the Nova and I am back to damn near Feb of this year :rolleyes: I was on path to have it running and on the track by end of summer but oh well, it is definitely the better direction to go.

Since I am a planner it will be a couple months of just replanning the design before I even get rolling again

Fortunately, the second deal also fell thru when the seller couldn't come up with enough money to pay his loan down - that got me looking and I found the car that I coveted most in Vegas - right where I was delivering the 914!!

2011 Carbon Edition Inferno Orange, only had 989 miles on it when I bought it Friday! I have wanted one of these so bad since I first saw it displayed in the GM booth at SEMA and sat in it, so fortunately the other two deals fell apart!! Great how that works out at times.

Now I can work on getting Vette suspension into the Nova and set it up so I can have a set of track wheels that would fit both cars and I can just swap back and forth.

Oh man, me likey that is hot for sure Tim. That should help take your mind off not having your Porsche anymore? Man I should just go buy one of these and forget working on a car?? :bitchslap: yeah then my wife does this to me :bitchslap: she hates vetts.

Mmmm beer errrr suede!

I upgraded to the 2012 seats in my C6 - and love it!

Great looking C6 Carbon!