Plastic Fantastic 76 Corvette

[SuperBuickGuy]

brake air intakes

here they are.... not going to use them

the issues are too wide and they aim down.... and take up a lot of room

so just holes

was planning on these at the wheels but they'll work quite well here

some 3" tube to aim the flow at the rotors

paint the blanking plate

[SuperBuickGuy]

another track day completed.... I had the Cadillac airborne.... so much fun (and yes, I knew I'd go airborne)... did a nice 100 mph 4 wheel drift... nothing to see here, moving along

in other news, painted the spoiler


and installed the block


Soooo, next Friday, I'm doing a Track Night in America at Portland International Raceway.... but
forecast has snow in it. Granted, it's supposed to be 'just' rain by Friday (the weather witches are just guessing) - however, that's not better because rain cancels.... and honestly, that 2 1/2 mile track would be nothing but standing water and stained underpants if it was doing anything but mist.....

I really want to do this track night for a couple reasons - 1) it's where I'm doing Optima this year - thus it's like a free practice, but then 2) noise. I want actual data on noise. I think I have it solved - but the 'if it's not' is I'm building new sidepipes with a far different design... and that will take a solid month to build... I plan on doing this next winter - it will have oval exhaust because Chad (old timers know this story).... but the benefit of new headers is I think these 4' primary pipes destroy power...

next winter I plan on building headers/sidepipes that make power for the revamped motor. Also put on port EFI.... now is 600 hp, next up is 900 but more importantly, a wider power band (more rpm) - which pretty much demands custom built headers. I know this might surprise you, but I've built more then a few sets of custom headers - I actually really enjoy doing it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

it looks nice


too bad it's too low

ugh.



so, it's opportunity. The holes in that valence are a problem for aerodynamics - and it was rightly suggested I block them.... so I will the calculation for cooling is you need 1/3 the radiator surface in grill opening... worst case scenario is I put a vent in the closing panel... the problem is it will be hard to create access for the bolts.... and a bit shorter spoiler.... 3 1/2" was not enough.... the other choice might be to make it flexible with reinforced rubber....

That said, $100 later and the tank is full with - bonus, it's not leaking or smelling.... capacity is 25-26 gallons.

oh and we're moving .... this should be fun (3 hours east)

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[SuperBuickGuy]

dangling brake cooling lines


a start to a new setup

the biggest problem is the spoiler can't hang more then 2" from the angle

laid out a new plate - then the shear wouldn't start....

I'm going to try something... according to what I've read - you need an air inlet that is 1/3rd the size of the radiator.

so basically, I'm going to eliminate the under side holes - however, if it doesn't work, I can simply pull the plate and get flow back....

[SuperBuickGuy]

spoiler v2 cont.

what that doesn't explain is I had to diagnose and fix my shear...

tomorrow's goal is make this look less hardware store
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I should explain that plate comment. C3 Corvettes have terrible nose lift at high speeds (they also have big problems with aero with the vertical rear window - the air actually goes backwards as it tumbles off the targa). If you look closely at any of the race C3s from the day, you'll see a number of solutions to 'fix' the problem.... but the worst part is that air making a change from horizontal to vertical - it literally lifts on the bottom of the hood... not optimal. This is why people delete the front license plate or even put the 80/81 nose on their older car.... for completeness, the tumble issue is why most racers used convertibles - no sail panels, no tumble....

[SuperBuickGuy]

more CAD

now in metal
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[SuperBuickGuy]

did some work on this today...

worked on the spoiler

cut the block plate and spoiler out of one piece of aluminum

the bottom inch will be rubber....

also fixed some cracks because it was finally warm enough to use epoxy

[SuperBuickGuy]

considering if this is what I want

or this


in other news, painting inner liners

and wiring the reverse light


all while waiting for the epoxy to fully dry

[SuperBuickGuy]

beta version etch primer

installed

rivet the rubber spoiler on


install edges

it's also bolted to the frame through the bottom of the radiator cladding
also, rather then hard attach to the fenders, the rubber stoppers will keep the metal in place but also allow it to give if I get too low....

fun fun

spoiler - wider and remove the lift from the nose (no catfish nose lift)


what's left? reverse lights and figure out why the lighter plug isn't working... then it goes in the garage to await its first racing of the season (mid-May)... and that schedule is Spokane May 15ish, and PIR May 27....
Also, need to finish up some things on the motorhome but it's close...

oh yeah, and buy 2 houses, a commercial property then move 300 miles --------> way
oh and get a puppy this weekend.
and commute to Idaho for Buick parts.

[SuperBuickGuy]

dangerously close to the object I imagined 4 years ago - well, 2 years ago after that Randy Probst guy totally upended what I planned





inner fenders done
shop empty.

Monday, new project