56 Vette Road Racer Update - Lateral-g Forums

mfain · #1 06-04-2009, 11:33 PM

New firewall and motor mounts going in. Man-law #256 says you can't move the motor too far back (#255 says the motor can never be too big). For those of you in Finland, that isn't snow on the ground -- it's 107 degrees in the garage. That's ground-up fiberglass that somehow didn't end up on me. On a more serious note, I built the new firewall using a high-quality marine grade polyester resin that has a flame inhibitor in it. You can hold a torch to it, and it will "consume" the glass until you remove the heat source, then the flames go out instantly. Not as good as 14 ga. steel, but not bad for fiberglass.

groovyjay · #2 06-05-2009, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfain

New firewall and motor mounts going in. Man-law #256 says you can't move the motor too far back (#255 says the motor can never be too big). For those of you in Finland, that isn't snow on the ground -- it's 107 degrees in the garage. That's ground-up fiberglass that somehow didn't end up on me. On a more serious note, I built the new firewall using a high-quality marine grade polyester resin that has a flame inhibitor in it. You can hold a torch to it, and it will "consume" the glass until you remove the heat source, then the flames go out instantly. Not as good as 14 ga. steel, but not bad for fiberglass.

Gotcha...

On a serious note, you've done great job modifying the firewall. Sounds like you got both the skills and knowledge. I'm staying tuned for this topic!

mfain · #3 08-24-2009, 08:51 PM

The firewall and motor mounts are back in -- further back with provision for a new, bigger dry sump tank. Also, the Woodward NASCAR steering column installation is almost complete. The difficult part was installing the column to retain the turn signals and ignition without compromising the integrity of the column. The only thing I had to give up was the auto-cancel feature of the turn signals -- not a big deal since the car won't be on the street that often.

Pappy

**waynieZ** · #4 08-24-2009, 11:59 PM

Nice work . I love 56-57 Vettes

groovyjay · #5 08-26-2009, 11:53 AM

That is going to be one helluwa ride!

**syborg tt** · #6 08-26-2009, 12:32 PM

Great looking firewall - now we need to see the car itself

68MaroSam · #7 08-26-2009, 12:42 PM

Great work. '56 is my fav out of the 50's Vettes

Viperlover · #8 08-26-2009, 04:41 PM

What steering wheel is that? It would go well with the wheels on my car.

mfain · #9 08-26-2009, 11:31 PM

The steering wheel is a LaCarra -- made in France. I adapted it to the Woodward quick disconect with an adapter manufactured by Joe's Racing Products. It also has an adapter ring on top that allows you to use a stock horn button. As for those who asked for a picture of the car, I have attached one that I had on the "New Guys" post a couple of months ago. There are several pictures of different aspects of the car (suspension, aero stuff, etc) in that post.

Pappy

**syborg tt** · #10 08-27-2009, 09:31 AM

now that's a cool vette