Completed Trailing Arms.

[Adam]

Question 1:
As your probably aware the engine is slightly more toward the right of the car to make room for the steering box etc when the steering is on its original side. This makes it even more cramped after conversion.

Im thinking about centering (not even swinging it to the left) the motor- for room and balance. Has anyone done this? Is there enough clearance in the transmission tunnel and will there be a problem with the transmission mount? Im thinking to shave an engine mount (the one off the frame) on one side and cut and weld a spacer to the other one.

Question 2:
These welds suck- my whole suspension gear is off and the welds are horrifiicly messy with splatter and inconsistant seams, and so much seems unfinished. I want to stiffen up the whole front area but have one quesiton: if I stiffen it up, it will put more stress elswhere on the frame- are there any weak points back from the front area to keep an eye on?

Question 3:
Where did you guys get your electric fans? Are they just generic ones or is there a place u got em from and how much were they? Anyone still using their stock radiator?

thanks!:22

Adam

[69 DIRTY RAT]

Originally posted by WHITE RIDER
Question 2:
This frame sux- my whole suspension gear is off and the welds are horrifiicly messy with splatter and inconsistant seams, and so much seems unfinished.
Question 3:
Where did you guys get your electric fans? Are they just generic ones or is there a place u got em from and how much were they? Anyone still using their stock radiator?

thanks!:22

Adam

The fact that there is weld splatter and uneven seams doesnt sound right? Even to the uneducated that seems like its had trouble / repaired before?
all I can say is ....GET A BIG BLOCK( ......oops there I go again),but seriously would you look at a new frame possibly? or get someone with frame repair/straightening experience to weld it together properly? OR buy a lightweight strong tubular modern frame that you can slip the body straight back on & that comes with all those modern goodies?

 Hot70 (his ad is in the club mag!) can get electric fans (twin) for a reasonable price.they are Italian made. I think they are around oz$400+? they more or less just cable tie through the radiator & fit it fits nice and snuggly. Hook up the sensor & the adjustable switch and your off...its easy.

[Adam]

They arnt re-welds, ill post a pic and youll see what I mean. Ive never looked at other corvettes welds b4 so I dunno what to compare it to. It just seems like they had an apprentice on the assembly line that day:ado
or they were saving money/time which seems typical of that era American car. Fair enuff i spose for the affordible sports car.

The frame is sound otherwise- there no twist in it.

[jdunne]

Originally posted by WHITE RIDER
Question 1:
As your probably aware the engine is slightly more toward the right of the car to make room for the steering box etc when the steering is on its original side. This makes it even more cramped after conversion.

Im thinking about centering (not even swinging it to the left) the motor- for room and balance. Has anyone done this? Is there enough clearance in the transmission tunnel and will there be a problem with the transmission mount? Im thinking to shave an engine mount (the one off the frame) on one side and cut and weld a spacer to the other one.

Question 2:
These welds suck- my whole suspension gear is off and the welds are horrifiicly messy with splatter and inconsistant seams, and so much seems unfinished. I want to stiffen up the whole front area but have one quesiton: if I stiffen it up, it will put more stress elswhere on the frame- are there any weak points back from the front area to keep an eye on?

Question 3:
Where did you guys get your electric fans? Are they just generic ones or is there a place u got em from and how much were they? Anyone still using their stock radiator?

thanks!:22

Adam

adam,yes i have centered the engine in my 74r and also lowered it slightly,i have a 700r4 box and that just fits in the trans tunnel,if you have a steering box on rhs make sure you reinforce with plate inside the rail before welding where the box attaches as the massive twisting forces will crack the rail behind the bos just where you can't see it...moving the engine isnt all that hard but it takes a lot of careful measuring beforehand...there is plenty of adjustment after you cut the engine mount brackets off the rails,just vary the brackets to suit...if you want to have a look at what i did just ask in nov in canberra in nov...john;26forgot,i have a davies craig single fan,14" 2600 cfm,works brilliantly,but then again i probably have the worlds largest custom rad on a small block..john

[Cameron 77C3]

If your centring your engine to give more space where the steering box is, there is another alternative.  I was sick and tired of not having access to the driver side of my motor, mirror image 77 RHD, so I opted to put in a rack and pinion system.  Not cheap, around $2500 but worth every penny.

Revelation Racing Supplies at Brookvale did the work.  Basically bolts in using the original steering box holes on the now passenger side and the now steering box holes on the now driver side.

The only change to engine mounting was that we had to fit 6mm spacers between the engine and engine mount so that the racks rubber boots would clear the sump.  I don't have an original sump on the motor with the double step in it.  If I did, no spacing would have been required.









The other thing I did was change the floor pan in the foot well to accommodate my big feet.  I simply cut out the chamfered section and welded in a new piece so that the now driver side foot well is the same as the passenger side foot well.  In this shot you can still see the fibre glass mould, to get the right shape, fitted just behind the left hand extractor/pipe flange.  Much more foot room now.  [A big thank you to Kym Burns for the idea]





On the welding side of things I'll think you'll find that tidy welding was NOT a thing that was High on Chev's list.

I'm still using my stock radiator re-cored and a flex fan.  Won't know how it goes until she is on the road, but the bench test connected to the motor was fine.

[Adam]

Thanks all for the replies-

Cam, ive seen pics of your rack and pinion before and its BRILLIANT! It's on my list of things to do- but quite far down at the moment.

Here's a pic of some dodgy welding, it speaks for itself I spose. Note the bits that are melted through!

[Cameron 77C3]

Hmmm.  Looks like a repair but not sure.  Don't remember seeing blow through holes like that on mine.

I would not be to concerned.  A good welder or body repair guy should be able to fix any bad welds or cracks.  Metal fatigue is something you have to expect on our cars at their age.

[VET-005]

A quick way to clean up your welds and spatter without compromising there structural integrity is to go down to the hardware store and buy a FLAP disk which fits on the end of a grinder. Make sure you get the fine paper grade as this will pollish the areas and not taker off much metal accept the dags and will not put grinding marks in your chassis. Have been using them for years they are an awsom invention.
Regards,
VET-005

[Brutus]

I agree with you Adam. They're not rewelds, but purely badly done originals.
If anyone wants to see a perfect example of GM factory welds and splatter then just check out your rear trailing arms!
To coin a phrase I once heard on a well known English TV car show....."it looks likes it was put together by Gibbons who had access to welding equipment!"
It took me a while to remedy this situation, but I fully seam welded and smoothed these "factory" welds when I rebuilt my rear suspension a while back. I can provide pics if anyone is interested.

[Cameron 77C3]

Originally posted by Brutus
I agree with you Adam. They're not rewelds, but purely badly done originals.
If anyone wants to see a perfect example of GM factory welds and splatter then just check out your rear trailing arms!
To coin a phrase I once heard on a well known English TV car show....."it looks likes it was put together by Gibbons who had access to welding equipment!"
It took me a while to remedy this situation, but I fully seam welded and smoothed these "factory" welds when I rebuilt my rear suspension a while back. I can provide pics if anyone is interested.

YES PLEASE.  {hows you black beast going Brutus?}

[Brutus]

Here's a before and after pic of one of my trailing arms during the seam welding process. All that had been done to the original one was a clean and grit blast.
Now can anyone in their right mind say that the factory welds inspire confidence in the integral safety of these pieces?
Pretty after pics to follow.

[Brutus]

[Cameron 77C3]

They look good squire.  I'll be in touch when it comes time to do mine.

[TIPPA]

Hi White Rider. about thermo fans... on a previous hot V8 torrie i had two 10" fans and it hovered around boiling point. with a bit of advice i've fitted a single 16" fan to my vette and with its stock 350 it works perfectly. a single large fan will move more air than two small ones. later cars (and vettes) have two fans and i'm assuming its to cover as much of a rectangular radiator's core as poss. but on a C3 with a squarer radiator a 16" fits really well and so is best choice. Spoke to steve from SR Performance and he definitely recommends one big mutha 16". I got an auto temp control system from AMERICAN AUTO PARTS along with a "painless" brand wiring kit. I went for a pre-set temp type (different fan "on" and "off" temp ranges are avail) over a variable type as more reliable and can be totally hidden (no temp bulb lines coming out of radiator hoses {which also can leak}). Cheers.

[jdunne]

Originally posted by TIPPA
Hi White Rider. about thermo fans... on a previous hot V8 torrie i had two 10" fans and it hovered around boiling point. with a bit of advice i've fitted a single 16" fan to my vette and with its stock 350 it works perfectly. a single large fan will move more air than two small ones. later cars (and vettes) have two fans and i'm assuming its to cover as much of a rectangular radiator's core as poss. but on a C3 with a squarer radiator a 16" fits really well and so is best choice. Spoke to steve from SR Performance and he definitely recommends one big mutha 16". I got an auto temp control system from AMERICAN AUTO PARTS along with a "painless" brand wiring kit. I went for a pre-set temp type (different fan "on" and "off" temp ranges are avail) over a variable type as more reliable and can be totally hidden (no temp bulb lines coming out of radiator hoses {which also can leak}). Cheers.

i also have one large fan,14" davies craig,2600CFM...it works fine...john

[TIPPA]

Oh yeah... forgot to mention mine is a Davies Craig aswell. worth the extra $. when you fit it make sure you test its direction before a drive... The Davies Craig instructions say its factory set as a supplementary fan ie front mounted. as a primary fan which is what you want, it says to pull the fan off its motor and reverse it, aswell as reversing the polarity of the wires... i did this and when i nearly cooked her i checked and i had a nice hot breeze blowing forward.... so just do one. I'm sure its a typo. Anyway thats prob a bit off for you yet, but as long as you remember to check which way she blows before she's on the road you will be sweet.

[77CVT]

Davies Craig are highly over rated IMHO.  Compare the draw and flow rate compared to others and you will be surprised!  I have a set of ICE fans at home and they flow better and draw less than DC.  

Having said that, many are happy with DC.

[Brutus]

I'm running twin Flex_a _Lite fans with their own thermostat system and have had no problem with them in either cooling or fitment. Plus they cover the entire radiator area competely and consequently need no further flow limiting devices such as foam strips not that most C3s ever did at least over here.

[jdunne]

Originally posted by Brutus
I'm running twin Flex_a _Lite fans with their own thermostat system and have had no problem with them in either cooling or fitment. Plus they cover the entire radiator area competely and consequently need no further flow limiting devices such as foam strips not that most C3s ever did at least over here.

I left out that i don't have any seals or shrouding on the rad,just the fan behind and the the 2 smaller rads in front,one for the oil and the other for the trans....it is a big rad and it works brilliantly.......john;28