NJSPDER

iTrader: (2)

hey gang,
i got my buddy hooked on the LS1 idea for his car. he has a 74 vette that has ben sitting for a whiel and enough garage space for a long term/involved project.
has anyone tried to get the whoel driveline of a c5 into a c3 before?
seems like the engine/torque tube shoudl be pretty straight forward(i think we will have to shorten the tube a bit). hanging the transaxle seems like it will be the hard part.
any advice or installs i can look at for pointers?

thanks
tim

Yank

iTrader: (181)

I was going to put a c-5 setup in my 1971 Vette but the bellhousing is about 26" in front of the axle and sets high in the floor and is also large in Dia. It would be hard to get in, as there is not much room to start with.
We are doing a 1999 SS camaro instead as the drivers seat has more distance from the axle center line

70 LS1

iTrader: (1)

The suspension is about 4-6 inches too wide and the torque tube is about 6" too long. Like was said befor the trans and aft bellhousing sit well in front of the axle. Look at the 74 and you will see that there is only about 12-18" between the back of the seats and the rear axle. That means the trans would have to be between the seats and there just isn't enough room between those seats for anything. Take a look at a C5 sometime and see how much room there is between the passenger compartment and the rear axle.

I'm not going to say it can't be done, but good luck.

RestoVette63

iTrader: (1)

I am in the process of having a C5 front suspension grafted on the front of my '63 SWC. The motor and trans are out of a '05 GTO so we didn't have to worry about the transaxle and torque tube issues. We are also using the GTO IRS out back. All suspension points are tacked into place at the moment and the body is being put back on to test fit. The measurements show that we shouldn't have any issues, but I will update once I get confirmation.

Later

'JustDreamin'

I'm pretty sure that shortening the torque tube has been done, but I would NOT assume that its just like having a local drivetrain shop shorten a driveshaft. I think its pretty involved. Something I wouldn't take lightly, at least.

'Dreamin'

Scooter70

iTrader: (1)

I asked this question to the guys at www.sriiimotorsports.com a while back. They make tube frames for C2-C3 Corvettes that use front C5 and rear C4 suspension. I was told that they measured out the C5 transaxle and it was going to require reworking the back of the tunnel to make room. This means that you would need even narrower seats in order to make it work. I don't know how much narrower but the selection for aftermarket seats for the C3 is already slim so it might just not be very feasible.

z98

A front mounted tranny and updated IRS has been done before, so unless you're the pioneering type I'd suggest that. Just get an LS1/T56 out of a camaro and put Corvette FRC's on it like everone else!