tshands

Planning on starting this project soon and wanted to see which of you very talented folks had actually done this and would be willing to share some advice. Thanks. Tom Shands.

martinsw

iTrader: (3)

Tom,
I recall an article in either Vette or Corvette Fever several months ago - ls1 into C1. I am out of town, can try to look it up in new years if needed. Most conversions I have been following have been into C3's (what I have been looking for as what I am doing)...
Steve

bczee

iTrader: (12)

It can be done. I saw a 54' with a LS1 in Reno at Hot August Nights.. I am sure he is on this forum... as some of us LS1Tech'r got together via this forum.

tshands

Thanks. Martin, if you can get the issue date of that conversion, I'm sure it would have some useful info for me.

philntx

iTrader: (8)

Corvette Fever: Feb 06: 57 with a crate 405 Z06 engine
62 with a LS1/6-speed

Corvette Fever July 2005: 58 with a 5.7 TPI

Corvette Fever March 2005 65 with a crate Ram-Jet motor/5-speed

Vette Magazine Nov 2006 66 LS1/6-speed


Corvette Fever: 62 with a complete C5 interior and drivetrain

Corvette Fever June 02: 62 w/custom chassis and Ram-Jet

61 w/C4 frame and LS-1/6-speed

Vette Mag Oct 2002 62 w/C4 suspension LS-1/6-speed

Vette Mag June 01 60 w/LT1 Motor/6-speed

Vette Mag Mar 2001 56 w/LS1/6-speed
54 w LT1/700R4

Corvette Enthusiast: Dec 04: 65 w/03 LS6/6-speed

Vette Mag July 2000 62 w/LT1 auto

Check out Paul Newman Car Creations http://www.newmancarcreations.com/

Corvette Correction http://www.corvettecorrection.com/




Vette Mag March 02: 62 w/95 C4 suspension LS1/6-speed

martinsw

iTrader: (3)

Corvette Fever - Feb 2006 - ls1/Six speed C1, vetterod basics, 2006 vette-rod guide - Article on page 16 - Q&A w/Billy Dawson, of Corvette Correction, makes a special C1 frame for C1's - the other article page 22 was a 57 body put on a special C5 tube chassis.

Also Feb 2007 Corvette Fever (I subscribe, not sure this issue is on the street?) is the 2007 vette-rod guide and article about a properly framing a C1 - major problem in modifying original 53-62 vette is the '49 chevy front suspension....

Turns out all the items I noticed seem to use aftermarket frames vice original C1 frame. Seems they go that way to get more modern suspension and brakes, rack and pinon steering....

Hope this helps some..

tshands

Thanks guys for your so very kind help. Well, I'm committed to do this and I'll try to document everything I can.

John McGraw

Billy Dawson builds a real nice frame and is a great guy to boot! SRIII motorsports also makes a nice chassis for this conversion as well.
Here is a couple of pics of a 59 that I built with the SRIII chassis.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...3/P0000974.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...3/P0001385.jpg

The chassis in the background is also a SRIII chassis and it is going under a 65 Corvette convertible.

Regards, John McGraw

tshands

Thanks John for the response. I have been searching the net and your photos were some of the very first I came across. Needless to say, I haven't been able to concentrate on much else since. Your work is exquisite and is exactly the type of conversion I want to do. I'm going to go the frame replacement route as you did but noticed in a previous post you said the SRiii frame was somewhat visible below the rockers. Is that still the case?Also, I noticed on the SRiii website you could get either C4 or C5 suspensions or maybe even a combo. I'm prob going to order a frame in the next couple of weeks and wondered if you had a recommendation. Appreciate your advice very much and hope you don't mind throwing me a bone or two in the technical arena. Happy New Year. Tom Shands.

John McGraw

Hi Tom,

Yes, the frame does hang a little below the rockers on a SRIII chassis, but the trade-off is incredible rigidity of the chassis. Billy Dawson's frame tucks completely up behind the rockers, but does not have the WOW factor or technical sophistication of the SRIII frame. You really can not see the frame unless you are looking for it, and the coilovers on all corners, make it ride and handle like a dream.

Billy's frame uses stock style C4 transverse springs, and is probably a little easier for the novice to build. He welds on mounts for things like bumper mounts, while SRIII makes you fabricate your own bumper mounting. It is not a big deal to me since I knew exactly how I was going to mount them, but for some people, it is a negative. Mike may actually be welding on the mounts now after enough people have bitched about it, you should probably ask.

You can use C4 or C5 front suspension, and the geometry of the C5 stuff is better, but the C4 stuff is easier to find. I used C4 suspension on my 59, and I am happy with it, but I decided to go with C5 fronts on my 65, and went with a Dana 44 rear instead of the Dana 36 like my 59 used, as the 65 will have over 100 more horsepower than the 59. He also makes a C1 chassis that uses a complete C5 running gear, but I prefer the C4 rear setup.

Regards, John McGraw

tshands

thanks for your valuable input. it's great to be able to communicate with someone who has been thru this successfully. Will be ordering a rolling chassis from SRIII very soon, and , like you on the '65 , no reason at all not to go with the LS2. Take plenty of pictures as you do your '65, as I know you've got quite a following that will be anxious to see it progress along. Again, thanks. Tom Shands.