Andre#4

Dear Thirdgenisti,

For your consideration, I have some pictures of ideas for how to incorporate a 3" increase in wheelbase, and a 6" increase in wheel track, These changes are necessary because I am using a c5 chassis and frame. It is hard for me to decide which idea to use, so I would like your opinions of which looks best, or even another way to incorporate these changes.

If you wonder why there is a 6" increase in track, it is because I insist on using 0 offset wheels. I don't like high offset wheels with no lip, they look like front wheel drive wheels to me. Sorry, I am from old school.

My motive with this project is to make a car that looks as good as the original version, while increasing structural integrity, comfort, and performance. Essentially, the performance, convenience, airbags and safety, of a C5 corvette, with the good looks of a 1987 Pontiac GTA. Basically I can't stand the rattles and squeaks, but I still want the GTA looks.

These 3 photos show 2 possibilities for a wheelbase change.

1. The first photo show a standard car.

2. The second photo shows an extended hood, with a 3" extended wheelbase. This car is 3" longer overall

3. THe third shows a standard hood but the wheel arch is moved back 3" in the rear quarter. In this third photo, overall length is unchanged.

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Sorry man, but I think you bought the wrong car.

Buy an F-body for what it is, not what it isn't.

Andre#4

Here is one method of widening the track 6". I simply extended the fenders outward. I like this idea. I am not sure if I would have the whole body extended, or just the front and rear fenders.

I like the way the Ferrari F40 looks with the front fenders out more than the front of the doors. If I did that, I would probably have the back of the door moved outward to line up with the rear quarters, which would be 3" wider.

I can't see and easy way of incorporating huge fender flares without changing the looks and shape too much. I dont want any tacked on or fiberglass parts. This all has to be welded steel.

Anyway, I made an image of the front fenders widened. This does not show the rear fenders widened at all. I like the idea of a wide sill outside the bottom of the windows along the beltline, which this idea would involve a 3" sill there, if the doors were moved outboard. (I am not changing the greenhouse, I would just move the sheetmetal outward).

Some 80's supercars had a sill in at the beltline, and it made for a muscular look. I will have to work on more photos to make a accurate representation of what this sill would look like. But if you look at the tops of the front fenders, just imagine this surface running all the way along the side of the car. The mirrors would be moved outboard too.

Andre#4

I bought it for the good looks. Now I want to add livability. If you know of a car with the same looks as a gta, without squeaks and rattles, I'll buy that. Plenty of people are retrofitting old corvettes with modern chassis. I seek to do the same with a style that I love. I have had Porsches, Mercedes, Rolls Royces, etc. They don't have the looks I love and grew up with. Then I drive my GTA or TTA, and the squeaks bother me. I don't like it when it sounds like my car is bending apart and breaking when I drive it. Especially when a Volkswagen Jetta can be made to feel rock solid.

Just because GM compromised our safety and structural integrity does not mean I have to.

Andre#4

I should have expected to get flamed with this idea. Just to try to preempt some of it, I want to say that these photos were made with photo shop. No GTA's were harmed in the making of these photos, Furthermore, when I do the project, I will not be cutting up one of the "precious rare GTA firebirds" (of which some 40,000 were made).

I will be using a c5 corvette, (which is expendable), and one or 2 firebird carcasses, which would otherwise be crushed.

So please, don't get on me about the heresy of cutting up the precious firebirds.

I thought I might get some creative and / or interesting ideas by listing this here, which might help with the project. Saying I bought the wrong car is not gonna cause me to scrap this idea. I don't have the car yet anyway. It is in the planning stages.

I originally was going to shorten the wheelbase of the c5 chassis, but I decided that a longer wheelbase would be better, for many reasons.

zenish

the widened car looks pretty good.id either shorten the chassis or more the rear wheelwell back.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Dude, what do you expect from a car that costs about 1/4 to 1/3 of the Euro stuff you're used to? You're going to get rattles and squeaks anyways. Just because you drop a different body on a Vette chassis doesn't mean you're going to get rid of the noises inherent in the design of the original car(s). Again, it's not a supercar, and it's not going to have the build quality of something that cost $80K. Love them or leave them.
There are ways to get rid of the noises, but it seems you'd rather cut up a couple of decent cars to create something that just won't be right to you...

Eagle223usa

Why don't you just get a GTA and put sub frame connectors on it if your just bothered by rattles. It's not really fair to say that GM compromised your safety. These cars were built to the technological limits of the time. C5's are more developed. It is a cool idea though, won't be much "Thirdgen" left but the look...

91 Droptop

Your money, your ride, your call, I have seen way worse things done to these cars. I have my car torn down now, I am going to try and get rid of all the rattles and squeeks by puting it all back correctly. The big thing is all tight and new flexible weatherstripping.

89RsPower!

Eagle is right, if you take the proper steps to stiffen a stock 3rd or 4th gen f-car squeeks and rattles etc can be eliminated. It's easier to do with a car that doesn't already have those issues as these cars didn't have these issues when new, but it can still be done. That being said I think its a really cool idea. If you have the $ and ability (or know someone who does) to do it properly it would make for an extremely cool (IMHO) and one of a kind vehicle. Sure there are plenty of suspension mods for a standard 3rd gen and proven ways to eliminate squeeks/rattles/etc, but thats not the topic so lets try to stay on it instead of telling him things that if he isn't already aware of, he could find out simply but looking around this site for a while..

89RsPower!

Also I wanted to add I like that you're not going to find a mint desireable model and cut up a perfectly good car, honestly it makes no logical sense considering the amount of v6's and such sitting in bone yards (not to mention they typically have less body twist and stress cracking common in factory v8 cars due to the obvious plus the fact that they are more likely to be beaten on harder)