Dude! Where’s the Rest of My C6 2008 Corvette?!?!
Dateline: 12.8.11
A TOTALLY EXPOSED 2008 Corvette Chassis, Engine, & Suspension
(Check out the slide show at the bottom of this post.)
To check out the eBay listing, click the above image.
Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a chassis freak. I love looking at the fiberglass shapes of all Corvettes, to me they are never boring or dull. But I have an equal passion for what’s going on UNDER all the pretty fiberglass and carbon fiber. What holds the car together? What do the suspension parts look like? What makes the car handle the way it does? Without the right stuff under the body, you could end up with a car that looks like a million bucks draped over a VW Beetle or Pontiac Fiero platform. No matter how cool-looking most of those kit cars are, once you fire on up and drive away, if it’s a Beetle or Fiero underneath, THAT’S ALL YOU GET.
We have a large eBay store and the other day while looking up something on eBay, I happened upon another bare, naked Corvette chassis. This one is a 2008 with the LS3 engine, air flow meter, six-speed manual transmission, shifter, transmission harness, complete suspension, brake system, wheels, tires, wiring harness, exhaust system, body harness, emergency brakes, fuel tanks, and more. Continue reading
Vette Videos: How Hi-Tech Z06 & ZR1 Aluminum Frames Are Made
Dateline: 10.17.11
What was once considered pie-in-the-sky and experimental, is now regular production!
To see the much larger version of the Z06/ZR1 chassis, just click the above image
Aluminum has been the automotive industry’s magic material for over 60 years. Corvette engineers have been thinking about an all-aluminum engine and drive train for the Vette since the 1957 Q-Corvette proposal. While it took until 1997 to get there, the engineering department seeded aluminum parts whenever they could.
Nearly 40 years ago, Corvette engineering decided to explore an all-aluminum Corvette. Everything but the tires, plastics, wiring, glass, and other essentials was to be aluminum. Working with Reynolds Aluminum Company, the experimental XP-895 was debuted to the automotive press in 1973. The chassis design was the same as the experimental 2-rotor Corvette, but power was supplied by a 400-CID small-block engine. The completed aluminum car weighed 400-pounds less than the steel bodied XP-892 Wankel-powered experimental. While the styling of the aluminum “Corvette” was interesting, the only design element that connected it to anything Corvette was the aft portion of the roof, from the B-pillar back. Overall, it did not scream “CORVETTE!” but then again, the all-aluminum car wasn’t supposed to be a styling exercise for the C4 Corvette, it was a feasibility study.
The B-pillar roof section of the car looks like a Corvette, but not much else.
Fast forward to the 2006 Z06 and its aluminum chassis. One of the biggest challenges with an aluminum chassis is the strength of materials issue. Lightweight aluminum is soft, so there were interesting shape and construction problems that had to be worked out to mass-produce such a chassis. While it is true that the Z06 wasn’t the first car to use an aluminum chassis (many hand-made exotic cars had aluminum chassis) the Z06 was the first “mass produced” car to have an all-aluminum chassis, engine, and suspension. The net result to that the 2012 Z06 weighs about the same as a C2 mid-year Corvette… with nearly double the horsepower as a base model C2. That’s progress for you. Continue reading
Corvette Odd-Ball: SHOCKING! Naked C1 Fuelie Corvette!
Dateline: 7.18.11
An Expose-look under the pretty fiberglass of a C1 Fuelie Corvette!
Now here’s something you don’t see every day. A C1 Corvette without a body and interior. Just the engine, drive train, suspension, wheels, tires, and the steering wheel. And not just any C1 Corvette, a Fuelie Corvette!
Up front I must apologize because when I was at the April 2011 Strictly Corvettes and American Muscle Cars Show at the Atlantic City Convention Center, I was also a vendor and had little time to get away from my booth. So I kind of zoomed through and took pictures of what looked interesting. The chassis-only display really caught my eye. You just don’t see this every day. I did the same thing with Kevin McKay’s drivable 1969 427 L-88 drivable chassis-only, Corvette. (see links below) Continue reading
Dude! Where’s the Rest of My C5 2000 Corvette?!?!?
Dateline: 7.8.11:
Here’s What’s Under All the Pretty Fiberglass of a Typical 1997 – 2004 C5 Corvette
Click the images to see a larger version.
Now here’s something you don’t see every day. While researching my next Illustrated Corvette Series story for VETTE Magazine about the 1996 LT4 Corvette engine, I happened upon this interesting item for sale on eBay by F•Parts. The listing is not an auction, it’s a Buy Now or Make Offer offer.
If you’re looking for a complete engine, drivetrain, suspension, chassis, wheels, brakes, and tires for some kind of street rod project, for just $5,999.00 or better, you can be off to a good start. Continue reading
Kevin Mackay’s Drivable, See-Thru, ’69 L-88 Corvette
Drivable Corvette Art
I consider Kevin Mackay to be a “Corvette artist.” Some of us use paint, markers, pen & ink, etc. You know, “artsey” stuff. Some artists work in other mediums – such as metal and fiberglass. Kevin Mackay’s “Corvette Repair” doesn’t just perform world-class restoration work on classic C1, C2, and C3 Corvette race cars and regular Corvettes, Kevin is also a mechanical, educational artist.
It’s always a pleasure to see Kevin at the shows. Last weekend we were vendors at the Strictly Corvettes and American Muscle Cars Show in Atlantic City. When you love Vettes, what’s there to not like about a Corvette show? We saw lots of smiles and had many interesting conversations. Kevin Mackay was on hand for the third year in a row with a delightful stable of customer cars, as well as several of his beauties. Continue reading
A Naked Corvette? – Driveable Chassis ’67 Big-Block Corvette
67 Big Block Corvette Chassis
Let’s Play, “Corvette Oddball!”
Quirky Vette Factoids
by K. Scott Teeters
Question:
Do you really need a body for your Corvette?
Answer: Not really, but it’s nice to have one.
A Naked Corvette…
This car has been seen at many Corvette shows. over the last few years. It’s just too quirky to not share. The car is a fully functional ’67 big-block Corvette… with no body – just the fully running chassis. It must be a BLAST to drive! Continue reading
Vette Polls: Should the C6 ZR1 Corvette Chassis be the Basic C7 Chassis?
Cast Your C7 Corvette Vote!
Loading ...
ZR1 Corvette Chassis Display:
Corvette Chassis Engineering At Its Best!
The New ZR1 Corvette as seen at the Corvettes at Carlisle GM Engineers' Tent
An off-the-showroom-floor ‘09 or ‘10 ZR1 Corvette could walk away from most of the Corvette racers on display by 20 to 70 mph… with the air conditioner and stereo on!
I don’t believe that it’s possible to look at an ‘09 or ‘10 ZR1 Corvette and yawn. Continue reading
Posted in C6 Corvettes, Car Shows, Corvette Chassis, Corvette Under the Hood, Vette Polls | 
3 Comments
 |
Baldwin Motion Report Website
Laser-Etched Art & Digital-Format Art
 |
 |
Keep Up To Date With Us!
Connect
