My '68 AutoX Impressions...

First off here’s the car…

http://www.americanauto-x.com/includes/images/gallery/2004_0327Castle/001.jpg

http://www.americanauto-x.com/includes/images/gallery/2004_0327Castle/003.jpg

http://www.americanauto-x.com/includes/images/gallery/2004_0327Castle/005.jpg

It’s a '68 Corvette setup to run BSP (B-Street Prepared) or BSPV for sanctioning bodies that run that class (the V being Vintage). Obviously it has huge fender flares to cover 25x11.5 Goodyear slicks. The suspension is all stock mounting points and mostly stock parts just beefed up (solid or poly bushings in reinforced stock control arms) with stiffer springs, shocks and sway bars. But nothing exotic here. No tubular arms anywhere. 4 point roll bar (main hoop w/ rearward kickers, no door beams) and a tie-bar between the front upper control arms. The motor is a stock (but rebuilt) '70 LT1 (for those don’t know the original LT1 was a '70 not the later EFI ones most of you are familiar w/). It has roller rockers, long tube headers, big duals w/ X-pipe and tachs to 7k but again really nothing exotic. The '68 was the first year of the C3, but really it’s more similar in suspension and chassis to the C2s than the '69-82 C3s. So basically it’s engineering dates back to the '63 model year so basically the late 50s.

Driving this car was fucking amazing. It stays flat, plants hard and just sticks. It hooks damn hard on launch and will get a little wheel hop. But it’s not hard hop like some 4th Gen. Fbodies get it’s more of a shudder. But obviously it’s far from optimized for launching. From there it really has no vices. Nice neutral attitude. The tail can be controlled easily w/ the throttle or even the brakes in decreasing radii turns. It doesn’t body roll, and a huge thing to me you can stand on the brakes and you will never get brake hop (though you do need to be careful since it of course doesn’t have ABS and you can flat spot tires).

The car is just easy to drive fast. I had literally never driven the car b4 today’s AutoX and I was still down time wise w/ the faster cars out today. The owner was still 4 seconds ahead of me… placing him right up there w/ the fastest cars. The only things that really still smoked it were a full-race setup GT2 and a SC’ed, super light, wide-body E36 M3.

-TJ

+1 for the use of the word radii.

Sounds like a neat car.

Nice

sounds like u had fun!!!

car looks great!!!

good job

nice ride

That is a SLICK setup! Especially runnin the LT1 motor. Another surely to add to my list of cool shit to build before I die.

Thats been my dream car 4 everr. 69 stingray vette, candy apple red,. t-top. HOT!!
Nice story too.

them tires look meaty as fuck!

Awesome Vette…:drool:

Nothing too slick about the LT1. It’s internally bone stock, just as it would have been in a '70 'vette. We’re not talking a reverse flow cooling LT1 as in C4s/4th Gen. Fbodies. We’re talking one of the original LT1s that came long b4 the 90s version. However, this motor has been upgraded w/ an aftermarket EFI system, roller rockers, and LT headers. Other than that it’s stock. But in a fairly light care it still pulls damn hard.

-TJ

the LT1’s in the 70’s where 370 hp…much more than the LT1s in 4th gen Fbods

soo with an EFI system and some LT headers and roller rockers…that thing would he pretty sweet!!!

Just wait 'till the big ole cam, ported iron eagle heads (have to stay w/ iron for the class rules) that are milled to raise compresion and race gas go in. Wheeeee.

-TJ

shit man…that lil 350 will be pushing some sick power man!!!