Cannonball FRC 1968 stingray

[Whosurdaddy209]

I decided to do a cannonball run build this year, so out of all the options I figured why not build another corvette. This is going to be a completely different car than normal. I’m thinking it’s going to be heavily modified, with a full C5 drivetrain and suspension, with a fixed roof. I started with a basic 68 roadster and glued the roof in place then removed the excess convertible deck lid, then filled all the parting lines and rear vents. I removed the front 1/3 of the frame and glued the C5 frame rails in its place, it took a bit of work to get the alignment right but once I was happy with it I added some strip styrene to reinforce it. The rear of the frame was removed and I had to trim a lot of the C5 rear tub to get it to fit, now that I’m happy with the fitment and wheel placement I’ve got to fabricate the fuel tanks and possibly a rear skid plate. As for the center section of the frame it’s the kit 68 chassis, I made a skid plate to cover the center section of it. I want to do the body in bright pearl green with a Baldwin motion style metallic grey stripe, with either bright red or silver pin stripes, I’m also thinking about extending the hood to the windshield to eliminate the wiper door, I think it just looks cleaner that way. I’m also going to strip all the chrome and do it all in gloss black, not 100% on an interior color yet it’s a toss up between caramel brown and dark grey.

[Mattilacken]

Nice work on that Chassis! a set of deep dish wheels would suit that build very well!

[Slotto]

That's a delicate rear suspension. Looking good

[Whosurdaddy209]

I’ve made a lot of progress on the chassis, the skid plates are almost done and the wheel base is set, still have to make a rear wheel tub and rear pan under the body, but so far it’s going smooth

[Whosurdaddy209]

Got the first coat of primer on the body, and test fitted the radiator and engine. Everything fits pretty good, still have a bit more body work to do, but it’s coming along pretty good so far.

[Whosurdaddy209]

I put a lower spoiler on the front fascia, it still needs some fine shaping. The ZR1 wheels are just an idea I’m trying, not 110% sure which wheels I’ll ultimately be using, the suspension in the front is a bit narrow with the fender flares I added, so I’ll have to extend the spindles about 1/16 of an inch.

[Whosurdaddy209]

The fabrication is complete, now that I’ve settled on a set of wheels it’s about time to start putting some paint on it?

[MeatMan]

47 minutes ago, Whosurdaddy209 said:

The fabrication is complete, now that I’ve settled on a set of wheels it’s about time to start putting some paint on it?

Nice work but the tires in the front stick out to the point where they would rub on a 1:1. Consider some flares or narrower tires.

Edited April 5, 2023 by MeatMan

[Whosurdaddy209]

2 hours ago, MeatMan said:the tires in the front stick out to the point where they would rub on a 1:1. Consider some flares or narrower tires.

I did a small flare in the front, their just pinned up at the moment with some aluminum tubing, I’ll probably set the final stance in the next couple days

[JJ Deuce]

Looking good!  I started a '69 FRC many years ago.  I should dig it out and work on it again.

[Kenmojr]

What a damn sharp build. Love it!!!!

[Whosurdaddy209]

I’ve moved to some interior fabrication while my primer is curing on the body. I started by drilling out the gauges and making new bezels out of aluminum tube. I also made a wooden steering wheel and a telescopic steering column using different sizes of aluminum tubes. I printed some gauges off google and next I’ll be making a touchscreen radio
 

[Whosurdaddy209]

Finished steering column, next is the horn button 

[Whosurdaddy209]

I finally got some paint on it, I had to take a couple months off while I was painting my daily driver. This is the first layer of paint, next is a Baldwin stripe and carbon fiber decals on the front spoiler and fender flares.

[slusher]

Very creative build you have going and I have been hooked watching your progress!

[ea0863]

This build is coming out totally rad! I cannot wait to see your final stance - hopefully nice and low with some low profile tires?

[Whosurdaddy209]

15 hours ago, ea0863 said:

This build is coming out totally rad! I cannot wait to see your final stance - hopefully nice and low with some low profile tires?

I think I’m going with the C6 Z06 wheels, and the big brakes, I started to use ZR1 wheels but I wasn’t to thrilled with them. 

[Whosurdaddy209]

I finished putting stripes on the body, I still have to do the hood, i stretched the hood back to the windshield to eliminate the wiper door. So it’s one step behind the body, but it’s coming along. I’m very happy with how it came out I have a little touch up to do whet the orange meets the black in the curves of the stripe. I tried using carbon fiber decals for the first time on the splitter and I’m very pleased with the results. I’ve made the tail spoiler out of .008 steel, they say it’s easy to bend, they also lied?. It’s also covered in carbon fiber.

[jaftygas]

This is really looking wicked cool. Let’s see more.

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Cool project.

[adamelvis]

That paint scheme is Smokin" Hot !!

TCB,

Adam

[beeRS]

That is a stunning paint finish. Looking forward to seeing this come together. 

[tbill]

Good gravy this thing looks hot! Love the paint scheme, and chassis is fantastic!

[Whosurdaddy209]

I got the interior completed, and the engine painted and wired, I was thinking about painting the transmission flat aluminum, but after looking at it I decided I liked the orange engine/trans combo. All of the accessories are black along with the wires and vacuum hoses. Everything is kinda mocked up right now, while I’m completing the wiring harness and trying to figure out where to mount the ecm. 

[Whosurdaddy209]

Well after working on the wiring and different intakes I just couldn’t make myself happy with this engine, so I decided to scrap it in favor of an LS9 from the ZR1 donor car. I’m much happier with it now, but I had to change a lot of things under the hood. Starting with the radiator and core support, which required modifying the inner fenders. The fuse box stayed in the same location in front of the master cylinder, and the bottom of the hood had to be shaved a bit to clear the air intake, the air intake was also filed down to help clear the hood, unfortunately it lost a bit of detail. All in all the new engine fits better and I painted the transmission dark aluminum this time. The side exhaust covers were stripped and painted gloss black, since I used the LS9 manifolds I had to make the exhaust pipes out of 1/8 solder wire, I’ll have to update a pic of the undercarriage after a few more things go on. Hopefully I can wrap this one up this weekend ?