And here's the fixture bolted to the cradle mounts. The bungs show where those two outer-most upper A-arm mounts will be. I think this is gonna work.
And here's the fixture bolted to the cradle mounts. The bungs show where those two outer-most upper A-arm mounts will be. I think this is gonna work.
After much hackery to remove the upper A-arm / shock mount section from the 'Vette frame rail, then some slicing on RacerBenz's chassis to achieve the needed clearances, we have the mounting location panel in place!
No more struts means no need for strut towers so out comes the first one. I'll make an inner fender "filler" for that opening and in the meantime, it just make for easy access to the areas that'll need connecting.
I tacked in some temporary plates so I could mount the 'Vette suspension components and verify everything is where I want it. With that done, on went the A-arms and spindle.
Then the rotor and wheel and, moment of truth, down on to the ground it goes. and? BAM! Everything lines up, center of wheel is on the expected mark. Looks pretty cool, too. All that work when, as far as it looks from the outside, I coulda just swapped wheels... 
Drift car, anyone? OK, not really. And yes, all this is just "location proof of concept". With that done, it's now time to get the other side to this same point and final weld all the mounting components. But I have to say, I'm really happy with how this is turning out. Will there be some future surprise(s) that'll dampen my spirits? Guess you'll just have to keep checking back and see!
just... awesome!
On to the driver's side. Today's progress was getting the rear mount pieces cut and tacked in (yes, the base plate needs trimming ahead of final welding) and the mount location plate fixture done.
Rinse & repeat. More messy hacking to get the mount area off the driver side 'Vette frame rail. With that done, the Benz chassis gets clearanced and the fixture/mount plate gets bolted on. Measurements and angle checks show things are samey-same side-to-side - always a good thing. Then the strut tower came out. Slowly getting there.
Cool progress!! Somehow I was surprised at the strut tower removal, but it's also probably the heaviest metal in that area so it makes sense.
In reply to Parker with too many Projects :
No real reason to keep the towers. And you're right, the weren't light!
"Just to be sure", I decided to put the bumper on and verify I was happy with the wheel placement in the wheel opening. I am!
I also needed to do a bit of clearancing to get the rack to clear the underside of the frame. With everything in place and the camber eccentrics in the middle of their range, I have -1.5 degrees camber. I'm calling that good so now it's pull everything out, work up the needed plating to tie in the 'Vette mount location panel and and get everything final welded. Gotta say, I think this turned out nicely.
love to see this build coming back!
I have a similar, but different build going on, not mid-rear engine, but hoping to get it to be mid-front engine, target will be #1cyl at the strut towers.....and will also be utilizing a front suspension from a different car
In reply to fouckhest :
Very cool! Do you have a build thread for it? If so, let us know what it is. If not, start one. I love checking out what others are up to and seeing how they approach the various engineering issues and problem solving.
Love this car, and the work you've done so far! I have a C6 so I'm familiar with the cradles, and your project has me thinking bad thoughts about future projects of my own.
tygaboy said:In reply to fouckhest :
Very cool! Do you have a build thread for it? If so, let us know what it is. If not, start one. I love checking out what others are up to and seeing how they approach the various engineering issues and problem solving.
Not yet, I've worked on it on/off over the past couple years, but my garage build, then wedding really distracted me...but I am ready to start on it again soon...
I do certainly plan on starting a thread, need to finish up some maintenance on the wives DD then the fun will really begin
Here is the canvas....
It begins…again by fouckhest, on Flickr
Other side in place. OK, I know, it's not much to look at... yet.
But how do ya like me NOW?!?!?
I couldn't be happier with how this is turning out. It really does look like Darth Vader's track day car.
And if you haven't already figured it out: We'll be running as "Stuck in the Middle Racing". So yes, C.LOWNS to the left, J.OKERS to the right...
Engine is stuck in the middle and... It's going to be center seating, so the driver is stuck in the middle, as well.
But mostly, our race pace will likely have us stuck in the middle of the pack! 
You should laser cut some bigger end plates for that wing, it would probably give a more aggressive look to the rear while also helping with some downforce probably. Some square ones would do!
Awesome build plus a great showcase of your fearless and amazing fabrication skills. The 914 builds are equally epic (I am a big 914 fan as well).
Thanks for the updates and entertainment.
Time to get some video of this build up on my YouTube channel.
Check things out At The Red Barn. Enjoy!
After some additional noodling on how to tie the rear 'Vette frame rails to the Benz chassis, I opted to terminate the ends of the rails with a vertical section of 1.75" tube. The pics show how I've used scrap sections of 'Vette frame rail and tied the tube to the rail. I'll then make a top and bottom "cap" that closes off the tube and welds to the top/bottom of the rail. For overkill's sake, I'll probably add a wrap of sheet metal from the side of the rail, around the tube and back down the other side.
If you're thinking the ties look uneven, they are. It's that way so 1/2 the tube is exposed in the direction the connector tubes will point. This to simplify mitering/welding.
But the first step was to square the ends of the frame rails. As we learned in math class: Always check your work!
And here's a pic giving you an idea of how the vertical tube helps: I'll run two tubes, one directly above the other, forward from the 'Vette frame rail tube, tie them to that massive Benz frame structure, then on to the new fire wall base, sorta like this pic shows.
This twin bar structure will also serve as a mounting location for the removable engine cross bar. Remember, the entire drive train has to drop out the bottom of the car. And I'll be adding additional ties from the cage to the 'Vette frame rails and maybe even some sheet metal from the twin bars to the Benz chassis. In all, once everything is done, "That's not going anywhere."
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