You Vette Ya - Another C4 Build

Neat!

Ya'll are moVing quick developing the LSX to C4 swap hardware. Given that c4 interest is surging in popularity now that they're at the bottom of depreciation curve and the LS swap fever is growing I bet you guys sell a bunch of them.

I'm enjoying watching your progress.

In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:

They aren't messing around over there for sure. They've had a number of calls the last couple of years asking about C4 kits, so they knew it was time to do one. They're finding this one to be a little more complicated than most due to the C-beam. I'm sure creating brackets to attach the C-beam to a bunch of different trannys will be fun!

Once they get all their prototyping done I can actually get to work assembling the car. I'm in no big hurry, still acquiring parts and the like. And planning a move for next month, so that complicates things. Been in my current house 17 years, you how much stuff a gearhead accumulates in 17 years? Yeah, you guys know.

I've got cylinder heads and cranks and blocks and stuff in the back shed I haven't seen in 15 years...

I haven't been over to the BRP shop in a couple weeks, but they've been slowly developing their mounts for the various LS/LT/Tranny combos in the C4. Their R&D efforts are also subject to their part production requirements, and sometimes they have to spend a few days building parts for sale versus developing the new stuff.

No worries on my end though. I'll be spending the next 3 weeks or so preparing to move. Part of the prep this last week involved moving some cars out of the back yard. I had a parts Jeep that's been in place for about 15 years - that one was fun to move.

And then there was this one. This was an aborted LeMons project from a few years back. It's a '69 Datsun roadster parts car that was destined for the boneyard, and a couple buddies and I thought it would make a good little cheap crapcar build. We got as far as roughing in the cage, adapting 4th-gen F-car front brakes, and mounting an S10 rear axle/leaf springs. Oh, and mounted a fuel cell. The engine was planned to be a 4.3 V6 out of the S10. But, as so many of these projects go, other priorities took over and this one languished.

The good news is it's found a new home and it might actually see the road again some day. Maybe.

After a few years in my very wooded back yard - the Datsun was almost reclaimed by nature.

Here it is in all its rusty glory. Only found two possums living in it when I dragged it from its resting place.

Make whoever bought that post a build thread here. That thing is awesome.

So unfortunately the Vette project has been on hold for a bit due to our upcoming move. We'd planned on finding a new place later this summer, but we ran across a really nice place at a good price and had to make a run at it. The best part about the new place (in my opinion, at least) is it has a nice 30x34 detached garage to go along with the attached 2-car. So, while it delays the LS/C4 project a bit it will all be worth it. I hope, anyway. We should close on it next week.

I'll be going from my smallish two-car garage:

To this nice, big place. All the stuff in this photo belongs to the current owner, of course.

I can't wait!

Dude, Great space what part of town ya moving to. My wife and I have been looking up in Talking Rock. But I think Ellijay Prices are Coming South.

In reply to GTXVette:

Thanks man. The new home base is in Jackson County, between Jefferson and Commerce. I'm in Barrow now, about 20 miles south of the new place.

I hear you about prices. The wife is a real estate agent, and she tells me prices are spiking everywhere since inventory is so low. Heck, we got a contract on our current place without listing it - she simply told other agents it was available and the first person that looked submitted an offer at our asking price.

Amazing, really.

But, can't wait to get all this domestic stuff over with so I can get back to the really important things. Like building the Vette!

I'm back! After weeks and weeks of dealing with regular life-type stuff (buying a house, selling a house, and moving), I was actually able to go work on the Vette today.

But first - a quick look at the new shop.

The shop is what sold me on the place. 30x34 with 11-foot ceilings. My new lift will be here July 8th. Can't wait to get the Vette back to its new home.

Anyway, headed over to where the Vette is now to see how the LS swap kit R&D is progressing. The guys there have made lots of progress. They've pretty much finished the mounts and are 90% done on the headers. Building the headers takes a while since they only want to make one set that will work with all the various transmissions. These will be 1-7/8" primary long tubes.

They've also spent some time figuring out how to mount the C-beam to the various trannys. This is a prototype C-beam mount for an automatic.

I mocked up the clutch and bellhousing to measure the amount of room I have for the hydraulic throwout bearing. I made some measurements and now I can start looking for a bearing that has the proper throw and will fit in the space I have.

Work on the car should progress at a better rate now that my domestic situation has settled down a bit.