1980 corvette?

Recently i came accross a 1980 corvette boddy with a good interior but the motor had been parted out...

around the same time my dad was put in jaill he gave me a 454 bigblock that he had in his shop
im thinking abbout sticking the 454 in the vet

since the car was parted out and nolonger has its motor its pretty much worthless anyways atleast in the eyes of a collector,

Oh and btw its not a rust bucket the car was simply parted out because some idiot was desperate for money... i dont know why he didnt just sell the whole car

would the C3 make a respectable drift car?

have you ever seen a C3 vet drift?

dont wory it wont be by day to day car, god the gas would kill me

[MonkeySlide]

Originally Posted by Social Streaker

Recently i came accross a 1980 corvette boddy with a good interior but the motor had been parted out...

around the same time my dad was put in jaill he gave me a 454 bigblock that he had in his shop
im thinking abbout sticking the 454 in the vet

since the car was parted out and nolonger has its motor its pretty much worthless anyways atleast in the eyes of a collector,

Oh and btw its not a rust bucket the car was simply parted out because some idiot was desperate for money... i dont know why he didnt just sell the whole car

would the C3 make a respectable drift car?

have you ever seen a C3 vet drift?

dont wory it wont be by day to day car, god the gas would kill me

Sorry to hear about your dad.

As far as the car. I'm not sure if anyone has seen a C3 drift car yet.

Will a C3 corvette make a good drift car? There's only one way to find out.

You got the chassis...you got the motor...might as well go for it.

If the car was already parted out that just means its less stuff to take out for weight reduction.

After dropping the motor in the biggest thing you'll have to worry about is the suspension. That could get tricky. I'm not too well versed in corvettes, especially the older ones. I'm not sure if you have a leaf spring set up or otherwise.

I'd ask around on how to go about your suspension set up and build...you could ask some people here or check corvette forums.

[Mars]

Originally Posted by MonkeySlide

Sorry to hear about your dad.

As far as the car. I'm not sure if anyone has seen a C3 drift car yet.

Will a C3 corvette make a good drift car? There's only one way to find out.

You got the chassis...you got the motor...might as well go for it.

If the car was already parted out that just means its less stuff to take out for weight reduction.

After dropping the motor in the biggest thing you'll have to worry about is the suspension. That could get tricky. I'm not too well versed in corvettes, especially the older ones. I'm not sure if you have a leaf spring set up or otherwise.

I'd ask around on how to go about your suspension set up and build...you could ask some people here or check corvette forums.

its a transverse leaf spring setup like the vettes of today use. C3s are kinda nimble they have some big brakes compared to todays cars. Big *Censored**Censored**Censored* Delco Moran steel 4 piston calipers all around. I just hate sitting in c3s. I find the view and the feel disconnected. I wouldnt do a 454 though. Id toss in a warmed over 350

[Soldat]

I know I've never seen a C3 drift car, but I sure want to. Make sure you post pics and update us on the build if you do it.

the 1980 model vet had the old 350 in it but unfortunantly its power and fuel eco suked big time freeking acorns

anyways i just got back from work im droping in the motor now pretty simple haha i should have it done by late tonight or tomorow some time i hope gulp


i belive it had like 240bhp?
my 454 has 340bhp stock i think or was it 320? its over 300...
iv orderd a supercharger and changed cam i may have also ***ACCIDENTLY*** removed som back pressure on the engine by possibly losing my catalytic converter im not shure abbout the horsepower but i do know that it will help the fuel economy and most likely ruin the planet by destroying the air ohh well.

anybody have any idea what kind of suspension i could put on the car, imeen i have no problem riping the body off and placing it on another frame god i hope not lol

http://vettetube.com/view_video.php?...42c770f7c8606f

well you can drift a vet but its got a special suspension... i dont exactly know where to get it i doubt it uses leaf springs

if anything i can allways drift it the way it is who knows

[Soldat]

Originally Posted by Social Streaker

http://vettetube.com/view_video.php?...42c770f7c8606f

well you can drift a vet but its got a special suspension... i dont exactly know where to get it i doubt it uses leaf springs

if anything i can allways drift it the way it is who knows

Being a 28 year old car, you may have some problems with the suspension being sloppy and worn. Bushings, shocks and springs generally just dont last that long. I would suggest going through and replacing those first. You don't need to go crazy with coilovers or anything, just new OEM spec parts by themselves will likely make a huge difference. I know it did in my Z28. You're also going to want to replace the front springs just to offset the extra weight in the front end from the big-block. You'll probably notice as soon as you put the 454 in that the front end is sitting a lot lower than it used to.

As for the actual suspension setup, Vette's have had a massive following for over 50 years. I'm sure there are thousands of message boards and websites dedicated completely to Corvette mods/restos/racing. I would check one of them before doing anything drastic like carving up the frame.

suprizingly no it does not sit lower, in 1970-74 ran a 454 i dont belive they changed anything in the car betweene then and 80 besides the chrome on the bumpers, compaired to a normal vet it sits the same, i just set the motor in not to bad gota finish hooking up things

talking to the people on the vet forums they say that the turning angles might not be what you need but there are som techniques that you can use to get the back end co come out.

and yep there is alot of work to be done but atleast it will roar especialy with no converter



Ohh yes and the 454 i have is from 1971 meening it ran around 425hp as advertized by chevrolet but iv hear talk abbout it being under rated and running near 500hp

[Soldat]

Well, good luck with the build. Maybe try to get some pics/vids up sometime? Very few things are cooler than seeing a muscle car sideways.

[Octagon]

The C3 Vettes certainly had a good amount of success in road racing, so there is that working for them. John Greenwood in particular (along with *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* Smothers of the infamous Smothers Brothers comedy team) made the C3's into extreme weapons in IMSA and Le Mans competition. Most famously, the Spirit of '76 cars.




I'd think your biggest mechanical limitation would be in the old recirculating ball steering used by C3's. Vettes didn't get rack & pinion until the C4's bowed in 1984. Aside from that, there's a bevy of parts available for the brutes because of the number of actively road raced machines still out there. They've got some tricky characteristics (the rear end tends to gain some toe-in under heavy forward weight shifting, which makes the tail dance like Shakira) but overall they can be a fun car.

yeah il try to find my camera its somwhere in my room but i know i have it lol

and yeah the fun factor of the vet is like a 9999999999999 out of 10
my boss has a 1977 vet with a brand ner 572 CID v8 thats 750 hp stock!!!
all i can say is i love me som big block

[Neo_Drift]

there is a c4 vette that has drifted in a few of the events here in utah.
It didn't look too clean out there, but it also looked bone stock, so that probably has a lot to do with it.

Good luck with your project though. I hope this thing kills em out there.

[Mars]

c4s have like the most crappy steering angle of any car. Youd have to do a 3 pt turn to make a u turn on a 6 lane highway with it

if anything itl spin the tiers in a strait line haha

and yeah most vets iv been in have not been able to make a sharp turn, though they can if you break the back tiers loose and swing it around =] wich it most certanly can do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_SNhxYAvP0

[MonkeySlide]

Can we get some "before" pics of the car?

I think C3 vettes look really cool.

[DV19]

Just realize you're going into "uncharted waters" and the costs can be endless just to get it to a level that's close to that of a cheap little 240. Ask me how I know..... All I'm saying is, think before you get too deep...

Good Luck

[Soldat]

Originally Posted by DV19

Just realize you're going into "uncharted waters" and the costs can be endless just to get it to a level that's close to that of a cheap little 240. Ask me how I know..... All I'm saying is, think before you get too deep...

Good Luck

True, but that's if your goal is to make a competitive drift car on a budget. If Social is just looking for a project car and something to grab some looks for not being a 240SX, then I'd say he's on the right track.

There's something to be said about being different. Heck, it's one of the things I like the most about your car, DV.

simply amazing, thats the new C6.5 vet the eco friendly vet for the fun loving american

[DV19]

Originally Posted by Soldat

True, but that's if your goal is to make a competitive drift car on a budget. If Social is just looking for a project car and something to grab some looks for not being a 240SX, then I'd say he's on the right track.

There's something to be said about being different. Heck, it's one of the things I like the most about your car, DV.

Thanks for the compliment.

My point is "if I knew then what I do now" kind of thing. If you're new to the sport like I was when I showed up with the Mustang (and most people laughed, by the way) it might be cheaper and easier to learn in a car that is a known entity and concentrate on your driving skills rather than dealing with a car that might be challenging (read: expensive to modify) to even the most experienced driver. Then once you've got the "sport" figured out, then go off on your own way and blaze your own trial with a different/non-traditional car.

As most who know me, I'm all about doing things different but just know what kind of money/effort it might take before it makes you happy..... Just look at all the options before you spend your time and money is all I'm saying....

money is fortunantly not an issue for me at the moment as i said in my first post my dad is now in the state prison system, he gave me all of his money because frankly i doubt he will survive his time (a verry long time). Im well off on my own so with a few extra dollars i figure id do somthing that im good at and that would make him proud.

il get som pics up soon, time for me is a bigg issue.
im an apprentice/tech of sorts at a heating and air co. iv been working late everyday due to well lets just say understaffed idiots haha im 16 and doing work that takes 2 or 3 years of schooling to do.

and by the way i got an emancipation when my father was taken away, mainly because i cant live with my mother.