Chevy Corvette 427 LS7 Engine Review !
Al Truist:
2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Reveal - Finally, A Mid-Engine Corvette!
Edmunds:
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CARLOS LAGO: We just watched
the reveal of the 2020 Chevrolet
Corvette Stingray.
The base price is going
to be less than $60,000.
That's incredible.
This is the eighth generation
Corvette, and of course now
it's mid-engine.
There is a 6.2-liter
V8 right about here.
Now, that's a big deal
for a lot of reasons.
Well, one, it's the first
time that a Corvette
has gone mid-engine.
Two, it brings a ton
of performance benefits
and it makes a pretty radical
change to what Corvette is.
Really quick, that engine
is still a pushrod V8.
That means it's low, it's
sacrificing a little bit
of valve train sophistication
for sitting low in the car
itself.
It's attached to an 8-speed dual
clutch automatic transmission.
The only transmission
offering, and of course, it
drives the rear wheels.
Now, it makes 495 horsepower
with the performance exhaust,
and with Launch Control, and
with the performance options,
like the Z51 track package
that was on the C7, and so on,
enables 0 to 60 in less
than three seconds.
Push is pretty spectacular.
Now, one of things
that happens when
you switch to a
mid-engine configuration
is of course all that space that
was once cargo volume is now
engine volume, I guess?
But there's still
a trunk behind it,
which Chevy says can
fit two golf bags, which
is pretty impressive.
It shows Chevy's
commitment to understanding
the practicality
aspect of the Corvette,
and why owners really
appreciate that.
It makes this car more
usable for more people.
On top of that, there's also
a front trunk, or frunk,
up front.
Combined, both of those
compartments make 12.6-ish
cubic feet of cargo space,
which is pretty important.
Let's go a little
bit further up.
One of things they maintained
was the removable roof,
which has always been a
highlight of Corvettes.
It's nice to be able to
take the roof off and just
go for a cruise.
There are a couple of
other big, dramatic changes
to the rest of the car, as well.
Gone are the
transverse leaf spring
setup that used to underpin
Corvette for a long time.
Now we're just down
to coil overs, which
is more traditional,
and should make
for a really sophisticated
ride and handling,
especially when paired with the
magnetic fluid-filled shocks
that Corvette's been using
in recent years, and those,
we've really liked a lot.
Chevy says in the
press materials
that the Corvette equipped
with all-season tires
can generate 1 G laterally.
That's ridiculous
for all-season tires,
and that's such a high
amount of grip capability
that actually all Corvettes
now will have a dry [INAUDIBLE]
oiling system to ensure constant
lubrication to important engine
bits when you're
cornering really hard.
A lot of really
exciting stuff there.
Let's move our way to the front.
And one of the real advantages,
beyond all the performance
headroom, of having the
engine in the middle,
because it's putting more
mass on the rear tires,
giving them more traction to
brake, accelerate, and handle,
but you also move the passenger
compartment quite a bit
forward in the cabin.
And that means you can
put the hood down lower,
because there's no
longer an engine there.
You can make the
windshield bigger.
That gives you a
better sight line.
And because there's no
longer an engine blocking it,
you can have a shorter
and more direct steering
system, which makes the
whole thing feel more direct.
It also helps when you're
closer to the front wheels, too.
It makes the process
feel a little bit better.
Let's find a way to
hop inside and talk
about what's going on in there.
The interior's a
pretty dramatic change,
like the rest of
the car, I guess.
Two seats, of course.
Squared-off steering
wheel, which
looks interesting, but
in my experience, cars
that use this design work
pretty well because you have
four unique points
of contact that
help in doing hand-over-hand
steering around tight corners,
or when you're in a power
slide, as I like to do,
it helps you locate where
the center of the wheel
is really quickly.
Big digital gauge cluster
behind that, infotainment
display here, all
very driver-oriented
how it wraps around you,
especially this little trim
piece of HVAC controls.
Very interesting decision.
It's going to be a while
before we actually figure out
if we like it or
not, but I will say,
I like having physical buttons
rather than digital ones buried
in the menu.
One of things we
haven't talked about
is something that's
really impressive,
and that's a button
hidden up here
that lifts the front
end of the car when
you're approaching like a
speed bump or your driveway.
And the cool thing is when
you do that, you can actually
have the GSP system
remember where that was,
so when you get home, you don't
have to always hit that button.
Or if there's always a speed
bump or a pothole on your drive
home, the car will just
learn that as you use it.
And that's a really cool
thing to have in a sports car.
There's nothing more
embarrassing than scraping
the nose on your sports car
as you leave your driveway
in the morning.
Very, very embarrassing.
There's a lot here that we're
going to learn, and experience,
and talk about.
But for the time being, this
Corvette looks really cool,
and we can't wait to drive it.
WE GOT ONE: Up Close with The Mid-Engine C8 Corvette | Bumper 2 Bumper
Donut Media:
(upbeat band music)
- Guys and gals,
you frickin' car nerds,
it is here at last,
a real, honest to dog, production ready,
fast AF, mid-engine American sports car.
We have been dreaming and
speculating and gossiping
for literally decades about this thing.
And I can't think of another
car that's been hyped
more than this besides the Supra.
But the difference is, this one
didn't disappoint everybody.
It blew everyone's frickin' minds.
Let's find out why this thing,
this beautiful thing, is so special.
We're goin front to
trunk, bumper to bumper,
on the new mid-engine
C8 Corvette.
(lively rock music)
Big ol' big boy thanks
to this week's sponsor,
Audible.
(thunder cracks)
Listen, I like to listen to audio books
because I never have time to read.
And the Audible app makes it super easy.
I actually use this almost every day.
You can choose up to three titles a month,
one audio book and two Audible originals.
And they have a ton of
great titles to choose from
in basically any genre.
I can't wait to listen
to Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s autobiography,
"Racing To The Finish."
Start listening with the
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Your first two audio books
plus two Audible originals are free.
Visit audible.com/bumper2bumper
or text bumper2bumper to
500-500 and get started today.
Support the companies that support Donut.
We couldn't make our content without them.
Now back to the show.
(dramatic jazz music)
Now I'm as excited as you
guys to dive into this car.
But before we do that,
we need to understand
how this car happened.
(tones squeal)
Mid-engine Corvette
rumors and concept cars
have been swirlin' around
GM since the 1960s,
thanks to engineer and avid
racer Zora Arkus-Duntov.
The first gen Vette started
out as a total flop.
But when Zora was
promoted to Head Engineer
of the Corvette program,
everything changed.
(upbeat electronic music)
He started puttin' buffer and buffer
small-block V8s under the hood.
But he always knew that
the mid-engine layout
offered better performance.
It would push the Corvette into the ranks
of exotic European sports cars.
(engines rev)
And even though Zora Arkus-Duntov
isn't here to see it,
his hard work has paid off.
And I think that if Zora were here today,
he would be the proudest
dad that you ever did see.
I've never seen a proud dad.
(mellow jazz music)
So the new Corvette
is a slightly different shape
than the Corvette has sort of always been.
And a lotta people on the internet
are boohooin' about how the new look
might ruin the character of the Vette.
But those people have
only seen pictures of it.
And in person, it looks very Corvette,
the angular body lines, the sharky nose,
the quad tail lights, all
unmistakably Corvette.
Only now, it's unmistakably
very well-vented Corvette.
There are vents in the front.
(bell chimes)
There's vents on the sides.
(tones squeaks)
There's vents above the engine.
There's vents across the back,
all for the sake of
coolin' this beast's heart.
Don't worry.
I'm gonna get to that
after you ring that little
notification bell.
(bell chimes)
And you guys clicking that
is how we get to do stuff like this.
And I don't wanna stop
doin' stuff like this.
(exhales deeply)
Puttin' the engine in the
back means that you have
all this other room up
front for activities
like a lower hood line
and a bigger windshield
for better forward visibility.
And yeah, now you get a front
that can carry a suitcase
or a couple of duffle bags full of money.
The critical part of this
is that if you buy one,
you get to say frunk all the time.
Oh, you wanna go work out?
Yeah, let me go grab my gym bag
from the frunk.
(tones squirt)
Sir, do you have anything
illegal in your frunk?
Nah, frunk the police.
The door handles are very
cleverly hidden
(tones chime)
under the black side trim
which keeps the design
lookin' nice and clean,
just like your boy.
It feels like Chevy kept
the black vent trim element
from the C7's front quarter panel
to retain some of that old character.
The Corvette's hallmark
removable roof panel is
(drumbeats rattle)
still removable.
And it fits in the trunk, locks in nice.
And the trunk can still
hold two golf bags.
Now this is a very, very
important selling point
for Corvette buyers.
Golf bags and Corvettes go together
like Goober grape peanut
butter and jelly and bread.
(lively jazz music)
Apparently, the C8's body
is 10% stiffer than the C7's
for two big reasons.
One is the huge, and I
mean huge, center tunnel
that acts like a super strong backbone.
The other is six
(tones zing)
extra large, extra beefy,
extra strong aluminum castings
that make up the frame.
That's gonna make the new
Vette handle even better
than the last one.
And the last one handled very, very well.
And now, it's time to go back
to the back of the car.
(electronic tones reverberate)
(mellow jazz music)
The back of the car is
probably the most identifiable
Corvette part of the entire thing.
The high set tail lights,
(tones zing)
the black low trim, they're
all a natural evolution
of all the previous designs.
But there are a lot of changes too,
like the vents that pass hot air
out of the engine compartment.
The quad tail pipes used
to be in the center.
I really liked that.
Now they've been squared up and split up.
Don't worry, you guys.
There's still four tail pipes.
They're just separated.
Also, you can't see it,
but the rear bumper beam
is made out of carbon fiber.
Now that's to help offset
the weight of the engine
being in the back now.
I know; I know.
But I'm gonna say that one more time.
The engine is in the back now.
Well, it's in the front of the back.
Okay, so like I got a tramp stamp
when I was 12 years old.
And then, I hit a growth spurt.
So now, my tramp stamp is
at the middle of my back.
Max, can we see a picture of that?
(screams)
Which brings us to the
exciting part, the engine.
It's still a pushrod engine,
but its shape allowed GM to mount it
lower in chassis for a
better center of gravity.
And it's no slouch.
The Stingray's new 6.2 liter LT2 V8
makes 495 horsepower and
470 pound feet of torque
with the Z51 package which
is what this car has.
That includes performance exhausts
along with improved engine cooling vents,
better brakes, cooler aerodynamics,
an electronic LSD and stickier tires.
(mellow jazz music)
Every single C8 is gonna
have a dry sump oil system,
this car that costs less
than 60 grand. (chuckles)
And that'll keep the engine
from starving for lubrication,
even when it's pullin'
a G or more.
(engine revs)
I cannot wait to see what the aftermarket
does with these things, man.
People all over the world are gonna be
soupin' these bad boys up.
Seein' 'em this year is gonna be sick,
Corvette, Corvette,
Corvette, Corvette, Corvette.
(chuckles) Cool dude.
(car door slams)
Whoa, this is sick.
It feels like a cockpit.
This is the nicest cockpit
of any Corvette ever, 1,000%.
Goose, take me home or lose me forever!
Chevy had a few goals when designing
the cockpit of the new C8.
Goal number one, perfecting driver focus,
optimizing the F out of visibility.
I think they did a good job.
The steering wheel is a new square design
'cause it's square.
And it's shaped so the driver can see
the entire gauge cluster.
And let me tell you guys,
this gauge cluster is sick.
The dash also sits as low as possible,
so you can see the road better
over the really small hood.
This is like no American
car dash I've ever seen.
Like the amount of texture and elevation,
landscapey changes, I
can't believe that this
is a $55,000 Chevy.
(funky electronic music)
Chevy's second goal was
to do somethin' new.
And they did that for sure.
The vertical climate control cluster,
a.k.a. the climate control strip,
is like a partition separating
the driver and the passenger,
the designers obviously
going for a fighter jet vibe.
And this unconventional design,
the layout really reminds
me of a MKIV Supra,
a lot more than the new Supra does.
Some people like it.
Some people don't like it.
Personally, I love it.
I feel like I get into a lotta cars,
and I don't know how to
do the basic car stuff,
how to turn on the AC,
how to turn on the seat
heaters or whatever.
And in this car, everything
is right here, very clear.
So I can focus on lookin'
cool and my golf game.
(lively electronic music)
That being said, the C8 does
also have a touch screen
which is pretty commonplace
in new cars today.
But what makes this
one a little bit cooler
and a little bit different
is the performance data
recorder or PDR which is cool.
It records your lap
times, breaking points,
bunch of data when you're at the track.
It's race car stuff.
Race car stuff is cool.
(engine revs)
So let's talk about something
that we don't see in the
cockpit, a gear shifter.
For the first time in the
history of the Corvette,
it will not be available
with a manual transmission at launch.
Let's just take a moment
and mourn it and move on.
There is a lot of speculation
that Chevy will add one in the future.
But I'm not necessarily holding my breath
because apparently, 15% of C7
Vettes were sold with a stick.
And Chevy isn't gonna spend the money
to develop a manual if
no one's gonna buy 'em.
So it sucks, but it's
our fault. (chuckles)
Welcome to Business Lesson 101.
Don't make a product if
no one's gonna buy it.
But that is not to say
that the new eight-speed
dual-clutch transmission isn't great.
It clicks off shifts in
less than 100 milliseconds
and provides continuous torque.
So it is absolutely faster than a manual,
hard facts from big bro.
(mellow electronic music)
The final goal is make the
Corvette a true super car killer.
And that takes more than just speed.
Because who buys super cars?
Rich guys.
It's gotta have a nice interior.
And this one is a very nice interior.
GM has been hammered by
people on the internet
about the Vette interior for a long time.
So the team went out of their way
to give the C8 the feeling
of true interior quality.
The seats are real leather.
The metal accents are real aluminum.
Some trim levels will have
real carbon fiber accents.
They could've just made this interior
as a plastic, cozy coupe
'cause that would have really
helped their bottom line.
After all, GM is in the
business of making money.
But they're playing with the
mid-engine kids now, all right?
The piece that looks like a
material is that material.
This is a really big deal.
This car is a very, very big deal.
I just wanna thank everyone
who watches all of our videos
because three years ago,
I would never think that
other than my mentor and
best friend Jay Leno,
I would be the second person
starting this car on YouTube.
So thank you.
(Vette engine rumbles)
(engine revs)
(laughs)
This thing is very, very cool, dude.
It's very weird because I know
I'm sitting in a Corvette.
But I hear so much intake
noise right behind my head
which is the coolest part
about driving a mid-engine car.
Not the coolest part, it's
a very cool part though.
(engine revs)
(lively band music)
I can't figure out how GM has made a car
this advanced, this fast, this nice
for under $60,000.
In a couple of months, we're gonna see
like a thousand horsepower
versions of these
when people start boltin'
on superchargers and turbos
and stuff like that.
And those cars will still
be less than $100,000.
This is a game changer, y'all.
I'm probably the furthest thing
from a Chevy guy that you will find.
But I respect Chevy so much.
And I wanna thank them for respecting us.
They listened, and they gave the people
exactly what they wanted
and more for less.
Respect.
The builders of this Cressida
are the Moonlight Runners,
also known as John and Astrid.
They grew up in the American punk scene.
And they felt a special connection
with the boasters of the culture
of young motor heads
who challenges boring.
When they discovered
they didn't quite fit in
with typical car enthusiasts around here,
they were inspired to
build something different.
Boss Hoss V8 Motorcycles & Trikes with Corvette LS 500-1000 HP Engines! Eastwood at Holley LS Fest
Eastwood Company:
LS fest LS power including motorcycles
boss hoss switched over to LS power in
all of their motorcycles in 2008 and
they have not looked back since
check these things out - 95 is a lot of
horsepower for a bike wing about a
thousand pounds right
well how about this one at 445
horsepower or this one here that puts
out
525 horses with just a few modifications
we've even heard rumors of twin-turbo LS
engines in these bikes that are putting
out an eye-popping 1,000 horsepower
these boss motorcycles and trucks are
over the top and they're all chevrolet
LS powered but even with the v8 these
bikes maintain a sleek design which
isn't easy when you've got an eight and
a half gallon fuel tank but you're gonna
need that fuel when you're pushing out
about 500 horsepower the boss bikes have
an air-ride suspension and a BP brake
system which are probably going to need
especially if you decide to go with the
6.2 liter Corvette engine and upgraded
camp now bosses even making tracks like
this 32 lowboy coupe model with the same
awesome Chevy LS power is the
motorcycles
these bikes are insane Chevy LS v8 power
with the ridiculous horse power to
weight ratio and they look cool
these boss hoss motorcycles are awesome
there's nothing like him
we've got Tim siren here Tim we got one
request can you start this thing up
I want to hear 525 horsepower motor
cycle yes we can
yeah
never
I love my job
yeah
2020 Corvette Stingray Review ― Test Drive of the New Corvette C8
Edmunds:
KURT NIEBUHR: You know,
there's been a lot of buzz
around this all new Corvette.
It's supposed to be mid-engine.
It's faster.
It's supposed to have a really
nice interior in it too.
It's supposed to
handle really well.
It's supposed to be a lot.
I'll believe it when I see it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
If we can ignore the fact that
this new Corvette is completely
new and is also a
mid-engine Corvette--
try really hard to ignore the
fact that this is a mid-engine
Corvette--
the interior on this car is
the biggest talking point.
It's amazing.
It's really well crafted.
It's nice.
It looks like no other
Corvette interior ever,
and that's a good thing.
So the first thing you
really see on the inside
when you sit down is
the steering wheel,
which is a two-spoke steering
wheel, something you wouldn't
expect in a sports car.
But it's also a little square.
And when you're on the
road, it doesn't really
matter that much.
You're not putting a lot
of lock into the wheel.
And once you start to make
U-turns or tighter turns,
it does get a little
weird because you wind up
grabbing a corner.
It's not the end of the world.
It's just unique.
So the second thing you're
likely to see in this car--
maybe it's the first thing--
is this climate
control arrangement.
And they've put all of the
buttons, all of the switches
in a row, which is unique.
When I first saw it in pictures,
I wasn't thrilled about it.
But to be honest, now that I've
spent some time in the car,
it does work.
And the climate control
system is pretty good.
So you just set it, and then
you don't even look at it.
And it frees up this
whole center console area
and keeps it relatively
clutter free.
But like the square
steering wheel, it's unique.
Another big change with
this brand new Corvette
is the digital instrument panel.
And it changes with the
drive mode that you select.
And some manufacturers can
get that a little tacky
with explosions and weird swipes
and changes on the screen.
The Corvette is very simple.
And when you change the
instrument panel display,
the heads up display also
changes at the same time.
I think it's kind of cool.
It's one of the better
executions on the market.
So the passenger seat
in the new Corvette
is what I like to call the
sit down and shut up seat,
because as you can
see, you really
don't have anything to control.
You have seat ventilation, seat
heating, and climate control
buttons.
Everything else--
that's for the driver,
kind of as it should be.
Another nice touch
on this interior,
and one that was
totally unexpected,
are these nifty
little air vents.
I'll admit-- at first glance,
they looked a little useless.
But they have good airflow,
good adjustability,
and they're well-made
with a nice, oily action.
I think they're pretty cool.
[ROCK MUSIC]
Yeah, yeah, so who cares
about the rest of it, right?
What's it like to drive?
Well, it's got a 6.2-liter V8,
495 horsepower with the Z51
exhaust, 470 foot
pounds of torque.
I mean, it's a small
block Chevy, man.
It's great.
Ah, listen to that.
There's only one
transmission offered in this,
and it's an
eight-speed automatic.
Now, before you get all sad and
wish that they made a manual,
I can tell you that the
time I've spent in this car,
I have never wanted
for a manual.
This transmission is very
smooth and quick acting,
and the shifts are seamless.
Listen to that.
And as an added bonus, these
shift paddles are heavy.
They're metallic.
They feel really good.
It's just-- it's
extra confidence,
and it just makes the whole car
feel better and more upscale
than it's ever felt before.
The way this thing shifts--
downshifts really
quickly, upshifts quickly.
Everything is
seamless and smooth,
and the car is never
upset by the transmission.
For all the power
that this car makes,
that's something to
really celebrate.
I wouldn't even buy a manual
transmission in this car
if they offered it.
Yeah, you can take away
my performance driving
card if you want.
I don't care.
That's a Lotus Elise.
How fast is it?
Well, we were able to
take it to our test track
and put the car
through its paces,
so let's go see how that went.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
First off, yes, these
numbers aren't as quick
as we were expecting.
But since we didn't have
access to 93 octane,
we only get 91
octane in California,
and we used a fairly
standard asphalt surface,
we were limited on
outright traction.
The Vet spun its wheels
through most of first gear,
even with launch control, so
these are real world numbers.
But hey, 3.2 seconds
to 60, 11.5 seconds,
and 118.7 miles an hour
through the quarter mile
is nothing to sneeze at.
105 feet from 60 miles
an hour is pretty solid.
There is good consistency
and stability.
Of course, wider grip
your tires would easily
shave off another 10 feet.
We suspect they're saving
those for the inevitable Z06.
Pulling 1.09 on the skid
pad puts the Corvette
in some pretty rare
company, and that's
with Pilot Sport 4Ss and a
fairly narrow 245 section front
tire.
Sure, we could talk about
how it needs more tire,
but this number speaks volumes
about the chassis, suspension,
and differential tunings.
FYI-- that number was pulled in
track mode with ESC fully off.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That small block V8 provides
what you'd expect out
of a small block V8--
a broad, meaty power
band that sounds
just amazing at full
throttle, just amazing.
[ENGINE REVVING]
See?
Amazing.
Probably the biggest
change with this Corvette
is how fast you can go with it.
I'm not saying the other
Corvettes were slow.
The C7 was no slouch.
The C6 was no slouch.
Any Z06-- ferocious.
But you had to be really
careful with them.
And unless you spent a lot
of time in an older Corvette,
it took a while to
get to know the car.
And they could catch you out.
They could catch out
experienced drivers
simply because the
front axle didn't really
tell you what was going on,
how much grip you had left.
You know?
In this car, it's talking
to you constantly.
I know right where the
grip is on the front end.
Also unlike those
older Corvettes,
the back end on this
car behaves itself.
495 horsepower in this
trim follows the front,
helps power you out of corners.
I am not afraid of
this car on this road.
And I wouldn't be driving
a C7 or a C6 Corvette
anywhere near this quickly.
In order to drive
on a road like this,
as hard as you want to drive on
it, you need good brakes too.
With the Z51 package,
you get good brakes.
I think they're 13.6 inch in
the front and 13.8 in the back.
I hope I got that right.
[DINGING]
If I didn't, I'm
sure the Corvette
forums will let me know.
But there's a lot of feel
with these brakes too,
and the pedal is
solid and consistent.
Much like the ability to change
steering effort and weighting,
this Corvette allows you to
change brake pedal pressure.
So if you like a harder,
more immediate pedal,
you can punch it up.
Punch it up on the screen,
and you can change it.
That changes with the
drive mode as well.
My feet aren't
sophisticated enough
to really tell the
individual modes apart,
but I spend no time adjusting
in between the modes.
The brakes are intuitive
and easy to use.
And when you're going fast,
that's the best thing to be.
All of this phenomenal
grip is brought to you
by rather ordinary Michelin
Pilot Sport 4S tires.
These are tires you can find
on a lot of normal cars.
In other words, they're
not super hero tires.
They have tread.
They're not noisy,
but they still
offer near supercar
levels of grip.
That just goes to show you
how good the chassis is.
So this car has three
main drive modes.
And I'm going to
say three because I
live in LA, so I don't need a
snow mode or a weather mode.
You've got the
touring mode, which
is what we're in right now.
And it just slackens off
the shocks a little bit.
It's really good compliance.
This is a pretty bumpy road,
and I'm not that upset.
It also tones down the exhaust.
You get a lighter steering
feel and the slightly less
jumpy throttle.
Moving into sport
mode, everything
gets a little bit more intense.
The throttle becomes
more sensitive.
The ride becomes a
little bit more firm,
as you can probably see.
And sport mode is a really good
all-around mode in this car.
You could drive in
sport mode all the time.
You can even drive it on this
road, which is fantastic,
and you wouldn't really
want for anything else.
But there is track mode.
The track mode is not silly.
I've driven cars with track
modes that try and knock
the fillings out of your teeth.
This car, with the
[INAUDIBLE] shocks,
gets tracked mode right.
So I've got two
complaints with this car.
They're not really
serious complaints
because you don't have to get
these things, like this tan.
This tan causes reflections
all through the windshield.
It's really annoying.
But you can get it in black,
so just buy it in black.
So the other complaint
I have are these seats.
Now, these are the
competition seats.
And I know that I'm not a small
man, but I'm not that big.
I'm 6'1", like 210 pounds.
But these seats pinch
my legs to the point
where it's uncomfortable.
But just like the tan
leather up here, you
don't have to get these seats.
You have two other options--
the regular seat, and
you have the GT2 seat.
I'd get the GT2 seat.
So the Corvettes
is an automatic.
Will the Corvette do a burnout?
Of course the Corvette
will do a burnout.
Turn traction control off.
Pull the paddles to
put it in neutral.
Ride the rev limiter.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Oh!
Proper burnout.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So maybe it's a
good thing that we
didn't have as much
time in the Corvette
as we wanted to, because
I think if I kept
driving that, I'd get arrested.
It's really fast.
It's so composed and so easy to
drive on any manner of roads,
even on the open highway.
It's a total piece of cake.
This mid-engine car has
ushered in a whole new era
for Corvette, and I
think it was about time.
So what does this
car compete with?
It is basically a
mid-engine supercar,
but it doesn't cost as much
as a mid-engine supercar.
It's about half
the price or less.
So a base Corvette is $60,000.
The one that you see behind
us is pretty well optioned up,
but that's still about
$83,800, I think.
In that car's price range is
now the BMW M4, which is slower.
It's the Shelby GT350,
which is slower.
It is the Porsche 718 Cayman
S, which is slower and does not
have the rad V8 engine in it.
And there are probably a
couple other cars in the class
that I have missed simply
because I can't remember them,
because they don't make as
much of an impression on me
as this thing does.
This is-- it's really that good.
I'm genuinely surprised
at how good this car is.
So yeah, this is a shorter
video than you'd probably like,
and we really need to get into
the minutia about this car,
but we didn't have
a lot of time.
But fear not.
Edmunds has bought a
2020 Chevrolet Corvette.
That's right.
We bought one, and we're
going to keep it for a year.
So subscribe so
that you don't miss
any of those upcoming
videos, probably late
January or early February.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible Reveal — Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Convertible!
Edmunds:
MARK TAKAHASI: Mom,
apple pie, baseball.
These are things
we traditionally
think of as American, right?
Personally, I think
of our accomplishments
to describe the uniquely
American experience.
We're here at the
Kennedy Space Center
in Florida, where 50 years ago,
three brave astronauts strapped
into a Saturn 5 rocket,
blasted off to the moon,
forever changing
humanity's story arc.
16 years before that, though,
America's sports car was born.
And it's closely tied
to the space program.
We're here to check out the
latest version of that sports
car in the 2020 Chevrolet
Corvette convertible.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
In 1953, Chevrolet
introduced the Corvette,
a small convertible
sports car, to compete
against those little
roasters GIs were
falling in love with overseas.
America's first
astronaut, Alan Shepard,
had a '57 'vette
just like my mom's.
A decade later, the
edgier, second generation
was introduced, along with
the iconic Stingray name.
And this one, in particular,
used to be Neil Armstrong's.
Come on, how cool is that?
We just happen to have a
'66 this same color rotating
above the Edmunds
reception desks too.
The third generation,
C3m three showed up
just as the Apollo program
hit its stride in 1968.
There's a famous
photo of the Apollo 12
astronauts posing with their
custom gold 427 Stingrays.
Starting in 1984, the C4 ensured
the 80s and 90s were rad.
The C5 'vette ran
from '97 to 2004,
and we had a wonderful Z06
from 2002, our long-term fleet.
The true 21st century Corvette
started with the C6 and C7s,
which dramatically increased
the technology and performance
quotient.
That brings us to the
all-new 8th generation,
which represents the biggest
change in the Corvette's
history.
We showed you the Stingray
coupe over the summer,
and for the most
part, this convertible
is mechanically identical.
Under this deck lid is the same
6.2 liter, naturally aspirated,
push rod V8 that puts out 495
horsepower and 470-pound feet
of torque.
Attached to that is an
8-speed automated dual clutch
transmission.
Sadly, it doesn't
sound like we're
going to get a manual
this time around.
There are some design challenges
that go along with a mid engine
sports car like this.
And if you look at
something like, let's say,
the Lamborghini
Diablo Spyder, where
the deck looks really huge and
heavy and the seating position
is way too far forward.
That is not the case with
a Corvette convertible.
They styled it impeccably, so
it looks almost like the coupe.
These nacelles here that
run from the headrest all
the way to the tail really
break up some of that space.
And these intersecting
lines and decreases
lighten that visual weight.
Also helping to break up
some of that visual weight
is this black fascia
down here, which kind of
helps it not look as heavy and
chunky as it normally would.
One thing that I
was really concerned
with the design of
this new C8 Corvette
was this really,
really big center thing
with all the buttons on it.
They're all climate controls,
so it sort of makes sense,
but I have to say this.
In photos, it looks
really awkward.
In practice, sitting here,
it's actually pretty good.
I mean, you have
everything at your command.
Maybe they could have slimmed
it down with fewer buttons,
but I'm sorry.
It kind of works.
You also have this nice
little hand rest here
for the dial controller.
And this squared off
steering wheel actually
feels pretty good.
I have to say, it might be
fulfilling some like Formula 1
driver aspirations.
Overall, the interior
has a nice snug
feel without
feeling too cramped.
There are obviously
a lot of challenges
when it comes to converting
the coupe to a convertible,
so I'm here with Ed
Piatek, chief engineer
for the Corvette.
Ed, what kind of
challenges did you
run into with this
mid engine Corvette?
ED PIATEK: Well,
typically you have
a lot of challenges from
a structure standpoint
if you're removing the
roof from a coupe that
uses the roof as a load path.
But in the case of all
the Corvettes going back
to the 6th generation car,
they've all effectively
been convertibles.
They all have
removable roof panels.
So we can't count on the roof.
So when we do a
car like this, we
use a tunnel-dominant structure.
If you took a look at
the underbody of the car
you'll see we've got a
really big tunnel section.
And that gives it
sort of the backbone
that gives you great bending
and torsional stiffness.
So for us to do a convertible,
it's not as big a challenge,
as far as having to remediate
that and put band-aids
on the car to get
the structure back.
MARK TAKAHASI: So that's
all really impressive,
but something I heard earlier
is even more impressive.
How much more does
this convertible
weigh than the coupe?
ED PIATEK: We're still in
the final validation phase,
so I don't have an exact number.
But it's going to be less
than 100 pounds difference
from coupe to
convertible, which is
why we think the acceleration
performance that everyone's
excited about for the
coupe will carry right
over into the convertible.
MARK TAKAHASI: That's
amazing considering
that a lot of convertibles
weigh several pounds more
than their coupe counterparts.
Thanks a lot, Ed.
ED PIATEK: Hey, thank you.
MARK TAKAHASI: It's
been a pleasure.
I can't wait to drive it.
ED PIATEK: It's great.
I'm here with Kirk Bennion,
chief designer of the Corvette.
What were your main
challenges with the C8?
KIRK BENNION: Well,
I would tell you
in developing this
convertible top,
the mechanization was something
that we started on very early.
There were certain
things that we wanted
to maintain in the design.
We want to maintain the
shoulders and the quarters.
But also we wanted to
maintain some surfacing that
led up to those nacelles.
So we started with a
small patch of surface,
and we continued to develop
that fiber link system
to give us his tapered upper.
But to work around
that early surface--
we didn't even know
what the car was
going to look like
as a whole, but we
knew we wanted these particular
elements in the design.
MARK TAKAHASI: But a lot of
the challenges for mid engine
is the back end
looks really heavy,
and the passenger
compartment looks like it's
squished too far forward.
How did you solve that?
KIRK BENNION: A lot of that
depends on just where you
place that windshield.
And, you know, kind of like
with the windshield assembly,
and your wiper assembly,
call panel and that,
we like that to be
over center of axle--
center of the front wheel.
We feel it-- for this car that
gives us the best proportion.
It's that right
amount to reach, where
it doesn't look
like it's crammed,
with it's reaching forward.
And then it gives
us just enough room
in the back to kind of stretch
things out and still get
that for-- you know, what we
call a cockpit forward accent.
But in doing so, that allows us
to lean out the car, basically.
MARK TAKAHASI: Well,
it's a pleasure
to see it in the flesh.
Thanks for taking the time.
KIRK BENNION: Thank you.
MARK TAKAHASI: If you ask
me, the Corvette convertible
is just as sharp as the coupe.
And it's also as relatively
affordable costing,
$7,500 more.
Expect a starting
price of around $67,000
when it goes on sale
in March of 2020.
I'm not completely convinced
it's worth shelling out
the extra money for
the convertible,
since the coupe already
has a removable roof.
Whether you choose the
coupe or the convertible
you're pretty much
guaranteed you're
going to be driving the new
hotness for at least a couple
months.
That's it from the
Corvette convertible unveil
at the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
If you thought we'd come here
and not check out the astronaut
experience, you're wrong.
For sticking around this
long, here's a bonus.
Some snippets from
astronaut camp.
Woohoo!
Come on, Doug.
Let's go steal a rocket.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's where I belong.
Mid-Engine C8 Corvette | Why Did It Take SO LONG? | WheelHouse
Donut Media:
- After decades of rumors,
the mid-engine Corvette
is finally actually happening.
So what took GM and Chevy
so long to build it?
And is it gonna be successful?
Let's talk about it.
The Chevrolet Corvette
has always sat in its own
weird little niche in the market.
It's pricier than the Ford Mustang,
so GM invented the Camaro
to compete with that car.
It's well known that the
father of the Corvette,
Zora Arkus-Dontov, was a racer
and a big proponent of
the mid-engine layout.
And it's fairly common knowledge
that mid-engine is better for performance
than the typical front engine format.
So if the Vette has
always been GM's halo car
and wasn't in any direct competition
with other cars any way,
why didn't they go
whole-hog a long time ago?
Well, the history of
the mid-engine Corvette
is one of bad timing and
conservative decisions.
It all started with the
1960 CERV, which stood for
either Corporate
Engineering Research Vehicle
or Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle.
It was a single seater race car
that was never intended to be a Corvette.
Arkus-Duntov used it as a testbed
for the mid-engine layout
and suspension design.
But GM was against any
actual racing involvement.
Its independent rear suspension did end up
in the 1963 Stingray Corvette though.
When the Ford GT40 took
the racing world by storm
a few years later, Zora
kicked back into gear
and developed the mid-engine CERV II.
His team came up with some
very interesting ideas.
They moved the transmission
behind the differential
and added a second transmission
that was driven off the
front of the crankshaft.
That's right.
This thing was all-wheel drive.
Despite how cool this thing was,
GM decided to quietly support
Chaparral race cars at Can-Am
instead of openly going
over Ford at Le Mans.
That meant no production
mid-engine Corvette either.
Next came the experimental XP-880,
also called the Astro II in 1968.
This was the first time
anything actually resembling
a mid-engine Corvette would show up,
and it looked pretty badass.
But the two-speed transaxle
borrowed from the Pontiac
Tempest couldn't handle
the huge V8 they put in it.
The 1970 New York Auto Show was the debut
of the first official
mid-engine Corvette concept,
the XP-882.
It had a transversely
mounted small-block V8
and used an Oldsmobile Toronado transaxle
to make it all-wheel drive.
What's with this all-wheel drive stuff?
Zora Arkus-Duntov rushed it to the shows
so Chevy could have a competitor
to three other mid-engine
cars that were rumored
to be going into production,
the AMC AMX3, the Mercedes Benz C111,
and the De Tomaso Pantera.
It's not totally clear what happened
after the XP-882's auto show debut.
One story is that John DeLorean,
who was the boss of Chevy back then,
wanted the Corvette to
go a lower cost route.
He killed the program, and
Arkus-Duntov threatened to quit.
Another story is that there
was such a positive response
to the XP-882 that GM
authorized more money
for the further development,
but the team changed
tactics and tried to develop
a lighter, rotary version instead.
In the quest for progress,
the mid-engine V8 plans were scrapped.
There's evidence that both
of these things happened.
Just two years later,
GM built the V8-powered
XP-895 prototype on the
same chassis as the 882.
It also ended up being too heavy,
so DeLorean got one of GM's
suppliers, Reynolds Metals,
to make an aluminum body
that was 500 pounds lighter
than the steel one.
But the cost of mass producing
aluminum body Corvettes
would have been too high,
and the fiberglass C3 was
selling really well anyway,
so the XP-895 was yet another dead end.
One year later, a couple of mid-engine
rotary prototypes appeared.
The first one was the XP-897 GT,
which debuted in Frankfurt in 1973.
It was built on a Porsche
914 chassis, oddly enough.
The engine was a two rotor
Wankel, making only 180 horses.
Zora thought it was
underpowered, no kidding,
and didn't like the idea.
So Arkus-Duntov pulled one
of the older prototypes
out of storage and
reworked it into, get this,
a four rotor concept
for the Paris Auto Show.
It had gull wing doors, for some reason.
You know, like all concept cars.
The interior looked pretty complete,
which made people think
that the mid-engine Corvette
was finally gonna happen this time.
But it wasn't the four rotor
of your glorious sounding dreams,
like the Mazda 787.
It was two of the two rotor
Wankels connected together
with a V-belt to make 360 horsepower.
As you might expect,
that didn't work at all,
and I'm kinda glad because
that sounds like a nightmare.
On top of that, it was 1973,
which was when a little
thing called the Oil Crisis
started freaking everyone out.
It just wasn't a good time
to build thirsty engines.
So GM didn't make any rotaries
or the mid-engine Vette.
While the rotary idea was good and dead,
Zora pulled the Wankels
out, threw another V8 in,
and renamed the concept the Aerovette.
And this was his personal favorite
of all the mid-engine Corvette prototypes.
Zora retired in 1975,
and in '76, the Aerovette was considered
the possible future C4.
The Datsun 280Z was eating into
the aging C3 Corvette sales,
and it seemed like it was the
right time to finally do it.
But the best that we can tell
is that GM simply wussed out
and kept going with the C3 until 1982.
When Zora retired, he told
his successor, Dave McLellan,
that he just had to make a
mid-engine Corvette someday.
Another 10 years later went by
before they built another
mid-engine concept
with help from Lotus,
the 1986 Corvette Indy.
It was a super advanced prototype
with all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering,
and hydraulic active suspension.
It was powered by a twin
turbo charged 2.65 liter V8,
making over 600 horses.
That's crazy.
Its interior were stocked too
with an early navigation
system and a rear view camera.
But the Indy was far too
complex and expensive
to be a viable option in the
80s, and it didn't get built.
The Indy was toned down into a more
production viable concept called CERV III
for the 1990 Detroit Auto Show.
This one had a twin turbo charged 5.7 LT5,
making 650 horses, but
it was estimated to cost
$400,000 to produce, which was Porsche 959
and Ferrari F40 money.
That wasn't going to
fly at Chevy, obviously.
CERV III ended up being
the final mid-engine Corvette
concept we would see.
McLellan's replacement, Dave Hill,
was another front engine guy.
But he did hire an
assistant who was into it,
a guy named Tadge Jeuchter.
I'm doing my best to pronounce it.
He got GM's design department
to make up a bunch of
mid-engine models for wind tunnel testing.
The closest thing to it was
the Cadillac Cien concept
at the Detroit Auto Show in 2002.
This thing was in Midnight
Club 3, you might remember it.
With a huge 7.5 liter Northstar
V12 behind the driver,
it's sick.
After Hill retired, Jeuchter proposed
the mid-engine Corvette with
chief engineer Tom Wallace.
He loved it.
Then the bottom fell out of the economy,
hitting the automotive
industry really hard.
GM was in especially bad shape,
and you probably know
they had to be bailed out
by the government.
Corvette development money
was canceled completely.
It was a terrible time
to make a radical change.
We're probably lucky the Vette
wasn't killed altogether.
The fact that it's been
a historically profitable
and popular car probably saved its life.
Thankfully, the markets
bounced back a little bit
from the financial crisis,
and the C7 was a huge hit.
The latest Corvette has
incredible performance,
but it's held back by
its front engine layout.
It seems like the time for
the mid-engine Corvette
was finally right, and Chevy
debuted the long awaited car
on July 18th and it looks
absolutely wild, I love it.
Power comes from a 6.2 liter
mid-mounted V8 called the LT2
and makes 495 horsepower and 470 torques
with a performance exhaust option.
There's no word yet on
power without that exhaust,
but I'm sure it's gonna be super quick.
All trims, including the base,
come with a dry sump oil system
so the engine won't run dry,
even under continued loads over one G.
And they say that the base model
can pull over a G on its
standard all-season tires.
That's sick.
It's got 19-inch wheels on
the front, 20s on the back,
with four piston Brembo
brakes on both ends.
So far, it's only gonna
come with an eight-speed
dual clutch transmission.
And while I'm frankly
a little disappointed
there's no manual, a dual
clutch is still really sick.
Maybe they'll give us
a clutch pedal later,
but some people don't think it's possible.
Test mules were spotted running
with Porsche 911 turbos,
so it looks like Chevy aimed
this Corvette super high
with their performance benchmarking.
The mid-engine C8 should
be super impressive.
I for one am super stoked for the C8.
It's gonna come out next year.
The current age of a Corvette owner is 64,
so GM has to be staking their
hopes on this brand new layout
attracting new, younger buyers.
And I think price is gonna be a big factor
in the C8 Corvette's success.
The new base Stingray model
is gonna start under $60,000.
That's only a couple grand
more than the base C7 right now
and about the same as a Porsche Cayman
and a lot less than the Audi R8.
Faster trim levels are definitely coming,
and I can't wait to see how they stack up
against McLarens and Ferraris and Lambos.
I can't believe that I'm
excited for a new Corvette.
But it kinda has the stigma of being like
your grandpa's car.
But with this new mid-engine car,
I'm so excited for it.
Big thanks to this week's sponsor, Petal.
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especially if you want to buy
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and rev up your credit today.
Support us by supporting the companies
that support our shows.
Now, how do I get off this thing?
This is brake, right,
or is this the clutch?
Thanks for watching Wheelhouse.
Chevy, please give us one to review.
Everyone at Donut is super stoked.
Check out this episode of Wheelhouse on
Corvette versus the Thunderbird,
one of our earlier
episodes, still really good.
Check out this episode of
Up to Speed on the Corvette
to get another history of the car so far.
Hit me up on Instagram @NolanJSykes.
Follow Donut @DonutMedia.
You like these shirts?
We got 'em, go to shop.donut.media.
Be nice, see you next time.
Giving the Corvette a New LS Heart! Sort of. | Drift Corvette Build w/Matt Field
Donut Media:
(groovy music)
- Alright guys, welcome
to this week's show.
We left off with me
making a stupid mistake
with thinking I was gonna
weld this into the car.
I was gonna weld it in right there,
but that's aluminum,
this is steel, whoops.
So, what I'm gonna do first,
is make a plate,
rivet nut it into the aluminum,
and then at that point,
the steering column
will pretty much be done and
we can move on to other things.
This week, we're probably gonna be fitting
the engine into the car.
I got my motor mounts from LG Motorsports,
I got the new torque tube coming,
so we'll put in our mock-up engine
and start fitting supercharger
and all the stuff,
as long as they come in on time.
Probably going to also
be working on, like,
waterlines, firewall bulkheads,
placement of those type of things.
Pretty much mounting anything
that we currently have
that we're not waiting for parts on.
We get the pedals done.
It should be pretty easy
'cause it's a flat floor,
but should keep us busy.
Alright, this is a new top plate
that I'm gonna weld to the piece
that we have in the car there,
and drill it and rivet
nut it into the chassis.
You can't weld steel to aluminum.
(groovy music)
Alright, we got this piece.
Swing it up.
Piece we just made.
Oh yeah,
money.
Two rivet nuts right at
the top, be good to go.
So, I'm gonna go ahead
and weld this together
and then we will drill the chassis,
make it fit.
(groovy music)
Perfect.
Alright guys, what I'm
gonna be doing today
is actually bolting the
pedals to the floor.
Fortunately, this car is much easier
than almost every other car
that I've ever done floor mounts in,
'cause the floor's flat.
But, it also comes with
its own set of challenges
because the floor is fiberglass
and bonded with all kinds of,
I don't even know, who knows?
So, I'm gonna first drill
my holes into the floor
to locate the pedals
and then at that point,
I'm gonna come underneath the chassis
where there's two steal rails
and build some sort of steel structure
with nuts welded into
it, so that I can just
thread the pedals right in.
So yeah, easy and hard
for both of those reasons,
but you can take a look.
See how nice and flat the floor is?
So, right now, I'm just trying
to set the correct distance
to get the pedals square in the car.
I know where I want them,
I basically need them as
far forward as possible
while still being able to get the lines in
and out of the master cylinders.
I'm using this to kinda see
where the seat is square
so that I can square the
pedals up accordingly.
I'll show you underneath the car.
We are totally flat underneath the car
and here, I'll build some
sort of steel structure
'cause this is steel
and that rail over there
is steel as well.
(groovy music)
So, from what I can tell,
it's straight, square in
the chassis, so I guess...
(drill starts)
(groovy music)
Alright, so it's been, like,
an hour with me moving the pedals, like,
a 16th of an inch this
way and that way, and ugh.
But, it's done.
They're bolted to the floor.
Still have to work on the structure part,
but you can, like,
wee, move them around and do my thing,
and all happy now.
So, I had to be very careful to make sure
that that fitting clears
in the back right there.
We should be good to go.
Alright, so I'm under the car.
Here's where the pedals come through.
I've got my template material
and some material here,
and I'm gonna make a steel floor plate
and weld it into the chassis
with nuts on the back,
so that we can just bolt
the pedals right in.
'Cause this floor is fiberglass and wood,
and all kinds of crap,
so we need some sort
of steel structure for it to mount to.
I'm gonna build this steel structure,
weld it in and then
see if the pedals flex,
and brace it up from there if they do.
(groovy music)
Alright, so I got my pattern, my material.
I'm gonna lay the pattern
down on the material,
trace is out, put it up to the floor,
drill the holes for the floor,
see where it's gonna be,
drill some speed holes in
it, pop out some dimple dies,
weld the nuts in,
go from there.
(groovy music)
Alright, so I got my dimple die set.
This is the floor plate,
that's where the pedal set
bolts through the floor.
I'm gonna drill some holes,
put some dimple dies in it,
and I'll weld the nuts
in and go from there.
(groovy music)
Oh, yeah.
Alright, so I got my dimple die.
Got my plate.
Going to go ahead and dimple die this
in our trusty, piece-of-junk press.
(groovy music)
So, the floor plate's all
dimple died, looking sick.
Now, I gotta weld these
nuts on the bottom.
We will be in business.
I like to use a countersunk bolt
because it holds it completely center
when you go to weld it on.
(groovy music)
A'ight.
Alright, so the plate's done
and I'm actually gonna
paint the inside of it,
before I weld it up,
because there's no way
that the inside of it's gonna get welded,
so it would just sit there and rest.
Trying to think ahead.
So, there's our plate.
All the nuts and everything, welded in.
Bam.
I put bond, window bond stuff on here
because I wanna glue this to the floor
to help spread the load
through everything,
'cause it's gonna be welded around here,
and also bolted in and then glued in.
(groovy music)
Alright, so I just got
the floor all welded up.
Obviously, these bolts are way too long,
but we are good to go.
Pedals are mounted.
Alright, what's going on, guys?
Today, I'm gonna be getting
the mock-up engine ready.
We have a mock-up block here from RHS,
the torque tube, the bell housing,
motor mounts, so I'm gonna be getting rid
of those stock motor mounts,
putting on my nice, billowed aluminum ones
from LG Motorsports and getting that motor
into the car.
Alright, these are engine
mounts from LG Motorsports.
They're just nice, lightweight,
billowed aluminum stuff.
Simple.
Get rid of this giant,
heavy, rubber nonsense.
And the great thing about building a car
that came with an LS,
this or that
bolts in.
(groovy music)
Alright, so Andy and I are being dumb
and we're trying to lift this thing in,
but I'm too lazy to grab the engine hoist.
(groovy music)
Alright, so right now,
I'm gonna work on the battery mounting.
I have this box from Trail Gear,
just this very simple,
weld-in Optima battery box.
A 34R RedTop Optima, it
is just super simple.
No fabrication necessary.
I'm gonna put this up in the chassis,
weld it in, battery's mounted, done.
And fortunately for us,
when you come over here,
we have this giant, open area right here
that I'm gonna mount the battery to.
This is where one of
the two fuel tanks went,
so there's the one, there's two,
and I'm actually gonna be
using the right-side fuel tank,
the passenger side, because
it's going to offset
the weight for me,
having eight or 10 gallons
of gas right on that side.
So, on the other side,
it's just wasted space.
Might as well mount our battery there.
I'm gonna clean off the paint here,
get the frame rail ready
to weld the battery box on.
(groovy music)
Alright, so I got the chassis cleaned,
I have the box, I have it
marked out where it needs to be.
I'm gonna put this up here.
Tack it, check it one last
time and then weld it in.
(groovy music)
Alright, so it's tacked in.
I just hope that the battery
fits in between here,
so I guess we'll see.
So, it fits.
It goes in and out.
Just gotta weld it up.
(groovy music)
Alright, so what I'm doing right now,
is I'm drilling our firewall plate.
I'm putting the rivet nuts in
'cause this plate is gonna go right here
with our waterline
fittings coming through it.
These 2-20 A&A fittings
are gonna be running
to the water pump.
So first, I have all this pre-drilled
where I want it on the firewall.
Put in my first rivet nut,
I'm gonna go ahead and
put in the other ones
and drill off the plate.
(groovy music)
Alright, we got the
piece in the drill press.
I'm gonna drill out these holes
and then check if it fits.
(groovy music)
Alright, today's a pretty exciting day.
First of all, we have
Cody and his dog, Ryder,
were helping us, that's always a bonus.
And the stuff from A&A came in.
A&A are kinda the Corvette
supercharge specialists
and you can tell, I mean,
this stuff is just so nice.
So this year, we're
actually gonna be ditching
the cog setup and going with the more
traditional 10-rib belt.
Should be easier on the supercharger,
should be easier on the bracket system
and I don't foresee any problems
'cause this is the same setup that we use
on the 86 in China and
we've had zero issues.
These guys, like, welded the spacers in
so I don't have to fumble with them
if we ever have to go and
change a belt or a supercharger.
Here's a Vortech off the S14.
I'm not sure how this is all gonna work,
since this was designed for my S14,
so I will have to see what's up with that.
But, all this stuff is super nice.
We're gonna go ahead and start
putting it on the car today,
but first, we gotta put some
heads on our mock-up RHS block.
(groovy music)
- Alright, got the
heads on for the mock-up
and now we're gonna go
play with this stuff.
- [Matt] Making sense of this stuff yet?
- Yeah, so now we gotta cut stuff.
- [Matt] Give it a little trim.
- [Cody] Yeah, cut some brand new stuff,
I like that.
- Fortunately,
A&A has very good instructions
on how to do all this
because Cody's a little confused.
- Yeah, superchargers are--
- To be completely honest,
I'm a little confused, too.
There's a lot of parts here.
(groovy music)
So, Cody's putting on the
secondary drive for this
'cause this supercharger
setup's kind of interesting,
in that it's different that
it has a secondary drive
that actually drives the accessories
and a separate belt that
drives the supercharger.
It's definitely a benefit,
having a supercharger
dedicated on its own belt
and A&A are some of the only people
that do that for a Corvette.
Most people just use one
giant serpentine belt
for the whole thing, so.
It's a lot of components,
but it makes it better.
(groovy music)
Alright, let's try to get this
alternator situation on now.
I think it takes two people
to get the tensioner
and the alternator on.
It's got, like, a proper amount of that.
(groovy music)
Alright, we're actually
bolting this thing on.
Obviously, this is from the S14,
so it's facing the wrong direction,
but I just wanted to see
what we're working with.
Intercooler room, stuff like that.
(groovy music)
Alright, so we're getting
the intake manifold on
from the motor that came
out of this car, the LS3.
We're gonna be using a
fast intake manifold,
but just for mock-up reasons while we wait
for that one to come.
LS3 will work.
This is the exact throttle body
that we're gonna be using,
drive by wire LS3 throttle body,
and now we're gonna work on getting
the intercooler mounted up.
So, there's our intercooler.
It's from Treadstone Performance.
Same intercooler that we run in the S14.
Just gotta figure out our height
and where we're gonna make it fit,
but seems to me like there's
plenty of room up in here.
So, we got the intercooler
placed, basically where we want.
It took way too long to do that,
this intercooler's kinda hard to mount,
seeing as this isn't flat at the bottom
and trying to make sure this lines up.
So, we have our vertical mounts here
that we're gonna tack in,
and then we have a template
for our secondary mount here
to help reduce some flex.
Yeah, the intercooler fits good.
Here's our intercooler brackets.
This one goes on the frame rail.
Intercooler's gonna bolt to
it, just about right here,
and then these are the
secondary braces for it.
Alright, we got the intercooler mounted.
It's done.
Really happy with how the mounts came out.
Just have to drill holes
for the intercooler here
and then it's good to go, but obviously,
we're gonna take it off, weld it all up.
And we have our intake
figured out right here.
Easy-peasy.
So convenient.
And it clears the hood, no problem.
This is gonna go directly to here
and we already have our CX
Racing intercooler piping
that just, bam, S's out, cast 90,
right up into there when
we get our new blower.
So easy.
Alright, so we got most
of the front end stuff
all mocked up and done.
We're gonna be waiting
for a couple more parts.
An oil cooler from CX,
a couple other things,
so in the time being, I'm
going to actually make
my anti-intrusion bars.
And yeah, this doesn't really look like
an anti-intrusion bar, but on a Corvette,
as you can see, there's not a lot of room
to make that happen.
This is inside the frame rail,
so it's pretty much impossible
for any wheel to come through.
This is the actual frame rail,
so after working with
Kevin Wells for a while,
kinda going back and forth since
the FD rule book does state that we have
to have anti-intrusion bars so
that our legs don't get
broken when we crash
into the wall at Seattle,
came up with this.
This is gonna go right here
and tie into this steel structure that is,
well, this is aluminum, this is steel.
We're gonna weld it to the cage right here
and then that way, if
the wheel ever does try
to come into here, the box
will be tight to the A-pillar
'cause that's really what it's all about,
is making sure that a wheel can't come in
and tie it to the A-pillar so
that it doesn't break your feet.
(groovy music)
Alright, I got the
anti-intrusion plates all cut,
and done and drilled.
I'm gonna paint the back of them,
so that they can't rust,
'cause they are gonna
be flat against the car
and welded into the cage,
so moisture or anything gets in there,
it's gonna rust on the
backside of the panel,
just like I did to the floor plate.
There they are and here we go.
Alright, so that's it
for this week's episode
of Field Prep.
We got a lot done, as
you can see behind me.
Focused a lot on the supercharger setup,
the engine, figuring out where stuff goes,
but be sure to check back next Tuesday
where we're gonna be putting
up our dry sump system,
figuring out where all of our coolers
and filters are gonna go,
and just more focus on the engine bay
and placing things out.
I'm gonna be installing
our CX Racing oil cooler
in kind of a V-mount setup
with the intercooler,
so it should be pretty cool.
Make sure to like, comment,
share and subscribe,
and let me know, am I missing something?
Think you can do it better?
Am I doing it wrong, doing it right?
Be sure to let us know in the comments
and check back next week.
Later, guys.
2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport: Engine Soundbite
Bachman Chevrolet:
In this Soundbite video we will be taking
a listen to the new 2017 Chevy Corvette Grand
Sport's LT1 in action.
For more news, reviews, how to's, and soundbites
on the 2017 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport, and
other Chevy models, please subscribe to our
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LS1 SWAP Engine IMPLANT 1963 Corvette Roadster Chevy MUSCLE CAR
HawgNSonsTV2:
I'm here today with George Humphrey, lifelong friend of the family
I promised him I would come video his hot rods. I can remember him showing up with a new hot
ride every day it seemed like when we
were little kids and he's got this 63 Corvette
1963 Corvette Roadster yeah it's got
a 2003 LS 1 Corvette engine.
for those of you that don't know what
a LS motors is. It's all
aluminum roller cam roller rockers all
high-tech racing stuff this one puts out
about 400 horsepower. I think we're going to get it on
film screeching down the street. I
have had this car two years and I bought
it with this engine in it. But basically the
car was while I bought it off ebay under
project cars because it needed help. So I
tore it apart last winter. I ripped the
entire suspension out from under it. Cleaned the whole bottom side. Took the engine and cleaned
it off with mostly Eastwood products
that I use so that might help Eastwood out.
degreasers what have you
Clean motor all off, course I detailed it out quite a bit. Those of you that don't know about
these old Corvettes this is considered a
mid-year 63 to 67 and they were considered
C2 Corvettes. From 53 to 62 were C1 Corvettes. from 68 to 72 somewhere around there where C3
then beyond that was C4 So what I
did is most of these old cars these vets
the frame is exactly the same almost
identical so what I did is I got a
really good C4 roads suspension
system in this model spring in the back
coil springs shocks struts put all
Flaming River another good company I got my
rack-and-pinion steering from changed
over rack and pinion steering and this
system is called the Hydro-Boost Power Assist Systems and insted of using the vacuum off
the engine uses the power steering fluid
which is pumped back to the master
cylinder here and actually a piston
inside so when I step on it when I
push the brakes. It actually
pushing the pistons
against a fluid. I added a nice
aluminum radiator which is a big change
the way temperatures on it I runs all
day about 180 so that's good I added the
radiator core support holds the radiator
here to this black thing. In 1963 when this car was
new it was originally a fuel-injected
car and this core support has a hole
in it and that hole is for a snorkel to
come up and feed the fuel injection and
all the lead a fuel-injected cars have
those horses or the whole all the other
ones didn't have homes so I used
original hole and I routed fresh air to
the engine does the fresher the air that
goes in this engines more horsepower car
also has site pipe exhaust its right now
going into the fall of 2015 it's still a
work in progress this winter comes into
your pain but Lord willing next logon
son can come back and go to another
picture of it was some nice mag wheels
tires paint job and that's the problem
and that is the reason maybe somebody
want to what I'm doing the wheelchairs
well I did burn miss foot but my time in
the wheelchair wounded in Vietnam 1969
start a group research oration anyway
but tires been a blessing to me it was
always attracted two cars before I got
hurt I have some 71 and 72 years old
here in a few months and I mean what I
finish this one have already thinking
about doing another but like to do a 65
Mustang Fastback you're anxious to take
it for a spinning to join us
well it's always fun to drive let me get
a closeup hear ya
well
now
under George here and get around real
well ever since I known you so i dont
wanna give slowing down so but how
number one how do I get in the car I'll
show you and what do I do with the
wheelchair and I must show you what that
too though getting it might be a little
bit cumbersome would have got on my
right but it ain't gonna slow you down
as in just a little bit I get money
right go left or right knee bends first
these other hand controls down as they
asked for with a break now should be
what I do with the chair that would be
aware the convertible top with which
this car does have a convertible top and
has a hardtop also I took the
convertible top our Design learned this
years ago
863 867 alone in my life and the wheels
got these
United States government they only had
it only weighs about 25 pounds so I
figured back here
closed
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