"blacktruck18" (blacktruck14)
04/20/2015 at 14:47 • Filed to: None
8
21|
"blacktruck18" (blacktruck14)
04/20/2015 at 14:47 • Filed to: None | 8
| 21 |
I have finally convinced Mrs. blacktruck that I need to do this. It’s happening!!!!
If you have know idea what I am talking about see this video.
So I need some help, opinions, and thoughts on anything I might have missed. Also, the formatting might be weird I copied this out of the notes I have been making in Word since the first time I saw the video.
WHY?
Because it’s f’n awesome. In all seriousness, I have always loved dune buggies and go cart like cars. I would love to own an Ariel Atom V8, Caterham R500, or an X-Bow. Unfortunately, those are really f’ing expensive, or not available in the states. After I saw the Roadkill episode I realized I could build something just as cool as one of those for way cheaper. So now I am doing it.
The rules as set forth by Mrs. blacktruck:
1. My budget will be $10,000
2. It has to have a full cage, 5- point harnesses, window nets and I have to wear a helmet every time I drive it.
3. She never has to ride in it if, she doesn’t want to. I guess we have differing views on safety.
That’s it for the rules. I am fine with all of these, I had planned on all of the safety equipment and wearing a helmet anyway. No big deal there.
Laws because Illinois Nazi’s:
1. The car will have to be registered as a custom vehicle. Which isn’t an issue.
2. The car will have to be inspected by the state police for legality before I can register it as a custom vehicle. This really isn’t a big deal but something I will have to do.
3. Where we will be living in Illinois doesn’t require emissions, no problems there.
4. It will have to have headlights, brake lights, and blinkers.
5. If the car is newer than 25 years it will have to have a windshield and wipers. If it is older it will not. (This will be important later)
6. The car will have to have bumpers. No problems there I will just get some extra bars welded to each end of the frames and call it bumpers.
GOAL:
Running and driving, street legal LS powered go-cart for less than $10,000. Under 2,000 pounds wet. 50/50 weight distribution.
Long term goal:
0-60 under 4 seconds, 1.0g skidpad. Eventually, maybe make some body work, just to cover the engine and the gaps from the in the cage in the area where the doors would be. Artist rendering below
The Plan:
1. We will be moving back to Illinois in July, I am going to start looking for a car then.
2. Spend next winter stripping the car and selling all of the parts on e-bay, craigslist and forums.
3. Drive it on the street starting next spring and start working out the suspension for racing it. Hopefully by next July or August I will be able track it.
Very Vague Build Plan:
1. Strip car filling all unnecessary holes in firewall.
2. Get NHRA and SCCA certified roll cage built and installed. I like the way the cage on the Roadkill car looks, but I want some extra bars on the sides under the windows so my legs don’t go flailing about in the event of a roll over. See artist rendering below:
3. Rattle can all exposed metal and cage. I haven’t decided on a color yet, maybe spray on some rattle can clear coat. This is to protect the metal and make it look halfway decent.
4. Add fuel cell.
5. Relocate battery, master cylinder and other heavy things to the back. Trying to get to 50/50
5. Seats and Harnesses
6. I found some headlights on rallylights.com that have built in blinker in the headlight housing. Those will keep the car start legal.
7. If I do use a Corvette (more on that later) I will just have some mounts welded to the cage for the brake lights, then use the stock lights mounted towards the middle in the back. This will satisfy the brake light/blinker requirement for the rear of the car. I also want to mount the 3 rd brake light from whatever I buy on top of the cage facing backwards, for extra safety. (see artist rendering below)
7. 17x12 inch wheels in the back 17x10’s in the front. I know that the rear wheels seem a little excessive but, I don’t want this to be a burnout machine. I want it to be able to drive it in auto-x events and drag race it so, I will be putting 335 width tires on the back.
POSSIBLE CANDIDATES
90 or older C4:
This is obvious it’s since what they used it on roadkill.
Pros:
No windshield, this isn’t a super big deal but, I think having a windshield will take away from the driving experience and look of the car.
Cheap to buy, I have spent quite a bit of time looking on ebay and Craigslist looking at these. Finding one in good condition for $4-5k will be no problem at all.
Can keep taillights
Cons:
LS swap, I know I can stay in budget doing an LS swap but, it is going to add time to the build. I am not going to cut corners just to get this on the street. But, I also want to get it done quickly and cheaply.
C5 Corvette:
Pros:
It already has the drivetrain I want. This will make the build much easier
The Hydro-formed aluminum frame in these cars is super strong.
Cons:
$$, finding a C5 and, getting this done for less than $10,000 is going to be difficult
I will have to keep the windshield and wipers. The laws don’t say anything about the size they have to be but, I think just keeping the stock ones will save time and money. This could probably negate the helmet rule per Mrs. blacktruck so, I won’t have to wear a helmet. But, I think it will take away from the look and feel of the car.
1998-2002 Camaro:
Pros:
Basically the same as the C5 but it will be cheaper to buy. $5-6K should be plenty. Therefore, easier to keep in the $10,000 limit.
Cons:
I will want to change out the taillights to something smaller. 4
th
gen Camaro taillights are huge.
Starting with a heavier car but, I don’t know what the weight difference will be when it is stripped. Also from the pictures of frames I have seen on-line I can just cut about a foot of the back of the frame. It won’t save a ton of weight but it will be something.
Minimum to buy list and, estimated costs excluding car:
I have already looked into all of this and I am estimating these prices high. I am try to be go worst case scenario:
Fuel cell $300
Seats $1500
Harnesses $400
Cage $1500-2000 installed
Headlights: $300
Taillights if needed: $200
Battery Relocation kit: $50
Rollcage padding: $200
Wheels and tires: $1500
Engine management system if I don’t use one of the LS cars: $600
Steering wheel: $300, not necessary but I would like something racier then the stock wheel.
Gauges: Not necessary but I would like to use a racepak IQ3 gauge set $600
SALVAGE TITLE CAR:
I have thought buying an insurance sale car quite a bit. I don’t necessarily want to do this. If the car has frame damage, even if it was fixed it could destroy the whole plan. Also, I don’t know if the savings will outweigh the money I could make selling all the body parts and stuff off the car.
Oppo’s thought’s, feel free to chime in with anything.
CB
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 14:52 |
|
Sounds like a wicked plan. Are you dead set on an LS powered vehicle? You could also strip a Fox-body or New Edge Mustang.
crowmolly
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 14:57 |
|
1. The car will have to be registered as a custom vehicle. Which isn’t an issue.
Be sure about this. Like REALLY MOTHER FUCKING SURE . I had to help a guy register himself as an auto manufacturer to get a title once. Do all of your homework before you spend a dime. Just because you build it does not mean anyone is required to let you run it.
2. The car will have to be inspected by the state police for legality before I can register it as a custom vehicle. This really isn’t a big deal but something I will have to do.
You won’t pass with 5 pt harnesses. You can sometimes get past that by leaving the original belts intact and “using” those on the street. If you plan on racing, build to the rule books.
Who is going to insure this thing? Can you get plates in IL without it?
|
blacktruck18
> CB
04/20/2015 at 14:59 |
|
I am pretty much dead set on the LS. I thought about a fox-body but they only cam with 5 speed’s I want a 6 speed because I am going to drive it on the street as much as possible so mpg’s is a concern.
I hate the way the engine’s in 4.6’s in the new edge Mustang’s sound. I have never heard one that I thought sounded decent so that’s ruled out.
Milky
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 14:59 |
|
My 2 pennies, don’t go Camaro. For something this focused the added length for a backseat seems against the purpose.
Also because this is oppo, what about miata?
(with an LS swap of course)
|
blacktruck18
> Milky
04/20/2015 at 15:06 |
|
I knew someone was going to ask this and I forgot to put it in the post. I have thought about this. But, the swap kit from Flyin’ Miata is pretty expensive (almost $4,000) I don’t want to have to piece all of the parts together. The LS into a C4 is pretty simple. Just needs a new transmission cross member and a Camaro oil pan if the engine came out of something else.
The added length of the Camaro isn’t that big of a deal the last cross bar on the frame is about a foot from the end of the frame. I can just cut off everything behind that bar and mount the fuel cell, battery, and what ever else I relocate closer to the middle.
Justin Hughes
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 15:07 |
|
A friend of mine says there are no bad ideas - only good ideas and “awesome” ideas.
This is an “awesome” idea!
Pixel
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 15:27 |
|
Don’t waste your time worrying about using stock tail lights. used semi tractor/trailer LED units. DOT legal, sealed so water intrusion from any direction isn’t an issue, designed to stand up to a lot of abuse and $15-$30 each.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/truck-ligh…
Related, make your life easier and use headlights that take a sealed beam, that way the bulb assembly is DOT legal for certain and avoids a lot of issues. Use the amber tractor lights above for your turn signals, it’ll make them easier to position anyway.
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Shop/Street-Ro…
Keep an eye out for a car with a salvage rebuilt title, it’ll already be legal to register, but will come at a discount relative to a car with a clean title. Just inspect it well to ensure the repairs were done right.
I did some quick looking on searchtempest.com and there were a half-dozen c4 corvettes under $3K within 200 miles of me(RI). It probably isn’t worth the hassle of re-enforcing a camaro’s lack of actual frame when a corvette with a real frame is that cheap.
Mustafaluigi
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 15:39 |
|
Maybe look in particular for wrecked convertibles. Less to cut off and should be braced a bit more in the floor pan.
|
Milky
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 15:46 |
|
Damn didn't know the kit was that expensive.
MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 15:54 |
|
I say go with a crazy high mileage C4 and go get an engine trans.
Benefit of the C5 though is the rear transaxle for weight distribution. With how much you’re cutting away on a C4, maybe you can get a whole new driveline from a C5 into it?
Sounds awesome man
|
blacktruck18
> crowmolly
04/20/2015 at 16:21 |
|
Yes, I am planning on calling the ISP but it reads like the requirements are pretty simple.
I am tracking the harness deal, I am going to leave the old belts in the car.
Hagerty will ensure it as whatever the VIN matches to.
How did that guy register as a manufacturer? What was the story behind that?
|
blacktruck18
> Mustafaluigi
04/20/2015 at 16:25 |
|
Ya, I thought about a vert for that exact reason. I don’t want to deal with anything that is wrecked I don’t want to have to worry frame damage.
|
blacktruck18
> Pixel
04/20/2015 at 16:41 |
|
I will look into the trailer lights if absolutely necessary but, I want to keep the stock taillights if possible. I
|
crowmolly
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 16:42 |
|
I’d check with Hagerty if you haven’t already. Just to make sure, since (up until recently) they took issues with heavily modified stuff.
The manufacturer thing was a number of years ago so I’m a bit fuzzy. But it was a very expensive GT40 replica in PA. They were demanding a number of ridiculous modifications to make it street legal and he didn’t want to do it.
Sorry if I seem like a killjoy, but you’ve got enough people saying GO FOR IT already :)
|
blacktruck18
> Pixel
04/20/2015 at 17:14 |
|
Wow, I don’t know where Kinja put the rest of my post. Anywho,
If at all possible I want to do the stock taillights. I just like the look of them.
Those headlights you posted are almost exactly the same as what I found. The only difference is the one I found are rectangular. They are also sealed beam.
I don’t want to deal with anything that is a salvage title. I think any faults in the frame will be magnified by what I am trying to do.
The Camaro frame (or lack there of) can be fixed cheap enough. I think that will far out way the savings of buying one of them over a C5.
|
blacktruck18
> crowmolly
04/20/2015 at 17:20 |
|
I called Hagerty and explained exactly what I plan to do and they said it is fine. Hopefully, the person I talked to knew what they were talking about. I might call again just to make sure.
You aren’t being a killjoy at all. I was hoping people would bring up stuff I hadn’t thought of.
|
crowmolly
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 17:31 |
|
Yeah, the reason I brought it up is because they ask for pictures and a mod list and it would really suck to build the car and then get turned down.
|
blacktruck18
> crowmolly
04/20/2015 at 17:40 |
|
Ya, the person I talked to told me about that, maybe I should send pics of the Roadkill car the next time I talk to them just to make sure.
|
blacktruck18
> MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/20/2015 at 19:39 |
|
Actually, the weight distribution of a stock C4 is about 53/47. The transmission sits so far back it is almost perfect stock. Moving the battery and fuel cell to the back should get it damn near 50/50 with a full tank.
computiNATEor
> blacktruck18
04/20/2015 at 23:15 |
|
Great artist! I love MSPaint’s work!
|
MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
> blacktruck18
04/21/2015 at 09:19 |
|
Oh well in that case get a C4 with 3 billion miles on it and swap everything out with newer motor, etc