Tube Frame ’69 Camaro Forum – Progress!

This tube framed ’69 Camaro was wrapped up at our shop a month ago, but the Forum Build Thread was badly out of date. We made some time to write-up another 2 part entry for that build that you can read starting here.

In this latest Forum entry what we cover work from late 2019 through mid 2020, and we will cover much more in further installments. Again, this car is running and driving now, just not fully documented as we would like on the Forum Build Thread.

In this installment we show changes to ride height, fender work, aluminum rear wheel tubs, custom Moser axles measured / ordered / installed in the Moser 9″ rear”, updates to the Watts Link, brake hydraulics being built, a fire suppression system install, cage-mounted external battery kill switch + fire pull panel, explain some GM ECM issues we faced, and show finish work on the aluminum hood vent.

This update also covers some fun we had with the G-Force straight cut gear 5 speed transmission, which required opening that up and replacing several parts with upgraded units we sourced from G-Force. Not what we wanted to tackle on a brand new build, but a weird failure on a shift fork cam required this step.

This forum post also covers measuring for custom MCS remote triples, then their installation. Plus some modifications to the trunk for the wing uprights. As always every image within the Forum Build Thread can be clicked for a higher resolution version, and we don’t skimp on the pics. We will show more in the next installment as we get time to write it up, but just know that this car will be aligned and dyno tuned soon so we can get it on track for some proper testing. Thanks for reading!

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C5/C6 Corvette – Track Reliability Tips

What does it take to put a C5 or C6 generation Corvette on track and have the ultimate in RELIABILITY? That was the question asked to us today. So we mined our own forum build threads for pictures and suggestions, plus asked Anthony Forney over at HorsePower Research, who has been around Corvettes and track prep for 20 years. We put the highlights in this forum thread.

What started as a C5 only list grew to also cover the LS2 & LS3 powered C6 models. The list is typical of almost any car model, but has many C5 and C6 specific issues and suggested fixes. Cooling system, brake pads, fluids, and a several more items. You can read the 2 part detailed forum post starting here.

What started out as a small list grew and grew, but again you can read all of it starting here. Thanks for reading!

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Vorshlag ’22 Maverick – Smol Truck Development Thread!

We ordered a 2022 Ford Maverick with the 2.0L Ecoboost AWD drivetrain in August 2021, received it in Dec 2021, and now it has Vorshlag camber plates and rear shock mounts + Motion Control Suspension monotube adjustable coilovers. We explain how we went from “A” to “B” to “MCS” in this long overdue Forum Build Thread.

Look at that fender gap – we HAD to drop this thing!

It might seem weird to modify another truck we own, but every vehicle around here has to earn its keep! And since this smol truck is based on the C2 Focus chassis, it has a “hot hatch” pedigree with McPherson struts, multi-link independent rear, All Wheel Drive, and even camber plates. And the optional towing package. Yes, its weird, but somehow it all works. We try to explain it, at least, in the build thread.

We show an insane amount of detail in how we developed the camber plates, the MCS coilover kit, and much more in the forum thread – with expandable pictures and behind the scenes discussions, like we always do! As we continue to develop the Mav it will get wider wheels and stickier tires, and even some road course testing. Yes, its crazy, and we might never sell a single thing for this truck, but its been a fun experiment anyway. You CAN make anything handle better! Thanks for reading.

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Project #Trigger – S550 Mustang Project Update!

We have written another tech filled Forum Build Thread update that catches us up to current time. In this update we cover a load of work tackled over the last 5 months, between customer builds.

The work in this 3-part update covers the last steps needed to wrap up the cooling system, the oil vent catch can and plumbing, a Lexan back window install, carbon doors and even the new paint applied to the front fenders and nose.

The forum post also covers the steering wheel quick disconnect – which was a little tricky to be able to make the horn button work. The car also saw several digital dash mock-ups, shifter modifications, and a detailed guide to installing a fire suppression system.

The install of the AFFF fire suppression system was shown in great detail, and we will pull this out into a separate forum post of its own – showing the differences between “race car” and a “street car” fire system installs. Hope you enjoy lots of pictures showing behind the scenes work – if you do, you can dive deeper starting here.

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Cadillac CTS-V Update – Project Badillac!

Since everyone is tired of seeing updates to the narrow body C6, we figured it was time to play “catch up” on some customer builds! We are starting with a big update to this 1st gen Cadillac CTS-V track build. In the latest Forum Build Thread 3 part update we catch up with a big chunk of work completed during a hectic part of this build, from December ’20 through April ’21. The Caddy is much further along now (runs, drives, & almost complete), but we like to share the details of our builds, and this time period was an important chapter on this CTS-V.

This round of work included some control arm bushing swaps then the HorsePower Research built 383″ LS6 longblock and T56 went into the car. This update also covers a big portion of the BMW Mk60 ABS swap, which included new brake lines, yaw sensor mounting, and a new brake pedal switch with a unique bracket. Then we cover the new LS7 water pump and ICT Billet manual belt tensioner install, and why we picked those. The existing long tube headers were bead blasted, ceramic coated, polished and installed.

There is considerable ink showing several issues that the installation of a FAST LSXR 102 intake manifold created – including a unique 4 port steam vent, new fuel rails, 102mm DBW throttle body, and even mods to a strut tower brace to clear this thing. Then there were some changes to the fuel system – including a new Radium filter and repairs to the fill/vent hoses for the fuel filling bulkhead are noted.

A big section of the Forum Build Thread update shows the work we did to add massive engine oil and power steering coolers from Derale, plus a remote oil filter from Improved Racing and a new TurnOne power steering pump – and a lot of plumbing. There was a lot of cooling plumbing that was re-done to work with the steeply rolled radiator including a coolant reservoir, new radiator hoses, and a small manifold to deal with the heater hoses and reservoir fill, then stem vent line tie-ins.

In the final section we cover the unique Cold Air Intake system we created with details on routing, air filter placement, a filter box, and the DEI Gold reflective thermal wrap on all of this. There is plenty of more work to show next time, but you can catch up in this round of work on our forum starting here. We cover all of these steps with a lot of detail and pictures, which hopefully gets you inspired to work on YOUR race car. See y’all at the track!

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Narrow Body C6 Work + Two More TT Wins!

We have been busy improving our dual purpose street / track 2006 Corvette C6 and have tons of upgrades to share and four track events to cover since the July 26th update – click here to read the August 30th update to the Forum Build Thread for this car.

In the period since the last post we have attacked a number of areas that needed improvement, which included: adding camber to all four corners, upgrading the swaybars, another motorsport alignment, built a sim rig (to better learn a new track layout), added a suit cooler system, installed a massive Setrab oil cooler, built a custom Setrab power steering cooler, replaced some items, added an ATI balancer, built an air/oil separator, patched a hole in the inner fender, test fit some calipers, bought another set of wheels, swapped in another seat (then right back out), and added an MGW shifter.

As always, we show all of the steps in that mountain of work listed above, share some tips, and even show some things we did wrong – but we learned from these mistakes and made the car more reliable, easier to drive, and most importantly we made the car FASTER. Two more track tests (#109 and #11 at the same MSR track) showed the car dropped from a previous best of 1:21.9 to a new low time of 1:19.7 on street tires. Two more SCCA Time Trials resulted in two more wins and two “2nd fastest time of the day” in the overall results.

We cover all of this in this 4 part Forum Build Thread update and show hundreds of pictures, videos, data, screenshots of parts we looked at, part numbers, and so much more. And while this narrow body C6 Corvette model is a little unique in some of the problems and challenges it has faced, the testing methods and general build ideas we used can apply to all cars made for track use. No other shop on earth shares as much detail on their competition cars as we do. Thanks for reading!

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More Project #NewBalance Updates + First TT Win!

There have been a lot of updates in the 6 weeks since our last blog post about #ProjectNewBalance, our 2006 Corvette. We are finally at the point – in lap times and money spent – where we can prove that we weren’t completely crazy when we bought this base model narrow body LS2 powered 6-speed manual car versus a Grand Sport (2x the cost) or Z06 (3x to 4x) Corvette of the same C6 generation: we have beaten numerous Grand Sport and Z06 cars in head to head competition on the same tires, with less money spent.

In this massive 4-part Forum Build Thread update we cover work done to this C6 on the following systems: upgraded control arm bushings, ball joints, a “real” alignment done by a Motorsports shop, an exhaust + header + cold air upgrade, a second Corbeau seat install, seat heater circuit, 6-point harnesses, a 3 lb Halon style fire bottle on a quick disconnect, AMB transponder install, and we finally got the Jongbloed 18×11/18x12wheels and 315mm Yokohama A052s installed. Going from our “control tire” 275mm Hankook RS-4s to these 315mm A052s was a BIG leap forward in fun!

This Forum Update also covers two more dedicated track tests (on 3 different sets / types of tires), a Dyno Tuning session, and our first SCCA Time Trial. It also links to two other forum posts where we show detailed instructions on the poly bushings (it was a massive section that we had to peel off) plus another covering our thoughts on SCCA Time Trial rules, 4 years after they were first introduced. We have done even more work, more track tests and another Time Trial event since the last part of that post, but those things will be covered next time. Thanks for reading!

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Project #NewBalance Corvette – Major Updates + 5 Track Tests!

We bought this 2006 C6 Corvette base model 6-speed coupe during the Pandemic – all of the C6 Grand Sports and Z06 Corvette’s used car prices had spiked! This “narrow body” 6-speed car cost half what the cheapest “wide body” C6 was at the time (and they’ve only gone up!) We started off pretty slow but have found SEVEN seconds of track time drop at MSR Cresson so far, and this massive 4-part Forum Build Thread update details 12 months of changes and five track tests during that time!

The Forum Update covers so many changes and updates done to this truly dual purpose street/track C6: a seat upgrade, harness bar, 6-point harnesses, an MCS coilover install, an ABS swap, a carbon front lip upgrade, a baseline dyno run, wheel testing, brake pad swaps, alignments, wheel hub changes.

Not every update we did was perfect, but we share the good and bad in the Forum Update – so you can learn from us, with scientific track test results, what changes make the car faster and which ones do not. These same lessons apply to almost any car you would want to take on track, so reading this might help you no matter if you will ever own a C6 Corvette like this. Cars are all remarkably similar – it is easy to make them slower, but trickier to make them faster!

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86 / BRZ / FRS Development Forum Thread update!

We have been working with the 86 chassis since early 2012, and our Forum 86 Development Thread has been up and added to for over a decade. In that thread we have chronicled the work on many different 1st generation FRS/BRZ models made over the 2013-2021 model years.

Now we have done work to a 2nd gen 86, this 2022 Subaru BRZ owned by our tester Jon Miller – which has a new chassis with more rigidity, a larger engine with significantly more power, but without any weight gain.

This is Jon’s 4th car to offer up for testing and we recently installed MCS TT1 coilovers, Vorshlag front and rear top mounts, and Jon upgraded to a set of 17×9″ wheels and 245 Falken RT-660 200TW tires. Then Jon let Vorshlag chief memologist Terry co-drive this at an autocross (above, where he and Jon took 1-2 in STR class) and also on track. The coilovers transformed the car and we talk about the work and driving impressions within the latest forum update – complete with in-car video from both events!

Of course we also cover work done to our own 2013 FRS, which we brought into the shop to complete one of our popular LS swaps. Well we got busy in the shop and with the business and have only tackled some wheel testing (not all of it successful), an upgrade to MCS Remote Double adjustable coilovers, some front end work, and the shortblock assembly for the HPR 454″ LS engine – all of which is covered in detail starting here. Every picture in the forum build thread can be clicked for higher resolution, so make sure to read this on the largest screen you can. Thanks for reading!

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Project #Trigger – LS550 Project Update!

As busy as we are with customer work, we have managed to spend a few weeks here and there working on our LS swapped 2015 Mustang GT. The past seven months of work on is shown in this latest Forum Build Thread update, starting here.

Many systems on this build have been planned out, parts ordered, built and installed. This includes the big dual 3.5″ exhaust with trunk cutout for massive MagnaFlow mufflers, the oil cooler and oil plumbing, and the fuel tank / surge tank plus vent system and fuel system plumbing. The differential cooler and plumbing is also installed and ready for fluids, the cold air inlet and air filter + airbox are built and grills modified. The radiator mounting, fan and all cooling system plumbing is complete, as are the remote coil mounts, reservoir mounts, and rear bulkhead for the trunk.

The carbon fiber trunk is attached and the remote latch is in place, to join the matching carbon hood and (soon to be installed) carbon doors. We’re trying to get as much weight out of this in the first phase of this build without any cutting – just parts replacement and removal of “fluff”. We should have this one running soon and you can catch up on the last seven months of work starting here. Thanks for reading!

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