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It's an auto. The Corvette T-56 has the shifter coming out of the front face of the trans. I have been told it may be possible to cobble together a T-56 with a regular RWD shifter and the correct tail shaft to fit up to the diff, but I haven't seen anyone do it. It is also longer than the auto. I do plan on making it manual shift with paddles, though.

Ken

FWIW, a longer wheelbase in a mid-engine setup isn't necessarily a bad thing. It will help lessen the effects of snap-oversteer, which is very common to short wheelbase rear-mid cars Fiero's have a big problem with this, and their WB is about 93".

A longer wheelbase also moves the CG forward, which can be a good thing, too.

I know a little something about that. One of my first cars was Fiat X 1/9 and I found out about snap oversteer on a two lane highway. I managed to cross both lanes of traffic and ended up on the side of the road facing traffic. Nothing damaged but a rim and tire and my ego.

I will try to post some more updates after this weekend.

Thanks
Ken

I think "snap-oversteer" is a bit of a misnomer. Short wheelbase cars, light and mid engine cars will certainly trade ends quicker then a Mustang or other 3000 lb. plus car. But after it happens once or twice, your body will become used to the sensation and pick up on it much quicker. There is a learning / training process.

That's one of the benefits of getting track time, losing control on public roads is risky to everyone.

I think really short wheelbase cars have some issues, I remember some bad accidents in old minis and Le Cars on the track. But people do fine in small formula and sports racers...

Sorry for not posting more updates. I have been making progress. As of today, the chassis is very close to being complete. The engine/trans/diff combo is in the chassis and I am working on the wiring harness. I have also been acquiring a lot of parts/pieces to get this thing completed. My goal right now is to have this thing ready to run for a track day I have scheduled in July. It will mean spending every extra moment in the garage, but it should be worth it. Here are a lot of pics:

Any new updates my friend? There are lots of us 'lurkers' following your progress eagerly. Please show more!

I have been making more progress. I didn't get it done for the July trackday, and life has found a way to get in the way. I am now shooting for my next trackday a month from now.

Since the last update, I have pretty much buttoned up the front end, including mounting the rack and pinion. Of course, on closer inspection tonight I realized the rack isn't completely level. I need to raise the driver's side about 1/8". Once the rack was in I was able to mock up the steering shaft. I was going to put in the final version until I found out the metal shop gave me the wrong size tubing.











Something else I got done that has been bothering me is the alternator mount. I wanted to keep the belt drive as simple as possible. Not only for weight reduction, but to minimize the space requirements and the number of pieces that can go bad. Even though the LSx parts are all supposed to interchange, there are some small differences. When I tried to mount the alt bracket, I found out that one of the require bolt holes was not drilled in this block. The result is I am using one bolt into the block and the tension rod. I will see how it works, and if necessary make a bracket to brace the mount on the outside face.






The other big thing I got done is the diagonal bracing in the cockpit. Because the engine sits under the main cross bar, I was not able to run a single diagonal from opposite corners of the main roll hoop. My solution is to run two diagonals angled forward to a common point. Another bar then runs from there to the base of the "windshield". A final tube runs to the front end bracing to tie it all together. (in the picture below, I still need to fit and weld the last of the 3 diagonals)

build looks great! what type of wheels are those? i like them.

Thank you. The wheels are CCW Classics. They are a true 3 piece race wheel and are extremely light. The rears are 17x11 and the fronts are 17x10. One of the local Corvette racers upgraded to 18" wheels and was selling 3 sets of these. I went over my budget a little on the wheels, but made up for it by purchasing some used Hoosiers as opposed to new.

I will be using a set of Torque Thrust II wheels (and street tires) I had for another car to get this car sorted out. The weight a fair amount more, so I am interested to feel how the lightweight wheels change the car.

Ken

My buddy came over on Sunday, and we got the car off the build table and onto the ground. It sure was nice to see it sitting on the wheels. The car seems a lot lower than when it was on the table.

We also got the engine and tranny bolted together completely. Before, the flexplate was not bolted to the torque converter. The bolt pattern was slightly off because this combo was never envisioned by GM. We had to grind the bolt holes a little, and then add a small spacer between the converter and the plate. Before putting the combo in the frame, we installed the starter. Now it's time to install the half shafts, and the drivetrain will be complete. Enough of the typing, here are the pictures:

Wow. Absolutely insane.

That is one scary looking mofo.
I'd probably clear the way if that thing showed up in my mirrors .

I do have one suggestion, which is to consider some sort of a brace to triangulate the long tubes that run along the engine bay a bit better, even if it's a bolt-in brace.

Keep it up!

Moti

Thanks for the compliments guys. Watching what you guys do here helps me keep at it. The guys on this forum have a great attitude, and some really good ideas.

Moti,
I do have two braces in the rear that bolt in. There aren't installed at the moment because we just put the engine in. I think you can see them in some of the other pics.

Hopefull, I will get a chance to fill some mirrors yet this year.

Thanks again,
Ken