Help! C3 FIA racer

[Mattxnt]

Im a bit of a newbie when it comes to corvettes. but im a race mechanic in the UK with a shabby old '71 that im planning on re-building into a FIA race car for historic grand touring car racing.

Im just looking to pick peoples brains about a few things. I know what springs and dampers to use (550 Fronts, 305 Rears i belive F-41) and i think ill go 1"1/4 front sway bar. and something a little thinner than this at the rear.
But all the period cars i read about had solid A-arm bushes. anyone shed any light on this? and even better any one have any dimensions, because i could make these my self at work!

As for brakes i think i need a set of J-56 calipers, what is the difference on these, compared to standard? also is the mounting the same, and do i need to change master cylinder to suit?

I understand the M22 gearbox, and that the diff is good, but the race cars used oil coolers on the diffs, can anyone tell me what pump they used for this and how many rows in the cooler?

if any one has any chassis build photo`s or further information on what i should be doing i would be so so greatfull.!!!

 

[Evolution1980]

Matt, Welcome to the

I might as well get this out of the way for you before 6880 Mike and others come in and say it . "Get yourself the AIM". Assembly Instruction Manual. It should have all the info you need. You can often find them on eBay or other reseller sites.

I'm gonna move your thread to the technical forum since that seems more appropriate for this thread.

Be sure to pop into the New Members Introduction section and introduce yourself to the group!

 

[6880 Mike]

...I might as well get this out of the way for you before 6880 Mike and others come in and say it . "Get yourself the AIM". ...

Now. Now. Play nice Evo. I agree the AIM will help him with installation of his parts and provide original part numbers, but it won't answer his questions.

 

[JohnZ]

As for brakes i think i need a set of J-56 calipers, what is the difference on these, compared to standard? also is the mounting the same, and do i need to change master cylinder to suit?

J-56 caliper castings are the same as the standard castings - they were just machined differently (center pad pin towers milled off, holes drilled at the ends for the dual pins). The primary difference is the pads themselves - Inconel backings, flanged at the top to minimize distortion. J-56 pistons were special, and used Pyroceram insulators between the pistons and the pads.

J-56 used additional reinforcing brackets at the front attachment to stabilize the calipers under severe loading.

 

[Hib Halverson]

(snip)

Im just looking to pick peoples brains about a few things. I know what springs and dampers to use (550 Fronts, 305 Rears i belive F-41) and i think ill go 1"1/4 front sway bar. and something a little thinner than this at the rear.
But all the period cars i read about had solid A-arm bushes. anyone shed any light on this? and even better any one have any dimensions, because i could make these my self at work!

It is true that virtually all the competitive road race cars of the day used "solid" metallic "bushings" in all the control arms along with spherical bearings in the lateral links (strut rods) and trailing arms. Today, a better choices would be Global West "Del-A-Lum" bushings (they're really a bearing device) in the control arms and spherical bearings elsewhere.

As for brakes i think i need a set of J-56 calipers, what is the difference on these, compared to standard? also is the mounting the same, and do i need to change master cylinder to suit?

The major difference with the J56 option where: brake pistons with bakelite insulators, two retention pins rather than one, special brake pads with curved backing plates, front caliper mounting reinforcements and a brake proportioning valve. You may need to change the master cyl depending use of a brake booster or not.

I understand the M22 gearbox, and that the diff is good, but the race cars used oil coolers on the diffs, can anyone tell me what pump they used for this and how many rows in the cooler?

Back in the day, because of inferior lubricants, virtually all endurance race cars had coolers but other cars used in "sprint" races (such as SCCA Club Racing in the States) didn't need the axle lube cooler. Today, with a premium quality synthetic lubricant, unless you're going to run very long periods of time at 8 to 10/10ths, you won't need a rear axle cooler.