I do not think that one chassis is necessarily "better" than the other, just different. The Corvette correction chassis is square tube and fits under the body better than the SRIII frame, but does not have the torsional ridgidty of the SRIII one. Mike's chassis is deeply triangulated to stiffen it, but it is visible under the body. Mikes design uses coilover shocks, while Billy's uses the original spring. Billy lowers his engine 2" in the chassis which gives more clearance for accessories. I chose Mikes design for the torsional stiffness, and the WOW factor. His frame is without a doubt, the most high tech chassis being sold for the C1. Once you drive a C1 with C4 running gear under it, you will shake your head in amazement just how good it can corner, and it rides great to boot! The car is at least 600 lbs lighter than a C4 and rides better tha a C4 ever thought about. It would be worth you taking a day trip down to Billy's for a test drive in one of his cars. You will be a believer after you have driven one!
I love original C1 cars, and built a 60 two years ago that won a Duntov award, but not every car is a candidate for restoration, and this car was one of them. I set my goals before the start of this project, to have a car that would run into the 12's, handle like a go cart, get 25 mpg on the highway, and be comfortable enough to drive on cross country tours. It became pretty clear to me that a computer controlled LS1 and an overdrive transmission were the logical choice to achieve all my goals, plus the LS1 looks just a high-tech as the chassis! As much as I love C1 cars, the original suspension was an outdated design when it was used on the 53 model, and it did not substantially change for almost 10 years. It does not handle that well, is hard to steer at low speeds, and rides like a farm wagon on rough roads. This type of modification takes care of all of the issues that make the C1 car such a bear to drive and ride in. I didn't want a car to blast around town in on Sunday and then put back in the garage, I wanted a car that I could drive across the contry and not feel like I had been beat with a baseball bat.
Regards, John McGraw
If anyone is looking I also found an 89 with a six speed for $5500 I've seen the ZF setups bring 2K alone but I heard they are a ***** to retrofit into our cars. I also found an 85 auto with a blown motor for $2500.
