STANG KILLA SS Goes Racin

[STANG KILLA SS]

yes its pretty common and random. some motors last 6k miles, some last 60k+.
its been documented a few times on ultra low mile cars that were checked suggesting many were out of spec when they left the factory.
the problem was the supply company bored the valve guides too large. and also suspiciously soft guides. add to that less than ideal geometry and every corvette LS7 is a ticking time bomb if you buy the internet hype.
i choose the proactive route and went with the preventative maintenance.

that mold star 90 material is some pretty cool stuff. it acutally hardens with age and heat cycles rather than softening. so tolerence always stay the same instead of loosening up/wearing over time.

[BigSki]

Just curious, you got .025 shorter push rods to comp for the mill job on the heads. Wouldn't the hydraulic lifters "absorb" that? Not hating or anything like that, just trying to understand. I know that this is the norm for a solid lifter motor.

P.S.- I think that it's pretty bad ass to take apart a low mileage engine and make things better before they even caused a problem. Now go out and take some pics of doughnuts for us!

[XSRCdesign]

Originally Posted by BigSki

Just curious, you got .025 shorter push rods to comp for the mill job on the heads. Wouldn't the hydraulic lifters "absorb" that? Not hating or anything like that, just trying to understand. I know that this is the norm for a solid lifter motor.

P.S.- I think that it's pretty bad ass to take apart a low mileage engine and make things better before they even caused a problem. Now go out and take some pics of doughnuts for us!

I'm not an expert, but yes it probably would, but you would also loose that lift from the fancy cam.

[STANG KILLA SS]

i have no idea. im not an engine guy and just learning this stuff. but i read it online so thought it was the right thing to do.

[calcagno45]

Everything on the internet is true.


Nice ride by the way. Much rather the uncluttered look of the LS7 engine bay over the newer LT4s.

[STANG KILLA SS]

rear downforce time.
Went with the C7 Carbon Extended Zr1 spoiler.
Took them about 6 weeks to make it, but it was worth the wait. Fit and finish was awesome. Resin is super deep and glass smooth, weave is straight and consistent. fit the complex bumper curves well.
Ironically i actually ordered this before i found the car...

I went a little nuts with the pics, but i like the way it came out.

lights out


drilling brand new car #nervous


installing 3rd brake light. left side i was able to use factory tab. right side i had to cut the tab and hold it on with a ground down washer. The hardest part of the whole project was repluging in the 3rd brake light plug.


test fit


Done!




dat ass

[Tommy R]

You're gonna scratch that thing loading crawlers into the hatch!

Looks good, man! Curious how much difference it will make at high speeds. Should be fun to find out.

[hpiguy]

Hell yeah! Looks fantastic Cory.

[XSRCdesign]

Looks great I wanted one in a bad way when I had my c6

Looking back at it I don't know why I never got it. Or why I parted with that car

[STANG KILLA SS]

Yesterday i took the Jeep out to a "local" rally track
Unfortunately the stability control was slaming on the brakes and disabling the throttle in the corners. so i was a bit slow and had to run more road racing lines. but still fun.

[BJoe]

The stability control in my 200 is like that, irritating as hell too. A few years ago, Mom had to spend sometime in a nursing home/rehab/physical therapy place and we had to use an Ambulance to get her there, so Dad and I followed, him in his '06 Town and Country with a power chair in the back and I was in the 200. He was pushing the van as hard as he dare with a few hundred pounds of scooter in back and when we came to the first sharp corner, he snapped it around the 90* without much problem, I go to follow him, get through the corner without much drama until I go to get on the gas to catch up to him,and had no throttle......turns out the damned stability control did the same thing to me and wouldn't let me have it back until it felt the car was stable. Had it been my old 4dr hatch turbo Lebaron,that would have either understeered into the inside lane or broke into a controlable slide around the corner.

[STANG KILLA SS]

since the beginning i knew i wanted black headlights, but because its such a popular mod, and because GM hasnt made these headlights in years, they typically fetch a 4 figure price tag when a set comes up for sale.
so i decided to make my own. got super lucky and found a 3 month old set on ebay in a less desirable cheaper color. pretty much new condition including lenses.

started by baking them in the oven and prying. had to repeat this 5-10 times per headlight. HUGE PITA. took 4-5 hours.


Finally!



disassembled



wet sanded, degreased, and ready for paint


5 coats later


polishing, i wont even bother going into this huge ordeal....


reassembling


after a ton of research i settled on loctite PL roof and flash. WARNING, if you have kids, dogs, wife etc, this stuff smells EXACTLY like chocolate cake. im not kidding, even once dry for weeks. keep out of reach ;)


no going back now


clamped. rinse and repeat for other side.


threw in a pair of 3k(yellow) HID headlights (right) ie C6R style.

[STANG KILLA SS]

wheels and tires.

Square setup 4x

18 x 10.5
315/30/18 Rival S







unfortunatly they wouldnt clear my calipers. bought some 1/4" spacers first but those were only enough for the rear. the front needed 12mm spacers. Both hub centric. also picked up some extended shank lugs to grab more threads lost from the spacers.



bingo

[STANG KILLA SS]

Bumper and headlights removed and parts pile

Splitter/bumper reinforcement
Spindle brake ducts
Tow hook
Race pads
Fog light brake ducts
Race mesh
Blacked out headlights
LED DRLs




picked up towhook from JDP Motorsports. instead of using the supplied press in nuts, i bought and welded some nuts to a piece of steel...


marked hole locations in bumper bar


drilled view from inside bumper bar


stuck steel "handle" with nuts welded to it in bumper bar and tightened. cut off excess after tight. beats taping wrenches to sticks or the pressed in nuts.




cut grill for tow hook

[STANG KILLA SS]

brake cooling time!
I started with Lambert/Quantum Fog light ducts and some race mesh



added a slim aluminum cobb LED DRL light to replace the fogs and add some style. i just wired them to the factory fog light plugs.


ducts and mesh in


lights test




surprisingly bright


bumper/splitter re-enforcement installed


ducts on fog ducts, and grill misc stuff reinstalled


factory under bumper duct inlet, i cut off the tube 1" inside of the wheel well (inside bumper)


and here it is with the fog light ducts connected to the factory wheel well duct with the wheel well pulled back. the silver line is where the wheel well intersects the hard duct.
you can also see the LEDs wired to the fog plug and the factory opening for the brake duct now disconnected.


after 4-5 test fits the bumper is back on finally!

[STANG KILLA SS]

next was time to install the spindle ducts.
first i had to remove the wheel speed sensor and cut off the bracket.


bracket dremeled off


upgraded the factory padlets to 1 piece hawks. had great luck with these on the camaro on track.


Lambert/Quantum competition spindle ducts installed. kit also came with the peices to fully enclose 360 degrees, but i chose to leave those off. also came with tie rod heat shields. left those off too.


factory plastic wheel well duct connected to the spindle duct. keep in mind the suspension is at full droop here. the two line up pretty close when at ride height.



rotor and caliper reinstalled. pic from the back side. seals against the rotor hub pretty good.



wheel clearance at ride height. TONS o room. at least an inch everywhere. way better than i ever had in the camaro.


finished pics coming soon!

[hpiguy]

Nice work Cory!

[JatoTheRipper]

That's a good looking car. The C6 is one of the best looking body style Vettes for sure.

[Tommy R]

Pics, dammit! Pics!

[hpiguy]

To hell with pics, I want some video dammit!