Mods
1984 corvette chassis, sans body, motor, and trans
1990 Jeep YJ cowl and windshield
2001 Silverado LQ4 donor engine
1991 corvette 700R4 transmission
VS Racing turbos and intercooler piping
2-1 intercooler
EFI Source Gold Box Megasquirt 3 24X with standalone LS harness
A whole bunch of 1.75” DOM tubing and 1” square tube.
1990 Jeep YJ cowl and windshield
2001 Silverado LQ4 donor engine
1991 corvette 700R4 transmission
VS Racing turbos and intercooler piping
2-1 intercooler
EFI Source Gold Box Megasquirt 3 24X with standalone LS harness
A whole bunch of 1.75” DOM tubing and 1” square tube.
Build story
Well, I saw a Craigslist ad for 1984 Corvette front and rear suspension for sale, and thought I’d use it on a ‘64 Rambler American my wife liked. The Rambler was equal parts rust and sludge, but was a blank slate. When I talked to the guy selling the Corvette parts I asked what he was doing with the rest of the chassis, as having the suspension mounting points would aid in making a jig. He said “I’m scrapping it, you can have the rest of the car for another $100 with a a title,” so I took it.
When I got it home I realized it would be far easier to put a motor in the vette chassis and have some Roadkill-style fun than swap the suspension into the Rambler.\r
Sloppy Mechanics supplied the inspiration to get a junkyard LS into it, so I got a LQ4 off Craigslist for $500 and a 700R4 from a 1991 Vette for $300. I originally went with the 700R4 because the C4 Vettes don’t use a transmission cross member, they have a C-channel bolted to the trans tail going to the aluminum Dana 30 differential. I couldn’t get it to shift right and it rarely went into 4th, so I picked up a 4L80E, made a trans crossmember that tied into the cage, and had EFI Source add trans control to my Gold Box.
When I opened the motor to swap cams to a Sloppy Stage 2, I discovered that oil changes must have been optional for the donor 2001 Silverado 2500HD. It looked like the remnants of a cookout in there. \r
At that point all bets were off, I stripped it down and hot tanked it, put in new bearings and rings and opened up the gaps to .030” to live with the Chinese turbos and E85! When the aluminum Dana 30 IRS vette rear end eventually explodes, I’ll add the Explorer 8.8 I grabbed off FB marketplace “just in case.”
I’ve found so much inspiration on YouTube to take chances and learn! My skills aren’t that great but I’ve learned so much along the way. I find myself wanting to re-do everything I did early on, but this is the way it sits now!
When I got it home I realized it would be far easier to put a motor in the vette chassis and have some Roadkill-style fun than swap the suspension into the Rambler.\r
Sloppy Mechanics supplied the inspiration to get a junkyard LS into it, so I got a LQ4 off Craigslist for $500 and a 700R4 from a 1991 Vette for $300. I originally went with the 700R4 because the C4 Vettes don’t use a transmission cross member, they have a C-channel bolted to the trans tail going to the aluminum Dana 30 differential. I couldn’t get it to shift right and it rarely went into 4th, so I picked up a 4L80E, made a trans crossmember that tied into the cage, and had EFI Source add trans control to my Gold Box.
When I opened the motor to swap cams to a Sloppy Stage 2, I discovered that oil changes must have been optional for the donor 2001 Silverado 2500HD. It looked like the remnants of a cookout in there. \r
At that point all bets were off, I stripped it down and hot tanked it, put in new bearings and rings and opened up the gaps to .030” to live with the Chinese turbos and E85! When the aluminum Dana 30 IRS vette rear end eventually explodes, I’ll add the Explorer 8.8 I grabbed off FB marketplace “just in case.”
I’ve found so much inspiration on YouTube to take chances and learn! My skills aren’t that great but I’ve learned so much along the way. I find myself wanting to re-do everything I did early on, but this is the way it sits now!