LS2 Rat Rod Build

Maverick6587

Original poster
Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
I was planning on putting the 5.2 in my Saab this year... That got ambushed by a build "bug" after watching Roadkill Nights 2019. My hopes and dreams are to put the rat rod in a Roadkill Nights race and win at least one race, without blowing up.

I'm working on getting a parts list together to build a rat rod. The base is going to be from a 2005-2007 corvette. I'm going to use that frame and the engine. I think I'm going to put a different trans and possibly a different driveshaft for the drivetrain. This will be built from a salvage title running corvette, that I do not own yet. I'm still looking.

From my reading... The stock rear axle and transmission of the C6 can handle an 8 second 1/4 mile. So, I might leave the trans, driveshaft, and rear axle alone to start with.

Most of my time will be spent on the engine. I'm shooting (dreaming) for a 1,000 hp and will be perfectly happy with 700+ hp. I going to completely rebuild it and put a cam, heads, supercharger, etc. The stock LS2 is 400hp, so 700 should be fairly easy to get out of it.

I plan on this taking at least 3 years to get a good parts list and an idea of a body style to build. I only expect to have the drivetrain on the frame and running by year 3, max. The cost of all of this is probably the driving force of what is going to take so long.

I am working with a buddy of mine to have a 3D model of this built in the first year, to make the build a lot easier.


I am open to all suggestions on any part of this build.

Engine upgrade list (as of now):
Trick Flow Specialties 220 LS1 heads
Lunati VooDoo cam (212/218 duration)
Hooker headers
Vortech V-3 Si Supercharger (will I be able to get to 700 hp without the supercharger?)
 
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mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
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This place probably Qualifies as being one of only a few "eBay-Like Sites for Salvage Corvettes" that you might check in on from time to time. Whenever you get a Big Enough Chunk of Money... You should LURK... But Do NOT BID on 'The One' you want to purchase.

Then IN THE LAST 30 SECONDS OF THE BIDDING TIME LIMIT... Make Your Bid and you just might wind up STEALING the Car you want for Pennies on the Dollar. But before you can make such a commitment... Even if you Do Not Want To Buy.... Just Watch what happens REGULARLY as these Offer(s) Rapidly Climb and the Bidding Times END.. Then you can Learn How and When the Winners Wind Up Making a Killing with their Late-Later-Latest Bidding Strategies. Be advised that this place is Just Like The Stock Market for REAL Big Money Makers:

You Can't Make 'The Scene'... If You Ain't Got 'THE GREEN'

But... If you do get SERIOUS about participating... Make sure that you READ THE FINE PRINT---HISTORY OR PROVENANCE-- AND GET THE TITLE-VIN INFORMATION ...FIRST. Then by means of a Careful CAR-FAX and Other Background Research ...you can ensure that the Vehicle you want to Grab at the Last Second is completely unencumbered by any Ownership Challenge Law Suits.

You MUST be Ready to take Immediate Possession from the Holder within X # of Days after obtaining a Winning BID ...or the Vehicle Sale might get Voided. And at ALL Times during these events ...You will have to:

BE ON YOUR TOES... SO YOU DON'T GET HOSED!


Good Luck!

PS

One Last Cautionary Note:

In many cases... These High Performance Vehicles will be Salvaged after involvement in Fatality Crashes where the Driver's-Owners-Passengers have been killed and the Family Survivers just want to get rid of the car.

Consequently... These events bring along the Serious Risks of Health Hazards from Exposure to Disease via Human Blood, Tissue Remnants and Bone Fragments will be left inside of these Wrecks.

For obvious reasons ...Extreme Caution and Correct, Professional De-Contamination Cleanings are a MUST before anyone enters or touches the Vehicle for any disassembly and repairs.
 
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Maverick6587

Original poster
Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
One Last Cautionary Note:

In many cases... These High Performance Vehicles will be Salvaged after involvement in Fatality Crashes where the Driver's-Owners-Passengers have been killed and the Family Survivers just want to get rid of the car.

Consequently... These events bring along the Serious Risks of Health Hazards from Exposure to Disease via Human Blood, Tissue Remnants and Bone Fragments will be left inside of these Wrecks.

For obvious reasons ...Extreme Caution and Correct, Professional De-Contamination Cleanings are a MUST before anyone enters or touches the Vehicle for any disassembly and repairs.
I appreciate the insight on that auction website! It's good to learn the tricks of those eBay-like websites.

Even more, I appreciate the information on why some of those cars that seem to be in good shape are even on that website or others like it. I'm not sure I would have even processed the fact of death related to them being in an auction.

I do only plan on using the frame and the drivetrain from any corvette I find. I will be placing different interior parts in any model that I get.
 

TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,045
Brighton, CO

Maverick6587

Original poster
Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan

TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,045
Brighton, CO
Quit tempting me man.... :badday:
 

Blckshdw

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Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
In many cases... These High Performance Vehicles will be Salvaged after involvement in Fatality Crashes where the Driver's-Owners-Passengers have been killed and the Family Survivers just want to get rid of the car.
I'm not sure I would have even processed the fact of death related to them being in an auction.

I don't think the idea of someone dying in these cars would have immediately crossed my mind either... And then I saw pics 3, 4 & 7 in this auction, and it's all I could think about. :eek:

 

Maverick6587

Original poster
Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
I don't think the idea of someone dying in these cars would have immediately crossed my mind either... And then I saw pics 3, 4 & 7 in this auction, and it's all I could think about. :eek:
OMG! That person probably did not make after that crash. Thick rubber gloves and a hazmat suit would be needed, to even think about ripping that car apart!
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
7,639
Tampa Bay Area
I spent 25 Years of my life wading through the unfortunate endings of so many Human Lives. You can NEVER get over how solemn the moment becomes when you realize that YOU are responsible for their care and keeping when you begin to search for their Killers.

Fatal Car accidents were often some of the hardest scenes to wrap your mind around because what you found in their aftermath at so many street intersections was everything these people ever were ...and everything they might have become ...all taken away from them in one, single, unrecoverable moment.

So many Young People who crave High Performance and High Horsepower Cars are given them well before they've had a chance to understand themselves, their limitations as untrained drivers... and the Laws of Physics that can often overwhelm their senses at the worst possible times. The follow up to investigating those incidents was equally leveling and unforgettable for me ...because of the necessity to alert the "Next of Kin"...face to face.

So when you look over those Corvettes and other seemingly abandoned Fine Peformance Cars... some of them may indeed be Haunted... and the Families of the Decedent Drivers or Passengers will NEVER want to see those vehicles ever again. That makes the Selling of those Wrecks even a bit more Creepy as there is obviously a 'Cottage Industry' that literally Picks over The Bones after those Accidents and then allows others to Bid on the Remains for a Buck.
 
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Maverick6587

Original poster
Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
@MRRSM Were you a police officer/detective? I can't even imagine how it effected you let alone those family members.

Update: Project build has changed... After a lot of research... I found that some of the 2005/2006-2013 corvettes have the ZR1 engine supercharged. That stock engine puts out 638 HP, which is only 62 HP away from what I wanted as my lowest HP to race with.

PLUS! I found this fantastic article (with little details) that shows that the ZR1 can be upgraded to put out 1500 HP.

So, I'll race it at 638-700 HP for the first year at Roadkill Nights and then the following year (hopefully) I'll have it upgraded to at least 1,000-1,200 HP.

I have rear brakes and another strut swap to do on the 97x and then a few months of finding/making money to buy the vette. I'll be tearing it down to basically just the drivetrain and frame and putting a roll cage, a race seat, and a parachute on it for year 1.

If I have time I'll also swap out the master cylinder to be able to do some power adjustments.
 

Maverick6587

Original poster
Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Time to revive this thread!

So, I sold the 5.3 engine but, after months of research I have a better cheaper and easier plan now!

The Junkyard opened last Saturday (5/9/20). They had a smashed 2008 Chevy Express, with a 6.0 L just waiting for me (it's a gen 4 6.0 L)! They open at 8 am, I got there at 5:45 am. I was the first one there. The second guy showed up at 6 am. I ran to the row the van was in and started cranking away at getting that prize out of the engine bay! I pulled the engine and trans together (trans is a 4l80), along with the full wiring harness. It was just a RWD van so, no transfer case or front diff.

New Plan:
I'm only swapping out the cam and springs on the 6.0 and then adding a turbo. That should get me around 1,000 HP from the engine and hopefully about 800 HP at the wheels. I'm probably just going to have someone else rebuild the trans. Still waiting on finding either an SS rear-end or I might use a Strange Engineering S60 (Dana 60). Probably going for the S60.

I'm not initially going to build a rat rot, no time for that now. I'm going to convert my 2006 9-7x into a racer and remove all of the AWD parts, so it's just going to be a RWD vehicle. At least for the this years race. I'll shoot for AWD and NOS next year.

I'll be starting the tear-down next weekend.

In the future maybe I'll make some kind of rat rod out of the 9-7x.
 

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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Noice!
 

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