I agree, rdorman, let's not get carried away.
I think this is all Dad's fault (isn't everything our parents fault?!) --he owned a '54 Vette, then sold it and went to work at Ford!
This has got to be some mental subconscious thing with me! I figure it's all good unless my loafers start getting light!
Let's get back on track...
I don't know yet how much the C4 (4th gen Vette for you, Real 1!) kit costs--I'm STILL waiting for email response from Cobras N Vettes. But the kit should be considerably less if you use all of the Chevy stuff you can: frame, power train, suspension, steering, brakes, wheels, tires, etc. All that's really left to purchase is the body, windshield, a wiring kit, guages, shifter, carpet, aluminum panels, hinges, etc. --and that stuff costs about the same for every kit (that's where I get the $5000 figure). There is no reason why this wouldn't make a decent kit if you build it right and drop in Ford power...except for a possible weight distribution problem--but even that can't be far off or too difficult to adjust.
Someone said that the '84 handled badly because it was a rough ride. Actually, it handles so well because of its stiff ride. He was right in that folks didn't like it because of its ride, however, pansies and ladies were the ones who didn't like the ride--Car and Driver called itthe best handling car int he world!
Oh, but that was 20 years ago, right? Well, engineers have been trying to design cars to ride nice, yet still handle...like the '84 vette! That's why later in the C4 generation engineers designed suspension systems with a switch to go from stiff ride (for better handling) to soft ride for the ladies! Coil-over shocks attempt to provide good handling and a comfortable ride in one package--and do a pretty decent job at it! But just because the '84 vette's suspension is 20 years old doesn't mean it isn't the ultimate suspension system...
...need I remind you about the 40-year-old, 0-60 in 3.6 second Cobra coupe? Do you know many cars today can do 0-60 in 3.6 seconds? You can count them on one hand. And they all cost in excess of 6 figures. I wonder what would happen if you used the '84 chassis in a Cobra coupe?!
Maybe I ought to be talking to Bruce Engineering about this...
If Ford and Chevy got together on a cheap supercar for today using previously-engineered systems, what systems from what past vehicles would be in it? What would it look like?
OK...your turn
