EFI Fuel Injection Engine Management and Ignition Control Systems

Classic Porsche Service: Road & Sport

Mike Jacobson
Factory 2/26 Phoenix St
Warragul 
VIC 3820
AUSTRALIA

M: 0407 399 865

E: mike@spyderautomobiles.com.au

To hear from the owner of the '88 Corvette featured below, click the play button on the recording below. Flash Player upgrade required

'88 Corvette
Once of Mikes recent projects was a complete overhaul on an '88 Corvette.  The project took a while but in the end the result is impressive.   The car had been over heated and as a result damaged both heads and all of the cylinders which would have required a total engine rebuild.  The owner "Tim" wanted to improve the cars performance and convert it from automatic to manual.  So now was the time.   Along with stripping the interior, making a custom dash & lightening the car to make it more suited for club competition.
	An Aluminium 6.0 litre Chev crate engine and 6 speed close ratio HSV Tremec gearbox were bought and fitted to the car.  At this point the V500, custom engine wiring loom and AIM MXL Strada dash were ordered.
By then it was time to start the conversion.  The engine mounting brackets were fabricated and a Camaro sump sourced then the baffled to prevent oil surge.  The exhaust is a set of Commodore extractors which required minor modification on the RHS only.  These were linked to the pre-existing 3" system.  The fuel system is almost standard at the moment with the exception of the adjustable fuel pressure regulator.  Although the fuel pipes had to be replaced & were re-located from the RHS of the car to the LHS, they were fabricated in a thin wall of stainless steel tubing.
	As the Corvette has a torque arm rear suspension and adapting bracket had to be fabricated to connect the gearbox to the torque arm.  While the mechanical side of the work was underway, Tim began stripping the interior, fabricating the custom dash, trims & wiring looms for the chassis.  The fire wall also required re-shaping to fit around the engine which was re-located further back in the chassis to make the car more serviceable & better balanced.   Part of the aim of the project was to reduce the weight of the car; as a result the weight was reduced by 180kg Tim and I wanted to make a few distinguishing features to the project hence the intake system, the dash, the fabricated gear lever.
The end result is a car that is ultra drivable, fast, sounds great & is a unique car in its own right.   One of the best things is that it is still a standard crate engine with 247kw at the wheels & loads of potential for the future with the development planned thanks to the flexibility of the V500, the base components, and the concept of what the car now is.
	Future Developments: re-valved shock absorbers; revised suspension geometry & settings; larger brakes; adjustable brake bias.