Through the first six installments of our project series, we've covered project planning, chassis and suspension, engine, drivetrain, brakes, installing C5 seats in a midyear, engine electronics, exhaust, fuel systems, and the exterior features of the body. In this installment, we'll feature the engine-compartment modifications, and cold-air intake and cooling systems.

Through the first five installments of our Split Personality project series, we've covered project planning, chassis and suspension, engine, drivetrain and brakes, installing C5 seats in a midyear, engine electronics, and exhaust and fuel systems. In this installment, we'll cover the various features of the body and exterior components. In the next installment, we'll cover the engine compartment and cooling system, and in Part 8, the key interior features including the A/C installation. Over the course of this project series, we'll feature each one in enough detail to give you a good idea of what's involved and the sources we used. Since each project is unique, and you'll have your own ideas on the approach to take and components to use, we'll just describe the approach we've taken and what has worked for us. At the very least, we hope it will stimulate some ideas and hopefully save you time.

In our project series thus far, we've covered project planning, chassis, suspension, drivetrain, braking, and installing C5 seats in a midyear. In this installment, we'll address three aspects that will consume quite a bit of your time. These are the various engine-related systems, such as engine electronics, exhaust, fuel, and cooling. In this installment, we'll cover the first three of these and address the cooling system in a future article. Over the course of this project series, we'll cover each one in enough detail to give you a good idea of what's involved and the sources we used. Since each project is unique, and you'll have your own ideas on the approach to take and components to use, we'll just describe the approach we've taken, and what has worked for us.

Over the last several months, we have been talking about our new Project C5X that is being sponsored by Mid America Motorworks. When we last left off, we used Project C5X to show you what to look for when buying a C5. Now it's time to start making some changes to the car and transform this totally stock C5 into a ground-pounding C5, and, hopefully, produce some solid numbers with some basic power adders, and later, plug in some brand-new technology that is affordable.

Welcome to the fifth of six total installments chronicling the transformation of our old "carny" Corvette into the ultimate C2 Vette Rod. Last month, the crew at Corvette Restoration AZ installed the 393 stroker motor, five-speed transmission, and HD radiator/fan assembly. In this issue, we will install our chassis, suspension, brakes, and rearend. The final element of our build will be covered next month, which will detail all other components of the interior and exterior, trim, stereo install, final wrapup, and test drive/shake down. Let's jump into the build.

Welcome to the fourth of six total installments chronicling the assembling of our old "carny" Corvette into the ultimate C2 Vette Rod. Last month, the crew at Corvette Restoration AZ put the finishing touches on the paint and bodywork, and installed the A/C and all-new wiring harnesses. In this issue, we will install our badass 393 stroker, a brand-new Tremec 5-speed, and a twin-fan radiator setup. Before we continue with the build, here are the remaining basic elements of the Timber Wolf C2:
* Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, and Rearend Install
* Interior and Stereo Install, Wrap-Up, and Vehicle Drive Experience

Like virtually every other long-term vehicle project with which we've been involved, Project C4orce has had its share of detours, about-faces, and wrong turns. Frankly, it's surprising that this project has proceeded so smoothly, considering that we're not simply installing existing products, we're also developing new ones. (Which are or will be available for sale through a number of sources.) We're not trying to reinvent the wheel or develop high-tech methods for addressing square peg/round hole interfaces, we're developing components that either don't exist or don't meet our specific requirements or performance criteria.

We recently ran a press release for the new K40 Electronics Calibre Radar and Laser Defuser protection. Due to the ever-present threat of speed traps and the tendency for Corvettes to exceed the speed limit, we decided to try this new product out on Project Shark Attack. K40 promptly sent us their Calibre SL with the Front Laser Defuser system. On a basic level, the K40 protection system is minimally invasive as it uses the new Blue Tooth technology to ease your installation woes. This saves quite a bit of time during the install. There are no holes to cut or drill for cabling, plus there is less wiring to conceal. The K40 interior network module is easy to place, and we all know how limited the interior compartment and underdash area of Corvettes are. The Blue Tooth technology not only saves wiring time under the dash and externally, but the K40 Blue Tooth signature is unique so it won't interfere with the multitude of RF signals occurring under the C4, C5, and C6 Corvette dashes. That is a huge plus when compared to competing systems.

Welcome back to the third of six total installments chronicling the transformation of our humble "carny" Corvette into the ultimate Timber Wolf C2 street fighter. Last month, the crew at Corvette Restoration AZ was working feverishly on the poorly repaired body panels, necessitating the replacement of the front clip and the rear fenders. In this issue, we will finish the bodywork and panel installations, prime and paint the car, and then install the A/C and all-new wiring harnesses. Before we continue with the build, here are the remaining basic elements of this project:

Welcome to the second of six total installments chronicling the transformation of a humble "carny" Corvette into the ultimate C2 street fighter. Last month, we began this build with a stock '64 small-block coupe, basically complete and sound, but very tired. After stripping the paint, we discovered enough poorly repaired body panels to necessitate replacement of the majority of the body, excluding the main body and doors. Since this car is being totally upgraded with current-day technology, a stock body just wouldn't cut it, especially with almost 500 ponies under the hood.

We are going to take you on a journey, not only of space and time but one that includes fiberglass and steel. This journey will encompass the transformation of a domesticated Corvette into a C2 beast, changing a Dr. Jekyll into a Mr. Hyde if you will; one that will lurk the streets at night and rule the roads by day. When its oily lifeblood is warm and circulated, a treacherous scream will be heard coming from under its muscular skin. A scream that will be heard from far, far away, almost like a pack of hungry timber wolves on a clear night.

This is the first installment of a multipart series covering the building of our Pro-Classic '63 Corvette coupe. In this installment, we'll address the beginning of the project: Research & Planning, Establishing a Baseline Budget, and the Car Search Phases. We'll follow the "Pro-Classic Project Planning" outline, which appeared in Corvette Fever in December 2004, and the "Vette-Rods Basics" article that appeared in our February 2006 issue, and put more meat on the bones using our own project as an example. We'll recap the major points from those articles to avoid having to reference them and follow that format throughout the series.

In our last installment, we covered the engine, drivetrain, and brakes. we are busy working on the many remaining tasks for our project, but we thought we would cover one aspect of the interior that has drawn quite a bit of interest lately. There will be more on other interior features in a later installment.

In The Beginning
In the first installment, we addressed the research and planning for our project, including the up-front decisions, the car search, the project and building plans, initial budgeting, and our objectives and theme. In this installment, we will cover the chassis choice and the suspension.

In the late-'80s, gasoline and fast food hamburgers were relatively cheap, and the then-current Corvette (C4) was relatively expensive. During the intervening years, things have changed dramatically. The price of gasoline and hamburgers has jumped, while the cost of a '86-'88 Corvette has plummeted. That's perfectly understandable because Corvettes of that era are now just under or just over 20 years old, but, hopefully, that's not the case with the gas or burger you just purchased.

Maybe you're restoring your Corvette or just can't stand another hot summer with the A/C turned off because your Corvette runs too hot. It's probably time to replace your original copper/brass radiator with a high-efficiency aluminum unit. You know what we mean. You can run the A/C as long as you're moving at highway speeds, but even at speed, the temperature is elevated. When you sit in traffic and idle for a while, the temperature continues to creep up and your anxiety builds. You've tried all the easy stuff, including a lower temperature thermostat, maybe added an electric fan (if you have an engine-driven fan), or possibly tried some miracle cooling liquids. Nothing you have done so far has helped. No problem. A new aluminum radiator can save your Corvette from major future damage.

In our last installment, we covered the chassis and suspension. Now we will address the engine and its accessories, the drivetrain, and the braking systems.

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When we initially began Project Shark Attack, the car desperately needed an overdrive transmission of some sort. At the time, PSA was using the old school Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed, so a new tranny was a high priority. We initially wanted the O/D to slow the engine down and reduce some of the noises associated with the higher rpm of the original Borg-Warner. Engine and transmission heat is also lessened when the rotating pieces are slowed down, so when we chose the Keisler Engineering Tremec O/D five-speed, the choice was a win-win situation. At that time, the fuel costs were relatively cheap. It's hard to believe when we began the project, premium fuel could be found for $1.50-$1.75 a gallon, and we thought that was outrageous. With prices hovering around $3 a gallon, we're now ecstatic about the change to a more favorable tranny. higher gas prices are here to stay, and the Keisler Tremec PerfectFit five-speed O/D transmission makes the road trips easier on the wallet.

Last year, we ran an article on several projects for your Corvette that could be done easily over a weekend. Due to the popularity of that article, we have decided to add several more straightforward projects you can tack on to the original list. These projects will improve both the mechanical and appearance aspects of your Corvette. all the projects can be done with simple hand tools, and we have included a realistic timeframe to complete the project.

The dyno results are in, and the new 383 Project Shark Attack engine isready to install. We broke in the camshaft using an 800-cfm Holleycarburetor, but we finished the dyno testing with a Holley throttle-bodyfuel-injection unit. We made the same horsepower with better torquenumbers in most areas with the Holley TBI unit. We'll discuss the tuningand dynamics of the Holley throttle-body injection in an upcoming issue.

Our Project Shark Attack '79 Corvette is beginning to take on its newpersona, and we'll cover our 383 engine build in this installment. Wementioned previously that the L98 cylinder block was cracked in thelifter-valley area and we hoped we'd be able to repair it.Unfortunately, it was so badly damaged that we needed another cylinderblock. Fortunately, we had another four-bolt-main (roller-camshaft)truck cylinder block left over from an earlier project. Sometimes wewonder why we keep all those old parts lying around. Now we know.

Now that we've had a while to mull it over, the '87 L98 Corvette enginemakes good sense for our Shark Attack Corvette. While we could haverebuilt the original 350 engine, the old-style small-block driprails andtwo-piece crankshaft seal would have come back to bite us later. We knowthe history of this L98 and even though it has 100,000 miles on theclock, it's still in fair shape. The L98's previous owner opted for a383 cid engine to gain some stealth horsepower. He found the replacement383 engine in a local newspaper at a low price and, once disassembled,the internals reflected why it was so reasonable. We're not implyingthat purchasing an engine in this manner is a bad thing. But thepurchaser needs to know what to look for and should, at the very least,remove the oil pan to look at all the rotating pieces.

We finally drove Project Shark Attack out of the shop to give it amuch-needed wash. The brake issue still isn't solved, so we weren't ableto drive on the road, but we did use the e-brake for low-speed stopping.The dilemma is: Do we just put basic stainless steel-sleeved calipers onthe car, or upgrade to the Force 10 aluminum calipers from StainlessSteel Brakes? There is a considerable difference in price, but theperformance gain is dramatic. The SSBC calipers save weight and havemore clamping force.

The front suspension parts are back from the powdercoating shop and theylook great. All parts from Corvette Central are here and ready forassembly.