JS02

Can a vert be made to compete with a high horsepower"600" or will it flex too much

MBonZ28

you obvioulsy have never heard of Gearge Baxter. Car went 9.04 with an LT1 and for awile was the fastest 4th gen around. He ditched the LT1 and started running Extreme street in the PRO series with a blown SBC. I think the car got down to the 8.70s

it is a must to get some aftermarket subframe connecters and you will be even better off with a cage tying it all together too. Convertibles run a little heavier but who cares, chicks dig em!

rskrause

I have weld-on SFC's and a good, welded-in 6-point bar and it's not an issue. A full cage would obviously stiffen it up even more, but full cage and street cars do not mix, IMHO.

Rich

Injuneer

George's best with the 30th SS convert was 8.60 @ 160+ mph. It was making about 1,325 flywheel HP at that point, and weighed about 3,525#.

JS02

Thanks for the info. I have a 97 SS 6M low mile car that I am considering trading for a low mile 97 SS vert. it has a 383 vortech. I was just wondering if subframe connectors would be enough to keep the frame from flexing too much.

Injuneer

If you run an NHRA track, you're going to need a roll bar. That will add some stiffness to the chassis.

George's original setup ran about 750 flywheelHP, and he used a relatively inexpensive set of MAC subframe connectors. I don't think he ever replaced the MAC's, but I know that there was a lot of work done stiffening the floor pan between the SFC's to handle the loads from a torque arm mount, first the Madman TA, and later the Spohn TA. And once it went into the 9's, it had an NHRA certified cage, which added sustantially to the chassis strength.

His only regret with regard to starting with a convertible was the 100# of extra weight. It was sort of interesting to see him drive the car to the track with the top down, make a 9-sec pass, and then drive it home. It only went to the track on a trailer when he decided it needed to get deep in the 9's.