Super Chevy – September 2019

58 SUPER CHEVY SEPTEMBER^2019

TECH

to go carbon-fiber. Why? Well, the

length we need, combined with the

power output of our engine, would

have required a 4-inch aluminum

driveshaft, but that was too large for

the shaft loop in our chassis. By going

with carbon we could run a smaller

diameter and still have the strength

and, more importantly, make our crit-

ical speed numbers. There’s a lot of

science behind driveshafts, so expect

a more detailed story in the future.

Sending the power to our wheels is

left to the Strange Engineering rear-

end. We chose 3.70 gears, but there’s

a chance that, after driving the car,

we may opt for 3.50 gears. We won’t

know what’s best until we hit a track

or two. The case is their heavy-duty

aluminum piece, which knocked 10

pounds from our unsprung weight.

For a posi we’re running the track-

proven Detroit Truetrac from Eaton.

It’s a lot of puzzle pieces that all have

to fit together, but, more importantly,

work together.

Once the chassis is appropriately

kitted out we will slide it under our

wagon and see what needs to be cut,

clearanced, or otherwise modified

to meld the two together. We also

need to add a fuel tank since the

stock one, located in the driver-side

O

ur two-ton wagon project is chugging along and

with the new Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis assembled

it was time to start filling it with performance parts.

Yeah, we know it’s a four-door station wagon, but we have big plans

for our ’71 Chevelle, including open road racing, standing mile, and

even trying to embarrass some cars at the autocross. We’ve embraced

the fact that our Chevelle will tip the scales at an estimated 4,500

pounds, so the only place we’re trying to save weight is in the

unsprung areas.

The beauty of working on a full chassis car is that when the frame

is away from the car it’s incredibly easy to install parts. Given this, we

want to have the complete driveline installed, along with most of the

hard lines, before sending the chassis to its new home under the wagon.

Of course, the main actor in our play is the ProCharged LS3

stroker built by Shafiroff Racing in New York. It pumped out 987 hp

without breaking a sweat, and while we’re going to dial it down for

pump gas, the potential for 1,000 hp is only a pulley and some octane

away. Backing up the LS is a Magnum six-speed kit from American

Powertrain. Nothing beats rowing gears and the Magnum is the best

choice out there. Working our way back, the next item to figure out

was the driveshaft, which for the wagon is longer than average at 55.5

inches. After talking with GForce Performance Engineering we opted

KITTING OUT

TIME TO START ADDING PERFORMANCE PARTS

TO OUR ROADSTER SHOP FAST TRACK CHASSIS

Story Steven Rupp (^) + Photos the Author