Tom Snitzers 02 Z06 Warhawk 427 Track Car
This update from: 02/06/2009

Tom Snitzer had us find him a Corvette that we could start with to make him a track car. We found this Southern 2002 Z06 for $23,000, the car has 80,000 miles, but it was kept in excellent condition. We weighed this Z06 when it arrived, and with a full tank of gas it only weighed 3,170 pounds.



This Z06 came to us with a Borla exhaust system installed on it.



All the way around, this car was straight and was in great shape!



The wheels had no road rash on them, we sold them pretty quickly to another customer of ours.



The seats were the most worn of anything on the car, which is common with these Corvettes. Still, we found a buyer for them pretty quickly.



We needed to start dismantling this Z06 before we grew too attached!



Here come the parts! It didn't take long for Jesse to reduce this Corvette to a pile of parts.







It sure doesn't look much like a Corvette now, does it!



We odered a custom fiberglass dash for where the original one resided.







New body parts have arrived! Tom ordered carbon fiber front fenders, hood and front nose, and new fiberglass rear body panels. Tony can be seen here unloading all the parts.



Four wheels and tires showed up that Tom ordered. We taped the rims so they wouldn't get scuffed up.



We decided for this track car we would use motor plates to secure the engine to the chassis, instead of relying on the factory motor mounts. This ties the engine directly to the chassis, making for a stronger platform.





Tom wanted a car that he could go out and practice with, day after day, month after month, without the car requiring much maintainance. We felt that if we could get the weight of the car low enough, a larger LS1 derived engine with some compression to it would handle the job naturally aspirated.
Once we get the drivetrain back into the car, Eurosport Racing over in Illinois will be installing new brakes, moteC computer system, suspension and cage. The car will then come back to us to fire up the new combination and tune it in.



We opted to go with the new World Products Warhawk engine block, and the cubic inch on this one will work out to 427 cid. This is one stout engine that can handle more than 2000 hp when using forced induction.





We are using a Calles Dragonslayer crankshaft, which is one of the best crankshafts that can be used in an LS1 engine.





Diamond pistons are being used, which are our favorites for these engines.



We used Callies Compstar rods for this engine, another one of our favorites.



We used Total Seal rings in almost all of our engine builds.









The ETP six bolt per cylinder heads have arrived! We waited and waited for these heads to arrive, as they held this build up for many months. Good things don't happen overnight though, and these heads are some of the best you can buy.





The Comp cam we had ground for this engine is now installed and degreed in.



The longblock is now assembled and we're moving on to the oil system.



We are using a Bill Daly dry sump oil system. Brent spend a lot of time talking to Bill Daly about the oil system for this engine, and Bill was extremely helpful.





With a dry sump oil system, the oil is held in an external tank, which ends up giving a lot more clearance under the engine.





We are using an LS7 intake manifold, and a Nick Williams 90mm throttle body.



We are using a Comp camshaft that we had ground to our spec's for this build. The camshaft is a thumper but we kept in mind that this engine needs to also produce torque. We're excited to see how much power this engine is going to produce!



We are now ready for the new Tilton clutch assembly!



Brent can be seen here applying Loctite to the flywheel bolts.



The Tilton clutch and pressure plate are very lightweight, which will allow this engine to rev much faster than it would with a heavier clutch assembly.



Here is one last look at the Tilton oil pump, hopefully the new Kooks headers we have for the car will clear this pump.



We had RPM Transmissions rebuild the Z06 M12 transmission to their Stage V spec's, and we also had them micropolish the gears. Micropolishing the gears makes them take on a chrome appearance, reducing friction and they then operate like a jewel movement in a watch. RPM also rebuilt the differential and supplied us with a C6 Z06 right hand shaft to beef up the drivetrain.





We're now ready for the engine!







This engine isn't going anywhere, which is what we intended!



Hmm, the header won't fit!



As we were worried about, the headers don't clear the dry sump oil system!





We cut back the header tube that we have to modify to get the headers to bolt on, and we ordered header tubing from Kooks so that we can route the header tube around the pump. 



A cover is going to need to be fabricated to shield the flywheel, as the dry sump system does not take us as much room as a wet sump system would.



The Kooks stepped headers look great, and as usual, they fit better than any other headers we have used.



Brent used RTV on both sides of the engine plates where the water pump bolts up to them, and bolted the pump on. The accessories are now hooked back up on the front of the engine.



Kooks promptly sent out two stainless steel J bends for us, and we modified and welded the header back together.





It's almost starting to look like a Corvette again, now that the drivetrain is bolted back in. Those new tires are going to look cool on here with the new bodywork!



There interior is all ready for Eurosport Racing to dive in!





The pictures below were taken at Eurosport Racing. Tom's car looks great!







Shown  is adjustable telescoping steering column. In the event of impact, column telescopes (shortens to protect driver). It’s easy to adjust the height of the steer wheel and move in/out from driver.



Pictured here is the progress on cage to accommodate the new ACP roof. The new roof allows the removal of the A and B pillars (no longer required with cage). That sheds about 40+ lbs from the car (especially up high where the weight is not wanted) and allows us to expand the area of the cage almost 2" in all directions as the pillars and interior inserts are removed.



Cage work is almost complete. Shown is added Petty support bar which is removable for passenger. Additional Lexan Windshield support bar is final addition to complete cage.





Ultra shield seats just arrived. Will be bolted into steel frame rails which will be welded to frame for more secure seat mount.







The front and rear fascias are flaired to provide an extra 2". That allows 345s rear and 315 front with no tubbing.

Pics of body with new ACP roof in place. Really increases cockpit area as we can move cage out approx 2” in most directions after removal of A and B pillars.



Kit avail in fiberglass or carbon. Tom purchased the kit in fiberglass for qtr panels plus carbon products: world challenge hood, front nose with ram air opening for radiator, front splitter/undertray, roof and rear undertray.





We can't wait to get this car back to break in and tune the new engine.



This is going to be the color scheme that is going on this Z06, this Vette is going to look awesome!



Dailey dry sump oil tank 13 qts.



Brembo GTR Monoblock brakes have arrived (15 inch front rotors/14 inch rears)



Shown below are reworked swing arms with spherical bearings (replacing normal OEM rubber bushings), new uprights (2.5 inches taller than OEM) to bring swing arms back into proper geometry after car lowered approx 2.5 – 3 inches and JRZ 3 way coil overs. Also to be attached with spherical bearings. Thanks to DRM for the great job you did on the swing arms!









Above is shown one of the car’s nitrogen jacks.



The wiring is taking shape!  Shown below is install of Motec computer system with an in- progress wiring harness to replace OEM computer. The main switch panel with be covered with a carbon fiber face plate that will be integrated into the carbon fiber dash.





Everything is coming together and the engine looks awesome in there!



 The FAST suit system can be seen here, as well as the cooler and the battery.





Here is a pic of the tranny and diff cooler install. They are located on either side of the rear.




Front suspension/Brembo GTR monoblock w spindle ducts installed (see upper right)





Rear suspension/brakes: JRZ 3 way coil overs, custom fab uprights (2.5 inches higher to allow approx 3” lowering of car while maintaining proper swing arm geometry), spherical bearings installed for swing arms, upright connections and coil over connections points, Brembo GTR monoblock brakes and custom fab rear toe links.



Tom's track car showed up at our shop late Saturday. The guy's can be seen here looking it over.  We'll have it up and running asap.



George at eurosport did an excellent job on the plumbing on the car, everything looks real tidy.











The first thing we had to do was to remove the rear suspension and transmission so we could swap out a fitting in the oil system. It was easier for us to get to the fitting this way than it would of been to take the engine back out. Dustin and Kevin are shown in this picture.











We swapped out the GM starter for an MSD starter that we offer for sale. We had to remove the passenger side Kooks header to swap out the starter. The MSD pn# 5096 can handle a lot more compression than the factory starter. We wrapped it in heat shielding material to protect it.



The Kooks headers fit like a glove!



The Warhawk is alive, man is this thing responsive! The 13.5/1 compression ratio will do that for an engine!
Brent and George from Eurosport Racing are tuning the engine with the Motec software.







George from Eurosport Racing  can be seen in the car with a laptop.

So far we are at 580 rwhp, not bad at all for an N/A engine on a Mustang Chassis Dyno!The valves are floating up top so we have some Ferrera valvesprings on oder, we're sure there is a little more power to be found.




We didn't hit 600 rwhp, but this N/A engine has a very broad torque curve! As light as this car is going to be, this engine is going to make the car fly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jEbJbjhoSY
Video of this Corvette on our dyno in action. 



The body is getting painted, it's getting close!











The two tone color really looks cool!



The Motec wiring is shown getting hooked back up after the car was painted.





It is coming together very nicely, George is doing  a great job! Shown here is the carbon fiber dash and the Motec LCD.



Here is the fire protection system.



Shown in these two pictures are the hand fabricated sway bars.





The rear wing is shown being mounted.



The front brake ducts are shown here getting installed. Next the front bumper, splitter and undertray will be getting attached.





10/30/08

















This Corvette looks great from any angle! The sunlight really brings out the vibrant colors!



Proudly standing next to his track car is Tom Snitzer.



Standing in front of the track car from left to right are Brent, Tom, and George.



Time for this Corvette to get sorted out on the Autobahn course in Illinois!











Tom's car reportedly was turning 1:02 lap times on the North track yesterday while getting sorted out!

2/6/09

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/autocrossing-and-roadracing/2242172-finally-video-from-inaug-voyage.html#post1568800010

New video above of Tom's Corvette from it's inaugural first day at the track.

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