Zora's Laboratory (Vette Dev. Stuff)

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Beta 8.3 Released!!!
October 5th, 2009.

You may now download it from Filefront:

http://www.filefront.com/14660217/63VetteBeta8.3.zip

or the Legacy of Lies Developer Uploads Server:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/63VetteBeta8.3.zip

In addtion, for RLPAU users, I've released this version, which works better with RLPAU:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/63VetteBeta8.3 RLPAU.zip

This is actually a re-release of the Alpha 4 of the Wide Wheel. Is this complicated? Well....that's why I'm releasing this plug. There shouldn't be two C2 Z06 plugs floating around. The completely stock Z06 Beta, 8.2, is still the same old car, so if you're not into the Wide Wheel then you don't need this upgrade to avoid a DFM. For those of you who didn't download Alpha 4 of the Wide Wheel, as it was a limited release, it included the following changes from Alpha 3...

-swaybars changed to 25000front/22000rear to cut down on understeer and achieve greater control of the front end

-maxClutchTorqueTransfer changed to 238.99 to reflect 56% of gross horsepower, with the intention being to make the car easier to launch and drift

Okay, so these are only two changes. In practice, however, they make the car much more stable and less "weird," as people were saying. It can smoke its tires now, albeit only by a chirp, and the understeer and unpredictable response of the steering that troubled Alpha 3 has been moderated a great deal. Currently, I can't even detect it, so my inclination right now is to turn my attention to the rest of the Vette Pack and sit on this Beta for now. I hope you all like it.

I spent my free time today working on the Vette Pack, but this meant going over the C1 and the C3 Corvettes to work the bugs out of them and improve some of the modelling on the C1's. I'm not going to actually redo the C1 Corvettes quite as much as I originally planned, as the C2's have taken up a lot more of my time than I was expecting. Tomte's spreadsheets that I used on the C2 project did help me to improve the C1, though, basically making the dimensions more accurate, with the pleasant surprise that it also improved the handling.

As for what do with the C2 Corvettes next, I'm set to release another Beta in the next few days, including a tweak of the Z06 Wide Wheel, and maybe an Alpha of the Grand Sport. As I've said before, though, the other C2 Corvettes besides the Z06, especially the big blocks, were easier to stabilize. Right now, my main dilemma with them is whether to do an L88 race car. I've already done two street ones, one with radials and one without, but it's kind of a no-brainer that a factory race package should be available in a full-race version in Redline. The problem, really, is that this project is already reaching gargantuan proportions, and I haven't even done any C2 convertibles yet!!! Ultimately, I don't want to do any convertibles this time around, since it would be much too much work and take too much time. The L88 might be worth it, though, since it would only be one more car, and would make this upgrade to the Vette Pack more logical. The next pack could then include the proper upgrade to the C1, a C1 coupe, and a C2 convertible or two.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette C2 Beta 8.4 Released!!!
October 9th, 2009.

You may now download it from Filefront:

http://www.filefront.com/14683459/63VetteBeta8.4.zip

or the Legacy of Lies Developer Uploads Server:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/63VetteBeta8.4.zip

In addtion, for RLPAU users, I've released this version, which works better with RLPAU:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/63VetteBeta8.4 RLPAU.zip

This is another handling tweak on the C2 Z06, although this time I've been more thorough, going over both the standard and wide wheel versions, making the following changes...

-changed maxClutchTorqueTransfer on Wide Wheel to 241.12 to reflect 56.5% of gross horsepower on wide wheel, with the intention being to make the car easier to launch and drift

-changed differentialLockCoefficient back to 100, as 90 no longer seems to work as well with the current suspension settings

-changed rearSwayBar to 35000 to cut down on understeer and improve control of the front end

-changed car name on standard wheel Z06 to avoid confusion

And....there's one other new goody in this Beta. I've included an Alpha of the Grand Sport so that people can start racing it. I want it to be the best car in the pack, if possible, so even though it already handles pretty well (I think), sometimes it can still be a handful simply because it's so fast. In fact, although there were some very fast race cars in the 1960's, like the Porsche 917, that could go 0-60 in less than 3 seconds, I doubt a Corvette Grand Sport could have. I think everything but the 917 would have been a dragster, come to think of it. Does anybody know the real figure for the Grand Sport? In the meantime, you can just enjoy driving insanely fast, I guess.

The Grand Sport is nearly perfect! Great model, and I absolutely love the handling. Had a couple MP races at Rudskogen yesterday. Was a blast. I'd say the only problem are the brakes (I know you're working on this). Don't change the handling though!

Haven't tested the Z06 yet.

Good work!

P.S. lovely engine sound for the GS

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Beta 8.5 Released!!!
November 7th, 2009.

You may now download it from Filefront:

http://www.filefront.com/14880255/63VetteBeta8.5.zip

or the Legacy of Lies Developer Uploads Server:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/63VetteBeta8.5.zip

In addtion, for RLPAU users, I've released this version, which works better with RLPAU:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/63VetteBeta8.5 RLPAU.zip

This is a tweak of the engine settings on the Z06, following testing with an estimated net horsepower rating of 270, which may be high, but which is probably close. Both versions of the Z06 still have the same gross horsepower ratings, but should handle better now that they can throttle steer a little bit more accurately. I hope so, anyway. The 0-60 times are slightly improved also, without sacrificing higher-end torque the way an attempt at net horsepower versions would. Most importantly, they now deliver the lap times that I've been aiming for the past few weeks. The changes are...

-changed maxClutchTorqueTransfer on stock Z06 to 235.9 to reflect performance numbers measured during net horsepower testing

-maxClutchTorqueTransfer on wide wheel to 245 to reflect performance numbers measured during net horsepower testing

I've also included Alpha 2 of the Grand Sport in this pack, which has so far been only a limited release for research. It's been so well received that one or two people have asked for it to be made 1.0, so I've at least included it as-is in this public release. The only change to the Grand Sport from Alpha 1 is that it now has the brakes set at 5000front/1650rear, due to problems controlling Alpha 1 on Rudskogen.

This probably won't be the final beta, but I believe that it's enough of an improvement to warrant a new release, as the lap times in testing are a tangible improvement.

Vette Convertibles Plug-in for Redline, Version 1.5 released.
November 17th, 2009

You may download it from Filefront:

http://www.filefront.com/14940767/VetteConvertibles_1.5.zip

or the Legacy of Lies Developer Uploads Server:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/VetteConvertibles_1.5.zip

This plug-in was originally meant to be a "collectible" plug-in of sorts to hold you all over until I released my upcoming Vette Pack. The beta testing process for this plug also yielded vital data towards the Vette Pack's development, so I need to thank everyone who participated in the testing process. In particular, I should thank Thomm, Tomte, NoNameBrand, Renesis, DJPimley, Kishkumen, and the many other people in the Redline community who gave me expert advice, as well as, sometimes, actual parts to work with. For example, Thomm gave me an Exige sound which was first used as the sound for the L88, but which now has been replaced with some new sound files which I think are more accurate. Kishkumen, on the other hand, gave me the idea for photorealistic gauges in Version 1.2, and I could city many more examples. An additional thank you must be given to Jonas Echterhoff, Marcus Conge, David Drew, and the Redline development team, not only for producing a great game, but also for developing the original C3 Corvette model that forms the original car that this Redplug is based on. In fact, come to think of it, I've changed so many other things that it's the only original thing left in the car.

In any case, getting to the story of this latest version...this update is intended to bring the Vette Convertibles pack in line with the standards of the new Vette Pack 1.5, as there are a number of accuracy and handling improvements. These include...

-removed the version number from the redplug in order to eliminate a conflict with RLPAU that people have been complaining about

-corrected all 1968-1972 stock Vettes' tires to 215mm width to match "F" vintage tire specs

-changed swaybars on all C3 L88's to 20000front/37500rear

-new wheel textures on the C3 L88 Convertible racer

-made stock L88 sound louder

-changed suspensionFriction to 400 on all C3 L88's

In conclusion.....:-)......I hope that you enjoy this special collectible plug, and that it will help to hold you over until I can release the new Vette Pack 1.5 update.

Battlewagon wrote:
-new wheel textures on the C3 L88 Convertible racer

I really love that car – handling, behavior, sound and look.

But hard to remember her name (OK, my problem) as well as finding her name while browsing the car list. ;-)

The Vette Pack, Version 1.5 released.
November 21st, 2009.

Cars mostly by Battlewagon, at least in terms of the .car files, 1953 Corvette by Battlewagon, original Corvette C3 model from Redline, and original, original '57 Vette model by Renesis (before I vastly redid it to resemble a full-sized one).

In any case, you may download the pack from Filefront:

http://www.filefront.com/14962275/VettePack_1.5.zip

or the Legacy of Lies Developer Uploads server:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/VettePack_1.5.zip

If you can't stand the huge size of the standard Vette Pack, I've also released a "Lite" version, that only includes the 6 most basic cars here:

http://www.filefront.com/14962299/VettePackLite_1.5.zip

or here:

http://www.legacyoflies.com/devuploads/battlewagon/VettePackLite_1.5.zip

It's personal choice, really. The Split up version of the Vette Pack Lite is no longer available due to lack of demand. If anyone wants a custom plug, though, feel free to personal message me.

In any case, getting to the pack itself, this project was never originally supposed to be so huge, involved, educational, or time-consuming, as I was hoping, by the end of the summer of 2007, to release a good, full-size version of Renesis's '57 Vette (at his request), and a Corvette L88 and ZL1 I had been working on. I was also working, half-heartedly, on a drag racer and an LT1/ZR1, but from there it snowballed. Released originally on June 15th, 2008, the pack now contains over 37 cars, most of them with a number of textures, and in fact I have so many different cars I haven't included them all, for fear of annoying all of you. This plug is, I think, the largest car plug ever made for Redline up until now...by anyone, and I didn't want to make it impossibly so. As it is, I think it reflects the spirit of real Corvette owners, who like all of them, and if it weren't for money, would probably own every single model ever made. My problem isn't money...as this is Redline...but time. I can't spend my whole life on this game!! :-)

This new version is, in a sense, the most important upgrade to the pack since I started, as it fills the gap between the C1 and C3 generations with an all-year collection of C2 Corvettes.

Originally, I was just hoping to include a 1963 Corvette, either a Z06 or an L84, in Version 1.3 or 1.4, but that never happened because of all the other stuff I had to do. This version of the pack has, in turn, taken so long that I've also managed to come up with a lot of fixes to the existing C1 and C3 Corvettes. For now, I'll just go over the main changes, and you can find out the rest either from the Vette Pack guide, or by trying the pack in-game....

-restored all bias-ply tires to wheels.Stickiness -0.1, due to overwhelming public demand

-added gauge and radio textures to the C1 Vettes

-cleaned up interior model UV maps on C1 Vettes

-new body models on all C1 Vettes

-raised front wheel positions on the C1's to 355mm, and the rears to 365mm

-raised all steering wheel models, interior models, driver models, license plate models, and light sources 255mm on the C1's

-C1 brakes changed to 1300front/300rear, except for on the C1 racer, which stays unchanged, and the R.P.O. 684, which has been changed to 1500front/300rear

-'53 Vette weight distribution corrected to 53%front/47%rear to reflect Blue Flame engine, and moments of inertia corrected accordingly

-rearSwayBar on standard '57 Vette downgraded to 24000 for better stability

-added C2 standard Coupe, C2 Z06, Z06 Wide Wheel, Z06 Racer, Z06 Flared Fender, C2 Hot Rod, C2 Grand Sport, C2 L84, C2 L78, C2 L72, C2 L89, C2 L88, C2 L88 with radials, C2 L88 Racer, and C2 L88 Le Mans Racer.

-corrected wide wheel specs on both C1 and C2 Vettes to 8.2X15 (210mm wide) both front and rear

-reorganized C3 folder, with many file name changes to accomodate the new C2 folder

-cleaned up safety light sources on C3 race cars

-corrected displacement on C3 Top Fuel

-corrected torque on C3 Top Fuel

-corrected all 1968-1972 stock Vettes' tires to 215mm width to match "F" vintage tire specs

-changed C3 L75 and L79 engine settings as follows
-jerkRPM changed to 500rpm
-engineInertia changed to 0.45
-enginebaseFriction changed to 35.0
-engineRPMFriction changed to 0.03
-clutchRPM changed to 1600rpm

-changed swaybars on all C3 L88's (except for the LeMans) to 20000front/37500rear

-new driver textures on the C3 L88 race cars

-new wheel textures on the C3 L88 CanAm

-reintroduced the C3 L88 LeMans as a 1968 model, based on the Henri Greder version
The 1968 L88 LeMans has the following changes from the 1969...
-new Henri Greder paint scheme
-new add-ons
-new light sources to match the add-ons
-a 2.56 differential to match the real car
-maxClutchTorqueTransfer increased to 659, which is almost equal to gross torque
-changed swaybars to 20000front/40000rear

-made stock L88 and ZL1 sounds louder

-changed suspensionFriction to 400 on all C3 L88's

-corrected C3 L89 torque to 460lb/ft.

-corrected interiorModel tag in L89 to make sure correct interior model appears in game

-added orange texture to stock ZL1 in order to portray the newly-discovered "third" ZL1

-corrected ZL1 moments of inertia

-changed swaybars on all ZL1 Vettes but the racer to 20000front/37500rear

-lowered suspensionFriction on all ZL1 Vettes to 400

-changed swaybars on the ZL1 racer to 40000front/57500rear

-added year 1969 to ZL1 crate name

-ZL1 Saturday Night Special rear slicks corrected to 230mm, and front tires corrected to 215mm non-slicks

-changed swaybars on LT1/ZR1 to 20000front/40000rear

-changed suspensionFriction on LT1/ZR1 to 400

-changed maxClutchTorqueTransfer on LT1/ZR1 to 302.64 in order to simulate 69% of gross horsepower, and to achieve accurate acceleration, at least 0-60

-changed swaybars on LS6/ZR2 to 20000front/37500rear

-changed suspensionFriction on LS6/ZR2 to 400

-changed maxClutchTorqueTransfer on LS6/ZR2 to 323.88 in order to simulate 60% of gross horsepower, and to achieve accurate acceleration, at least 0-60

-full upgrade of Vette Pack Guide, with new screenshots and specs to reflect changes

Getting on to the new cars for this version of the pack....


Corvette C2 Coupe [1963]
0-60 6.8 seconds
0-100 16.2 seconds
0-100-0 22.4 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:15'20 @ 97 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 117 m.p.h.
1963 saw the first complete redesign of the Corvette since its introduction 10 years earlier, and is considered by some automotive historians to be the most classic of all Corvette years. The second generation of Corvettes is designated "C2," and is different from the first-generation C1 in almost everything but powertrain. This last point is a bit surprising, given how much engines and transmissions had been improved since 1953, but Zora Duntov, the Corvette program's chief engineer, was more interested in making major handling improvements to the Corvette, most notably by introducing independent rear suspension, and fully restyling the Corvette to put it more in step with the times. Called the "Stingray," the car did indeed have some resemblence to a ray of sorts, if not exactly a stingray, but Duntov later regretted that aerodynamically it was "like a badly-designed airplane." The handling improvements also didn't impress many non-Americans, and to this day many vintage race drivers don't want to get anywhere near a Stingray. It's not my favorite Corvette either, but the Redline community disagreed, pressuring me to build a simulation of it for Redline, so I started with the classic 1963 C2 Coupe, with the split rear-windshield (a 1963-only feature), the 327 engine (the only regular engine available, albeit in four versions, these being the base, the L75, the L76, and the fuel-injected L84), the 3-speed Saginaw transmission (standard since 1955), and the 3.7 non-POSI differential. Surprisingly, you still had to order a 4-speed transmission and POSI rear end in 1963, in spite of the independent rear suspension.


Corvette C2 Z06 [1963]
0-60 5.1 seconds
0-100 11.1 seconds
0-100-0 17 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:13'60 @ 111 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 148 m.p.h.
After the R.P.O. 684 racing package was discontinued for the 1960 model year, the Corvette was without such a complete trim for several years (although some lesser race packages were offered), in spite of the 684 being a popular car to use for racing (at least in the United States). This changed in 1963, when two racing packages, the Z06 and the Grand Sport, were fielded, the Grand Sport being introduced in 1962, a year before all the other C2's. The Grand Sport program was a failure for a variety of internal political reasons at General Motors, however, so this left only the Z06 available to most people. Only 5 Grand Sports were built, but even the Z06 was a rare car, with only 199 built. It was basically an L84 Coupe, meaning the fuel-injected, 360-horsepower, top-of-the-line Corvette with the L84 engine, Muncie M20 4-speed transmission, and 3.7 POSI differential, stripped of all luxury features and given a heavy duty suspension, heavy-duty cooled (although surprisingly not disc) brakes, a 36.5-gallon fiberglass fuel tank, and lightweight parts to bring the weight down under 3000 pounds. The Z06 was also supposed to include aluminum alloy spoked wheels with knockoffs, but in reality few 1963 Corvettes of any trim had this feature because of production difficulties at the factory. Buyers could voluntarily choose to omit the oversize fuel tank, and this usually meant they intended to use their Z06 on the street, against Chevrolet's advice. Dealers technically couldn't refuse a sale, though, as General Motors was trying to comply with the Automobile Manufacturers Association ban on factory-sponsered racing, while in actuality fielding cars like the Corvette Z06, the Grand Sport, and, the following year, also the Pontiac GTO.


Corvette C2 Z06 Wide Wheel [1963]
0-60 4.9 seconds
0-100 9.7 seconds
0-100-0 16 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:13'58 @ 114 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 150 m.p.h.
Corvettes were popular with hot rodders very early on, of course, and the 1963 Stingray continued in that tradition nicely. It was possible, however, to upgrade your Corvette simply by using parts from Chevrolet's official heavy-duty or "HD" parts catalog, and one of the upgrades preferred by race drivers was to get aluminum alloy (or in earlier years, steel) wide wheels, which could then be fitted with larger tires. The Redline community demanded that I include at least one wide wheel C2 Corvette, as most Redliners couldn't stand the stock 6.7" tires, so I relented very readily since I was already working on a Z06 race car that had them.


Corvette C2 Z06 Wide Wheel [racing, 1963]
0-60 4.3 seconds
0-100 9.6 seconds
0-100-0 15.5 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:13'09 @ 114 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 150 m.p.h.
For safety reasons, although the Z06 was marketed as a race-ready car, some preparation was inevitably necessary, mostly the installation of a roll cage, and preferably oversize wheels of some sort. In the case of this car, I have given it wide wheels, a racing interior with roll cage, a dropped suspension, and a slightly higher level of net torque, in response to popular demand.


Corvette C2 Z06 Flared Fender [racing, 1963]
0-60 4.3 seconds
0-100 9.5 seconds
0-100-0 14.4 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:13'80 @ 115 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 155 m.p.h.
In addition to wide wheels, some Z06 Corvettes, like the famous "Gulf One" race car, also received flared fenders to accomodate even larger wheels and tires. I've attempted to do a rough copy of Gulf One here, although I should note that it has disc brakes, so it isn't entirely accurate. Another inaccuracy is that the flared fenders are smoother than on the original Gulf One, but I intend to add more textures in the future so that this doesn't look so bad. I made also remodel the fenders to recreate the (more difficult to model) Gulf One fenders anyway. I haven't really decided, as of all the Vette Pack Corvettes this one is currently the least refined. You will find, however, that it's the best handling of all the C2 Z06's, so that's why I've included it anyway.


Corvette C2 Hot Rod [1963]
0-60 3.7 seconds
0-100 7.8 seconds
0-100-0 12.7 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:11'56 @ 125 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 163 m.p.h.
Of course, most hot rodders didn't try to build all-Chevrolet FIA-homologated Z06's. Instead, they took relatively standard Corvettes, probably bought used, souped up or replaced the engines and drivetrains, and fitted them with wheels and tires far larger than what Chevy made. They would also opt to set the cars up more for a drag strip than a track, and it has been my intention for some time to build a C2 drag racer, but in this first release I'm going to skip it. Instead, I'm giving you this hot rod that's set up more for track and er....street use. Why? The Redline drag racing scene is, to say the least, very limited, but people race on tracks and street courses every night, so it's a no-brainer that I should be catering to that crowd. Therefore....this car comes with (mild) custom paint, 235mm BF Goodrich T/A radial tires on custom rims (based on a design I found online, but with knockoffs) a Muncie M22 4-speed manual transmission, a stock 3.7 POSI differential, and a 327 V-8 with dual Carter 4-bbl carbs running on 100 octane avgas, for 425 net horsepower. The body design is, aside from the paint, stock, as is the interior, and overall this is a crude job that I intend to refine in future releases. In the meantime, though, it's fast, driveable, and authentic, as there would be no obstacle to building a car like this in real life. The engine is, in fact, copied exactly from a real engine that one of my friends built.


Corvette C2 Grand Sport Coupe [1963]
0-60 3.1 seconds
0-100 5.9 seconds
0-100-0 10.4 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:10'78 @ 134 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 164 m.p.h.
The Grand Sport predated the other C2 Corvettes by roughly a year, with a prototype convertible being both built and raced in 1962, followed by one more convertible plus three coupes in 1963. The was as much a very serious research project as a production vehicle, and was initially secret. Eventually, 125 cars were to be built as a step up from the Z06, but this never happened after the AMA racing ban, and the subsequent cancellation of the program by GM's board of directors. In the meantime, though, the car was a promising project that many people believed (and still believe) should have been allowed to go ahead. The car was, like the Z06, very stripped-down, and meant to be barely even street legal. In actuality, the high planned production figure was for homologation purposes. No attempt was made to make the car practical off the track. The Grand Sport had disc brakes, however, and used much lighter weight materials, most notably aluminum and magnesium, resulting in a curb weight of less than a ton. The existing fiberglass body was also non-standard, as it was thinner gauge, and constructed differently, with flared fenders and additional ventilation not only for the engine, but also for the differential, which required its own cooling system. The Grand Sport also had a tube frame, as opposed to the welded, stamped steel perimeter used on the standard C2 (and for that matter, most other American cars of the period). An interesting article about the construction methods used can be found here. The engine was initially the L84 327 from the Z06, at least in the prototype, but this was quickly replaced by the 377 crate engine that was then available from Chevrolet. This doesn't sound like much of a step up, but this was a full-race tuned engine with 2x 2bbl Weber side draft carbs. It was officially rated for 485 horsepower, but in the gross horsepower figures available then it put out closer to 550, and some modern, tuned examples have put out over 600 horsepower net. I've therefore been conservative with this simulation and gone for 485 net, which still makes the Redline car too fast, probably. In In any event, although GM cancelled the Grand Sport program, the cars remained in use for racing, and experienced some success. Eventually they ended up in the possession of the Penske racing team, who also bought the first ever Corvette L88 sold to the general public. Predictably, they then ordered L88 crate engines for their Grand Sports, although since that time at least one of them has been downgraded back to a 377...that dynos at 619 horsepower!!! For Redline, as I said, I've opted for the 377. Today, the real Grand Sports all still survive in private hands, and are among the most desirable of all collectible Corvettes. I figured that if I was going to do some C2 Corvettes for Redline, I had to do a Grand Sport, so here it is.


Corvette C2 L84 Coupe [1964]
0-60 6 seconds
0-100 11.6 seconds
0-100-0 18.9 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:14'80 @ 109 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 148 m.p.h.
After all the changes and racing adventures of 1963, 1964 was a very mundane year for the Corvette, with even the split-window coupe being eliminated in favor of an otherwise-identical coupe with a single-piece rear windshield, no Cookie sheet grilles on the hood, and a new gas cap design. The rocker panels were also changed slightly. The Z06 option was no longer available, although the R.P.O. F40 heavy-duty suspension was, as were the cooled drum brakes, and it was no longer a problem to get spoked alloy wheels. One new option for 1964 was electronic ignition, and the L84 fuel-injected 327 was now up to 375 horsepower, 15 more than in 1962 and 1963. I've attempted to recreate a top-of-the-line L84 Corvette from 1964 here, with all of the options short of the F40 handling package, namely the AM/FM radio (or at least some kind of radio), a 3.7 POSI differential, a Muncie M20 4-speed transmission, spoked alloy wheels, and back-up lights.


Corvette C2 L78 Coupe [1965]
0-60 5.5 seconds
0-100 10.6 seconds
0-100-0 15.8 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:13'66 @ 114 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 149 m.p.h.
In 1965, the Corvette got a mild update. A number of obvious things were changed, of course. For example, the interior was redesigned, the gas cap was redesigned again, the side louvers between the front wheel wells and the doors were redesigned, and the color choices were revised, with yellow being one of the new colors offered. There were a number of significant technical changes, however, that made 1965 Corvettes considerably more formidable opponents than 1964's. First of all, the wheels and tires, this meaning the standard ones and not any special option, were now 7.75 X 15", meaning that grip was far better. Disc brakes also became standard in 1965, on all four wheels! That didn't mean they were suddenly an option, but that in contrast to 1964, when they weren't even an option, they now became standard, with drum brakes optional. Naturally, they were available with power assist. To provide a slightly higher standard top speed, the standard differential became the 3.36, although the 3.7 remained an option. There were a number of new options, however, in addition to the improvements to the basic car. First of all, you could get factory side pipes for the first time. Secondly, you could order not only the Muncie M20 4-speed manual transmission or the Powerglide 2-speed automatic, but also the Muncie M22 heavy duty 4-speed manual, a.k.a. the "Rockcrusher." Engine options were wider than they had ever been, too. In addition to the 250-horsepower, Carter 4-bbl 327cid V-8, which had been standard since 1962, you could still order the L75 4-bbl, with 300 horsepower, the L76 4-bbl with 365 horsepower, or the L84 Fuel-injected 327 with 375 horsepower, you could also order the L79 which had 350 horsepower and hydraulic lifters like on the L75 (the L76 had mechanical lifters). The big engine option for 1965, though, was the L78 396cid 4bbl V-8, the first "big block" engine offered as an R.P.O. on the Corvette. It was so big that a special bulge had to be designed into the L78's hood, which is the easiest spotting feature for an L78 as opposed to any other 1965 Vette. Big block engines had been available on larger Chevys for years, and many salvaged and crate big blocks had found their way into Corvette hot rods already, but now it was possible to order a 396 directly from the factory, and 2,157 people did, which is considerably when you consider it was more than 10% of Corvette production for the year. It also was significant because it killed sales for the L84, as it cost far more than the L78, yet wasn't as powerful. Consequently, 1965 would be the last year that Corvettes were offered with both disc brakes and fuel injection until 1982, and the last year until 1984 when it was possible to buy a Corvette with disc brakes, fuel injection, and a manual transmission. In the meantime, though, nobody was thinking about these technical details, with all of the new power and control that a well-equipped L78 offered, especially if it also had the special F40 handling package. For Redline, I've built you an L78 with an M22 transmission, 3.7 POSI differential, spoked alloy wheels, back-up lights, side pipes, and of course the (non-operable) AM/FM radio. That's okay, you can use iTunes instead. :-)


Corvette C2 L72 Coupe [1966]
0-60 4.7 seconds
0-100 9.8 seconds
0-100-0 15.1 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:12'81 @ 117 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 134 m.p.h.
1966 Corvettes, with the exception of minor styling changes like a slightly redesigned interior, new rocker panels, and a new gas cap, were more or less the same as the 1965 Corvettes. There were a number of technical changes, though, which were more significant. First of all, and strangely, back-up lights were standard (before they were on most other cars), and drum brakes, less surprisingly, were no longer available. Hazard lights were now an option, however, as were shoulder belts (another high-tech feature for the time), and special heavy-duty J56 disc brakes. None of it mattered, though, as Ralph Nader probably still never forgave Chevrolet for the Corvair. In the area of performance, engine options were slashed back to a more modest four. The standard engine was now the L75, with 300 horsepower with the L79 still available with 350 horsepower. The 396 was gone, though, after only one year. In a way, it had been a strange choice of engine for the Corvette, as it wasn't the big block favored by race drivers and hot rodders. Ever since 1963, when the original 427cid Z11 "Rat" V-8 had been developed by stroking a 409, the Rat had been the favorite, starting at 425 horsepower with the Z11, and then being upgraded to 435 horsepower with the L71 in 1964, and to 560 horsepower with the L88 of 1965 (although the official rating was 430, and initially the L88 never left Chevy's possession). It was, however, a conservative but powerful street engine that proved the feasibility of putting a big block engine into the C2, a car that Duntov had originally said was best powered by the lighter 327 "Mouse." In 1966, it was still possible to buy an L71 crate engine, and the L88 finally became available in 1966 too. In fact, a small elite handful of people even managed to order C.O.P.O. L88's directly from Chevrolet, with the first going to Penske Racing, although all but Penske's were stealthfully classified as "HD 427" Corvettes, rather than L88's. Normal people, however, now had the choice, for the first time, of ordering an R.P.O. L36 or L72 427 on a regular, production Corvette. The L36 was the basic one, with "only" 390 horsepower, which was actually less than the L78 396, but the L72 had a larger Holley 780CFM 4bbl, a performance cam, four-bolt main bearings (surprisingly not standard on the Rat) and numerous other performance enhancements, including aluminum pistons. At first I fretted that my L72, recreated for Redline, was too fast, until I read that actually it had more than 425 horsepower, and had been underrated by Chevy to avoid high insurance costs and political problems (i.e. Ralph Nader)! For transmissions, the Saginaw was still standard (in contrast to the rest of the car, which was quite advanced already), the ancient Powerglide automatic was still optional, the M20 4-speed was still around, as was the M22 Rockcrusher, but in 1966 you could also buy an M21 close-ratio 4-speed, which was a cheaper alternative to the M22. For this Redline version of the L72, I've included the side pipes, alloy spoked wheels, L72 engine, the M22 transmission, and the 4.11 POSI differential for monstrous acceleration with decent cornering...oh yeah...it still has a radio...but I should stop talking about that before I get you annoyed.


Corvette C2 L89 Coupe [1967]
0-60 4.5 seconds
0-100 8.8 seconds
0-100-0 13.5 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:12'56 @ 121 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 140 m.p.h.
To start off, 1967 saw the usual little yearly tweaks to Corvette styling like a redesigned interior, redesigned rocker panels, redesigned gas cap, redesigned side louvers, and (for the first time since 1963) redesigned wheels. There were also some new options like headrests, a speed warning indicator, and on the most powerful big blocks, a racing stripe over the newly redesigned scooped big block hood. Not all Corvettes were big block, of course, even in 1967, as 57.69% of Corvettes still were sold with the 327, meaning most of them. Several changes were made, however, in the engine options. The L75 was still standard, and the L79 was still the top 327 option. In 427 engines, you could still buy the L36, although it was now marketed towards buyers with the Powerglide automatic transmission and air conditioning, as the 327 struggled to achieve normal performance with these options dragging off horsepower. You didn't necessarily have to be a race driver or street racer to want a 427 in that case. New for 1967, however, was the L68, a downgraded L71 with 400 horsepower that was also marketed to Powerglide buyers. The L72, however, was gone. Why? Because in 1967, Chevrolet finally agreed to sell the L71 as a regular, R.P.O.! The L71 already had three racing seasons behind it as a crate engine, so this was quite a development. 3,738 were sold, too, so it wasn't like it was a special race-only option, either. Zora Duntov actively promoted it as a more practical (and he was probably thinking safer) alternative to the L88, which even more amazingly was offered as an R.P.O also, although only 20 were sold. Duntov's argument was that the L71 worked much better with a street exhaust system and tires, and that these features would strangle an L88. At the very least, the L88 required racing fuel, and was prone to overheating in street driving. Nevertheless, even the L88 wasn't the rarest of 1967 Corvettes. This title had to go to the L89, the ultimate street Corvette, with only 16 built! The L89 wasn't even counted initially as a seperate engine option from the L71, as its specifications were nearly identical, but it did have the aluminum heads off of the L88, shifting the Corvette's weight distribution back to 49front/51rear, which was close to Duntov's original intended distribution for the 1963 L84. In subsequent years, it had shifted forward, until the L78, L72, L36, L68, and L71 had all pushed the weight to 51front/49rear. The L89 was also said to develop 475 horsepower gross, even if it was only advertised at 435, and some people even thought that the L71 could put out 450. Therefore, I've chosen to make the street 1967 Big Block Corvette for Redline an L89, with 435 net horsepower!! It's very fast indeed, especially since I've also given it an M22 transmission and a 4.11 POSI differential!!! Duntov's theory about it being faster than an L88 doesn't hold true in Redline, though.


Corvette C2 L88 Coupe [1967]
0-60 4.5 seconds
0-100 7.9 seconds
0-100-0 13.4 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:12'38 @ 127 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 186 m.p.h.
As I already said earlier, in 1967 it was possible for the first time to buy an R.P.O. L88 Corvette, and 20 people did. It was the fastest Corvette for 1967, but a very wide margin, and several saw success in racing, most notably for the Sunray DX racing team. As a fast street car, though, it wasn't just successful. No other American car came even remotely close to matching the L88's speed, or for that matter handling, as no other car company produced a sports car comparable to the Corvette, and even Dodge didn't produce a stock street engine as powerful as the L88, not even the 426 HEMI (although if prepped for racing the HEMI was probably better). Try racing this bone-stock L88, though, and you can see what Zora Duntov meant. It's got way too much power to be a practical or safe street car, and to be a competent race car on anything but a drag strip it needs better tires, at the very least. Still...in Redline nobody gets killed, and I figured many people would want to see this car in the Vette Pack, as would I.


Corvette C2 L88 Coupe [radials, 1967]
0-60 3.9 seconds
0-100 7.4 seconds
0-100-0 12.5 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:11'69 @ 133 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 187 m.p.h.
In the late 1960's, many American cars had far better engines than tires, and the L88 may have had the worst discrepancy of all. Bias-ply tires had been on the way out in Europe for 20 years before Sears began selling the first American radials, which is especially odd when you consider their tires were just store brand. Goodyear, Firestone, and the other American tire manufacturers were behind the curve, and it wasn't until 1967 that B.F. Goodrich entered the aftermarket radial tire market. Nevertheless, in that year some dealers began selling Oldsmobiles, Lincolns, and Ford Thunderbirds with radials, and the following year radials became optional on Ford Mustangs and Corvettes, as well as standard on the Lincoln Continental. In the meantime, though, they offered the opportunity to give a performance car an extra edge as a fairly simple aftermarket mod, at least as cars like the Mustang and Corvette had their suspensions upgraded to take them. I figured I would be clever and do a radial-tired L88 so that you wouldn't all be spinning your wheels all over the place when you're not in the mood. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I figured a lot of you would want it.


Corvette C2 L88 Coupe [racing, 1967]
0-60 3.4 seconds
0-100 6 seconds
0-100-0 10.5 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:10'78 @ 143 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 200 m.p.h.
Since the L88 was a factory race car, and even in 1967 was involved in racing, I figured I had to produce a full-race version, even if the only photos I could find were of Sunray DX L88's, and one that I saw once and haven't been able to relocate. I've attempted to crudely recreate Sunray DX numbers 8 and 9 here, as well as roughly copy the other car from memory, numbering it 88 for "L88." As you can see from the above performance numbers, this car is no dog, and in fact it's probably faster than a real one.


Corvette C2 L88 Coupe [LeMans, 1967]
0-60 4 seconds
0-100 7.2 seconds
0-100-0 12.4 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:11'56 @ 136 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 200 m.p.h.
When Sunray DX decided to enter their team in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they immediately ran into difficulties with Chevrolet, and probably the FIA as well (I haven't been able to find out one way or the other) because their cars were somewhat modified, and Chevrolet wanted their cars accurately represented, the rationale being that they were quite impressive while still completely stock, and therefore should be recognized as serious peformance cars. Therefore, I've also built this Le Mans version of the car, assuming a stock engine with factory racing headers, and Chevy HD wide wheels with treaded street tires on them.


Corvette C3 L88 [1968, LeMans]
0-60 5.6 seconds
0-100 8.5 seconds
0-100-0 12.8 seconds
Quarter Mile: 0:12'39 @ 139 m.p.h.
Top Speed: 226 m.p.h.
For safety reasons, virtually nobody legally raced their L88 bone stock. A roll cage wasn't even available as a C.O.P.O. (as far as I know), and few were sold with oversize tires (I'm not aware of any specifically), and both of these features were absolute necessities for safely racing such a powerful car. On the CanAm version of this car that I made, which was originally called "racing" before Version 1.3 of the Vette Pack, I included all of these things on a semi-authentic, semi-fictional racing L88, built to roughly CanAm specs. What was allowed in CanAm, however, like spoilers, slicks, unmuffled engines, and so on, was not allowed by the FIA in GT events of the time. This is because the FIA regulations state, at least in theory, that even GT1 cars must be "must be able to be used perfectly legally on the open road" (Article 1.1 "Definitions," Article 258 Technical Regulations for Grand Touring Cars Group GT1). Therefore, the cars have to have mufflers and lights, and in the films I've seen of LeMans and Sebring in 1969, even the hottest cars like the Porsche 917 have treaded tires. In addition, there was controversy over the use of spoilers in 1969 (even in the case of the flexible flaps on the rear of the 917), as they had only just been accepted in F1, and were not in common use on most GT cars, as the FIA frowned on them. Therefore...for those of you who wanted a hardcore FIA-legal (I think) L88, for version 1.3 of the Vette Pack I took a 1969 CanAm racer and downgraded it. For version 1.5 of the Vette Pack, however, I've done a rough re-creation of the actual L88 that Henri Greder raced at Le Mans from 1968-1973. Supposedly, this car holds the record for the most seasons at Le Mans, with six in all, although the car had been modified with a wider rear by 1973 to accommodate wider tires, and at some point the L88 engine was replaced by a 454 with L88 parts (I'm not aware of whether the car ever raced at Le Mans in this later engine). In any case, you'll find that this new (for Redline) version of the L88 is considerably slower off the line than the original L88 Le Mans for Redline, but much better for sustained high-speed running, which should be realistic. It's also much faster in top speed, being even faster than the real one, although I would face some difficulties getting it to match since I've included the authentic 2.56 differential, which was specially installed by Zora Duntov in the real Greder L88 in anticipation of the Mulsaunne Straight at Le Mans. If anyone gets around to building a version of the Le Mans track for Redline, maybe it could be fun. In addition to the taller differential on this car, I've also given it authentic fog lights on the front (the car had, at different times, four, two, or no fog lights, so I took the middle ground), the distinctive safety lights on the roof, dual side mirrors, and the front spoiler that it had before most sports cars in FIA competition had them. One compromise that I've made on this car is that, because the acceleration was so slow when I first put the new differential in, I raised the net torque almost to the gross rating to compensate. If you figure that most GT cars have always been tuned a bit to get the most out of them, I'm hoping that this isn't too unrealistic a mod.

this is by far the longest post i ve ever seen.

alf

This post is epic!

So I will download the new pack, thanks for your work!

PS: 106 MB! This pack is epic!

ahahaha

emmh, can someone give me a synthesis?

A synopsis?

Let me try:

Here are some new 'vettes. Enjoy!