ATS Project 50/50 Chassis Info/Build Sheet

Wayne Due is the builder of amazing top-notch 1st gen Pro-Touring cars. It was a no-brainer when it came time to get my chassis made. I sent Wayne all the ingredients for the next generation PT car- The straight, rust-free shell of a 68 Camaro, a complete chassis and drive train from a 1997 C5 Corvette, and factory frame rails for measuring/mock-up purposes.

Wayne started the process by measuring the track width, and wheel bases of both chassis. The wheel base would have to be stretched by 3-1/2” to get it to line up, and then the engine would be set back almost 6-1/2” into the firewall. My plan was to change as little from the factory settings as possible, so I told him to gut and lose what ever he needed to. He then called back and said that the track width is a bit wide, and won’t fit well in the car. I told him to proceed and trust me, and the sawzall, plasma cutter, and cut-off wheels were broken out.

He started by mating the C5 chassis to the factory frame rails for mock up pics, and measurements. Wayne had Bruce Cauldwell come out and take pics for an article in Camaro Performers. At this point, he removed the engine, torque tube, and T56 transaxle, and then bolted the cradles, upper and lower A arms, to the frame rails, and put it all in a chassis jig.

The 68 was raised on a hoist, and the front end sheet metal/Subframe was removed and set aside. Then doors were then stripped along with the trunk, and Wayne made a cross brace to make sure the body didn’t fold in half. He connected flat bar to both door jamb strikers, and across the main doors. The floor, trunk, and rockers were then cut out of the car.

Wayne then built the front and rear frame rail assemblies to hold the cradles, and control arms. The body was positioned over the chassis table, and 3x3 frame rails were inserted into the rocker panel pinch welds to connect to front and rear sub-assemblies.
Once the front and rear suspensions were located, and positioned, he tack-welded the car together, and set it on its own wheels. A measurement of 49.5” for the roof height and 7” of ground clearance were noted. A quick trip to the alignment shop has us in the green, and final welding of the brackets, and frame rails was completed. Wayne also mocked it up on the frame cart with the sheet metal, and tire in place to check clearance.
The engine was mocked up in the car, as was the T56 transaxle. We then began the process of finding a shop that could lengthen a torque tube. We finally found a place after 7 months of looking, and test fit the tube in the car.

The sheet metal was then fabricated for the interior. A smaller inner frame rail comes in to the car, and has ½ hoop connectors to clear the torque tube. A firewall was fabricated, and Trans tunnel. It was looking like a car again! We didn’t finish the outer wheel houses, or trunk area, as the fuel cell, and rear rims were not ready yet. The suspension fit in the front with no mods, and the rear almost cleared. Turned out that the rear tire and outer lip of the ¼ panel are dead even. We are still debating 2 options:
Have HRE make a custom off-set wheel that will tuck in the tire, and lose the ability to run a 19x13, or
Have the rear ¼ panels widen by 2” on each side and give the car a wide and low stance. We’ll keep you updated on which one we decide.
The suspension, drive train and front end sheet metal were reinstalled on the car, and it was loaded onto an enclosed trailer for the trip to Ctek, the body kit prototyping plant.