Mack E6 parts on a Corvette race car???

[mikePTH]

Hey everybody, here's a bit of an odd one from a new guy on the forum, but I think it's pretty cool and I think you guys might get a kick out of it.

I am restoring a C3 Corvette race car that ran in IMSA and Trans am between 1978 and 1984, and I found out a couple really cool things about the engine over the last few weeks (the car is a tube frame chassis and I bought it as a roller, no engine). they are:

1) This thing ran a twin turbo small block that made over 1000hp for races under 6 hours.

2) It ran two tip turbine Mack E6 intercoolers in the manifold!

I think this is super-cool, since it shows the innovation racers were turning to as they applied turbocharging to race cars early on. No good parts were available for racers, so you figured out what you could repurpose from the military, aviation, and industry and went racing. I think this both looks awesome, and it was pretty darn functional. No packaging a big cooler up front, compact turbo placement, and it makes it look like our car look like it's powered by an air conditioning unit, which is great for a car that was sponsored by Carrier Air, and finally, it's totally period-correct, which is kind of everything with vintage racing. I also love the idea that this car wasn't just another big block Chevy, it's different and wildly powerful, and super unique, which is why we are restoring it to this configuration. I attached a few photos so you guys can get an idea of roughly what this setup looked like (and yes, I know I have a LOT of work in front of me).

You can see the lower receiver with the plenum on top of it in the second photo, then a rough idea of where it all fit into the chassis in the third.

This leads to my next questions. All I have of the original setup is what you see in those pictures, I have no coolers. I need to either know the dimensions of the cores or I need to get my hands on a couple originals. I don't mind if they leak or whatever right now, as I need them for mock up and fabrication.

Also, any resources for Mack intake parts would be absolutely appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Mike

 

[mikePTH]

Anybody? Someone has to have a tip turbine intercooler kicking around the shop here somewhere, right?

[85snowdog]

Thanks for sharing story and pics. I think thats really interesting. 

Unfortunately, I don't have anything with a tip turbine or even access to one. I can only share a parts list from PAI . I'm not sure if this helps you at all. No big loss if it doesn't . 

It appears your looking for a Mack part # 314GB41C. Hopefully someone corrects me if i'm wrong.  A lot of parts that are no longer available at Mack/Volvo are still available at PAI .  

Good Luck . 

 

 

 

 

[alex g]

Ive had them before but unfortunately none at this time. Someone should have something for you. 

[mikePTH]

1 hour ago, 85snowdog said:

Thanks for sharing story and pics. I think thats really interesting. 

Unfortunately, I don't have anything with a tip turbine or even access to one. I can only share a parts list from PAI . I'm not sure if this helps you at all. No big loss if it doesn't . 

It appears your looking for a Mack part # 314GB41C. Hopefully someone corrects me if i'm wrong.  A lot of parts that are no longer available at Mack/Volvo are still available at PAI .  

Good Luck . 

 

This is great! That part number matches one I found in one of the notebooks, so I think that must be the one. PAI is a good tip, too, I'll give them a call and see what I can't scare up. As I said, I'll probably just build coolers, but having an original Mack part in hand makes it WAY easier to select cores, make end tanks, etc. Thanks for the help!

 

 

 

[85snowdog]

I'm glad I could help 

I can only speak for myself. But I would love to see any progress you make on your car. 

[Brocky]

Yes, More pictures of your car!!!! And the progress..

[mikePTH]

I'll be sure to drop in with some progress updates, even though I have a few months of planning, sourcing, and analysis before any real exciting stuff happens. I'm going to finish tearing the chassis down completely starting next week, so at least I'll be turning wrenches! In the meantime, the owner of the other Chamberlain chassis sent me this picture (I need to copy the chassis behind the rear window, since our car was modified to run as a GTP car in 1982), which really gives an idea how outta control wild these cars were. the rear wheels are 15 inches in diameter, but 20" wide! Thing looks like funny car cartoon!