Bob,
As one guy I was recently talking with stated, If you use GT6 vertical
links, Springs and brakes, you have a car that will support and stop a
car that weighs the same as a GT6. If a V8 is installed that weighs the
same as the rather heavy GT6 engine, it will sit the same and stop the
same as a GT6. Lighter engines will require some additional spring
tinkering to attain the proper (or desired) ground clearance, and it
will stop better than a GT6. (less weight to deal with) But if you get
the thing up to top speed (or as high as you dare) the brakes will
likely fade before you want in a panic stop situation.
Also, I might add, the Spit 1500 or GT6 differential and suspension
"will" hold up under the power of the V8's as long as you resist the
temptation of smoking the tires when you take off. It's the torque on
the differential that is not up to those extremes.
If it is not completely obvious by now, I have been considering my own
larger than normal conversion. But I plan to do so in order to make a
Spit that is up to the demands of highway driving (cruising), not an
autocross/dragstrip car.
My couple of cents worth.
Joe Curry
Robert J. Snyder wrote:
>
> I always read with great interest the discussions regarding engine swaps for
> TR-6 and Spitfire. I have a Spitfire 1500 that I was thinking of upgrading
> with a GT-6 motor. I was also going to upgrade the vertical link and brakes
> from a GT-6. However, I was wondering with the larger increases in
> horsepower: V-8 in TR-6 or V-6 in Spitfire, what break modifications have
> been considered and are acceptable?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob Snyder
> '70 TR-6
> '79 Spitfire (future Spit 6)
--
"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible
to travel across the country coast to coast without seeing
anything." -- Charles Kuralt
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