Well i didnt really know what subject to put this under but here goes.....

I have acquired a very nice stroker motor from a friend who had it in his 90 S10. The motor has a steel crank, forged, domed pistons, full roller valvetrain, Isky cam, and some other goodies...the motor is said to have around 450 horse. I am curious to see if i would need any frame reinforcement or any type or frame connectors for the car. Also, someone at work had mentioned something about getting rid of the independent suspension, and putting in a straight axle. is there anywhere that specializes in something like this?...is there a straight axle i can buy that would fit in there?...or would it take major frame modification to make it fit?

I wouldn't worry about stiffing the frame. 450 HP is a lot, but I would have it dynoed to see what kind of HP it really makes. It that HP is Flywheel HP take 20% off that number and you will get the rear wheel HP.

I would not worry about a straigh axle either. Our IRS is what makes Corvettes unique and handle better then other muscle cars. You will find drag racers that will put a straight axle under the corvettes with a 4 link suspension. They do it for strength.

If your concerned about strength of the half shafts, yokes and stuff, then contact Van Steel in Florida. They have just came out with heavy duty halfshafts and yokes and can dial in your suspension for strength. You'll find that they will tell you 450HP is no problem with the right components.

Good Luck

thats good news. theres a place near me who specializes in all types of driveshafts and halfshafts. they come with a lifetime guarantee against breakage. If one breaks, or you break a U joint, they replace it for free, which is cool. A friend of mine has a super pro camaro that he races with about 900 horse, and he had a driveshaft built by this guy, and its not failed yet, so i figure it could handle 450 horse. the car is going to be tuned by a guy who has a dyno, hes gonna change a couple things while its on there, to make it the best it can be...in a couple weeks, well know...also...i am going to buy the black hooker sidemount headers, can i get the black slip on mufflers and black heat shields for it?...the car is going to be painted red with black rockers, so i wanna keep the exhaust black..thanx

Remember, too, that the L88 and ZL1 options of the early C3 had motors churning out 500+ hp. They had the IRS and a stock frame. As for some tough axles, halfshafts, etc. check out www.tomsdifferentials.com as they make some pretty great stuff. At Tom's, some of their kits have been on C3's that go into the 8's in the 1/4 mile while retaining the IRS! That is fast! I don't think 450 HP would be too tough on the car provided you aren't mashing the pedal after every stop. If you like to do that, NO car will be without problems.

The hooker sidemount headers are 4" dia tubes and do not come with heat shields. If you want heat shields you will have to build something custom. I have them and you only need be burned once and from there your conscious will be aware of them everytime you enter and exit your C3. lol

i was actually thinking of doing my own thing with the exhaust...probably run just the normal full length headers, and run a 3 inch pipe with a set of flowmasters...i havent been under the car to investigate yet, but is there a way i can have the mufflers and turndowns just behind the drivers seat?...

I don't see why not. You will probably have to make some hangers to support the mufflers. You may also want to consider installing a heat shield above each muffler, because they were never intended to be mounted in this location. This should protect the floor. You may also want to look at the ground clearance before doing this. Mufflers may be too think to mount in this area.

I see what your saying...i may have to extend the mufflers a little past the doors to get the ground clearance. Either way, i wanna do something of my own, not what others have done...i am leaning towards the flowmaster 40 series muffler for the exhaust too...