The truck, PT-57, came to us like most projects, old and in need of some TLC. With our regular shop truck on the fritz, we decided this truck needed to take the roll of our new propose built shop truck.

The Goals:
   * Handling
   * Comfortable for daily driving
   * Lowered stance
   * Towing capability
   * Gas mileage
   * Reliable
   * Affordable
   * Look cool
   * Still be fast enough to run circles around any other street legal truck out there

         And so the list was made and we started the same way we always do: scrap the frame and everything under the car since it wouldn't begin to handle the task at hand.  1957 technology was fine back in ‘57 but today’s roads require a different type of car, to keep up with traffic, be safe around others and not break the bank with parts doing it.

         The design started one day when Billy said “The front looks like a mouth.” “Like a P-40 Warhawk almost” Jim added looking at the Flying Tigers jacket I was wearing, given to me by my grandfather. Ben Hermance of Hermance Design helped us out with a rendering based on all our ideas and the results are the images you see here. Wider rear fenders for added wheel and tire size without cutting into the bead. The hood exhaust ports are heat vent for the engine compartment. Rifled head cover for the side pipes. The car will be detailed with old Army type print, warnings and logos all over the truck and plate lines and rivets to look the old war birds and go with the nose. For the name PT-57 was selected for the Pro-Touring movement and the number if for the year of the tuck.

         Looking at the handling and the “not breaking the bank” aspects we started with the C4 corvette suspension as our base. The next two problems we killed with one shot. We wanted to sit low and still support a trailer on the back. The answer was simple - Air Ride. The air bags would allow us to raise and lower the truck depending on the weight.  Using Air Ride Technology’s Level Ride system the truck would do it automatically based on the current weight of the truck. We would not need to manually adjust the system every time it changed.  Now a minor problem arises, the Shockwaves will only carry 2000 pounds each/4000 pounds total across the back, and that’s not compensating for loss of spring capability due to shock angle. Not enough spring rate for the changing weight of the trailer and the weight of the truck. We expect the truck to weigh no more than 3300 pounds and the most we’ll see is a trailer and car combo no greater than 7000 pounds. So we will build a pivot system giving our rear Shockwaves a 2 to 1 power ratio allowing the back of our truck to be able to support up to 8000 pounds and not apply any extra stress to the Shockwave units.

         Our power plant and gear box came from a ¾ ton Chevy box truck with the GM LQ4/Vortex 6000 6.0 engine and 4L80E transmission. These two will provide a solid combination of power and reliability for hte work truck.  Shane at Thunder Racing helped spec out a camshaft and torque converter combo to work for the truck to give us that sound and a little extra power for the top end when the trailer comes off. Shane had PTC (Performance Torque Converters) build one of their hard core race converters with a mild stall to complement the cam. This will take a little load of the motor for idle and day-to-day driving but still be beefy enough to pull the trailer when needed.   A custom exhaust system will be developed with long tube headers and full dual 2.5” exhaust. For normal driving it will port out the back of the truck but it will also have electronic cut outs for the side pipes when we want the car to get a little more rowdy.  The pumpkin will have a 3.08:1 gear ratio to keep us in the “good gas mileage” range with 1600 RPM’s at highway speeds.  Braking will be taken care of by a set of C6 Z06 Corvette binders. Transmitting that grip and HP to the ground will be a set of Z06 Corvette wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

UPDATES
Twin Turbos
Racing Coil Over Shocks
Road Racing Sway Bars
and a T56 6 Speed Transmission