1956 rpo 581
Does anyone have any information on the 1956 special suspension RPO 581?
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Joe, I have all that documentation with part #s and photos. Curious why you ask???Comment
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Dave.. RPO 581 or a version of it is on my 1957 Nassau Car VIN 775, untouched and in place. It would be nice to compare what was engineeered for RPO 581 as a package and how it compares to what is on my car. Clearly when the CEC ordered up Car s from St.Louis to Warren to be set up for the Dec. 7th , 1956 Governors Trophy Race in Nassau. Engineering reached to the shelf for some of the parts created either for 56 Sebring or the SR1 limited production.
775 was also fitted with Roll Bar, Big tank, big brakes, short steering column, Sun Tach, etc.
i can provide pictures.
PM me if you like or send me an email.Comment
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Joe,
Before you reinvent the wheel I suggest you read the following articles I wrote for NCRS last Century:
Vol. 11 #4 1985 1956 High Performance Development p.8
Vol. 11 #4 1985 '56 Manifold Baffles (still in JM) p.39
Vol. 12 #3 1986 Frank Burrell p.26
Vol. 12 #4 Early Quick Steer Adaptor p.19
Vol. 13 #1 Roll Bars are for Sissy,s ('56 Thompson car etc.) p.21
Vol. 14 #4 56-62 HD Shocks p.16
Vol. 19 #4 1957-59 RPO-684 co-wrote Masciarella & Bartush p.14
What you refer to as RPO 581 for '56 I am a little puzzled about --- suggest you read
Vol. 16 #2 RPO 581 Ray Masciarella p.60 (RPO 565 ????)
Most if not all of the above items were developed primarily by Frank Burrell unfortunately today he is not given much credit for any of them.
In another thread you refer to Dick Thompson's SCCA car that Frank had the responsibility for as Chevy Engineer and Crew Chief. Almost all of the improvements developed from that car was done primarily by him. I suspect some or all of the documents you have were originally written by Frank after each race and were part of the files I obtained from him. I still have the hand written versions before he sent them to be typed. I talked Frank into attending the Boston NCRS Nationals and he really enjoyed meeting up with Dick Thompson after many years. As I recall there were not too many people there that knew who he was.Comment
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Dave.. no doubt Frank is overlooked for the important contribution he made. My reference to the 1956 Dick Thompson SCCA Car was to confirm the car was returned to Engineering numerous times for repair and improvements prior to races.
JoeComment
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Dave
Here is a picture of the set up on the Nassau Car. Frank may have been the one that did the original drawing. Do your files agree.
Joe
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Dave
Here is a picture of the set up on the Nassau Car. Frank may have been the one that did the original drawing. Do your files agree.
Joe
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
Joe,
First, need to clean up your nomenclature with regards to one of your questions. Chevrolet referred to the special production Corvettes as S.R.s (Special Race) not Sebring racer as commonly called today. The original SR1s were the cars built to race at Sebring in 1956. From those cars the next generation SR2s evolved.
With reference to your other question the production SRs according to Chevrolet records (4-17-56) could be equipped with SR Option #6. The factory description for option #6 was: SHOCK ABSORBERS - HD (1.38 inch diameter) direct acting front and rear together with auxiliary lever type adjustable rear. From this description and Mike Hunt's well known "Chicken Coop" article it appears at least for this SR car E56S002831 it had the Houdialle shocks you show in your photo. I am only familiar with a couple of these cars so I cannot say with certainty if all the other SRs had the complete option #6 installed. Your photo is similar to the '56 Sebring car installation which Frank put together.Comment
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
What type rear suspension was used on the Corvettes that ran Sebring in March 1956. Did they all get the same set up. What did #1 the real Mcoy have?Comment
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Re: 1956 rpo 581
All 4 cars (1,5,6,7) at Sebring in '56 ran with the same Houdialle auxiliary shock rear set up. They were all equipped with positraction (called Hy Tork) the carrier stamped with H.T.. The gear ratios varied #1--3.90, #5&7 -- 4.11, #6 -- 3.70. One of the biggest problems (besides brakes) encountered was severe rear wheel hop. This was somewhat solved by utilizing the Houdialle lever shock set up. Additional modifications included:
1. Changing the height of the rear spring hanger. Passenger car parts were used to modify.
2. Rubber frame bumpers were cut off, passenger car rubber bumpers installed in different location.
3. Replacing the production rear spring retainers that broke constantly. Additional HD rear spring clips were fabricated and installed (6 per).
The red '55 body test mule used at sebring in '56, car #5951 (Phoenix mule) was the first car to be equipped with this set up. In fact the system was developed from this car. But that is another story!!Comment
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