Just to let everyone one know the latest on the Mallett V8 conversions. You can now order the car with dual outlet exhaust for no extra charge. You do need to provide the rear valance of your choice (carbon fiber or painted) from several different manufacturers of them. This will allow you to get the right look for your conversion.
The car has been driven and tested by the following: Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine, and Auto Week.
Generally, they all love the conversion except for the 3.91 first gearing; too much for this power plant. Mallett suggest that you start the car from second gear for daily driving, and use first gear only for tire smoking starts You can option your conversion with either 3.42 or 3.73 gears for about $1700 installed. The price on the rear conversion will drop when the ring and pinion gear only are made available from GM.
Some customers have order the LS7 option already. Mr. Mallett himself is building a stroker LS7 to 493 cu inches with a blower for his next show project
Ah, dual outlet! Very cool indeed! Has Mallett considered doing a true dual setup for the conversion too? I'm not sure how practical it would be considering the available under-car space for the plumbing, but it would be very cool for the V8 conversion if it could be done!
No pics of the dual exhaust yet, as no one has had it installed. I will try and get a picture of the muffler under the car so you can see how it works though.
Ah, dual outlet! Very cool indeed! Has Mallett considered doing a true dual setup for the conversion too? I'm not sure how practical it would be considering the available under-car space for the plumbing, but it would be very cool for the V8 conversion if it could be done!
No true dual exhaust for the 2006 Solstice model or 2007 Sky model. The single exhaust produces better at the wheel numbers than the C6 Corvette! In other words, you don't need the true duals for performance.
No pics of the dual exhaust yet, as no one has had it installed. I will try and get a picture of the muffler under the car so you can see how it works though.
Preview
Super Solstice
Mallett Cars transforms Pontiac's Solstice into a tire-shredding hot rod with a 400-hp V8.
by Don Sherman
Originally published 12/09/2005
Even though only a few thousand Solstices have rolled off the assembly line, one hop-up shop has already figured out how to jam extra power under the little roadster's hood. Mallett Cars of Berea, Ohio, is the first enterprise to build a street-legal Solstice V8 anyone can buy. A scant 100 conversions are planned.
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Mallett Cars has been tuning Corvettes and Cadillacs since 1997. Brothers Chuck and Lance Mallett have more than three decades of road racing under their belts plus several project cars built for enthusiast-magazine shoot-out competitions and customers.
The Mallett crew replaces the Solstice's standard 177-horsepower Ecotec four-cylinder engine with the same 400-hp LS2 6.0-liter V8 that powers the Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet SSR and Pontiac GTO. Modifications to the Pontiac's steel-tubing front frame rails are necessary, but there's enough room for the V8 in the engine bay without bumps or scoops in the hood. In fact, Chuck Mallett takes pride in keeping the factory look intact inside and out by using original equipment fittings for wiring and plumbing.
The car's structure is reinforced with steel that is 50 percent heavier in gauge to ensure it can withstand all the extra power from the LS2 V8. The Malletts position the engine as far to the rear of the engine bay as possible to maintain the Solstice's original weight distribution (approximately 53 percent front, 47 percent rear). The new engine adds 200 pounds to the curb weight.
In the interest of durability and curtailing exhaust-emissions, the clutch, flywheel and catalytic converters from the Corvette are used. The Solstice's manual five-speed transmission — actually a Japanese-built box GM borrowed from its own Chevy Colorado pickup — has so far proven robust enough to pass on the power that the V8 dishes out. Stouter springs, shock absorbers, antiroll bars, brake pads, brake hoses and rear suspension bushings have been added to preserve the Solstice excellent handling. A stainless-steel, single-outlet Corsa exhaust system is also part of the vitalization process.
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The base Mallett V8 package costs $18,000 (in addition to the price of a Solstice). That's an attractive deal, because what the Berea boys have concocted is a two-seat roadster that's 200 pounds lighter and $10,000 cheaper than a Corvette convertible. Not to mention cuter and stealthier, too. A two-year, 24,000-mile warranty covers components installed by Mallett Cars with exclusions for failures attributable to peeling out and other horseplay.
Acknowledging that street racing is a disease with no cure, the Malletts also offer a complete staircase of Solstice V8 upgrades. Their Preferred Package adds air conditioning for an extra $1,995. The Loaded Edition takes another step-up with special adjustable Penske shock absorbers for $4,000. Those with a terminal case of speed-need will want the Supercharged Package that includes all the above plus a belt-driven blower for $42,000. The blower upgrade is expensive because Mallett technicians disassemble the engine to install new pistons with a lower compression ratio.
Stand-alone options include larger wheels and tires, driveline coolers, a heavy-duty radiator, a six-speed transmission and other add-ons.
So can you not have AC with a Mallett Car unless you pay extra? Even if your Solstice already has it?
The short answer is yes, you can have AC only if the car was ordered originally from the factory with AC. Mallett will add $1995 to the conversion price to plumb a new AC compressor on the LS2 or LS7 into your Solstice. I don't have all the details involved, but I imagine its more than just attaching a new compressor.
why not buy a LS1 or LS2 engine for a hell of alot cheaper and stuff that in? Of course you may need to upgrade the trans to handle the power but still it seem cheaper to buy a crate engine from GM.
__________________ Team Solstice 2008
Ordered 11/12/05
Black, manual trans, Premium package, power package, convenience package, floor mats, AC, XM radio, LSD, and Polished Wheels Produced 6/1! VIN:18718
Mods: Fujita CAI, Stubbie Attenna, Lil Chromies, Third Brake Overlay, 35% Tint. Solo Headers, Solo Exhaust.
why not buy a LS1 or LS2 engine for a hell of alot cheaper and stuff that in? Of course you may need to upgrade the trans to handle the power but still it seem cheaper to buy a crate engine from GM.
Because it is not a simple bolt-in change.
__________________
Will you be in Canton for the 2010 Summer Solstice?
Wicked 2009 Solstice GXP Coupe on order 24 October 2008 Produced 7 April 2009 Delivered 6 May 2009 VIN 1G2MT25X59Y000038 (Watched her come off the truck)
Original 2006 NA Ordered: 8 Sep 2005 Delivered to dealer 15 Dec 2005 (Watched her come off the truck) Traded 6 May 2009 #5357
why not buy a LS1 or LS2 engine for a hell of alot cheaper and stuff that in? Of course you may need to upgrade the trans to handle the power but still it seem cheaper to buy a crate engine from GM.
Yeah, if this was 1968 and engines interchanged easily and we didn't have to deal with emission computers and modern electronics.
Didn't you say, Terpfan, that the Mallet Solstice was 3050 lbs with a half tank of fuel, or something like that?
Or 3090 at curb, give or take.
b/c the corvette C6 base I saw the weight for with about a half tank of fuel was 3148 lbs.
Making it around 3180 curb, again give or take...
Maybe I dunno anything about math, but this is only 100 lbs lighter, not the exaggerated 200 lbs lighter that Mallett is claiming. The guy whose car I saw weighed said the convertible only adds another 20 lbs to the C6 Corvette.
Didn't you say, Terpfan, that the Mallet Solstice was 3050 lbs with a half tank of fuel, or something like that?
Or 3090 at curb, give or take.
b/c the corvette C6 base I saw the weight for with about a half tank of fuel was 3148 lbs.
Making it around 3180 curb, again give or take...
Maybe I dunno anything about math, but this is only 100 lbs lighter, not the exaggerated 200 lbs lighter that Mallett is claiming. The guy whose car I saw weighed said the convertible only adds another 20 lbs to the C6 Corvette.
AutoWeek states that:
Quote:
The V8 squeezed under the hood of this otherwise benign-looking Solstice is none other than the mighty LS2 sourced from the Chervrolet Corvette. And with almost 500 pounds less heft curbside than the bow-tied beast, the LS2's 400 horses and 395 lb-ft of torque make for one monstrously fast little roadster.
And also states:
Quote:
One might think that cramming a small-block underhood would add a lot of mass to an otherwise svelt-ish Solstice (at 2860 pounds), but Mallett says its car weighs roughly 150 pounds more than the stock roadster.
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You can option your conversion with either 3.42 or 3.73 gears for about $1700 installed. The price on the rear conversion will drop when the ring and pinion gear only are made available from GM.
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