Sterling CCC400 (aka "the V6")
- Thread starter doug-doug the mighy
- Start date
doug-doug the mighy
Member
I will be adding some coil-over-shocks once I get this on the road. I had thought about adding a connector to the rollbar but I would also want to add something that comes down and and connects to the top of the tunnel inside the cockpit to keep from creating a weak point where the bottom of the rollbar meets the chassis. My long term plan is to upgrade the front and rear to a CoolRydes set up (T1 in the front, TrueTrack in the rear). This is a $10k upgrade I can put off for now but knowing I want to do that later means I should not make the connectors to the rollbar just yet. I plan to spend a good year or two driving this thing and working out some kinks in the mean time.
Not showing in these photos is the spacer plate at the end of the transmission. This has some holes to accommodate a "shelf" that will go over the transmission (linking the spacer plate to the plate on the rollbar) to hold the fuel cell and the nitrogen tank. Not the same as linking it to the suspension system but should help with some stiffening at the centerline.
I need to double check but my floorpans are 18ga whereas ratrog used 16ga. - I know that his is slightly thicker than mine. I did however go with the 2x2 boxed frame whereas he used 1x2.
Not showing in these photos is the spacer plate at the end of the transmission. This has some holes to accommodate a "shelf" that will go over the transmission (linking the spacer plate to the plate on the rollbar) to hold the fuel cell and the nitrogen tank. Not the same as linking it to the suspension system but should help with some stiffening at the centerline.
I need to double check but my floorpans are 18ga whereas ratrog used 16ga. - I know that his is slightly thicker than mine. I did however go with the 2x2 boxed frame whereas he used 1x2.
doug-doug the mighy
Member
CORRECTION, I am 14ga.
That rehabilitated chassis looks gorgeous!! I don’t think there’s anyone’s who wouldn’t be happy to have that as a foundation. Nice work!
doug-doug the mighy
Member
UPDATE 2026-01-24
I finally got my Sterling out of the shop and back into my own garage last weekend - just now getting a chance to post an update. And as a reminder, time = money. I just took two and a half years off my project based on my available time and the scale of what I needed done. It cost me a good 8 months and more money than I care to tabulate at this point. What I have to show for it is:
+ A solid, rebuilt chassis with floorpans lowered ratrog64-style.
+ A roll-bar with mounting plate, and airjacks.
+ New rear suspension arms with rebuilt bearings.
+ Rivet nuts instead of through-hole attachments for body.
+ A serviced Porsche 912 4-speed transmission.
+ A newly built 2110 engine (specs back on bottom of page 4 in this thread).
I finally got my Sterling out of the shop and back into my own garage last weekend - just now getting a chance to post an update. And as a reminder, time = money. I just took two and a half years off my project based on my available time and the scale of what I needed done. It cost me a good 8 months and more money than I care to tabulate at this point. What I have to show for it is:
+ A solid, rebuilt chassis with floorpans lowered ratrog64-style.
+ A roll-bar with mounting plate, and airjacks.
+ New rear suspension arms with rebuilt bearings.
+ Rivet nuts instead of through-hole attachments for body.
+ A serviced Porsche 912 4-speed transmission.
+ A newly built 2110 engine (specs back on bottom of page 4 in this thread).
doug-doug the mighy
Member
UPDATE 2026-01-24
So no it is nestled in my garage and I can ponder my next steps...
1. I need to repair the front.
I also want to add a bracket that comes from the suspension, wraps around the trunk and then forward. I want to attach some tow anchors to this bar at the bottom of the nose. This will make it easier (and safer for the car) to pull it onto a flatbed tow truck. There just is no good solution for these cars if you need to tow facing forward.
2. I need to lower the suspension in the rear.
With the heavy V6 out and the air-cooled now in, the car sits higher. But the attached image here is misleading - we have ratchet-strapped the suspension down to get the alignment of the half-axles more where they should be. I ultimately need to remove the arms and reposition them on the torsion sprocket to set things for the new normal.
3. I need to install a bus engine mount adapter plate. The new clutch (correct for this hardware) requires a little more. The bus engine adapter will get the transmission aligned to the forks and the engine aligned to that. It will also provide just the right amount of gap for the clutch. Not using one requires the custom plate I was going for which requires absolute perfection in the bolt-hole alignments (and binding may still be a risk). This will require the most research and patience.
4. I need to run the airlines for the airjacks through the chassis's 2x2 framework on the sides. This will give the cleanest look and will keep things managed nicely with or without the body. I am still working out the plans on how all this will go but the end state will incorporate a nitrogen tank for the normal use and a racing style lance port for the garage use. The port will be attached to the chassis and the tank and those controls will be attached to the body. I have thought this part out pretty well and it will make sense later to those of you scratching your heads.
5. I need to add some drain holes to the 2x2 chassis side rails. The car was caught outside in brief rain and some water found its way into the side rails. From what I can tell, it get in through the rivet-nuts (see post above). While I can prevent this in the future, I still want to provide a solution for if it does happen again despite my best efforts. I figure some simple holes with some removable rubber plugs will do the trick.
6. I want to mount the battery on the floor of the passenger side. I need to get as much weight as I can as far forward as I can and the battery is an easy one. Problem is I need to mount the aforementioned nitrogen tank in the front trunk. I figure that the extreme end of the passenger footwell would be my next best option. Since the seat will be mounted way far back, there will be more leg room than is really needed. Putting a battery there could be safe if it was protected by a removable panel. I was looking at some AGM options for batteries and figure that this could work. What I really need here is community thoughts/input in this matter.
Looking at my post above, yes, I know I can remove the shroud around the engine. For now it is protecting things from getting banged but it will come off at some point when cosmetics begin to take a greater priority. I also need to put some thoughts towards air movement in the engine bay and exhaust. For now, it is all about planning my next steps and recharging my budget.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
So no it is nestled in my garage and I can ponder my next steps...
1. I need to repair the front.
I also want to add a bracket that comes from the suspension, wraps around the trunk and then forward. I want to attach some tow anchors to this bar at the bottom of the nose. This will make it easier (and safer for the car) to pull it onto a flatbed tow truck. There just is no good solution for these cars if you need to tow facing forward.2. I need to lower the suspension in the rear.
With the heavy V6 out and the air-cooled now in, the car sits higher. But the attached image here is misleading - we have ratchet-strapped the suspension down to get the alignment of the half-axles more where they should be. I ultimately need to remove the arms and reposition them on the torsion sprocket to set things for the new normal.3. I need to install a bus engine mount adapter plate. The new clutch (correct for this hardware) requires a little more. The bus engine adapter will get the transmission aligned to the forks and the engine aligned to that. It will also provide just the right amount of gap for the clutch. Not using one requires the custom plate I was going for which requires absolute perfection in the bolt-hole alignments (and binding may still be a risk). This will require the most research and patience.
4. I need to run the airlines for the airjacks through the chassis's 2x2 framework on the sides. This will give the cleanest look and will keep things managed nicely with or without the body. I am still working out the plans on how all this will go but the end state will incorporate a nitrogen tank for the normal use and a racing style lance port for the garage use. The port will be attached to the chassis and the tank and those controls will be attached to the body. I have thought this part out pretty well and it will make sense later to those of you scratching your heads.
5. I need to add some drain holes to the 2x2 chassis side rails. The car was caught outside in brief rain and some water found its way into the side rails. From what I can tell, it get in through the rivet-nuts (see post above). While I can prevent this in the future, I still want to provide a solution for if it does happen again despite my best efforts. I figure some simple holes with some removable rubber plugs will do the trick.
6. I want to mount the battery on the floor of the passenger side. I need to get as much weight as I can as far forward as I can and the battery is an easy one. Problem is I need to mount the aforementioned nitrogen tank in the front trunk. I figure that the extreme end of the passenger footwell would be my next best option. Since the seat will be mounted way far back, there will be more leg room than is really needed. Putting a battery there could be safe if it was protected by a removable panel. I was looking at some AGM options for batteries and figure that this could work. What I really need here is community thoughts/input in this matter.
Looking at my post above, yes, I know I can remove the shroud around the engine. For now it is protecting things from getting banged but it will come off at some point when cosmetics begin to take a greater priority. I also need to put some thoughts towards air movement in the engine bay and exhaust. For now, it is all about planning my next steps and recharging my budget.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Last edited:
Brett Proctor
Well-known member
Do you really need a tank?
Can you just have a fitting hidden somewhere to attach a air hose to.
What is the size of the tank that your thinking of using
doug-doug the mighy
Member
I will not need a tank in the beginning but I will later so I need to account for it while I can adjust things. There will be a port for the air lance located somewhere near the back and attached to the chassis. This will work for most of my needs at first. Of course, I will need to get a compressor for my garage but that is a trivial matter once I make room (somewhere...).
My long term plan is to upgrade my suspension to some CoolRydes stuff and also implement an air-bag/nose-lift solution for those lower bumps and curbs. This would be a nice things have but would require an on-board tank and $13k+ i do not have right now. The tank, regulator, and controls will be a part of the body and will connect to the chassis mounted system (with external port) via a connector. I will have something similar with the electrical (alternator, starter motor, etc.) so the concept seems to make sense for me here.
I was looking at a 10-pound nitrogen tank and wanting to mount it where the battery normally goes in the front trunk. This would give me extra weight over my front axles which would be helpful at higher speeds/stronger headwinds. Hooking it up to the airjacks and the nose-lift would be the ultimate goal. I could even afford to lower the whole car a little in the front once i have installed those bags. Just thinking to what I know I want to do down the road but cannot afford to do just yet. I want to drive it for a while first and shake out any other issues.
doug-doug the mighy
Member
UPDATE 2026-02-19
Not a major movements here. I did go through my inventory of pieces and parts. I discarded a ton of old/rusted bolts, gather things into themed boxes (engine stuff, lights, dash, etc), and think hard about things.
Still stuck on where I will put the port for the airjacks. I want to show it off and mount it on the side of the body but the geometry is off and it would be body mounted whereas I want/need it chassis mounted.
Still also stuck on the license plate placement with my open back design. I do not want to block any viewing angles if I can help it so I have to be creative. Thankfully I only need a rear plate in Florida.
Not a major movements here. I did go through my inventory of pieces and parts. I discarded a ton of old/rusted bolts, gather things into themed boxes (engine stuff, lights, dash, etc), and think hard about things.
Still stuck on where I will put the port for the airjacks. I want to show it off and mount it on the side of the body but the geometry is off and it would be body mounted whereas I want/need it chassis mounted.
Still also stuck on the license plate placement with my open back design. I do not want to block any viewing angles if I can help it so I have to be creative. Thankfully I only need a rear plate in Florida.
nbb350
Active member
So you won't have ANY bodywork covering your engine? If not, what about some sort of "minimalist" bumper made out of aluminum or chromed/painted tubing? Kinda "baja bug" style, but designed to protect the engine from tiny bumps and also to hold the license plate?
doug-doug the mighy
Member
Drawing inspiration from @ratrog64's Gulf racer (see below)... While his plate is a novelty plate, it still shows the problem - a nice engine is covered up. With his rear spoiler edge, he looses the option to put a plate there whereas I do have enough room I can just barely fit a plate. I do not really like the idea of mounting one directly to the body just above the opening but I really have no other choice unless I mount it over one of the tail lights. I will have to read the rules/laws and see what I have to comply with vs. what I can get away with.
But no, I absolutely do not want a bumper back there of any kind.
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nbb350
Active member
The Gulf Racer takes my suggestion of "minimalist" to the extreme, but it's still along the lines of what I was trying to suggest. Nothing BIG and ugly, but something simpler like his black tubing.
What about a couple horizontal tubes (1/2"-3/4" dia) between the bottom of the tailights and the bottom of the curved fairings? (you could get fancy and put some zig-zag truss work between them too)
not only would it give you something to mount the license plate to (maybe offset Under the left taillight?), but it would stiffen up the body work in back too. That would keep cracks from forming in your paint/bodywork. I assume that wouldn't interfere with your not-pictured exhaust.
What about a couple horizontal tubes (1/2"-3/4" dia) between the bottom of the tailights and the bottom of the curved fairings? (you could get fancy and put some zig-zag truss work between them too)
not only would it give you something to mount the license plate to (maybe offset Under the left taillight?), but it would stiffen up the body work in back too. That would keep cracks from forming in your paint/bodywork. I assume that wouldn't interfere with your not-pictured exhaust.
doug-doug the mighy
Member
@nbb350, gotta say, I am digging it. Thanks!
I did think a wire frame might be helpful with body stability v. cracking as you point out but I never thought of doing the bracing horizontally as you show. I was going to try something semi-vertical as ratrog64 did.
Still not sure how I want to do the exhaust - going out under the tail lights would be out with your design but I am not married to anything yet other than something I muffled and this needing length.
When I get more time to pay attention to this, I will likely get some thin wooden dowels and mock up something to see how it looks (pics when I do it).
I did think a wire frame might be helpful with body stability v. cracking as you point out but I never thought of doing the bracing horizontally as you show. I was going to try something semi-vertical as ratrog64 did.
Still not sure how I want to do the exhaust - going out under the tail lights would be out with your design but I am not married to anything yet other than something I muffled and this needing length.
When I get more time to pay attention to this, I will likely get some thin wooden dowels and mock up something to see how it looks (pics when I do it).
Brett Proctor
Well-known member
Maybe get rid of the fenders and do something like this
