The £7700 Corvette C6
Discussion
e46m3c said:
On your next order from the states speak to Kieth at Eurovettes.com
He has containers coming over and has bought loads of stuff for my old vette
I also have a c6 z06 exhaust hanger knocking about somewhere if it’s of use? Brand spanker.
Yes, in hindsight I'd have given him a call as I was in no rush for the seats. He has containers coming over and has bought loads of stuff for my old vette
I also have a c6 z06 exhaust hanger knocking about somewhere if it’s of use? Brand spanker.
Thank you, feel free to send me an email with a piccie of the exhaust hanger, or a part number david@racelife.co.uk .
So far the jubilee clip fix seems to be working with my exhaust tips in more even alignment. When I remove the diff in January the back boxes will be removed and I'll have a better crack at lining them up perfectly. Two days before I left for our Christmas Spanish roadtrip I fitted the (by now expensive) Corbeau seats. The seats, runners and subframes are all well made and fit the Corvette cabin perfectly. The only slight design flaw is the threaded stud to mount the stock 3 point belt is a little short and requires a spacer to stop the belt rubbing on the seat side when sliding for and aft.
With a little messing about with washers to slightly recline the seats I had a good compromise between thigh support and head height, although I curse my body shape, with short legs and a long back that still makes me sit too high.
There is a bit of wiring and the occupancy sensor to transfer over, along with a couple of plugs to fit from Vetteworks (seat position and airbag). Sadly the airbag light cam on a week later so I have to investigate why.
The biggest challenge on these cars is fitting harnesses. In most cars you use eye bolts through the floor with large spreader plates. A Corvette has a sandwiched floor of alloy and balsa wood; relatively strong and light but entirely unsuitable for mounting harnesses with a real risk of them ripping out in the event of a crash. I had previously bought these Vetteworks items that mount behind the seat and are popular in the States: https://vetteworksonline.com/catalog/product_info....
They are well made but I wasn't entirely happy at the way they share the rear seat mount studs. Much time was spent poking around underneath the car to find a solution for the lap belt fixings.
In the end I drilled through the steel cross braces for the seats, with sizeable spreader plates that overlap the steel formings on both sides. After taking this photo I sprayed them with black chassis paint. I'm happy with both the positioning and likely strength given the other options available. The eyelets should really be turned 90 degrees, but the belt latches just won't fit that way.
I ordered a pair of 4 point, black TRS harness from Demon Tweeks in November with an unknown ETA. Meantime the stock 3 point belt works well and slides without restriction when passed through a shoulder hole.
With a little messing about with washers to slightly recline the seats I had a good compromise between thigh support and head height, although I curse my body shape, with short legs and a long back that still makes me sit too high.
There is a bit of wiring and the occupancy sensor to transfer over, along with a couple of plugs to fit from Vetteworks (seat position and airbag). Sadly the airbag light cam on a week later so I have to investigate why.
The biggest challenge on these cars is fitting harnesses. In most cars you use eye bolts through the floor with large spreader plates. A Corvette has a sandwiched floor of alloy and balsa wood; relatively strong and light but entirely unsuitable for mounting harnesses with a real risk of them ripping out in the event of a crash. I had previously bought these Vetteworks items that mount behind the seat and are popular in the States: https://vetteworksonline.com/catalog/product_info....
They are well made but I wasn't entirely happy at the way they share the rear seat mount studs. Much time was spent poking around underneath the car to find a solution for the lap belt fixings.
In the end I drilled through the steel cross braces for the seats, with sizeable spreader plates that overlap the steel formings on both sides. After taking this photo I sprayed them with black chassis paint. I'm happy with both the positioning and likely strength given the other options available. The eyelets should really be turned 90 degrees, but the belt latches just won't fit that way.
I ordered a pair of 4 point, black TRS harness from Demon Tweeks in November with an unknown ETA. Meantime the stock 3 point belt works well and slides without restriction when passed through a shoulder hole.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Wednesday 15th January 16:45
My Inlaws moved to the South East of Spain more than ten years ago, we usually fly down but thought we'd take the Vette this time, for Christmas and New Year. The Portsmouth to Bilbao crossing was truly awful, for a start the boat had been switched to an economy crossing due to the weather and it was stormy virtually the whole way. Not only did I spend the whole time in bed I genuinely feared for the car, although it turned out fine.
Northern Spain has very different scenery to the South, more green and less desert like. The temperature crept up, reach 25 degrees around Valencia, not bad for Christmas Eve.
During the course of the holiday we went to the beach a couple of days, even taking the roof off sometimes.
A few hours away is Sierra Nevada, so Beth and I drove there for the day as a future Skiing reccie. After a couple of hours of motorway we headed off the beaten track, passing through tiny villages and Olive groves, seeing snowy peaks in the distance.
I washed the car at my Inlaws, changing the faded centre cap decals for new ones.
We started to head for home on New Years Day. After hours of deserted motorway the N204 road (east of Madrid) was one of the best I've ever driven. We drove for almost two hours at a 'brisk' pace and encountered no more than 3 cars travelling in the same direction as us! No GoPro with us and too twisty for Beth to film and hang on tight! Beth was stopped by the Guardia as I asked her to stop whilst I took a photo from a Dam, it wasn't allowed, oops.
We stayed overnight at a Parador (State run historical buildings/castles) overnight: https://www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-sig...
The Castle was a beautiful place, but a truly terrible, awful, expensive restaurant, one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to visit and we normally eat anything. The next morning was about minus 3, quite a shock.
The next morning we again took a route of N and A roads rather than the motorways, what a treat. I actually think that Spain has some of the finest driving roads in Spain, they are smooth, traffic free and well cambered.
Thankfully the 24 hour crossing home was smooth and this time on the correct, comfortable ship. Arriving back home on Friday night, the car purred past 208,000 miles, averaging 29 mpg (Imperial) over the 1900 mile roadtrip.
Woke up on Saturday morning (4th Jan) and decided to make a start on dropping the transmission and rear subframe in readiness for a couple of winter upgrades. The first of which is the fitting of the lightweight Fidanza flywheel I bought back in 2018, the second is changing the final drive from 3.42 to 4.1, necessitating the removal of the diff. An online guide came to the rescue and my scissor lift helped but it was still a tricky, weekend long job removing it by myself with a high trolley jack and axle stands.
Whilst I'm happy to have a go at most jobs I draw the line at diffs and gearboxes. The diff requires multiple GM specific tools and a degree of skill to get the mesh spot on, so I have sent it away to: https://www.gearboxman.co.uk/ who confirmed they had worked on these before.
The diff and 'box are bolted together at the rear but are not a true transaxle, just packaged this way for space and weight distribution. It was a bit of a fiddle to separate them, with weight and awkward bolts the problem.
I am currently waiting on a few parts which will be replaced 'whilst I'm in there' such as a spigot bearing and the bearings and bushings in the Torque Tube and driveshaft. Following forum recommendations I'm actually fitting rubber 'Guibos' from a BMW E36/E46 which are exactly the same dimensions but about a third of the price! As the gearbox, real main seal, slave and master cylinders, LS7 clutch etc. were replaced as part of a full gearbox rebuilding by RPM in the States at 180,000 miles I won't replace these same parts again.
At the Autosport show I visited the Corbeau UK stand. They were superbly helpful and frustratingly for me confirmed that they could have imported a pair of seats for me at a considerably cheaper price. The TRS belts had still not appeared so I cancelled these and ordered a pair from Corbeau instead, with lengths made to suit the Corvette.
Also at the show I met Simon, the Time Attack Co-ordinator. Bit by bit I have been working towards getting the car towards the minimum specification required to compete in their Clubman Plus class and once the belts and handheld extinguisher are fitted I'll be ready. I will be entering one round at some stage, assuming I enjoy it I will then by the required Pirelli tyres already for more rounds in 2021.
Time Attack is as close to racing the Vette I can get without adding a cage, which I don't want to do. It's perhaps best to think of it as four qualifying sessions or maybe four timed trackday sessions, but with a crowd and prizes. Mean time I will be racing the RX-8 this season, but haven't started a thread for this one yet. https://www.timeattack.co.uk/
I've applied the obligatory 'ring sticker next to the COTA, not sure whether I'll keep them or not?
The EBC RP1 pads have so far been 'adequate' but not as strong as the Mintex F4R I usually run. Both are race pads, but the EBC's never felt very strong when zooming around Spains twisty roads. They are also missing a portion of the disc on both sides, this is EXACTLY what a set of Blue stuff did on my Z4M some years ago. I will wait to see what EBC say when i show them the photos.
That's it for now, fully up to date.
Northern Spain has very different scenery to the South, more green and less desert like. The temperature crept up, reach 25 degrees around Valencia, not bad for Christmas Eve.
During the course of the holiday we went to the beach a couple of days, even taking the roof off sometimes.
A few hours away is Sierra Nevada, so Beth and I drove there for the day as a future Skiing reccie. After a couple of hours of motorway we headed off the beaten track, passing through tiny villages and Olive groves, seeing snowy peaks in the distance.
I washed the car at my Inlaws, changing the faded centre cap decals for new ones.
We started to head for home on New Years Day. After hours of deserted motorway the N204 road (east of Madrid) was one of the best I've ever driven. We drove for almost two hours at a 'brisk' pace and encountered no more than 3 cars travelling in the same direction as us! No GoPro with us and too twisty for Beth to film and hang on tight! Beth was stopped by the Guardia as I asked her to stop whilst I took a photo from a Dam, it wasn't allowed, oops.
We stayed overnight at a Parador (State run historical buildings/castles) overnight: https://www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-sig...
The Castle was a beautiful place, but a truly terrible, awful, expensive restaurant, one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to visit and we normally eat anything. The next morning was about minus 3, quite a shock.
The next morning we again took a route of N and A roads rather than the motorways, what a treat. I actually think that Spain has some of the finest driving roads in Spain, they are smooth, traffic free and well cambered.
Thankfully the 24 hour crossing home was smooth and this time on the correct, comfortable ship. Arriving back home on Friday night, the car purred past 208,000 miles, averaging 29 mpg (Imperial) over the 1900 mile roadtrip.
Woke up on Saturday morning (4th Jan) and decided to make a start on dropping the transmission and rear subframe in readiness for a couple of winter upgrades. The first of which is the fitting of the lightweight Fidanza flywheel I bought back in 2018, the second is changing the final drive from 3.42 to 4.1, necessitating the removal of the diff. An online guide came to the rescue and my scissor lift helped but it was still a tricky, weekend long job removing it by myself with a high trolley jack and axle stands.
Whilst I'm happy to have a go at most jobs I draw the line at diffs and gearboxes. The diff requires multiple GM specific tools and a degree of skill to get the mesh spot on, so I have sent it away to: https://www.gearboxman.co.uk/ who confirmed they had worked on these before.
The diff and 'box are bolted together at the rear but are not a true transaxle, just packaged this way for space and weight distribution. It was a bit of a fiddle to separate them, with weight and awkward bolts the problem.
I am currently waiting on a few parts which will be replaced 'whilst I'm in there' such as a spigot bearing and the bearings and bushings in the Torque Tube and driveshaft. Following forum recommendations I'm actually fitting rubber 'Guibos' from a BMW E36/E46 which are exactly the same dimensions but about a third of the price! As the gearbox, real main seal, slave and master cylinders, LS7 clutch etc. were replaced as part of a full gearbox rebuilding by RPM in the States at 180,000 miles I won't replace these same parts again.
At the Autosport show I visited the Corbeau UK stand. They were superbly helpful and frustratingly for me confirmed that they could have imported a pair of seats for me at a considerably cheaper price. The TRS belts had still not appeared so I cancelled these and ordered a pair from Corbeau instead, with lengths made to suit the Corvette.
Also at the show I met Simon, the Time Attack Co-ordinator. Bit by bit I have been working towards getting the car towards the minimum specification required to compete in their Clubman Plus class and once the belts and handheld extinguisher are fitted I'll be ready. I will be entering one round at some stage, assuming I enjoy it I will then by the required Pirelli tyres already for more rounds in 2021.
Time Attack is as close to racing the Vette I can get without adding a cage, which I don't want to do. It's perhaps best to think of it as four qualifying sessions or maybe four timed trackday sessions, but with a crowd and prizes. Mean time I will be racing the RX-8 this season, but haven't started a thread for this one yet. https://www.timeattack.co.uk/
I've applied the obligatory 'ring sticker next to the COTA, not sure whether I'll keep them or not?
The EBC RP1 pads have so far been 'adequate' but not as strong as the Mintex F4R I usually run. Both are race pads, but the EBC's never felt very strong when zooming around Spains twisty roads. They are also missing a portion of the disc on both sides, this is EXACTLY what a set of Blue stuff did on my Z4M some years ago. I will wait to see what EBC say when i show them the photos.
That's it for now, fully up to date.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 16th January 08:24
Exactly the reason I am after a C6! I have a house in Spain and it’s there I want to keep one. Still debating whether to just buy one Spanish registered or have it on uk plates.
If I buy it in Spain it’s about £25k (cars are in general more expensive there) and mean I couldn’t drive it ‘home’ to the uk at all.
If I buy it here it’s cheaper but then means I have expensive insurance with a specialist if it’s to be outside of the uk for more than 30 days at a time as per a normal insurance policy. It also means re patriating the car at least annually for its MOT and also finding parking for it alongside my uk car whilst it’s in this country. No easy answer but leaning towards buying one in Spain and just leaving it there.
Find me a cheap one fishy Dave! £10k and it’s an easy answer, £20k less so!
If I buy it in Spain it’s about £25k (cars are in general more expensive there) and mean I couldn’t drive it ‘home’ to the uk at all.
If I buy it here it’s cheaper but then means I have expensive insurance with a specialist if it’s to be outside of the uk for more than 30 days at a time as per a normal insurance policy. It also means re patriating the car at least annually for its MOT and also finding parking for it alongside my uk car whilst it’s in this country. No easy answer but leaning towards buying one in Spain and just leaving it there.
Find me a cheap one fishy Dave! £10k and it’s an easy answer, £20k less so!
Shnozz said:
Exactly the reason I am after a C6! I have a house in Spain and it’s there I want to keep one. Still debating whether to just buy one Spanish registered or have it on uk plates.
If I buy it in Spain it’s about £25k (cars are in general more expensive there) and mean I couldn’t drive it ‘home’ to the uk at all.
If I buy it here it’s cheaper but then means I have expensive insurance with a specialist if it’s to be outside of the uk for more than 30 days at a time as per a normal insurance policy. It also means re patriating the car at least annually for its MOT and also finding parking for it alongside my uk car whilst it’s in this country. No easy answer but leaning towards buying one in Spain and just leaving it there.
Find me a cheap one fishy Dave! £10k and it’s an easy answer, £20k less so!
How much time do you spend in each country? For the first few years my Inlaws kept their car UK registered, driving it back each year for MOT, but once they were Spanish residents they registered the car there (Jaguar XF), but then they are there the majority of the time. If I buy it in Spain it’s about £25k (cars are in general more expensive there) and mean I couldn’t drive it ‘home’ to the uk at all.
If I buy it here it’s cheaper but then means I have expensive insurance with a specialist if it’s to be outside of the uk for more than 30 days at a time as per a normal insurance policy. It also means re patriating the car at least annually for its MOT and also finding parking for it alongside my uk car whilst it’s in this country. No easy answer but leaning towards buying one in Spain and just leaving it there.
Find me a cheap one fishy Dave! £10k and it’s an easy answer, £20k less so!
The only cars I've ever found at the lower price is in the States. For example, this could make a good buy, $10,000 with decent miles, new engine and unrecorded damage that could be repaired: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvettes-...
The exchange rate is similar to when I bought mine, so this car could cost around £12000 to £13500 depending on location and shipping options. I can keep an eye out.
Fishy Dave said:
How much time do you spend in each country? For the first few years my Inlaws kept their car UK registered, driving it back each year for MOT, but once they were Spanish residents they registered the car there (Jaguar XF), but then they are there the majority of the time.
The only cars I've ever found at the lower price is in the States. For example, this could make a good buy, $10,000 with decent miles, new engine and unrecorded damage that could be repaired: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvettes-...
The exchange rate is similar to when I bought mine, so this car could cost around £12000 to £13500 depending on location and shipping options. I can keep an eye out.
Thanks for the link. I don't have the time or space in the UK to take on a repair job so ideally want to buy something that's in good running condition, although not afraid of miles like yours - never a fan of low mileage garage queens that you then watch the odometer yourself and prefer cars with a story. My Aston has 73k on the clock and I don't think twice about doing Europe in it, or motorway blasts between Yorkshire and Hampshire every few months to visit family. I'd be quite happy with a 100K plus Vette to use regularly, plus the Spanish aren't great in terms of parking cares etc so a minter would only break my heart to see used and abused.The only cars I've ever found at the lower price is in the States. For example, this could make a good buy, $10,000 with decent miles, new engine and unrecorded damage that could be repaired: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvettes-...
The exchange rate is similar to when I bought mine, so this car could cost around £12000 to £13500 depending on location and shipping options. I can keep an eye out.
I spend about 3/4 months a year in Spain but am wrestling stilll with the fors/against of it being UK or Spanish registered.
English Reg
Cheaper to purchase
Can be used in UK
Insurance limited to insurers who will cover in excess of 90 days in Europe - expensive!
Strictly speaking breaking law in keeping car in Spain in excess of 6 months in a year (unless I keep it equally in the UK)
Nowhere to park Vette whilst in the UK unless I pay another £130 PCM (parking space)
Car to be mainly used in Spain so registered in "wrong" location for most of its use
Needs to be brought "home" annually for MOT
Spanish Reg
More expensive and risky to purchase - less background checks available etc
Cheaper and more mainstream insurance
Insurance covers any driver
Cheaper tax
Car registered in country where predominantly used
No need to return annually for MOT
No storage/parking charges
Cannot be driven by me in the UK
The last point about not being able to drive the Vette in the UK is the biggest drag. That said, I don't really need to drive it in the UK, but would be nice to be able to which if its on Spanish plates that becomes an impossibility, or at least so long as I remain a UK resident legally.
The car is still off the road, for those who haven't read previous posts it's to change the final drive ratio and fit a lightened flywheel. Frustratingly the diff was with Competition Transmission Services https://www.gearboxman.co.uk/ for three weeks before they said they needed shims and didn't have bearings in stock, so we're now waiting on parts from the States.
In the meantime I've been getting on with other tasks.
The EBC RP-1 pads were removed and photographed, I have emailed EBC who will get back to me.
These photos were from the right hand (passenger) side of the car.
The left/drivers side has an identical missing stripe on the same part of the disc braking surface, but the pad is undamaged, odd.
I was fortunate that at 180,000 miles the gearbox was rebuilt by the best in the business, RPM Transmissions in the States. At the same time the rear main seal was changed and the output shafts and clutch were replaced with a Z06 (LS7) upgraded version. The downside of the uprated clutch and cover plate is weight.
The standard Corvette LS2 clutch and flywheel would have weighed around 22.7kgs.
With the uprated LS7 coverplate and stock flywheel mine weighs 26.1kg, great for a smooth idle and traffic manners but not the best for performance or rev matching.
The stock flywheel alone is 12.3 kg.
The new, Fidanza alloy fly is half the weight at 6kg.
This gives the grand total of 19.8kg for the new set up, around 3kg lighter than the stock set up, it should help.
Not knowing whether the pilot bearing had been replaced it made sense to change it. In the freezer next to the Steak overnight, warmed up the crank end with a heat gun and the two slotted together with only light taps on a drift.
Also in the category of 'whilst I'm in there' I decided to tackle the torque tube and propshaft within.
I found the part numbers of the bearings and ordered them from a UK company. Also ordered a 'slinger' and pair of rubber 'giubo's'. The latter are expensive from Chevrolet, but bizarrely the BMW 318ti and similar models have a pair in identical sizes at a fraction of the price. Having separated the gearbox from the torque tube and gotten over how relatively light the tube is I removed the internals after wrestling with a monster circlip.
All the bearings and the rubber giubos span and looked perfect, but it made sense to change them, with the help of a local garage press.
The old (left) GM compared with the new BMW (Febi Bilstein) versions.
The alloy propshaft is beautifully made and so light.
Once rebuilt I tapped the lot back in to the tube, had a hell of a job with the circlip again (feared for my eyes!) and relax.
Back to the car I bolted the new flywheel with new bolts and old LS7 clutch back on the car, changing the oil and oil filter whilst I'm at it.
In the meantime I've been getting on with other tasks.
The EBC RP-1 pads were removed and photographed, I have emailed EBC who will get back to me.
These photos were from the right hand (passenger) side of the car.
The left/drivers side has an identical missing stripe on the same part of the disc braking surface, but the pad is undamaged, odd.
I was fortunate that at 180,000 miles the gearbox was rebuilt by the best in the business, RPM Transmissions in the States. At the same time the rear main seal was changed and the output shafts and clutch were replaced with a Z06 (LS7) upgraded version. The downside of the uprated clutch and cover plate is weight.
The standard Corvette LS2 clutch and flywheel would have weighed around 22.7kgs.
With the uprated LS7 coverplate and stock flywheel mine weighs 26.1kg, great for a smooth idle and traffic manners but not the best for performance or rev matching.
The stock flywheel alone is 12.3 kg.
The new, Fidanza alloy fly is half the weight at 6kg.
This gives the grand total of 19.8kg for the new set up, around 3kg lighter than the stock set up, it should help.
Not knowing whether the pilot bearing had been replaced it made sense to change it. In the freezer next to the Steak overnight, warmed up the crank end with a heat gun and the two slotted together with only light taps on a drift.
Also in the category of 'whilst I'm in there' I decided to tackle the torque tube and propshaft within.
I found the part numbers of the bearings and ordered them from a UK company. Also ordered a 'slinger' and pair of rubber 'giubo's'. The latter are expensive from Chevrolet, but bizarrely the BMW 318ti and similar models have a pair in identical sizes at a fraction of the price. Having separated the gearbox from the torque tube and gotten over how relatively light the tube is I removed the internals after wrestling with a monster circlip.
All the bearings and the rubber giubos span and looked perfect, but it made sense to change them, with the help of a local garage press.
The old (left) GM compared with the new BMW (Febi Bilstein) versions.
The alloy propshaft is beautifully made and so light.
Once rebuilt I tapped the lot back in to the tube, had a hell of a job with the circlip again (feared for my eyes!) and relax.
Back to the car I bolted the new flywheel with new bolts and old LS7 clutch back on the car, changing the oil and oil filter whilst I'm at it.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Wednesday 5th February 15:05
The 2007 Corvette C6 was supplied with a stupidly quiet exhaust as standard, you can barely hear that it's a V8 such are the backboxes effectiveness. The original owner quickly changed to a Flowmaster axle back, which were still on the car when i bought it. These sounded good, but had a fair bit of drone at 75mph and were a little too loud from cold, they would make pictures and ornaments buzz in the house such were the levels of base 
So, in the interests of harmony with my neighbours in the village I bought a pair of 'NPP' switchable boxes from a 2008 model, as documented on a previous page. With vacuum operated valves these go from quiet to noisy at a press of a remote and are pretty much perfect, aside from rattles, which i knew mine had when I bought them from the States, but they were cheap as a result. Due to the change in internal pressure within the backboxes it appears to fatigue and then crack the baffles over time. As they are off the car at present I decided to open them up and take a peek.
Carefully drill out the 6 spot welds.
Angle grind with a thin cutting disc.
Open it open to reveal the chambers and wadding.
One of the back boxes had light cracking only, the other was very damaged.
I've bought some sheets of stainless steel, which I will cut into sections and have welded to the existing baffles for extra strength, then have them sealed up again next week.
Finally I have now added a rear tow strap (having fitted an identical one to the front last year) as their is no provision for towing a US spec car, other than from beneath using the jacking holes, which would not be ideal on a trackday.
I will need to cut a slot in the black part of the lower bumper, but will only poke the tow strap through when needed at a trackday, the rest of the time it will stay hidden behind the bumper.
So, in the interests of harmony with my neighbours in the village I bought a pair of 'NPP' switchable boxes from a 2008 model, as documented on a previous page. With vacuum operated valves these go from quiet to noisy at a press of a remote and are pretty much perfect, aside from rattles, which i knew mine had when I bought them from the States, but they were cheap as a result. Due to the change in internal pressure within the backboxes it appears to fatigue and then crack the baffles over time. As they are off the car at present I decided to open them up and take a peek.
Carefully drill out the 6 spot welds.
Angle grind with a thin cutting disc.
Open it open to reveal the chambers and wadding.
One of the back boxes had light cracking only, the other was very damaged.
I've bought some sheets of stainless steel, which I will cut into sections and have welded to the existing baffles for extra strength, then have them sealed up again next week.
Finally I have now added a rear tow strap (having fitted an identical one to the front last year) as their is no provision for towing a US spec car, other than from beneath using the jacking holes, which would not be ideal on a trackday.
I will need to cut a slot in the black part of the lower bumper, but will only poke the tow strap through when needed at a trackday, the rest of the time it will stay hidden behind the bumper.
Love reading the updates on this!
Ah ...the PF48E… They swapped to these a few year ago. It replaced the old PF48.
I had at least 3 separate occasions where one of my cars had been dealer serviced, the oil filter wouldn't be done up tight enough. There would be oil over the bottom of the sump, not a lot, but enough to notice, and to put two and two together and think a seal was unwell.
Worked out the E version is shorter and harder to tighten up as you can't get any purchase on it. The sump is taller than the filter.
I generally now use a local one to here called Ryco Z663 or the other ACdelco one UPF48R which is the same size as the old PF48 (ie taller) and easier to tighten.
I guess if you are servicing the Corvette yourself, you would notice if you hadn't done it up tight enough!
Good thing about these engines is they are easy to service.
Ah ...the PF48E… They swapped to these a few year ago. It replaced the old PF48.
I had at least 3 separate occasions where one of my cars had been dealer serviced, the oil filter wouldn't be done up tight enough. There would be oil over the bottom of the sump, not a lot, but enough to notice, and to put two and two together and think a seal was unwell.
Worked out the E version is shorter and harder to tighten up as you can't get any purchase on it. The sump is taller than the filter.
I generally now use a local one to here called Ryco Z663 or the other ACdelco one UPF48R which is the same size as the old PF48 (ie taller) and easier to tighten.
I guess if you are servicing the Corvette yourself, you would notice if you hadn't done it up tight enough!
Good thing about these engines is they are easy to service.
Thank you
Yes, I had read they'd changed the filter some time ago. I also have to be careful ordering them from the states as have been sent the 46e by mistake which has a different thread/hole size. I've not had a problem yet with the 48e coming loose, but I tend to change my oil and filter regularly and check the car over pretty often. It's probably the easiest car I've ever worked on, thanks to a well thought out design, a previous owner who wasn't a Gorilla and virtually no corrosion.
Yes, I had read they'd changed the filter some time ago. I also have to be careful ordering them from the states as have been sent the 46e by mistake which has a different thread/hole size. I've not had a problem yet with the 48e coming loose, but I tend to change my oil and filter regularly and check the car over pretty often.
It's probably the easiest car I've ever worked on, thanks to a well thought out design, a previous owner who wasn't a Gorilla and virtually no corrosion. The NPP exhausts, with reinforcing pieces were welded up by a local company, minus the sound absorbing wool. For £80 in total I am happy with the job if it stops the rattling. All you can see from behind the car is the polished tips, so unless you're an MOT tester you'll not see the welds.
Whilst waiting what felt like an age for the diff, I treated the car to a leather gear gaiter to replace the tired, stock vinyl one. Bought for just £14.99 it is British made, fits perfectly and is very nice quality. The red stitching matches the Corbeau seats.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RED-STITCHING-GEAR-GAIT...
I wish I'd washed the car before I started work on it; almost two months with Spanish salt on the wheels has ruined the chrome, really gutted.
Whilst waiting what felt like an age for the diff, I treated the car to a leather gear gaiter to replace the tired, stock vinyl one. Bought for just £14.99 it is British made, fits perfectly and is very nice quality. The red stitching matches the Corbeau seats.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RED-STITCHING-GEAR-GAIT...
I wish I'd washed the car before I started work on it; almost two months with Spanish salt on the wheels has ruined the chrome, really gutted.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Tuesday 7th April 16:00
In mid January my diff arrived with Competition Transmission Services https://www.gearboxman.co.uk/ to fit the Motive Gears 4.1 crown and pinion. 2 to 3 weeks was the ball park figure, long story short, more parts were required, wrong bearings sent, chasing from me every few days. End result is that I collected the finished diff on Friday 28th Feb, with a considerably larger bill than initially expected (almost £1000) and my normally patient demeanour somewhat tested, having never received a call back at any stage in the process, or any information that could have allowed me to source parts myself.
I can only hope that the quality of their work inside the casing is better than the outside.
4.1 is definitely the largest that will fit in the Getrag casing.
Reunited with the Tremec gearbox.
With the help of my mate George 'PorkRind' we fitted the torque tube, propping it up with a length of timber. We then bolted the diff and gearbox to the rear subframe, George kicked away the piece of wood and supported the tube, whilst I lowered the car on the lift with George underneath!
We then jacked the assembly upto meet the tube, we took our time but had a bit of a job getting the two halves to mate together, but still think this is easier than having the extra weight and bulk of the torque tube hanging off the front. It also lessens the risk of damaging the pilot bearing.That was the end of day one, big thanks to George, having that extra muscle made a difference.
A long day by myself on Sunday and it's all back in, with fresh Redline ATF in the 'box and Millers CRX LS Nanodrive 75/90 in the diff.
Refitting the exhausts was hard work, I have a new found respect for exhaust fitters.
I had previously reported that I'd tried a new set of EBC RP1 pads on the front axle. These had cracked in short time and were missing a section on both front discs. EBC replaced the pads with no issue but having experienced this once before on my previous Z4M, I've gone back to the brilliant Mintex F4R.
Firing up after such a lot of disassembly is always a nervous moment, but it was fine. The exhausts no longer rattle at idle, much better and in the quiet mode are just a little deeper, now that the wool is removed. It was great to drive it again after 7 weeks without the car. The revs no rise and fall quicker with the lighter flywheel, but the biggest improvement was in the gearing. 75mph is now 2000rpm, compared with about 1650 before, with all of the gears nicely spaced. Although I am less than impressed with the service I received at CTS I must say that the end result is excellent, with no fluid leaks and no whining from the back end
.
I now need to cover 500 gentle miles before a Snetterton trackday on Monday, with no more than half throttle to bed in and heat cycle the flywheel and new cogs.
Driven it to work today, I've really missed it.
I can only hope that the quality of their work inside the casing is better than the outside.
4.1 is definitely the largest that will fit in the Getrag casing.
Reunited with the Tremec gearbox.
With the help of my mate George 'PorkRind' we fitted the torque tube, propping it up with a length of timber. We then bolted the diff and gearbox to the rear subframe, George kicked away the piece of wood and supported the tube, whilst I lowered the car on the lift with George underneath!
We then jacked the assembly upto meet the tube, we took our time but had a bit of a job getting the two halves to mate together, but still think this is easier than having the extra weight and bulk of the torque tube hanging off the front. It also lessens the risk of damaging the pilot bearing.That was the end of day one, big thanks to George, having that extra muscle made a difference.
A long day by myself on Sunday and it's all back in, with fresh Redline ATF in the 'box and Millers CRX LS Nanodrive 75/90 in the diff.
Refitting the exhausts was hard work, I have a new found respect for exhaust fitters.
I had previously reported that I'd tried a new set of EBC RP1 pads on the front axle. These had cracked in short time and were missing a section on both front discs. EBC replaced the pads with no issue but having experienced this once before on my previous Z4M, I've gone back to the brilliant Mintex F4R.
Firing up after such a lot of disassembly is always a nervous moment, but it was fine. The exhausts no longer rattle at idle, much better and in the quiet mode are just a little deeper, now that the wool is removed. It was great to drive it again after 7 weeks without the car. The revs no rise and fall quicker with the lighter flywheel, but the biggest improvement was in the gearing. 75mph is now 2000rpm, compared with about 1650 before, with all of the gears nicely spaced. Although I am less than impressed with the service I received at CTS I must say that the end result is excellent, with no fluid leaks and no whining from the back end
.I now need to cover 500 gentle miles before a Snetterton trackday on Monday, with no more than half throttle to bed in and heat cycle the flywheel and new cogs.
Driven it to work today, I've really missed it.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 5th March 09:53
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 5th March 09:55
Monday should be fun at Snetterton, are you bringing an onboard camera? I'll have the Go Pro so will aim to keep up if possible. 
The North Weald handling day I attended in November was featured in the latest issue of 'Vette News', with mention of my 2nd fastest time of the day, whoop. The magazine editor will be coming along to Snetterton to drive my car.
The North Weald handling day I attended in November was featured in the latest issue of 'Vette News', with mention of my 2nd fastest time of the day, whoop. The magazine editor will be coming along to Snetterton to drive my car.
I will have the go pro running and if I find time this weekend i’ll rig up the second one pointing aft. Been meaning to do that for a couple of years now so be good to have the incentive.
I’ve watched your vids, it’ll be me struggling to keep up mate!
Fingers crossed for at least a bit of good weather.
I’ve watched your vids, it’ll be me struggling to keep up mate!
Fingers crossed for at least a bit of good weather.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff