The £7700 Corvette C6
Discussion
Mr Tidy said:
It looks like you had a fantastic trip!
I went to the Daytona 500 in 1992 and after the race got to walk onto the track - I was amazed how steep the top of the banking was.
The atmosphere must have been special, Nascar was huge in the '90s. I went to the Daytona 500 in 1992 and after the race got to walk onto the track - I was amazed how steep the top of the banking was.
One driver at this weekend ran from the pits, across the grass and up the banking, about 30 mins before the start of the 24 Hours. He was immediately in trouble with the officials!
Robdutton91 said:
Amazing thread, just read through all 23 pages over the last couple of days. Fantastic story and so happy to see you’re still enjoying the car in spite of the mileage that so many others would turn their noses up at.
I bought my current car with 145,000 miles on it sight unseen, wasn’t quite as far away as yours but the car was in Orkney and I’m in the North of England, so reading your thread brought back some familiar feelings, but mine was an 8 hour drive as opposed to a transatlantic flight!
I’m glad there are people out there like me who don’t just write performance cars off as potential purchases due to high miles. People who put cars like this on a pedestal and don’t use them for fear of diminishing their value are not my type of people.
My car is also LS engined, so your thread fills me with hope for many many miles of low fuss motoring to come! Especially given that you’re on track so often too and all the wear and tear that comes with that use/abuse. Fantastic stuff.
Thank you so much, I'm pleased you enjoyed the read. High mileage cars have served me well over the years, allowing me to own models I could never have afforded had they been low mileage minters. Your own journey sounds good, what do you own? Any rust, as the car came from Orkney?I bought my current car with 145,000 miles on it sight unseen, wasn’t quite as far away as yours but the car was in Orkney and I’m in the North of England, so reading your thread brought back some familiar feelings, but mine was an 8 hour drive as opposed to a transatlantic flight!
I’m glad there are people out there like me who don’t just write performance cars off as potential purchases due to high miles. People who put cars like this on a pedestal and don’t use them for fear of diminishing their value are not my type of people.
My car is also LS engined, so your thread fills me with hope for many many miles of low fuss motoring to come! Especially given that you’re on track so often too and all the wear and tear that comes with that use/abuse. Fantastic stuff.
Fishy Dave said:
Thank you so much, I'm pleased you enjoyed the read. High mileage cars have served me well over the years, allowing me to own models I could never have afforded had they been low mileage minters. Your own journey sounds good, what do you own? Any rust, as the car came from Orkney?
I bought a Phantom Black 2008 VXR8 manual from there. It hadn’t spent much time on the island thankfully and wasn’t daily driven over there, it was garages and well protected underneath. Not as clean as your corvette but as far as 15 year old UK cars go it’s looking pretty solid. Far from perfect but that just makes me feel a lot more comfortable with dailying it, not worrying as much where I park or whether it sees rain etc. I’d like to track it occasionally but I have a lot of prep to do before that time comes.
Robdutton91 said:
I bought a Phantom Black 2008 VXR8 manual from there. It hadn’t spent much time on the island thankfully and wasn’t daily driven over there, it was garages and well protected underneath. Not as clean as your corvette but as far as 15 year old UK cars go it’s looking pretty solid. Far from perfect but that just makes me feel a lot more comfortable with dailying it, not worrying as much where I park or whether it sees rain etc.
I’d like to track it occasionally but I have a lot of prep to do before that time comes.
Very nice, I do like a VXR8, especially a manual, it was a car I looked at when initially selecting a V8. The 4 seats would certainly make more sense now (I didn't have a son at the time). What prep is needed, just normal maintenance items, or would you want to upgrade parts first? I’d like to track it occasionally but I have a lot of prep to do before that time comes.
Fishy Dave said:
Mr Tidy said:
It looks like you had a fantastic trip!
I went to the Daytona 500 in 1992 and after the race got to walk onto the track - I was amazed how steep the top of the banking was.
The atmosphere must have been special, Nascar was huge in the '90s. I went to the Daytona 500 in 1992 and after the race got to walk onto the track - I was amazed how steep the top of the banking was.
One driver at this weekend ran from the pits, across the grass and up the banking, about 30 mins before the start of the 24 Hours. He was immediately in trouble with the officials!
The sound down by the edge of the track was just amazing. You could walk along it but not stop there - needless to say everyone walked very slowly!
Fishy Dave said:
Robdutton91 said:
I bought a Phantom Black 2008 VXR8 manual from there. It hadn’t spent much time on the island thankfully and wasn’t daily driven over there, it was garages and well protected underneath. Not as clean as your corvette but as far as 15 year old UK cars go it’s looking pretty solid. Far from perfect but that just makes me feel a lot more comfortable with dailying it, not worrying as much where I park or whether it sees rain etc.
I’d like to track it occasionally but I have a lot of prep to do before that time comes.
Very nice, I do like a VXR8, especially a manual, it was a car I looked at when initially selecting a V8. The 4 seats would certainly make more sense now (I didn't have a son at the time). What prep is needed, just normal maintenance items, or would you want to upgrade parts first? I’d like to track it occasionally but I have a lot of prep to do before that time comes.
The steering needs some attention too, there’s a bit of a knock and supposedly they go through ARB bushings quick so will need to get those sorted too.
Edited by Robdutton91 on Friday 2nd December 16:31
The next big Corvette adventure begins on Friday, anyone have a guess where Clive is off to?
Final checks took place yesterday, with a new battery fitted and the fuel system evap. valve replaced.
The battery is a cheap, £40 AGM battery from Tayna for a Golf Cart/Mobility scooter! In theory it shouldn't be able to start such a large engine and yet it performs well. The only downside is that it needs charging/driving every couple of days, else the parasitic drain drops the voltage sub 12v. I've let that happen once too often this year and it was starting to get lazy at turning over. It's a huge weight saving over the standard battery, although not as light as a Lithium of course. The answer is going to be to fit a battery isolator at some stage.
Over the last couple of months I've had a random engine light for the fuel system evaporation valve. I picked one up last month in the States, along with the sub-loom that ensures the connector is right (pre-08 cars like mine have a different plug). Access isn't bad, tucked between chassis and gearbox, towards the rear of the car.
No engine light on the drive to work today, hoorah.
Later this week I'll load up some tools, fluids and spares, then off I go.
Final checks took place yesterday, with a new battery fitted and the fuel system evap. valve replaced.
The battery is a cheap, £40 AGM battery from Tayna for a Golf Cart/Mobility scooter! In theory it shouldn't be able to start such a large engine and yet it performs well. The only downside is that it needs charging/driving every couple of days, else the parasitic drain drops the voltage sub 12v. I've let that happen once too often this year and it was starting to get lazy at turning over. It's a huge weight saving over the standard battery, although not as light as a Lithium of course. The answer is going to be to fit a battery isolator at some stage.
Over the last couple of months I've had a random engine light for the fuel system evaporation valve. I picked one up last month in the States, along with the sub-loom that ensures the connector is right (pre-08 cars like mine have a different plug). Access isn't bad, tucked between chassis and gearbox, towards the rear of the car.
No engine light on the drive to work today, hoorah.
Later this week I'll load up some tools, fluids and spares, then off I go.
Nice guess, but no, not this time.Hello Dave, I've been following your C6 story for a while now and it's been a fantastic journey. You're a great ambassador for these superb cars.
I'm sort of the of the opposite to your story, instead of importing a C6 from the US, I was imported to the US with work and shortly after bought an Atomic Orange C6. I've had this car for four years now and it's been tons of fun. They are so easy to work on and parts are cheap. Having said that I've not had any problems with him other than swapping out the harmonic balancer which I was able to do in my own garage.
I have taken it on a track day at the National Corvette Museum, and while it was great fun it was clear the base suspension set up was just too soft. I've now upgraded it to the Z51 package and the difference is a huge improvement. Have you been to the NCM in Kentucky? It's definitely a bucket list item for Corvette fanatics....
With my car history, 4 years is a long time and I would normally be due a change. I've been looking at C8s but I really can't bring myself to let the C6 go. I just know if I let it go I will regret it, just so much character.
Keep enjoying the car!
I'm sort of the of the opposite to your story, instead of importing a C6 from the US, I was imported to the US with work and shortly after bought an Atomic Orange C6. I've had this car for four years now and it's been tons of fun. They are so easy to work on and parts are cheap. Having said that I've not had any problems with him other than swapping out the harmonic balancer which I was able to do in my own garage.
I have taken it on a track day at the National Corvette Museum, and while it was great fun it was clear the base suspension set up was just too soft. I've now upgraded it to the Z51 package and the difference is a huge improvement. Have you been to the NCM in Kentucky? It's definitely a bucket list item for Corvette fanatics....
With my car history, 4 years is a long time and I would normally be due a change. I've been looking at C8s but I really can't bring myself to let the C6 go. I just know if I let it go I will regret it, just so much character.
Keep enjoying the car!
Superb, thanks for posting, lovely colour C6 too. We did indeed visit the NCM as part of our road trip/collection, I think it's much further down page 1 of this thread? Good job for tackling the HB yourself, it's a pain having to shift the steering rack out the way. The Z51 suspension is a good compromise, still comfortable enough, but the car is far more controlled through the bends and under braking. Did you change the dampers too?
I know what you mean, it's hard to think of what to change the car for, unless paying a lot more.
I know what you mean, it's hard to think of what to change the car for, unless paying a lot more.
F1natic said:
Do we have to pay money to find out?
No money needed. 
Leg no.1 is now complete, after a 3 day journey we're down in south-west Spain (myself, Mrs Fishy and little Austin). I borrowed a trailer from a friend (thanks to WOSPerformance) and towed with the T5, so the three of us could travel together. I now have a couple of days working on the laptop, before saying bye to my family, whilst myself, Clive and another PHer continue the journey later in the week.....
A bit nippy when we left, I see from the news things got worse!
We've never known the Bay Of Biscay so calm, this was as rough as it got.
We got pulled over by Spanish customs, but after a delay they checked the Corvette V5 with my passport and was waived on.
Northern Spain was barely above freezing, with snow in the mountains around Madrid.
About 5 hours in to the drive it was time for another stop. That field entrance looks ideal for a brew, fairly flat, dry and no house/farm for miles. Only it wasn't dry, it had the stickiest clay known to man, the whole lot was stuck. An hour and a half later and with Clive unloaded, we were out, with darkness descending and everything covered in mud. Nightmare, but we were back on the road for a short while before camping in the T5.
The temperature really warmed up as we headed south the next day, the A/C was needed!
Despite my best preparation, the radiator sprung a leak which I only noticed whilst loading on the trailer, in the UK. This is the stain left on the trailer, I will have to hope it doesn't get worse. I've ordered a new rad and an uprated rad support to replace the one that has been cracked since I owned the car. No chance of it arriving for at least another week or two, so will have to hope for the best and carry plenty of water.
Beth and I are very lucky to have a little boy so willing to travel, he barely complained for three days. He's rather taken to the present his Nana and Grandad bought him.
The next instalment will follow in a couple of days, when the photos will reveal my destination, assuming the rad doesn't give up!
Clive is off on another adventure, this time with co-driver and fellow Corvette owner and PHer, Felix. Last night I headed to Malaga, where Felix flew into. This morning we arrived at Algeciras and crossed the Med, first to Ceuta, then into Morocco, North Africa.
Clive is heading south to the Sahara Desert in the next couple of days, in search of sunshine and Camels.
The poor car is slightly wounded, after a badly judged exit off the ferry ramp (my fault). The exhausts and clamps are now a bit wonky, the exhaust is blowing quite badly and the tracking is out too. Still, on the upside the leaking radiator hasn't got any worse.
There were probably ten passengers and vehicles on the high speed ferry, our first time looking across at Gibraltar, weather has been a bit iffy all day and nearly threatened the crossing happening at all.
We had to unload everything from the boot at customs, when we first arrived, oh and we got pulled over once at a police check point, but all done with smiles and no issues at all. We arranged local car insurance and now have recovery too.
Shell V Power is almost half the price here.
Still a good few Merc taxi's here.
Pot holes and speed humps are regular features, keeping us on our toes, as well as a few kamikaze pedestrians/dogs/drivers.
The Moroccan's seem to love the Corvette, we've had so many waves, smiles and hand signals that want us to rev the engine.
Today was mostly a transition day, it should get more interesting the next couple of days.
Clive is heading south to the Sahara Desert in the next couple of days, in search of sunshine and Camels.
The poor car is slightly wounded, after a badly judged exit off the ferry ramp (my fault). The exhausts and clamps are now a bit wonky, the exhaust is blowing quite badly and the tracking is out too. Still, on the upside the leaking radiator hasn't got any worse.
There were probably ten passengers and vehicles on the high speed ferry, our first time looking across at Gibraltar, weather has been a bit iffy all day and nearly threatened the crossing happening at all.
We had to unload everything from the boot at customs, when we first arrived, oh and we got pulled over once at a police check point, but all done with smiles and no issues at all. We arranged local car insurance and now have recovery too.
Shell V Power is almost half the price here.
Still a good few Merc taxi's here.
Pot holes and speed humps are regular features, keeping us on our toes, as well as a few kamikaze pedestrians/dogs/drivers.
The Moroccan's seem to love the Corvette, we've had so many waves, smiles and hand signals that want us to rev the engine.
Today was mostly a transition day, it should get more interesting the next couple of days.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 15th December 20:00
Very, very cool. I drove a rented Dacia Duster from Marrakesh up through the Atlas mountains a few years ago. The roads were, on the whole, better than I was expecting once you get out of the cities. Lots of fun to be had in the mountains!
A word of advice: be very careful about what you eat from the roadside service stations
A word of advice: be very careful about what you eat from the roadside service stations
Look forward to this, I actually saw a picture Felix had put on FB and have just realised I assumed it was you because Clive is so recognisable, forgetting Felix has the blue C6
Talk about an inconvenient time for the radiator to play up just before going to the Sahara!
Have a great trip and look forward to seeing how you get on!
Talk about an inconvenient time for the radiator to play up just before going to the Sahara!
Have a great trip and look forward to seeing how you get on!
A very good day, aside from me reversing into a tree. Not even a small tree, although in my defense we have a fair bit piled in the boot, restricting visibilty. Some spider cracks in the paint.
Anyway, the day started by visiting the roman city ruins at Volubilis. It was a real privilege to be here, with only about 20 other tourists present, the sun even shone for a while.
Next, we headed to the Swiss style town of Ifran, it was clean and rather European in feel and the other cars that were here. Fanastic Pizza too. They ski here and the multiple snow gates and low temperatures were proof of the altitude we'd reached.
Some nice, smooth driving roads followed, with a variety of towns passed through, some tidy, others were struggling. We reached our overnight hotel in Midelt as darkness fell.
We have another 6 hours of driving south tomorrow (with stops) and we'll be on the edge of the Sahara.
The hotel is, traditional, with excellent service, but wifi so slow this post has taken me more than two hours. A security guard is looking after the car and it's on a big cctv screen too.
The people continue to be friendly and seem to love the car. The wild dogs slightly less so at times. ?? Felix hasn't been bitten yet though, when making a dash out the car for a photo. We've not seen any super unleaded all day, so it will be regular and an octane booster tomorrow.
Anyway, the day started by visiting the roman city ruins at Volubilis. It was a real privilege to be here, with only about 20 other tourists present, the sun even shone for a while.
Next, we headed to the Swiss style town of Ifran, it was clean and rather European in feel and the other cars that were here. Fanastic Pizza too. They ski here and the multiple snow gates and low temperatures were proof of the altitude we'd reached.
Some nice, smooth driving roads followed, with a variety of towns passed through, some tidy, others were struggling. We reached our overnight hotel in Midelt as darkness fell.
We have another 6 hours of driving south tomorrow (with stops) and we'll be on the edge of the Sahara.
The hotel is, traditional, with excellent service, but wifi so slow this post has taken me more than two hours. A security guard is looking after the car and it's on a big cctv screen too.
The people continue to be friendly and seem to love the car. The wild dogs slightly less so at times. ?? Felix hasn't been bitten yet though, when making a dash out the car for a photo. We've not seen any super unleaded all day, so it will be regular and an octane booster tomorrow.
Wifi in the Sahara isn't the best, it's amazing there is any, so I'll add the rest of the photos tomorrow.
Day three and its been another eventful and forever memorable experience. Let's get my daily mistake out the way first, I got stuck in the sand. Felix suggested a drive by video, I drove out of sight, half attempted a spin round in the narrow road, but was too gentle on the throttle. 3/4 of the way round found my front wheels stuck and rears just on the edge. The gentlest of throttle just saw me slide further in, due to the slope.
Felix jogged back up the road, laughed and we flagged down a passing Spanish family in a VW T4. We have a tow strap with us, but the angle I was pulled out damaged the lower rear bumper. Oh and my nice fleece I used under my rear tyre looks like a cats been at it. I was so cross with myself, I've carried out countless 180 half spins over the years and know better than this.
I partly blame the can of 'Mr Basil', that contained 10 E numbers, is made in Vietnam, has a warning 'May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children' and seemed to contain Frogspawn.
Anyway, that's three mess ups so far this trip. Lets look at todays positives.
After a tasty breakfast, the day started proper by glancing at the hotel cctv screen. Either the radiator had sprung a major leak or someone had cleaned the car. It was the latter, the kind security guard had taken a liking to the car, sadly it was a bit of a rush job, with a rag and maybe half a bucket of water? I'd intended to leave the car dirty, oh well. It was a nice gesture, so I couldn't be cross, but the car looked even worse than before! A small top up and the expansion tank was at the right level again, the rad leak is slight and not getting worse.
After filling the car with fuel and avoiding buying anything from the slightly pushy fossil salesman, we once again headed south. We stopped for photos along the way, then found an unfinished fuel station, with a working jet wash. Jet was about right, it was crazy the force of water from this thing, Felix managed to half remove a sticker from the car at fairly long range!
Clean car, happier David, we drove through fantastic views, past oasis and the Gorge du Ziz. We could see the sand dunes for many miles before reaching Merzouga. The weather got warmer, windows down, enjoying the exhaust and low to mid 20C.
We'd made good time, when I got stuck in the sand. Despite this, once dragged out we were still early for our Sahara experience, phew. Souther Morocco is not actually 'that' far and many drivers have achieved more, but I'm chuffed to have made it to the edge of the Sahara, in such an unlikely car. We are regularly waving, flashing(oo-er), allowing photos, or chatting to passers by who love the Corvette, it doesn't get tiring.
It was just Felix and I for the desert experience, plus four Chinese girls, who studied in London and were good fun. We piled into a Mitsubishi 4x4, then flew (literally) over the dunes, both us hurting our necks when we hit our heads on the roof, due to being wedged in the cramped, rearmost seats. This was just the 4x4 to take us a kilometre to the camels!
A Camel seemed like the more relaxing mode of transport after this! I called shotgun on the lead blonde Camel, Felix took the dark Camel behind me. Much laugher as they stood up and we were off, for the next hour and a half, up and down the soft sand. I loved every moment of it, I felt totally relaxed on Clive The Camel, the sand dunes were otherworldly and it was almost totally silent.
We looked across at the border with Algeria, dismounted an hour in and watched the sun go down. With other groups joining us briefly. It was almost dark when we arrived at camp. One of the girls had walked the last 20 mins due to saddle soreness, I think Felix was considering it too. 😆 🐪
Mint tea on arrival, fancy tents, not bad food, but best of all was the blackness and completely clear, starry night. I've never seen more stars, Felix will post some superb long-exposure piccies when we get home.
Despite the self-inflicted mishaps and damage to the car, it's been a brilliant three days so far and I'm very lucky to have the chance to see the Sahara in this way. Thanks to Felix for being a great co-driver and a good laugh. More Camels tomorrow, after a sunrise wake up.
Day three and its been another eventful and forever memorable experience. Let's get my daily mistake out the way first, I got stuck in the sand. Felix suggested a drive by video, I drove out of sight, half attempted a spin round in the narrow road, but was too gentle on the throttle. 3/4 of the way round found my front wheels stuck and rears just on the edge. The gentlest of throttle just saw me slide further in, due to the slope.
Felix jogged back up the road, laughed and we flagged down a passing Spanish family in a VW T4. We have a tow strap with us, but the angle I was pulled out damaged the lower rear bumper. Oh and my nice fleece I used under my rear tyre looks like a cats been at it. I was so cross with myself, I've carried out countless 180 half spins over the years and know better than this.
I partly blame the can of 'Mr Basil', that contained 10 E numbers, is made in Vietnam, has a warning 'May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children' and seemed to contain Frogspawn.
Anyway, that's three mess ups so far this trip. Lets look at todays positives.
After a tasty breakfast, the day started proper by glancing at the hotel cctv screen. Either the radiator had sprung a major leak or someone had cleaned the car. It was the latter, the kind security guard had taken a liking to the car, sadly it was a bit of a rush job, with a rag and maybe half a bucket of water? I'd intended to leave the car dirty, oh well. It was a nice gesture, so I couldn't be cross, but the car looked even worse than before! A small top up and the expansion tank was at the right level again, the rad leak is slight and not getting worse.
After filling the car with fuel and avoiding buying anything from the slightly pushy fossil salesman, we once again headed south. We stopped for photos along the way, then found an unfinished fuel station, with a working jet wash. Jet was about right, it was crazy the force of water from this thing, Felix managed to half remove a sticker from the car at fairly long range!
Clean car, happier David, we drove through fantastic views, past oasis and the Gorge du Ziz. We could see the sand dunes for many miles before reaching Merzouga. The weather got warmer, windows down, enjoying the exhaust and low to mid 20C.
We'd made good time, when I got stuck in the sand. Despite this, once dragged out we were still early for our Sahara experience, phew. Souther Morocco is not actually 'that' far and many drivers have achieved more, but I'm chuffed to have made it to the edge of the Sahara, in such an unlikely car. We are regularly waving, flashing(oo-er), allowing photos, or chatting to passers by who love the Corvette, it doesn't get tiring.
It was just Felix and I for the desert experience, plus four Chinese girls, who studied in London and were good fun. We piled into a Mitsubishi 4x4, then flew (literally) over the dunes, both us hurting our necks when we hit our heads on the roof, due to being wedged in the cramped, rearmost seats. This was just the 4x4 to take us a kilometre to the camels!
A Camel seemed like the more relaxing mode of transport after this! I called shotgun on the lead blonde Camel, Felix took the dark Camel behind me. Much laugher as they stood up and we were off, for the next hour and a half, up and down the soft sand. I loved every moment of it, I felt totally relaxed on Clive The Camel, the sand dunes were otherworldly and it was almost totally silent.
We looked across at the border with Algeria, dismounted an hour in and watched the sun go down. With other groups joining us briefly. It was almost dark when we arrived at camp. One of the girls had walked the last 20 mins due to saddle soreness, I think Felix was considering it too. 😆 🐪
Mint tea on arrival, fancy tents, not bad food, but best of all was the blackness and completely clear, starry night. I've never seen more stars, Felix will post some superb long-exposure piccies when we get home.
Despite the self-inflicted mishaps and damage to the car, it's been a brilliant three days so far and I'm very lucky to have the chance to see the Sahara in this way. Thanks to Felix for being a great co-driver and a good laugh. More Camels tomorrow, after a sunrise wake up.
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