Corvette C5 Daily Driver
Discussion
Hi All,
I thought it was about time I did a little write up on my C5 Corvette. As someone who is just a fan of cars generally I really enjoy how varied the entries are on here, but unfortunately Corvettes don’t come up that often, which is a shame as they can be great cars, for the C5 specifically I’d go as far as to say outside of the US they’re one of the most under-rated sports cars of their time.
So I thought I’d put up a little info on the generation I have and also my own example & ownership experience.
The C5 first went on sale in 1997, but was in development from the early 90’s. The body is made from sheet moulded compound, I guess considered to be plastic but similar to fibreglass in some ways. Chevrolet consulted Lotus on the underpinnings who suggested the car should have a torsionally stiff backbone. Chevrolet continued with this and the result was a full length perimeter frame with hydroformed frame side rails in steel, from there the car is extensively aluminium, the cockpit is framed by aluminium castings and extrusions, the front & rear subframes, suspension arms etc are all ali, even the seat frames. The twin fuel tanks are composite, the floor is composite/aluminium with a balsa wood core. Steering column support is magnesium.
The drivetrain is made up of the all aluminium LS1 – now known to be an extremely strong engine, it is a 5.7 V8 pushrod unit and in the C5 is mounted behind the front axle, with the gearbox at the rear, the C5 is considered a front-mid engine layout, and the result of this is nigh on 50/50 weight distribution. The suspension consists of upper and lower A arms, regular dampers and transverse composite leaf springs, which are effective in both performance and packaging terms. Ride height is adjustable from factory. Wheels are 17” up front and 18” rear and are either aluminium or magnesium as an option.
In terms of performance, a MY 2000 C5 convertible such as my car produces 344bhp/350lb.ft standard & weighs 1450kg, performance is 4.5 to 60 and 170mph top end. They are not a small car but also not overly large by todays standards, it measures very similar to a 991 Porsche 911 albeit a little lower in height than the Porsche.
Unfortunately and whilst Chevrolet were quite rightly only giving the customers what they wanted, an automatic transmission was standard (Z06 excluded) with the 6 speed manual being an option, so despite being a very capable car the majority in my view are somewhat hampered by not having 3 pedals.
The C5 was also of course a successful race car in endurance racing, winning its class at Le Mans in 2001 & 2002 amongst others.
Whilst the above is all well and good (the SMC body and ali underside being a significant benefit when viewing these cars in the modern day!), what really helps in making them a good overall car is the technology inside, I’ll keep this short as realise this is getting a little wordy already! But here are some of the features a well specced C5 such as mine has;
Digital dual zone climate control/aircon
Bose stereo
Telescopic steering column
Heads up display which is adjustable in height & brightness, and can be configured to show oil pressure, coolant temp or fuel level, it also includes warning messages, shows indicators and has a shift light, not to mention you can have it display in either MPH or KPH.
Electric seats/mirrors with memory function
Tire pressure monitoring system
Stability control/ABS
Daytime running lights
Approach me lights
Drive away locking
Heated mirrors & heated rear screen
Driver/passenger airbag
One touch windows
Auto lights
Lots of info and options available through the dash including full fault code readings
Really not bad at all for a 90’s sports car! If you cast your mind back to other similar offerings at the time there wasn’t much out there that could offer the same, the end result is a car that is truly useable everyday and in any condition, the boot on the convertible is big and easily capable of swallowing a weekly shop as mine has done on a number of occasions!
So my car is a 2000 model year C5 convertible, most notably it has T56 Borg Warner 6 speed manual box and is thankfully black paint, black roof, black interior. Personally I think black suits this car so well and the other roof and interior options, which I guess where the in thing at the time, are now decidedly random, white or light oak roof anyone..
As alluded to previously the car is otherwise high spec with most options available at the time, including the polished aluminium wheels – not chrome! which were forged on the 2000 year cars, and sports seats, HUD etc etc.
I believe it may have been a demo car originally as was registered new in New Jersey but went on to its second owner after only 6 months, the car left NJ for Florida where it stayed until the third owner brought it to the UK in 2018. Thankfully it was converted for use in the UK nicely, the rear fog light has been incorporated into the rear lights, and the side repeaters are subtle, not like some I’ve seen!
It is largely original however it does have some nice upgrades, I expect these were done around 10 years ago if not more;
Early Corsa Sport axle back exhaust – sound is epic, not crazy loud in normal conditions but awesome on power and no drone on the motorway
SLP Blackwing intake
MCM low rise carbon fibre hood, considered the best quality aftermarket hood for the C5 but they haven’t been produced for many years, so are very desirable now in the US and I very much doubt there are many if any in the UK!
Z06 front bumper screens
Rear light grills
In terms of driving it’s a pretty physical experience, with good weight to the clutch, gearshift and steering, and of course the sound is pure V8.. it doesn’t take long to realise it’s a car which requires respect, it is very well balanced and handles well but you have to drive it, not the other way round. Because of this its character is similar to something like a V8 TVR in many ways, albeit it’s more of a GT than an outright sportscar. What I can say is that its huge fun to drive in literally any circumstance and at any speed, it ALWAYS feels special. Before I went for this I considered all sorts, Porsche 968, BMW M3, Audi RS4, Jaguar XKR to name a few but nothing gave me the same feeling and I guess perhaps bizarrely all seemed more compromised than the Corvette based my own requirements!
Anyway that’s enough words for now and thanks if you’ve read this far.. here’s some pictures, I’ll get onto what I’ve done so far to the car another time.
I thought it was about time I did a little write up on my C5 Corvette. As someone who is just a fan of cars generally I really enjoy how varied the entries are on here, but unfortunately Corvettes don’t come up that often, which is a shame as they can be great cars, for the C5 specifically I’d go as far as to say outside of the US they’re one of the most under-rated sports cars of their time.
So I thought I’d put up a little info on the generation I have and also my own example & ownership experience.
The C5 first went on sale in 1997, but was in development from the early 90’s. The body is made from sheet moulded compound, I guess considered to be plastic but similar to fibreglass in some ways. Chevrolet consulted Lotus on the underpinnings who suggested the car should have a torsionally stiff backbone. Chevrolet continued with this and the result was a full length perimeter frame with hydroformed frame side rails in steel, from there the car is extensively aluminium, the cockpit is framed by aluminium castings and extrusions, the front & rear subframes, suspension arms etc are all ali, even the seat frames. The twin fuel tanks are composite, the floor is composite/aluminium with a balsa wood core. Steering column support is magnesium.
The drivetrain is made up of the all aluminium LS1 – now known to be an extremely strong engine, it is a 5.7 V8 pushrod unit and in the C5 is mounted behind the front axle, with the gearbox at the rear, the C5 is considered a front-mid engine layout, and the result of this is nigh on 50/50 weight distribution. The suspension consists of upper and lower A arms, regular dampers and transverse composite leaf springs, which are effective in both performance and packaging terms. Ride height is adjustable from factory. Wheels are 17” up front and 18” rear and are either aluminium or magnesium as an option.
In terms of performance, a MY 2000 C5 convertible such as my car produces 344bhp/350lb.ft standard & weighs 1450kg, performance is 4.5 to 60 and 170mph top end. They are not a small car but also not overly large by todays standards, it measures very similar to a 991 Porsche 911 albeit a little lower in height than the Porsche.
Unfortunately and whilst Chevrolet were quite rightly only giving the customers what they wanted, an automatic transmission was standard (Z06 excluded) with the 6 speed manual being an option, so despite being a very capable car the majority in my view are somewhat hampered by not having 3 pedals.
The C5 was also of course a successful race car in endurance racing, winning its class at Le Mans in 2001 & 2002 amongst others.
Whilst the above is all well and good (the SMC body and ali underside being a significant benefit when viewing these cars in the modern day!), what really helps in making them a good overall car is the technology inside, I’ll keep this short as realise this is getting a little wordy already! But here are some of the features a well specced C5 such as mine has;
Digital dual zone climate control/aircon
Bose stereo
Telescopic steering column
Heads up display which is adjustable in height & brightness, and can be configured to show oil pressure, coolant temp or fuel level, it also includes warning messages, shows indicators and has a shift light, not to mention you can have it display in either MPH or KPH.
Electric seats/mirrors with memory function
Tire pressure monitoring system
Stability control/ABS
Daytime running lights
Approach me lights
Drive away locking
Heated mirrors & heated rear screen
Driver/passenger airbag
One touch windows
Auto lights
Lots of info and options available through the dash including full fault code readings
Really not bad at all for a 90’s sports car! If you cast your mind back to other similar offerings at the time there wasn’t much out there that could offer the same, the end result is a car that is truly useable everyday and in any condition, the boot on the convertible is big and easily capable of swallowing a weekly shop as mine has done on a number of occasions!
So my car is a 2000 model year C5 convertible, most notably it has T56 Borg Warner 6 speed manual box and is thankfully black paint, black roof, black interior. Personally I think black suits this car so well and the other roof and interior options, which I guess where the in thing at the time, are now decidedly random, white or light oak roof anyone..
As alluded to previously the car is otherwise high spec with most options available at the time, including the polished aluminium wheels – not chrome! which were forged on the 2000 year cars, and sports seats, HUD etc etc.
I believe it may have been a demo car originally as was registered new in New Jersey but went on to its second owner after only 6 months, the car left NJ for Florida where it stayed until the third owner brought it to the UK in 2018. Thankfully it was converted for use in the UK nicely, the rear fog light has been incorporated into the rear lights, and the side repeaters are subtle, not like some I’ve seen!
It is largely original however it does have some nice upgrades, I expect these were done around 10 years ago if not more;
Early Corsa Sport axle back exhaust – sound is epic, not crazy loud in normal conditions but awesome on power and no drone on the motorway
SLP Blackwing intake
MCM low rise carbon fibre hood, considered the best quality aftermarket hood for the C5 but they haven’t been produced for many years, so are very desirable now in the US and I very much doubt there are many if any in the UK!
Z06 front bumper screens
Rear light grills
In terms of driving it’s a pretty physical experience, with good weight to the clutch, gearshift and steering, and of course the sound is pure V8.. it doesn’t take long to realise it’s a car which requires respect, it is very well balanced and handles well but you have to drive it, not the other way round. Because of this its character is similar to something like a V8 TVR in many ways, albeit it’s more of a GT than an outright sportscar. What I can say is that its huge fun to drive in literally any circumstance and at any speed, it ALWAYS feels special. Before I went for this I considered all sorts, Porsche 968, BMW M3, Audi RS4, Jaguar XKR to name a few but nothing gave me the same feeling and I guess perhaps bizarrely all seemed more compromised than the Corvette based my own requirements!
Anyway that’s enough words for now and thanks if you’ve read this far.. here’s some pictures, I’ll get onto what I’ve done so far to the car another time.
Edited by daniel-5zjw7 on Sunday 17th May 23:48
Great review!
I had one, a 1999 C5 coupe with the removable roof panel, that made the car very versatile. Mine was red with black leather interior, which although a bit plasticky, many more features included with the Vette than most other cars of the time such as you mention, like climate, heads up display, etc that even if you could get, were options on the list for anything fast at the time.
Mine had the magnesium wheels, and a number plate that was R6CER, racer, which I eventually sold due to far too much attention from plod! I had a class one laser jammed installed behind the number plate at the front that saved me many a time whilst using the prodigious speed the vette could use easily. Unfortunately, mine was an auto, but then, I seem to remember it broke the NSL in second at barely any revs, and went on to a GPS measured 186mph at a test day I went too, so it wasn’t too bad! The head up display was very useful.
The car ran Goodyear Eagle F1s when I first bought her, which were I think the first production car run flat tyres. Unfortunately, these were far too hard a compound, so wet weather made the car quite unsafe to drive at decent speeds, so a contact that supplied the police provided me a set of Avon Turbospeeds..... what a difference that made to the handling. She turned into a proper sports car, as you’ve said, still a GT at heart, but the new tyres really did allow her to corner far more effectively, maintain her lines regardless of the crappy roads, and much more comfortable ride as the tyres soaked up some of the unevenness, where the Eagles before had all the comfort of wooden stagecoach wheels!
The only problem I experienced, and it’s just a preference really, is that being a left hooker, and being a push on type of driver, I found overtaking was a much more involved process, as you lost a lot of opportunities through being unable to see safely ahead, obscured as you were on the wrong side. Overtakes I would have made stick easily in a right hand drive simply weren’t seen, let alone carried out, and it became quite annoying since the car is pretty wide, so you couldn’t just swing out and have a look, you had to time views and wait for the right corners and long straights for line of sight.. just a bit awkward. Were I not so aggressive a driver, I doubt I would have had any concerns and likely I’d still have the car as it was such a nice car to drive. Servicing, by the way, is so simple and easy!, and the major comes at 100,000 miles!
At the time, I lived in a detached property with a single garage, and the width of the car was a bit too far for the garage really. An interesting adjustment had to be made to enable me to use the garage easily (as otherwise, if it’s too hard to get in and get the car out, I am too lazy and wouldn’t have used the car as much as I did) and I had french doors fitted to the side wall of the garage, allowing the door to be opened out and swung through the open french doors, making for a much more comfortable entry/exit!
Eventually, I sold her to Bauer Millet in Manchester when I replaced her with a Maserati 3200GT in 2001.
I had one, a 1999 C5 coupe with the removable roof panel, that made the car very versatile. Mine was red with black leather interior, which although a bit plasticky, many more features included with the Vette than most other cars of the time such as you mention, like climate, heads up display, etc that even if you could get, were options on the list for anything fast at the time.
Mine had the magnesium wheels, and a number plate that was R6CER, racer, which I eventually sold due to far too much attention from plod! I had a class one laser jammed installed behind the number plate at the front that saved me many a time whilst using the prodigious speed the vette could use easily. Unfortunately, mine was an auto, but then, I seem to remember it broke the NSL in second at barely any revs, and went on to a GPS measured 186mph at a test day I went too, so it wasn’t too bad! The head up display was very useful.
The car ran Goodyear Eagle F1s when I first bought her, which were I think the first production car run flat tyres. Unfortunately, these were far too hard a compound, so wet weather made the car quite unsafe to drive at decent speeds, so a contact that supplied the police provided me a set of Avon Turbospeeds..... what a difference that made to the handling. She turned into a proper sports car, as you’ve said, still a GT at heart, but the new tyres really did allow her to corner far more effectively, maintain her lines regardless of the crappy roads, and much more comfortable ride as the tyres soaked up some of the unevenness, where the Eagles before had all the comfort of wooden stagecoach wheels!
The only problem I experienced, and it’s just a preference really, is that being a left hooker, and being a push on type of driver, I found overtaking was a much more involved process, as you lost a lot of opportunities through being unable to see safely ahead, obscured as you were on the wrong side. Overtakes I would have made stick easily in a right hand drive simply weren’t seen, let alone carried out, and it became quite annoying since the car is pretty wide, so you couldn’t just swing out and have a look, you had to time views and wait for the right corners and long straights for line of sight.. just a bit awkward. Were I not so aggressive a driver, I doubt I would have had any concerns and likely I’d still have the car as it was such a nice car to drive. Servicing, by the way, is so simple and easy!, and the major comes at 100,000 miles!
At the time, I lived in a detached property with a single garage, and the width of the car was a bit too far for the garage really. An interesting adjustment had to be made to enable me to use the garage easily (as otherwise, if it’s too hard to get in and get the car out, I am too lazy and wouldn’t have used the car as much as I did) and I had french doors fitted to the side wall of the garage, allowing the door to be opened out and swung through the open french doors, making for a much more comfortable entry/exit!
Eventually, I sold her to Bauer Millet in Manchester when I replaced her with a Maserati 3200GT in 2001.
Thanks for the comments all.
@Venturist, There are much more manuals in the US but still a good chunk are autos. C5's in the UK seem heavily auto biased, I think some of this might be down to lhd plus manual being a step to far for some. Though in reality its a non issue, in fact personally I prefer it. Of course Z06's sit at the top of the C5 tree and are manual only, however there is no convertible Z06.
I'm not the best for pictures but will try to put more up!
@Lewis, So did you have yours from new?? Sounds like it was a nice car in red/black with the mag wheels :-) yes the materials inside are certainly not where Chevrolet blew their budget.. I like the design but the quality could be better, that said I'd rather they focused on the areas they did so no complaints from me.
I forgot about the runflats, yes I think they were certainly one of the early adopters of that technology, one of the lesser revered innovations though it has to be said! My car already had normal tyres fitted so I've not experienced runflats on a C5 and don't intend to either! This did through up one issue for me though which I needed to resolve, I'll get to that later.
It does sound like that your 'problem' was more down to driving style ;-) certainly i know what you mean and do have to pay attention when overtaking cyclists etc, but LHD or RHD i am very weary about overtaking other cars and hardly ever do it so haven't found that an issue personally yet.
Oh and i love what you did with your garage!!
@Cerb4.5lee thanks, yea roof down is the way forward to fully experience the sound, preferably between walls etc!
@AlecT thanks, yep don't see them often thats for sure, I've not personally seen another on the road since I've had mine and can't remember the last time i did see one tbh. I think it turns alot of heads for that reason, as in many people just wonder what it actually is. Thanks for the heads up on that book, may need to pick one up. I have a book on the history of the Corvette and also find the Corvsport website a great source of info.
@Venturist, There are much more manuals in the US but still a good chunk are autos. C5's in the UK seem heavily auto biased, I think some of this might be down to lhd plus manual being a step to far for some. Though in reality its a non issue, in fact personally I prefer it. Of course Z06's sit at the top of the C5 tree and are manual only, however there is no convertible Z06.
I'm not the best for pictures but will try to put more up!
@Lewis, So did you have yours from new?? Sounds like it was a nice car in red/black with the mag wheels :-) yes the materials inside are certainly not where Chevrolet blew their budget.. I like the design but the quality could be better, that said I'd rather they focused on the areas they did so no complaints from me.
I forgot about the runflats, yes I think they were certainly one of the early adopters of that technology, one of the lesser revered innovations though it has to be said! My car already had normal tyres fitted so I've not experienced runflats on a C5 and don't intend to either! This did through up one issue for me though which I needed to resolve, I'll get to that later.
It does sound like that your 'problem' was more down to driving style ;-) certainly i know what you mean and do have to pay attention when overtaking cyclists etc, but LHD or RHD i am very weary about overtaking other cars and hardly ever do it so haven't found that an issue personally yet.
Oh and i love what you did with your garage!!
@Cerb4.5lee thanks, yea roof down is the way forward to fully experience the sound, preferably between walls etc!
@AlecT thanks, yep don't see them often thats for sure, I've not personally seen another on the road since I've had mine and can't remember the last time i did see one tbh. I think it turns alot of heads for that reason, as in many people just wonder what it actually is. Thanks for the heads up on that book, may need to pick one up. I have a book on the history of the Corvette and also find the Corvsport website a great source of info.
I quite like the Vettes. I am particularly interested in how the C8 pans out, especially as it will be available in RHD. Clearly it will not be sold here in the UK at the GBP equivalent of USD pricing, more likely north of £80k, but will be something of game changer for the mid engine super/sports car segment here, I think. Performance of the C8 is impressive even before you add the Z51 package.
My least favourite Vette is C4. My favourite are these:
Properly pretty car.
My least favourite Vette is C4. My favourite are these:
Properly pretty car.
So the first few jobs I needed to do on picking up the vette...
First up, the harmonic balancer, a well known item that needs replacement now and again on these cars, ultimately the balancer starts to separate and starts to wobble, which in turn causes belt squeal from the fan belt/aircon belt, if left the pulley starts to walk down the crank, usually in the direction of the timing chain cover, which then is a whole other headache! I knew mine was wobbling when i bought it so it was top of the list to fix.
The offending item can be seen in this pic attached to the end of the crank..
This is not a small job, and I soon decided I wasn't going to do it myself. I came across Matt @ CCM Vettes and after a chat with him i knew he was the man for the job so promptly booked the car in. In the end I went for a genuine GM balancer (you can go aftermarket but i have no plans for upping the power and the original did last for 20 years/80,000 miles..), however i decided not to go for the OEM stretch to yield bolt and went for an ARP item instead, not forgetting a new genuine timing cover seal.
The most expensive and biggest bolt I think I've bought!
Whilst the car was with Matt he also put some new rear brake pads on which the previous owner gave me when i bought the car, the reason why the last owner hadn't fitted them became clear when Matt found two different locking wheel nuts per wheel but only one key!! He also gave the car a check over and was impressed with the underside especially, he found one of the rear shocks to be leaking plus the car still had the original plastic arb end links fitted which were pretty much done.
Whilst this was going on I was trying to address another problem, which involved getting my 4 year old daughter to school! C5's have strange seat belts, with inertia reels top and bottom.. in short they don't work with child seats. So i started working on a plan to retrofit an ISOFIX bracket to the passenger seat. Through this forum and also owning a 325ti, I had come across Adam at Artisan MetalCraft, if you've seen any of his work you'll know how good he is and given he's not too far from me I got in touch to see if he could help.. he could :-) In the end we came up with a solution using a Ford Focus ISOFIX bracket matched up to a custom piece from Adam incorporating a tether latch, here are some pics after it was fabricated, before Adam painted and fitted it.
I was very happy with the end result, which then allowed me to fit my choice of ISOFIX seat with 5 point harness and tether, happy me and happy daughter!
So thanks to Matt & Adam the vette was now fully fit for everyday use, and I could now look towards some of the smaller jobs, more to follow!
First up, the harmonic balancer, a well known item that needs replacement now and again on these cars, ultimately the balancer starts to separate and starts to wobble, which in turn causes belt squeal from the fan belt/aircon belt, if left the pulley starts to walk down the crank, usually in the direction of the timing chain cover, which then is a whole other headache! I knew mine was wobbling when i bought it so it was top of the list to fix.
The offending item can be seen in this pic attached to the end of the crank..
This is not a small job, and I soon decided I wasn't going to do it myself. I came across Matt @ CCM Vettes and after a chat with him i knew he was the man for the job so promptly booked the car in. In the end I went for a genuine GM balancer (you can go aftermarket but i have no plans for upping the power and the original did last for 20 years/80,000 miles..), however i decided not to go for the OEM stretch to yield bolt and went for an ARP item instead, not forgetting a new genuine timing cover seal.
The most expensive and biggest bolt I think I've bought!
Whilst the car was with Matt he also put some new rear brake pads on which the previous owner gave me when i bought the car, the reason why the last owner hadn't fitted them became clear when Matt found two different locking wheel nuts per wheel but only one key!! He also gave the car a check over and was impressed with the underside especially, he found one of the rear shocks to be leaking plus the car still had the original plastic arb end links fitted which were pretty much done.
Whilst this was going on I was trying to address another problem, which involved getting my 4 year old daughter to school! C5's have strange seat belts, with inertia reels top and bottom.. in short they don't work with child seats. So i started working on a plan to retrofit an ISOFIX bracket to the passenger seat. Through this forum and also owning a 325ti, I had come across Adam at Artisan MetalCraft, if you've seen any of his work you'll know how good he is and given he's not too far from me I got in touch to see if he could help.. he could :-) In the end we came up with a solution using a Ford Focus ISOFIX bracket matched up to a custom piece from Adam incorporating a tether latch, here are some pics after it was fabricated, before Adam painted and fitted it.
I was very happy with the end result, which then allowed me to fit my choice of ISOFIX seat with 5 point harness and tether, happy me and happy daughter!
So thanks to Matt & Adam the vette was now fully fit for everyday use, and I could now look towards some of the smaller jobs, more to follow!
Great thread, ive been looking for a c5 for a while. Almost went for a z06 last year, but to many of them had sketchy history back in the states. I really like the look and concept of the car, well see if i trip over the right one. Sadly there's to many autos out there..
Theres hordes of corvettes here in sweden (just like all janks) if you cant find a car on home turf
Any other upgrades planned?
Theres hordes of corvettes here in sweden (just like all janks) if you cant find a car on home turf
Any other upgrades planned?
Got my eye on this one.
My dad always wanted a Corvette and when he passed away in 2012 the family went to Las Vegas (his favourite place) for new year, of course I hired a brand new Vette (C6) and drove down the strip just before sunset and then up to Mount Charleston before taking in the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon.
Unforgettable
Oh, and he would have been 69 today!
So, got a lot of Vette love!
My dad always wanted a Corvette and when he passed away in 2012 the family went to Las Vegas (his favourite place) for new year, of course I hired a brand new Vette (C6) and drove down the strip just before sunset and then up to Mount Charleston before taking in the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon.
Unforgettable
Oh, and he would have been 69 today!
So, got a lot of Vette love!
mfp4073 said:
Rocket Ricardo said:
Got my eye on this one.
My dad always wanted a Corvette and when he passed away in 2012 the family went to Las Vegas (his favourite place) for new year, of course I hired a brand new Vette (C6) and drove down the strip just before sunset and then up to Mount Charleston before taking in the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon.
Unforgettable
Oh, and he would have been 69 today!
So, got a lot of Vette love!
That's a lovely story, my dad passed when he was 71 and I like to think of him riding along with me in my Monaro, he did like V8's.My dad always wanted a Corvette and when he passed away in 2012 the family went to Las Vegas (his favourite place) for new year, of course I hired a brand new Vette (C6) and drove down the strip just before sunset and then up to Mount Charleston before taking in the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon.
Unforgettable
Oh, and he would have been 69 today!
So, got a lot of Vette love!
They both passed too early.
God bless.
John
Here in the States, used versions of C5s are an incredible performance car bargain. There is no demand for this car here and GM made a lot of them. This is a shame because they're actually great cars to drive and very reliable. The LS1 is particularly bulletproof and the list of common problems in the C5 is short and relatively minor. Also, parts for C5s are easy to get here from many vendors and generally inexpensive. None of this is true with any European performance car from this era.
In particular, Z06 coupe versions of this car are just an incredible deal for what you're getting. Here's (what appears to be) an immaculate 2004 Z06 with less than 55k miles for $19,750: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/t-Used-Chevrolet-Cor...
That's 405 hp in a good condition, 1,400 kg car with titanium exhaust, upgraded suspension, better brakes etc, etc for 16k GBP. Also, 2004 is the final year of this car and the best year to get.
In particular, Z06 coupe versions of this car are just an incredible deal for what you're getting. Here's (what appears to be) an immaculate 2004 Z06 with less than 55k miles for $19,750: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/t-Used-Chevrolet-Cor...
That's 405 hp in a good condition, 1,400 kg car with titanium exhaust, upgraded suspension, better brakes etc, etc for 16k GBP. Also, 2004 is the final year of this car and the best year to get.
Edited by Hiro11 on Saturday 23 May 13:44
@SamDailly/Medic One if you find one you like I'd say do it :-) happy to have over any ads you find if you need an opinion.
@Cedric, i hope the right one comes up soon, as you say extra caution needs to be taken when looking at Z06's as some will have led a hard life. I haven't got many more upgrades planned, I'm just concentrating on working through the common C5 issues and making it as nice as possible. I like the idea of adding Z06 wheels, springs & arb's, but also think sometimes with a car thats already this good things should be kept largely original.
@Ricardo thanks for sharing that, your trip to Vegas sounds like it was a great way to honor his memory.
@John all dads should like V8's right :-) sure he would of liked the monaro. I'm a fan of those too, especially a certain CV8 on ebay right now!
@Hiro, yea the values are very good for buyers in the states aren't they! You have to be careful buying from the UK though, factoring in shipping/duties/conversion to UK road regs can make quite a difference in the end cost. Of course there are a number of importers here to help but then they have to make money too. Parts are crazy cheap in the states, and even by the time you pay shipping & duties, using companies like rockauto they're still cheaper compared to a lot of european sportscars!
@Cedric, i hope the right one comes up soon, as you say extra caution needs to be taken when looking at Z06's as some will have led a hard life. I haven't got many more upgrades planned, I'm just concentrating on working through the common C5 issues and making it as nice as possible. I like the idea of adding Z06 wheels, springs & arb's, but also think sometimes with a car thats already this good things should be kept largely original.
@Ricardo thanks for sharing that, your trip to Vegas sounds like it was a great way to honor his memory.
@John all dads should like V8's right :-) sure he would of liked the monaro. I'm a fan of those too, especially a certain CV8 on ebay right now!
@Hiro, yea the values are very good for buyers in the states aren't they! You have to be careful buying from the UK though, factoring in shipping/duties/conversion to UK road regs can make quite a difference in the end cost. Of course there are a number of importers here to help but then they have to make money too. Parts are crazy cheap in the states, and even by the time you pay shipping & duties, using companies like rockauto they're still cheaper compared to a lot of european sportscars!
Hiro11 said:
Here in the States, used versions of C5s are an incredible performance car bargain. There is no demand for this car here and GM made a lot of them. This is a shame because they're actually great cars to drive and very reliable. The LS1 is particularly bulletproof and the list of common problems in the C5 is short and relatively minor. Also, parts for C5s are easy to get here from many vendors and generally inexpensive. None of this is true with any European performance car from this era.
In particular, Z06 coupe versions of this car are just an incredible deal for what you're getting. Here's (what appears to be) an immaculate 2004 Z06 with less than 55k miles for $19,750: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/t-Used-Chevrolet-Cor...
That's 405 hp in a good condition, 1,400 kg car with titanium exhaust, upgraded suspension, better brakes etc, etc for 16k GBP. Also, 2004 is the final year of this car and the best year to get.
Yeah but don't forget the £1000 shippingIn particular, Z06 coupe versions of this car are just an incredible deal for what you're getting. Here's (what appears to be) an immaculate 2004 Z06 with less than 55k miles for $19,750: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/t-Used-Chevrolet-Cor...
That's 405 hp in a good condition, 1,400 kg car with titanium exhaust, upgraded suspension, better brakes etc, etc for 16k GBP. Also, 2004 is the final year of this car and the best year to get.
Edited by Hiro11 on Saturday 23 May 13:44
1% marine insurance
£1700 duty @ 10%
£3800 Vat @20% which is on the price inclusive of duty and shipping
Then there is the light conversion and MOT and registration fees, fortunately old enough to avoid a full IVA.
Now your looking more at £23k on the road in the UK if you DIY..
Alternatively whilst the Z06 was not available in the Euro spec the Euro cars were pretty much all top spec and fitted with Z51 package as standard complete with Euro type rating.
Edited by 8.4L 154 on Saturday 23 May 20:31
a few more pics and the next update..
The right gearstick..
New front badge
So next up I decided to take care of the issues Matt found, so the leaking shock and droplinks. I'm one of these types that likes to do things properly and always looks to see if there is a better quality option available, so i was never going to throw a second hand shock on it and cheapo droplinks from Ebay.
In the end I went for new Bilstein B6 sport shocks (which include new top mounts) all round on the basis that it was still on the original shocks and they were no doubt all tired, and MOOG anti roll bar links which are firstly metal and secondly fitted with grease nipples. I decided to lower the ride height at the same time on the stock bolts, the pics at the beginning of the thread are of the car as it sits after the shocks were fitted, this is basically as low as it can go at the front and around 3/4 rear. Massive lack of pics I'm afraid as got stuck into the job, so only have this one before work started, after I'd unloaded all the gear from the boot ;-) Though i feel like i need to explain the saw.. when lowering the ride height on these cars you need support the spring whilst you adjust the bolt, a section of wood cut to size on a jack is the tool for the job hence my flexible friend.
Another job that needed to be done as with most C5's was to fix the seats, the rubber bushes in the runners wear over time which causes the seats to move forwards slightly under hard braking and back under hard acceleration. It wasn't mega bad in my car but disconcerting nonetheless! Again I got carried away and forgot to take pics (are you seeing a pattern..), but here's some slightly greasy instructions! This was quite a satisfying job as ever when you end up taking seats out of a car, as well as an opportunity for a good hoover and cleaning up runners with two decades worth of dirt and disintegrating rubber bushes, i also found myself a couple of $, cha ching!
Safe to say with the suspension and seats done the car was massively improved and meant I could really start to explore the cars balance :-)
The right gearstick..
New front badge
So next up I decided to take care of the issues Matt found, so the leaking shock and droplinks. I'm one of these types that likes to do things properly and always looks to see if there is a better quality option available, so i was never going to throw a second hand shock on it and cheapo droplinks from Ebay.
In the end I went for new Bilstein B6 sport shocks (which include new top mounts) all round on the basis that it was still on the original shocks and they were no doubt all tired, and MOOG anti roll bar links which are firstly metal and secondly fitted with grease nipples. I decided to lower the ride height at the same time on the stock bolts, the pics at the beginning of the thread are of the car as it sits after the shocks were fitted, this is basically as low as it can go at the front and around 3/4 rear. Massive lack of pics I'm afraid as got stuck into the job, so only have this one before work started, after I'd unloaded all the gear from the boot ;-) Though i feel like i need to explain the saw.. when lowering the ride height on these cars you need support the spring whilst you adjust the bolt, a section of wood cut to size on a jack is the tool for the job hence my flexible friend.
Another job that needed to be done as with most C5's was to fix the seats, the rubber bushes in the runners wear over time which causes the seats to move forwards slightly under hard braking and back under hard acceleration. It wasn't mega bad in my car but disconcerting nonetheless! Again I got carried away and forgot to take pics (are you seeing a pattern..), but here's some slightly greasy instructions! This was quite a satisfying job as ever when you end up taking seats out of a car, as well as an opportunity for a good hoover and cleaning up runners with two decades worth of dirt and disintegrating rubber bushes, i also found myself a couple of $, cha ching!
Safe to say with the suspension and seats done the car was massively improved and meant I could really start to explore the cars balance :-)
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