Test Drive

[Golfer]

Pssst, Cap are you going to be out at Maple Grove this weekend?

[Grayeagle]

Any time I have the choice I refuse to do 'boring' when it comes to personal transportation.
(the reason I say that is.. mother-in-law gave us her Nissan pickup ..it's a trundle-car ..I'd never buy anything like it)
It was a Godsend when I didn't have a vehicle at all tho.

It is completely subjective and I realize that C5's or even Vette's in general aren't liked by a lot of people.
Especially when they were abused by one -evil grin-

I do not have any problems at all driving in traffic with a clutch in a hi-performance automobile, even being the Geezer I am.
Having owned an auto C5 and now the manual C5, I can tellya it takes a bit more focus to drive the manual
..I like to downshift and apex the corner onto an onramp among many of the other myriad things I enjoy doing when I drive it.
I kinda kill the around town gas mileage runnin up thru the gears an such ..it's only averaging ~20mpg. The auto was doin ~24mpg around town.

On the freeway tho, they both do 30mpg at 70mph..the manual has a *nice* 6th gear overdrive.

I could have spent a bit more and got into a Z06 .. but .. you can't take the top off.
And I *can* makeup the horsepower/susp difference fairly easily. For less than the Z06 would have cost.
(already in process
And the coupe looks more aerodynamic ..and is.
And the hatchback .. wife and I do our hunter-gatherer thing in the Vette ..it's practical.
On this particular C5 I can turn a knob to adjust suspension settings from boulevard cruiser to cornering beasty ..instantly.
(it's cool to have it soft then launch the car hard ..front end comes up abruptly as it does that weight txfer thing)

-Frank aka GE (a Mustang would be a step down .. like gettin a Camaro .. I don' need no back seat, man)

[Golfer]

The clutch in question isn't the stock one but rather a super grabby aftermarket clutch that took his perfectly happy little touring car and turned it into a quick off the line race car.  I don't recall the brand but I didn't state it all too well.  This along with his new camshaft, tune, z06 exhaust, 4.10 gears, drag radials/slicks as necessary and he has a pretty zippy street car he runs the 10.50 and 11.50 index races with depending on time of year.  He used to put a 150 shot of nitrous on it but took it off and runs NA now.

I grew up in a Corvette household, learned to drive a stick in one.  Actually that's false, I learned how to drive a stick without realizing it on a little Cub Cadet tractor but the first manual car I ever drove as a 1986 Corvette.

I like having room for a foursome and golf clubs.  Hence the Mustang.  I like being able to see where I'm going.  Hence the Mustang over the Camaro

[Grayeagle]

Aye Golfer dood .. the late 80's Vette's reflected the times.
They just plain sucked for the most part IMHO.
The last hurrah for the C3 was the '70 454 .. again that is just my opinion.

I originally found a '68 Roadster/350/4-gear when I decided to get a Vette.
I wanted an older one so I could actually see the spark plugs and deal with old school hot rodding.
Gettin into and out of it with the top up was a deal-breaker ..it nearly killed me to do it once.

We looked at a beautiful red C-4, 1996 .. but there was no way I would fit in one.
The door pillars were too close together, along with the roofline/floor rail .. it's for people 5 feet high or shorter.

The C5 we eventually looked at and ended up drivin home (on the same lot) was an education and then some.
Just amazing how much they had improved *everything* ..it was a revolutionary change.

I was fortunate enough not to have to finance this latest one.. paid cash,
..I can do anything I want to it, it's mine.

Takin a systems approach and beefin what I want before goin into the motor.
Not gonna mess with the original LS-1 in it, as there are soo many nice 427 variations out there to be had.
Katech offers a very cool LS-3 based 427 .. and Texas Speed .. and many more

Makin a car what you want is way more than half the fun
Already had one of the Vette guys tell me I 'may not like 4.10's' .. of course he has never run them.
I told him I'd run 4.56's if I could. Even 4.88's if I back-half the car w/Dana 60 and 14x32 tires -evil grin-
Of course, I'd hafta do the Rat 427 up front then .. tunnel-ram or 8-71 mayhap.

-Frank aka GE (ya.. I'd 'ruin' it for sure)
LOL

[Golfer]

My dad has a 96 convertible now he bought in 1999 and I know what you mean.  He had a targa top on the 1986 so my and my brothers place when we were being shuffled to/from baseball practice was in the back.  One of us would sit in the seat, the other laid on the back where the glass top went.  THAT was the car I cut my teeth on when it came to manual cars and while it was very cool to be a 15 year old tooling around in a Corvette I found it to be quite a lot of work and not enjoyable like driving the Explorer or even the Chevy conversion van with their magic automatic transmissions.  It wasn't until I was out of high school that I realized not all manual transmissions have the same pedal force as the clutch in that car and I was more than happy to drive any number of makes when the time came.  Working line service our fuel trucks were easier to live with not to mention get in/out of than those C4s.  His convertible, still a miserable C4, isn't any better but he loves his car so I can't judge.  He babies it, doesn't drive it if there's a cloud and takes better care of it than the collector he bought it from did.  I still don't like driving it or riding in it because while it might be cool to pull up somewhere in a Corvette, eventually you have to get out of the car and you just don't look cool doing it.  I can't comment on the head room of the coupe's because I've never been in one.  I've never even been in the convertible with the top up.  

Let about 6 years go by and my prejudice to the Corvette as being a miserable vehicle you can't eloquently get in or out of be further solidified in my head my coworker offers me a lift to lunch when a couple vendors show up to talk about some work we are having done on our airplane.  This is a few years ago and his car was still in stock form with a little bling since he hadn't discovered drag racing yet and was a show car.  Pristine, smooth and sporty were my impressions as we motored along.  What really changed was when I went to dismount the car and the agility of an Olympic gymnast getting of a pommel horse wasn't required.  I merely stuck my leg out and stood up leaving the car behind...it was great!!!

I've since driven a couple C5's and a C6 (non Z) and they're far and away better than my previous Vette experiences ever were.  I still don't want one but they are much better cars than they were.  I was however looking hard at C3s.  I wanted (and still want) a pre 75 C3 as a project car.  I'd like to get something that's drivable and bring it to life not just for the cars sake but for the learning experience it will be for me.

I just need to make more money or marry an heiress.  Working on the former and failing at the latter as it turns out.  

Blah hit submit and wasn't done...

You're going about it the right way.  I see a lot of guys go right to power adders without doing anything to the rest of the car.  My favorite example of this was from an episode of Pass Time (my coworker was a contestant) when some guy in a little yellow car was going on and on about running 30lbs of boost and making Jeremy Clarkson POOOOOWWWWER!!!  When I think it was Ken asked him what modifications he had done to the rear end his reply was "completely stock, it's my first pass!" or something to that effect.  I hadn't finished figuring out how long it would take him to push the car across the line yet when he dumped the clutch and the car lurched forward about an inch leaving itself dead in the water.

Oops.

I'm glad I have a little sixer on order because having the 5.0 beastie means I'd be throwing even MORE money at it competing with my coworker.  There are a few guys with the little 3.7L Mustangs in the 11's with superchargers.  I just want a little sporty car to cut my teeth on before I jump into big boy dollars.  I'll make a few passes, do a few mods, play a little with Autocross, make a few more passes and enjoy my wheels without too much temptation to "go big" before my bank tells me to go home.

[CAP1]

Pssst, Cap are you going to be out at Maple Grove this weekend?

i won't be.....i'm working half day at the shop, then helping with some stuff at a friends store.....and i don't expect to be in till about 4am sat. night......

[CAP1]

Aye Golfer dood .. the late 80's Vette's reflected the times.
They just plain sucked for the most part IMHO.
The last hurrah for the C3 was the '70 454 .. again that is just my opinion.

I originally found a '68 Roadster/350/4-gear when I decided to get a Vette.
I wanted an older one so I could actually see the spark plugs and deal with old school hot rodding.
Gettin into and out of it with the top up was a deal-breaker ..it nearly killed me to do it once.

We looked at a beautiful red C-4, 1996 .. but there was no way I would fit in one.
The door pillars were too close together, along with the roofline/floor rail .. it's for people 5 feet high or shorter.

The C5 we eventually looked at and ended up drivin home (on the same lot) was an education and then some.
Just amazing how much they had improved *everything* ..it was a revolutionary change.

I was fortunate enough not to have to finance this latest one.. paid cash,
..I can do anything I want to it, it's mine.

Takin a systems approach and beefin what I want before goin into the motor.
Not gonna mess with the original LS-1 in it, as there are soo many nice 427 variations out there to be had.
Katech offers a very cool LS-3 based 427 .. and Texas Speed .. and many more

Makin a car what you want is way more than half the fun
Already had one of the Vette guys tell me I 'may not like 4.10's' .. of course he has never run them.
I told him I'd run 4.56's if I could. Even 4.88's if I back-half the car w/Dana 60 and 14x32 tires -evil grin-
Of course, I'd hafta do the Rat 427 up front then .. tunnel-ram or 8-71 mayhap.

-Frank aka GE (ya.. I'd 'ruin' it for sure)
LOL

i know whatcha mean with makin something what ya want. done it a few times.........i'm just at a point right now, where i want "easy", and easy is a mustang or camaro. since i'm a ford nut, and that mustang looks like sex on wheels to me(from any angle), the stang winss hands down.

 i've run all the way up to 5.14's on the street. those were a mistake BTW. had one helluva launch though.  when i was young, i liked 4.10's, and 4.56's on the street. good launch, but zero top end. engine screaming to do 65mph. not for me anymore.

 a 5 liter with 3.73's will cruise at 80mph doing only 2500rpm. still get good launch.

 i've no clue what it's gonna be  like to change the plugs on this beast. don't have to worry about it for about 30k miles anyway. 

[Golfer]

i won't be.....i'm working half day at the shop, then helping with some stuff at a friends store.....and i don't expect to be in till about 4am sat. night......

At that rate when do you expect to pick up the car???  

I'd offer to race you to the dyno but with 8 more full days of waiting I don't think I'd win.  

Although I wouldn't mind making a day of working on Mustangs.  I'll be ordering a shifter and shifter bracket as well as the gears.  Since I'm currently garage-less for the next 6-8 weeks I wouldn't mind killing a few hours and making someone else pump my gas before I escape back to PA one of these days.  What's your rate?

[CAP1]

At that rate when do you expect to pick up the car???  

I'd offer to race you to the dyno but with 8 more full days of waiting I don't think I'd win.  

Although I wouldn't mind making a day of working on Mustangs.  I'll be ordering a shifter and shifter bracket as well as the gears.  Since I'm currently garage-less for the next 6-8 weeks I wouldn't mind killing a few hours and making someone else pump my gas before I escape back to PA one of these days.  What's your rate?

for you, it'd be pretty cheap. 

 i'm not sure when i'm gonna manage to get the car, seeing as miller hasn't gotten an answer from the dealer that had it. i'm gonna call koons/sterling in va tomorrow, and see what they have...they said they had a nice gt premium, as i wanted it with a few extras, and i think it was within 500 of what thre one at miller was.

[Dichotomy]

I foresee a Photoshop project in my future

[clerick]

Any time I have the choice I refuse to do 'boring' when it comes to personal transportation.

QFT

I've always loved a unique car over performance but, if I can have both....



Now if I could only finish my 302 Conversion on it....

[Shuffler]

Boxes are not unique 

[clerick]

Boxes are not unique 

LOL when they are Swedish boxes hand built by Italians in small numbers they are

What shocked me was the original window sticker for the car from '88. Nearly 70K! 

[CAP1]

QFT

I've always loved a unique car over performance but, if I can have both....

(Image removed from quote.)

Now if I could only finish my 302 Conversion on it....

 that car will be king of the sleepers. 

[MaSonZ]

that car will be king of the sleepers. 

and his queen