2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

[bonecrrusher]

I already made my intro post, so I guess a build thread is appropriate, and well its been a long while since I documented this car. I've had this car for 2 1/2 years now, and I've had a blast owning it.

I picked up the Car July 4th 2007 - down in Atlanta GA, and it was fun as hell celebrating the red white and blue holiday driving this car w/ the top out on the 3 hr drive home.

I picked up the car with 7,000 miles on it and have put almost 30k on it now. Its a Z51 equipped car with all options except OnStar and Nav. Its got a T56 and heads up display.

Heres some pics of the day I got it... bone stock!



Yes the dealer sticker is long gone!

About 2 months after I owned the car, I ordered a Vararam Intake, and a CAGS! delete... stupidest system ever put on a Stick shift car!


Fast foward to Spring of '08.. entered my first car show... yeah didnt win anything, oh well.



I joined a Charlotte Corvette club in 2008, I've gone to many car shows, cruised all around NC and SC, and raced on LMS, and enjoyed a few mountain runs.

Misc pics..



Lowes Motor Speedway - Dec 2008


100 mph+ ON LMS, it was a freaking blast, I definitely recommend it to anyone!

So my Runcraps where kinda worn in the back from all the driving around, and then I got a flat on I485 near Charlotte so I was lucky to drive on the flat runcrap and got home. This started a chain reaction.

Since I needed new rear tires, I got some BF Goordrich KDW2's, not only did they handle a hell of a lot better, they where a lot quieter!

New Rears....


Feb 2009...
There was a local car club going to a dyno shop, so I put it on the rollers and see what she put down.

Car put down 375 rwhp & 374 rwtq... Not bad for being on stock tune and just an intake!

Fast forward to Spring 2009....
I ran the mismatched tires for awhile, and was cleaning up my car when I noticed the fronts where corded!


So I ordered some wheels from a Vette vendor, ordered new front tires from Discount tire... and off to the tire shop I go!




I ordered some Repo ZR1 style wheels that fit flush with the fender... and they just happen to clear these....


So with 8 weeks before the 2009 Hot Rod Power Tour - which btw I registered at the last minute and still got decent rooms.... I ordered the C6 Z06 brakes... well West Coast Corvettes had them on backorder for 6 weeks... I literally bolted them on the Week before the Power Tour... I guess a 4k mile road trip is the proper way to bed in the pads..


& finished product...


Power Tour '09...
Entering WI

Madison

Seated Pads in Madison...

Highway between Somerset KY & Bristol

Bristol


Fast fwd to Summer 2009...
After going on the Power Tour, and hearing all these badass V8's I was ?ber jealous of the nasty exhaust systems that I heard, and too be honest GM really boned the exhaust system on the LS2. 2.5" exhaust? Come on now... I researched a lot of different exhausts for the Vettes, and the prices are sky high! $2000 for 6 feet of pipe (Corsa, Borla, etc) well I say F that! Someone at a car show said look into the LS7 exhaust... so after piecing together a full z06 exhaust kit off ebay, Corvetteforums, and other places... I finally had a complete setup.
LS7 kit...



If you look at the LS7 manifolds, they are brand new! Never fired, I found them for $100 shipped off ebay from a first gen Camaro LS7 swap! Also the setup gives about ~30 rwhp on the Dyno, and sounds badass. I ordered the Mild2Wild kit and I can open up the LS7 exhaust butterfly valves at any time... They drone on the highway like a B, so thank god I can quiet it down. Especially with my pending 5k mile trip for Power Tour '10! Oh forgot to add.. only paid $750 for Z06 exhaust from manifold to tips, and yes I installed them myself... I think the pics are on facebook, I'll add later!

& this is the car back in October on the top of Beech Mountain north of Banner Elk, NC... its 5000' up!


So thats all I've got done so far... Ive got the a lot more stuff to bolt on, but I'm in the middle of buying a house so parts are sitting in storage....

LS7 Crate engine delivery...

HAH, I wish... z06 rear fenders I got for CHEAP from ebay.

Frageeeelaayyyyyyyy.... Must be Italian or something...

Nah... Z06 front Carbon fiber fender...


I''ll be upgrading to a Full Z06 body kit... No I will not be adding the damn z06 badges, I hate the stock coupe look!

Z06 Competition Grey wheels - I have these shipping from Cleveland Pick A Part today!


Hopefully next year, want to get a Edelbrock E-force Supercharger for the LS3, I'll be upgrading to L92/LS3 heads with that swap!

[fahrenschnell]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Nice Car Dude......Hope to see it at Maxton.

Seth

[JOES66FURY]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

very nice, like the color and the current wheels look great...

[cantvalve16]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Applause on the Zo6 body work. That stuff takes those from a nice looking car to a great looking car. The supercharger should shell out the performance to match.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

375 rwhp isn't any slouch at all. That'll get the car in the 12's easy at the track. Thanks for sharing.

[yogreasygramma]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Very nice Vette, Ccrusher!! I also love the way the current wheels look on the car; they really bring out its bad-assness.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Nice car! I don't like the FT coupes (the only choice if you want a Z06), so I like the idea of putting Z06 fenders on a Z51 - with the supercharger you'll be faster and have a better looking car.

[greenjunk]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

love these cars, they're killer, they drive good and are good for 12's in the 1/4 stock if you're hard on the shifter and kiss the limiter in every gear.

The corsa from the sound standpoint is worth every penny. Kooks headers fit the best, get the race version not the street version, and lastly look into AandA corvette's Supercharger kit instead of the edelbrock. Although the torque is better with a roots, it will kill the clutch and the mpg is way less than desireable cause it will see boost with the cruise on in the hills. But Andy at AandA is awesome, his kits use the vortech headunits and they're light years ahead of the Vortech kits, and Procharger stole is original design and got sued for it (they lost). So that will tell you about the good quality and function. Smart upgrades though. Brakes before power is always a smart thing. Lastly if you want a good cam check out Ed on the board here, his stuff is awesome for LSX cars, good driveability, and big power band. He doesn't do dynoqueen stuff generally, but the powerband it where its at. But that just my .02, I have however done a little bit of work to these things before. Later

Good luck.

[bonecrrusher]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

IMHO I dont like any of the aftermarket exhaust sounds on the Vette.

Plus I'm sorry, I cant shell out $2000+ bucks for 6 feet of pipe...
I got my entire setup for $750, and I'm perfectly fine w/ 3" Exhaust pipes that I can hear, and quiet down on the freeway.

If I really want to HEAR an obnoxious loud exhaust - I can cut open my z06 cans and weld up the perforated pipes in them, but at this point I'm happy!

Also - I hate centrifugal SC's, I'm happy with the Eaton TVS2300 design, and I really like the way Edelbrock has packaged it... especially since I do not have to get an ugly ass aftermarket hood.

Oh - my car projects are on hold, I just bought a house here in Charlotte NC, and I have to get the entire roof panel replaced due to a NTSB recall....

[greenjunk]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

I can't believe i'm saying this, but building wealth is always better than burning money on a car that loses you money every day. I'm close here in Wake Forest.

Just curious, what about the centrifugal SC's don't you like? Will the Blowzilla fit under the good of a c6? I've done one on a c5, and that was just insane. The only reason the drag radials lasted on that car was cause the clutch hated life more ;D

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Just out of curiousity... what did you do with the stock calipers and brackets?

[bonecrrusher]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

I must have heard too many Vortech mustang 5.0's as a kid, they make too of a racket and I've never liked the sound of the centrifugal units.

Brakes are sitting in a box waiting for this project...



Bad photoshop I know... but a 68-74 Nova is on my list of things to build!

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Just wondering. I know the 4th Gen F-body guys love them and I was considering them for my custom kit for my Riviera.

[NASBackyard]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

Great project! Looks like you having alot of fun and getting your monies worth. I just need to get my bro in law to break out his 08 Vette( that probebly has less than 500 miles on it) and take me for a dam ride. You can piece together some killer deals on ebag.

[greenjunk]

Re: 2005 Chevy Corvette build & upgrades thread

I can understand the noise part of it, the vortechs all being built now are sq trims meaning they're much quieter than in the past. You can barely hear anything now. But i guess thats why there are some many varieties out there. You like what you like. Good luck with your project! Just make sure you drive the hell out of it.