My 10K C5 Vette... Back From The Dead "PICS"
06-03-2009, 09:18 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
My 10K C5 Vette... Back From The Dead "PICS"
Hey everyone my name is Mark and I am a new Corvette owner. I originally bought the car for a GTM project that I have been saving up to build for a few years now. It wasn't the perfect time to buy a donor car but I felt like the deal was right so I went for it.
The car was totaled due to an interior fire. Some "really cool person" thought it would be a good idea to cut open the convertible top and shoot two road flares inside, one on each seat. Aren't people great? The previous owner of the car said he didn't know of anyone that would do that to him so it appears to be a random vandalism act and from the posts I have read about all the haters, it seems logical.
The car arrived and I got to work to cleaning. Since it ran and drove fine and my GTM build will not start for a few more years I figured why not drive a Vette in the meantime. I detailed in high school and am currently working as an autobody technician(23 yrs old now) so with that experience I was able to disassemble the interior (seats/dash/carpet/trim) and clean and replace what wasn't salvageable.
I ended up replaceing seats, carpet, glove box and armrest console, that's it. Everything else was just cleaned really well. It did suck ALOT... imagine discharging a fire extinguisher INSIDE your Vette, dust everywhere.
It turned out really well. The car has some light mods that were already done to it when I bought it. Go fast goodies include: Vortex cold air intake, ZO6 LS6 intake manifold, MTI racing stree/strip heads, MTI racing street/strip cam, Feria lighweight roller rockers, Kooks longtube headers, B&B exhaust, and a tune to take advantage of the added power. Over $12,000 in mods and right at 400rwhp according to previous owner.
I have under $10,000 into this car. A quick breakdown for those interested: Car: $8,000/ Seats: $495/ Carpet: $150/ Glove Box/Console: $100. There are some other little things here and there but it came in just under 10K total, not a bad ride right? It is hard to say what I had into the cleaning process because I did it over a few months time and I would work on it for a little each night vs. bang it out in one weekend. Maybe 20 hours in cleaning if I had to guess.
I do have my flame suit ready for all the members that think i'm stupid for wanting to eventually part this car for a GTM but please read my explaination first. There are two things that I don't like about the car that will be deal breakers for keeping it: 1. Convertible, 2. Automatic. Nothing wrong with either option and "to each his own" but I don't really care for either of those two things and this car has both. So that leaves me with two options; sell the car as is, or part it. When people look at a salvage titled car they immediately walk away and it destroys the value of the car. The market for used Vettes sucks right now and nobody is going to want my car when there are "clean" cars to be had at reasonable prices. I don't have a top for it yet, (still looking) and I feel like I need to make at least a few thousand off the deal for it to be worth the time and trouble it was to bring the car back to show condition. That puts me in the $14-$16K range and the car has 75,000 miles. I think you will agree that selling is not a great choice either.
So that leaves parting out as the only viable option. I have talked to people that have done this and there is a ton of money in it. Some are even covering the cost of the donor puchase with the sale of the parts they don't need. Plus I know all the suspension is good, the car runs and drives, all the parts are from one car (vs. donor pallet), and the engine is modded perfectly for a GTM in my opinion. If I am missing something in my reasoning let me know, but believe me I have thought about keeping it or selling to get a crappier donor.
Looking forward to comments so let me know what you think. I must say Corvettes are great cars and I can't believe the attention they get just in my short month of driving. A great buch of car owners for sure
The car was totaled due to an interior fire. Some "really cool person" thought it would be a good idea to cut open the convertible top and shoot two road flares inside, one on each seat. Aren't people great? The previous owner of the car said he didn't know of anyone that would do that to him so it appears to be a random vandalism act and from the posts I have read about all the haters, it seems logical.
The car arrived and I got to work to cleaning. Since it ran and drove fine and my GTM build will not start for a few more years I figured why not drive a Vette in the meantime. I detailed in high school and am currently working as an autobody technician(23 yrs old now) so with that experience I was able to disassemble the interior (seats/dash/carpet/trim) and clean and replace what wasn't salvageable.
I ended up replaceing seats, carpet, glove box and armrest console, that's it. Everything else was just cleaned really well. It did suck ALOT... imagine discharging a fire extinguisher INSIDE your Vette, dust everywhere.
It turned out really well. The car has some light mods that were already done to it when I bought it. Go fast goodies include: Vortex cold air intake, ZO6 LS6 intake manifold, MTI racing stree/strip heads, MTI racing street/strip cam, Feria lighweight roller rockers, Kooks longtube headers, B&B exhaust, and a tune to take advantage of the added power. Over $12,000 in mods and right at 400rwhp according to previous owner.
I have under $10,000 into this car. A quick breakdown for those interested: Car: $8,000/ Seats: $495/ Carpet: $150/ Glove Box/Console: $100. There are some other little things here and there but it came in just under 10K total, not a bad ride right? It is hard to say what I had into the cleaning process because I did it over a few months time and I would work on it for a little each night vs. bang it out in one weekend. Maybe 20 hours in cleaning if I had to guess.
I do have my flame suit ready for all the members that think i'm stupid for wanting to eventually part this car for a GTM but please read my explaination first. There are two things that I don't like about the car that will be deal breakers for keeping it: 1. Convertible, 2. Automatic. Nothing wrong with either option and "to each his own" but I don't really care for either of those two things and this car has both. So that leaves me with two options; sell the car as is, or part it. When people look at a salvage titled car they immediately walk away and it destroys the value of the car. The market for used Vettes sucks right now and nobody is going to want my car when there are "clean" cars to be had at reasonable prices. I don't have a top for it yet, (still looking) and I feel like I need to make at least a few thousand off the deal for it to be worth the time and trouble it was to bring the car back to show condition. That puts me in the $14-$16K range and the car has 75,000 miles. I think you will agree that selling is not a great choice either.
So that leaves parting out as the only viable option. I have talked to people that have done this and there is a ton of money in it. Some are even covering the cost of the donor puchase with the sale of the parts they don't need. Plus I know all the suspension is good, the car runs and drives, all the parts are from one car (vs. donor pallet), and the engine is modded perfectly for a GTM in my opinion. If I am missing something in my reasoning let me know, but believe me I have thought about keeping it or selling to get a crappier donor.
Looking forward to comments so let me know what you think. I must say Corvettes are great cars and I can't believe the attention they get just in my short month of driving. A great buch of car owners for sure
06-03-2009, 09:25 PM
#3
Team Owner
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Was the previous owner a forum member? I think I remember reading his post about the vandalilsm.
Fantastic job on the "restoration". If you'd gotten tan carpet and the right seats you could flip the car with ease.
But... everything you said is right... that car would be lucky to get 17k right now and it'd take awhile to sell.
Fantastic job on the "restoration". If you'd gotten tan carpet and the right seats you could flip the car with ease.
But... everything you said is right... that car would be lucky to get 17k right now and it'd take awhile to sell.
06-03-2009, 09:41 PM
#8
Melting Slicks
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The GTM kit comes with a tranny? I thought you would need it from the vette.
Good luck on the GTM build. I would LOVE to do something like that one day but I don't think I'd be able to stick with it long enough to complete it.
Good luck on the GTM build. I would LOVE to do something like that one day but I don't think I'd be able to stick with it long enough to complete it.
06-03-2009, 09:44 PM
#11
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good job getting it back on the road.
06-03-2009, 10:10 PM
#14
Burning Brakes
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St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14
Looks good. I remember when the previous owner posted the thread, I tried to find it but couldn't. It was a horrible thing that happened. Glad it worked out in the end for youl.
06-03-2009, 10:29 PM
#16
Drifting
Why not buy a removable hard top? You'll have a nice ride that already has heads/cam and a new interior all for around 12,000. I like the 6speed myself but with all the sticky clutch pedal issues I wouldnt mind having the auto,they run pretty consistent times at the track.
06-03-2009, 10:40 PM
#17
Racer
Thread Starter
Was the previous owner a forum member? I think I remember reading his post about the vandalilsm.
Fantastic job on the "restoration". If you'd gotten tan carpet and the right seats you could flip the car with ease.
But... everything you said is right... that car would be lucky to get 17k right now and it'd take awhile to sell.
Fantastic job on the "restoration". If you'd gotten tan carpet and the right seats you could flip the car with ease.
But... everything you said is right... that car would be lucky to get 17k right now and it'd take awhile to sell.
Like cobra4b said, you use a Porsche transaxel and there are a few to choose from. I did research to make sure the donor car can be an auto and apparently it makes no difference since you are using a different tranny. It should be a fun project and I am looking forward to it.
06-03-2009, 10:46 PM
#19
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Man, you did a great job - the car looks fantastic. 
06-03-2009, 10:53 PM
#20
Racer
Thread Starter
Why not buy a removable hard top? You'll have a nice ride that already has heads/cam and a new interior all for around 12,000. I like the 6speed myself but with all the sticky clutch pedal issues I wouldnt mind having the auto,they run pretty consistent times at the track.
I really want to build my own car, that is what attracted me to the GTM in the first place. I think it would be a really fun project and the end result could beat almost anything on the street. I just don't think I can get that from a Corvette.