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I'd like to share my Corvette story so far, seeing as how it really started with buying a C6 from a Corvette Forum advert at the end of 2017.
'Clive' the $9995, 190,000 mile Corvette C6 took my wife and I across the States, from California to the Texas coast, unforgettable memories. We stopped at Circuit Of The Americas, Austin; more than two years later my son was born and we named him Austin.
Shipping the C6 back home to England I have added thousands more miles, have driven the car in eight European countries (so far) and won two Time Attack style championships. As I write in December 2022 I think it's up at 223,000 miles.
I'm not a writer by trade, I organize motor racing, but Corvette ownership and becoming a father inspired me to write first one, then two children's books, with 'Clive' as the main character. I really don't want to get in trouble with the moderators, so I'm not going to link to, or picture the books, but I do feel proud that GM have authorized them to be sold in the NCM.
Later this week I am leaving for another adventure in the C6, I'll update the thread over Christmas when I return, I'm driving to somewhere unusual.
The story starts back in October 2016. My wife, Beth and I enjoyed our first road trip to the USA, hiring a Mustang convertible (I know, sorry!) and exploring California. The highlight of this trip was driving on a trackday at Laguna Seca (in a friends BMW Z4M), towards the end of the day I asked a stranger for a passenger ride in his Corvette C6 Grandsport. This was my first time in any Corvette (they are rare in the UK), although I was very familiar with the marque as all good petrolheads should be. That night in the hotel in Monterey i started looking at adverts for sale! At the time I couldn't believe what great value they were in the States (before prices went a bit crazy over Covid).
There is only one Corvette dealer for all of the UK, we booked a test drive in a manual C6, to see how we'd get on with left hand drive on narrower roads. That went well, but the few C6's that came up for sale were automatic, with prices two or three times more expensive than equivalent cars in the US.
We hatched a plan to buy a C6 in the States and drive it to the port. It needed to be manual (as I track day/compete), clean title and as affordable as possible, given that I'd need to add the considerable cost of shipping and various taxes to the final price. I sold my BMW Z4M and waited. Almost a year later I was browsing the Corvette Forum classifieds late at night and I saw this advert: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...under-10k.html
It would be perfect at just $9995, especially with a recent RPM gearbox overhaul. High miles don't bother me, provided the price reflects it. I've owned a few low mileage garage queens, where I started to worry each time I drove it, about how it might drop in value. I wanted a car I could use without that concern. I dropped the seller (Jay) a message immediately, but after a late night phone call (for me) he let me know I was third in line. I told him to contact me any time and I would send him a deposit. Fast forward a day or two, at 3:30am I woke to find a text message had arrived saying "Hi David - I've got smashing news for you. Please call me" Bleary eyed I called Jay, who told me I now had first refusal! Deal done and a deposit of $1000 was agreed and paid! My wife, Beth didn't share the same level of excitement at 4am; I couldn't get back to sleep so gave up trying and drove to work extra early! I worked out a roadtrip and then booked cheap flights, insurances, shipping, hotels and more. Ivan, a Californian friend we met on the 2016 trip was a huge help in arranging the car insurance through Geico.
I know plenty of people that would never send a $1000 to a stranger, for a car they'd not seen, but it 'felt' right and sometimes fortune favours the brave.
The advert remained on the Corvette forum and attracted other offers of more than the owner’s asking price, thankfully for us Jay remained totally loyal to the deal we struck.
Day 1: Sunday 21st January 2018
We left snow behind us and flew from London Gatwick to Los Angeles, arriving late in the evening. A nagging concern to our timetable was the notorious LA traffic combined with the mudslides that had tragically closed Highway 101.
Day 2: Monday 22nd January
It was an early, 4am start to pick up the hire car and get out of L.A. before the traffic crawled to a halt. We were relieved by the news that the highway was re-opened ahead of schedule, saving us hours of detour. Uber and a hire car took us north on the Pacific coast via Santa Barbara, for breakfast on the pier as the sun rose. Back on the road we dropped in to the Santa Maria Chevrolet dealer, Home Motors, to pick up a few spares I had pre-ordered, plus the first upgrade: Z06 brake cooling ducts, to help with track use. We're pretty certain their parts department had never had a phone order from so far away! It was then just a short drive to Jay and Michelle's house in Santa Maria, to see our new car. It was an exciting, if slightly strange moment to first meet them. Michelle exclaimed "You're real!" as she was certain we didn't exist and this was some sort of elaborate confidence trick! After all, who travels thousands of miles to buy a cheap (relatively) car? We were shown through the house into the huge garage, where 'our' C6 was covered up. They let us uncover the car and stood back waiting for our reaction; they needn't have worried, it looked great, even better than described.
During our email conversations I'd asked Jay if there was anything we could bring from the UK. He jokingly asked if we could get him a McLaren P1! Thanks to McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt (and wife Mia), who race in the club I run, we were able to bring him a P1, although only a model and brochure would fit in our hand luggage, along with $9000 cash!
We said our goodbye's, dropped the rental car at the nearest airport and started driving East. The weather was warm for January, the roads quiet and I finally had the keys to my C6. We name all of our cars, the name 'Clive' stuck, for no particular reason, not realizing the importance this name would have later on!
The distance between gas stations nearly caught me out, coming very close to running out before finding gas. Your country is HUGE, you can drive so far between towns.
We drove on for a few more hours, booking a motel in Tehachapi, CA, best known for its railroads, with noisy trains rumbling and honking past all through the night
Day 3: Tuesday 23rd January
A chilly start with frost on the car. Crossing the Mojave Desert took hours, it wasn't hot at that time of year, but it was certainly barren each side of Highway 58. Crossing the Colorado River saw us enter our second state, Arizona, along with small traces of snow at the side of the road; not surprising as we were regularly up at 4000 feet altitude.
After turning off Interstate 40 at Kingman we were on Historic Route 66, a road famous worldwide and certainly one we wanted to drive parts of. Travelling in January meant we were able to travel for 30 or 40 miles miles at a time without seeing another car! Dinner was at the famous Roadkill Cafe at Seligman. After reassurance that they didn't actually serve creatures scraped off the tarmac Beth was happy to eat there. We arrived at Williams, another Route 66 town, in the dark. There was plenty of snow on the ground, it was very cold being 6800 feet up. A small coolant stain under the front of the Corvette was partly expected as Jay had warned of a joint that weeps after a run, something to keep an eye on.
Another broken night’s sleep, this time by an amorous French couple in the next room, ooh la la!
Day 4: Wednesday 24th January
Wrapping up warm we explored Williams in the early morning, it had a friendly, traditional feel. We visited a couple of shops selling riding gear and cowboy hats, well, you've got to have a few souvenirs? The snow on the ground increased in volume as we headed North, towards the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The partly snowy car parks were almost empty, the perfect opportunity to check the efficiency of ‘competitive driving mode’! The viewing points nearest the visitor centre were busy with tourists, but once we walked away on the Rim Trail we were mostly by ourselves, in peace and quiet. The views were astonishing. Reluctantly moving on we drove North East, pulling into various 'turn outs' and taking these photos with parts of the Canyon in the background. To explain the license plate, it is the name of an Album 'Face Melter' from a Californian rock band 'Y & T'. Jay has followed the band for decades, becoming friends, the band members have driven the Corvette too. We entered the Hopi and then the Navajo Indian reservations. We entered our third State, Utah, as darkness descended.
Day 4: Wednesday 25th January
After a breakfast in our room at Gouldings Lodge we headed to a very cold Monument Valley. The Corvette was too low to be able to drive around the trails, with limited time available this suited us fine, with a look around the museum, a horrible coffee and a long look at those unique views. Once again, thanks to it being winter time we were almost the only visitors, we were sure the place would be heaving in the summer, despite the high entrance fee. We headed north in the direction of 'Mexican Hat', towards a view I had wanted to see since childhood. I used to daydream of being there when looking at Dad's 'Best of the Eagles' album cover as a teenager. It was later a key scene in Forrest Gump of course. Past Mexican Hat we ate a Navajo frybread burger at a lovely native American cafe for lunch (we were still well within the Navajo reservation), called Twin Rocks, in Bluff, Utah. Back on the road we crossed the San Juan River. Having passed into our 4th state, Colorado, for a couple of hours we were then into our 5th, New Mexico, with lots more miles still ahead of us. We crossed the continental divide; the geographical centre of North America where on one side water flows west to the Pacific and on the other it heads East to the Atlantic. The mountainous scenery disappeared, with endless miles of dead straight roads with only scrubby grassland each side. I wondered if I could have reached the 186mph top speed but played it safe at all times, never sure if a highway patrol might be lurking. At last we had left the Navajo reserve, but not before witnessing the large amount of homelessness in Shiprock and an accident involving an Indian lady in a huge 4x4 who turned into a flat bed trailer in front of us. It had been a long day of driving and we were happy to get back on Route 66 and check in to the Sunset Motel in Moriaty. Day 6: Friday 26th January This motel had been a pleasant surprise. It had barely changed since the same family started the business in 1959 and is now the oldest in New Mexico in original ownership. The hostess was as friendly as she was knowledgeable. With no dining room in motels from this era it was normal to take your breakfast from the reception area back to your room. Our longest day of driving lay ahead of us, well over 600 miles. The long, straight roads seemed endless, as did the huge trains, some comprising of 200+ carriages and 10+ engines. Texas, our sixth State. For hundreds of miles we saw little else but oil and gas machinery and what looked like snow (cotton). Dinner was at a Mexican in Lampasas, where I tried Catfish for the first time. We could see storm clouds ahead and rain hit as it became dark. 70mph felt fast on wet, twisty roads on pretty bald rear tyres. The wipers were possibly original as the rubber blades scraped across the glass. I couldn’t avoid running over a dead skunk with the back wheel and it stank! By sharing the driving throughout the long day we made it to the modern, but unremarkable, Motel 6 in Marble Falls in good spirits.
Day 7: Saturday 27th January We experienced 'Biscuits and Gravy' for the first time at breakfast. White gravy? Very peculiar! This was my wifes special day, where her dream of being a cowgirl came true, with an exclusive few hours riding on a ranch with a wrangler guide, Dewain, giving me time to actually look at my car (rather than driving it).
We tried that Texas speciality, BBQ food, and in the process enjoyed a complimentary Pecan Pie thanks to our accents and road trip! With the car having over 2000 miles of dust, rain and even snow on its bodywork and the aroma of dead skunk, I decided the Corvette (now named Clive) had to be cleaned. With Beth feeding quarters into the machine and pressing buttons whilst I got soaked, the car was rinsed, washed and waxed. The wax changed colour from pink to blue within seconds! Day 8: Sunday 28th January
The day I had been looking forward to, a trackday at the Circuit Of The Americas, Austin. COTA is a relatively new circuit, home of Formula One since 2012. Organised by a company called www.chintrackdays.com I signed on as a passenger and rented a helmet, having already decided that I couldn't risk using my Corvette on those worn, original brakes and worn rear tyres, especially as we still had part of the journey to complete. I had signed up for the lunch time parade laps instead. We wandered around the paddock chatting to various drivers, particularly those with Corvette and with the blessing of the organisers I enjoyed passenger laps in a white ‘base’ C6 like mine, an E46 M3 race car and finally a C7 Z06. All were exciting, with the C6 being a good comparison to how mine might behave (fast and tail happy), the M3 a reminder of how good my similar Z4M was, with the C7 impressing with its inbuilt data logger/camera and raw power.
Austin was quite a place, we love the track. As mentioned at the start, in May 2020 we had a son and we named him Austin, such is the strength of memory from this trip. We hope to bring him here when he's older.
It was time to leave the circuit to head for Houston, our last night with the car. It took some time to drive through Houston, despite so many lanes on the Interstate. The US has such contrast between empty rural roads and heaving cities. Here are a few video clips put together up to this point in the trip, really intended for my memories:
The hotel in Houston was just a few miles from where we would drop the Corvette to the shipping company the next morning.
Day 9: Monday 29th January A very early start and probably the most pressured part of the trip. We were booked into a 10:34 flight from Houston to Nashville and the airline suggests we should be there two hours before. The only problem was the shipping agent didn't open until 8am and we would have to catch an Uber across the city after handing over the Corvette. It was a good job we were early as a transporter full of cars turned up. The lady from the shipping company took photos, rushed through the simple paperwork, I handed over the keys and we were off to the airport (after saying goodbye to Clive). Traffic was kind and we made it to the 'George Bush Intercontinental' Houston airport and through security in good time, panic over. After take-off we looked down on the Gulf Of Mexico, happy in the knowledge we had driven 2000+ miles from coast to coast with no problems aside from a small loss of coolant. We landed in Nashville, Tennessee, our seventh state of the trip. Hire car collected we drove north for just over an hour, crossing in to our eighth state, Kentucky. It was cold and overcast, with some flurries of sleet and snow. Pulling into the Corvette museum at Bowling Green, the car park was almost deserted, excellent! First things first, food! Straight in to the impressive museum building and in to the Corvette Cafe, for burger, fries and thick shakes, what else? Feeling sufficiently fed it was on to the museum, passing the rows of new Corvette C7's awaiting customer collection. A friendly security guide got chatting to us and said that the very last car to be restored after the sinkhole disaster of 2014 was nearing completion and would we like to see? He unlocked a door and took us behind the scenes to see the beautiful, black 1962 model, we felt privileged to be shown (although he probably does that to everyone).
We both absorbed plenty of new Corvette facts, with reassurance that our C6 was a youngster compared to the 773,000 mile C5 on display. With closing time approaching we left for the day as we knew we'd be back the next morning to check out the bits we'd missed and importantly visit the gift shop!!!! Just a short drive back into Bowling Green where we stayed in the Baymont Inn and Suites, for what would be our last night in the States. The local steakhouse was superb, belatedly celebrating Beth's birthday and what had been our best roadtrip ever.
Day 10: Tuesday 30th January
Up early and back to the museum. It was below freezing but clear. Having bought a cap, T shirts, magazines and a hoody we just had time for a final milkshake before heading south to Nashville and an internal flight to JFK airport in New York, New Jersey (our ninth and final State). We flew through the night with Norwegian Air on the comfortable Dreamliner, arriving on.....
Day 11: Wednesday 31st January, back to England and the drive west to Home, in Wiltshire, tired, but happy.
The waiting then began, checking the cars agonisingly slow progress on a tracking website. It sat for a month at the dockside before finally boarding the ‘Maersk Montana’, leaving Galveston, TX, stopping at Norfolk, Virginia, headed across the Atlantic and dropping the 40ft container at Antwerp. An even larger container ship, the Maersk Kawasaki collected 'our' container, stopping at Rotterdam before unloading at Felixstowe on the 9th of April. It was taken to the Ship My Car depot in Milton Keynes from where we drove it home on the 17th April (via a pre-booked MOT), on its California licence plate. After refusing to start and then overheating (it seems the coolant loss is more serious that first thought) it made it home through wind and rain. I will write more about the steps taken to get the car on the road and planned modifications for trackday use shortly.
The Statistics (prices as of early 2018) Distance driven 2450 miles. Distance flown 10343 miles Average fuel economy 26.9 US (32.3 UK) miles per gallon Average speed 54.6 mph Total mileage of the car by Texas 194,786 The Car Costs £7688 Corvette $9995 based on 1.3 $ to £ £995 Port-to-Port Shipping (shared container) shipmycar.co.uk £35 Cost for shipping items within vehicle £140 Marine Insurance £165 US Customs and Loading Fees £175 UK Terminal Handling Charges £245 Container Unloading, Customs Clearance and NOVA £640 HM Customs Duty £1408 VAT £700 parts and technical equipment (Tech 2 and Blinker Splitter) to comply to UK lighting regulations (doing this myself) £35 MOT £12226 Total for the car on the UK roads
The Road Trip £1053 Flights for two (£408 Gatwick to LA, £232 Houston to Nashville, £196 Nashville to New York, £217 New York to Gatwick) £85 Car Hire £24 ESTA (US Visa) £507 Hotels (9 nights) £483 Food £130 Sundries (Razor, Car Wash, Paypal deposit fee, airport parking, Uber, Corvette Museum etc.) £228 Petrol £92 Travel Insurance (annual policy) £94 Horse Riding £45 Trackday helmet hire and passenger fee £2741 Total for the Road Trip for both of us (excluding T shirts and Cowboy Hat!)
That's it for this first post, tomorrow I will attempt to condense the next five years of ownership in Europe into something I hope you find interesting.
Thank you all so much for your kind words. I'll reply to some of your comments in a while, mean time I'll continue with the story, with the car now home with me in England.
Condensing almost 5 years ownership into one post is a challenge! I started by writing in chronological order, but soon realised I could by typing for a week. Instead I'll try to categorise my post into sections, this post will be about the upgrades and changes I've made, along with the main reliability challenges I've had. Most issues have been due to how I use the car on track, which greatly accelerate wear and tear, rather than faults with the car. Every car i have ever taken on the track or raced has experienced issues, I regard the Vette as the most reliable. Fellow competitors can't get over the mileage!
This was how it looked at the shipping agent. C6's were officially sold in the UK (Z51 spec and Z06 only), but there are just a few hundred, so they are a rare sight.
This is the only time in England that I drove the car in US spec.
Buying parts for the car started almost immediately, alongside needing to make changes to get the car to comply with UK road regulations (an annual test, called an MOT is required). We have amber turn signals here, so the red flashing rear lights would need to be modified, as would the amber front running lights. We also need bright, rear fog lights. C6 electronics don't make this easy and I confess to a lot of trial and error over some months, before I got the lights working as I wanted. I prefer the US red taillights to the EU, half amber/half red look. https://sharplightinnovations.com/sh...05-13-corvette were a big help, with some excellent products.
Two weeks later the ownership paperwork arrived, I'd finished the compliance changes (I do all my own wrenching) and I could take the car for its MOT. The underside was super clean and rust free.
It passed its test with flying colours, so I could now legally drive it here, 5 months after I'd waved goodbye to it in Texas.
1. Modifications.
I run the car on a budget and I do all my own work on the car, learning as I go. Most parts come from the States, but aside from a short wait and extra cost, it's not too much of a problem. Parts are still considerably cheaper than when I've owned Porsche and BMW. I've spoiled a number of cars by taking track modifications too far, particularly by fitting a full roll cage, so, I was determined to keep this comfortable for the road, but have a little more focus and reliability on the track.
One of the first things I did is fit an oil cooler, thermostat, crank scraper and sump baffles, from Improved Racing.
All beautifully made, but the oil cooler caused cooling issues on track, as it blocks airflow in the stock position. Angling the oil cooler to 45 degrees greatly improved coolant temps.
First time out on track with the car was an experience. It was a charity event, taking passengers out. The soft, base springs gave a lot of body roll and the drilled discs cracked within the first hour. I've cracked other discs too, but they usually last many track outings before that happens.
Over the years I tried various brands of pads, with Mintex making me F4R front pads and F6R rear pads, they are brilliant, all the stopping power I could possibly want, with no fade. I changed from base (JL9) discs and brackets to Z51 (J55), leaving the calipers alone. The Z06 cooling ducts were fitted, with temperature strips and paint used to keep an eye on peak temps. Next year I will probably fit the Brembo/Cadillac 4 piston front calipers and Z06 discs.
Springs 'to leaf or not to leaf'?
The base suspension is very comfortable, but far too soft for any vigorous manoeuvring. Coilovers are the usual answer, but, I'm stubborn and actually like the Corvette concept of composite leaf springs with separate dampers. I moved from Z51 springs and am currently on a Z06 rear leaf and Hyperco T1 front leaf. This combination is just right for how I use the car.
Dampers
The Bilstein's the car had when I bought it were ok, but felt tired. At first I swapped them for new Z06 units, but they were still a little too soft and non-adjustable. After doing lots of research and making an enquiry through Sam Strano (very helpful), I opted for something European made as it would make servicing easier. The US designed KW V3 dampers (no springs) looked ideal, in stainless steel, with compression and rebound adjustment. I was warned that access to some of the adjustments were a challenge, using a piece of wire/allen key. I should have listened, access was awful, even on the low-rise lift I'd bought.
After a little googling I guessed the email of Mr KW himself. After a number of constructive emails he agreed to have them re-designed, to make adjustment easier. True to his word, some months later a shiny new set of dampers arrived, at no cost, with fancy anodised wheels for adjustment. A massive improvement, I can now reach underneath at the track and change settings within minutes. All C5/C6 KW V3's for sale worldwide now have this upgrade. I'm still blown away by the level of service I received.
Here you can compare the bottom of the old design (left) and new (right).
Sway Bars
Nothing exciting here, I fitted Z51 bars and have stuck with them. If a used set of Z06 bars appear over here at the right price then I'll fit them, if not, I'm happy enough with the Z51.
Bushings
The stock, rubber wishbone bushes were starting to move around at the front. I can't blame the car, this is a direct result of the cornering loads due to track use.
It was a significant investment, but I replaced all bushes with a set of Borg, Delrin infused bushes, bought through Sam Strano. More recently I bought the rear upper bushes with offset ones, to gain extra camber. The bushes and sleeves would put one or two watch makers to shame, they are beautifully made.
Engine mounts
I'd looked at the mounts many times and never saw a problem (shielded by the alloy covers), until one day I needed to lift the engine and realised the once fluid-filled mounts were almost in two pieces!
It was quite a shock, but the perfect time to upgrade to AMT Motorsport versions.
Exhaust
The Powerflow back boxes droned at some speeds, plus I live in a small village where a more stealthy early morning getaway is advantageous. A used set of NPP mufflers were sourced, baffles welded up to stop the rattling and fitted with an 'NPP in a box'. Just this year I swapped the stock cats and headers for Speed Engineering headers (sadly the new design) and X pipe. Wow, that's what a V8 should sound like! Having the remote control to quieten down the NPP's is brilliant.
Transmission
The gearbox has been faultless and I still have the stock shifter. The 3.42 diff and base ratios are not great for a sports car, far too long. One of the early modifications I made was sourcing Motive Gear 4.1 final drive, crown and pinion. This remains the only job I outsourced to a specialist, which was a mistake, as just two years later I had to take it all out again as the pinion nut and crown bolts all came loose, thankfully without causing damage! The ratios are so much better, coupled with a Fidanza lightweight flywheel and the Z06 clutch that was already fitted.
A remote, Tick clutch bleeder and Monster release bearing support were installed, whilst I was in there. Oh and new bearings and BMW Guibos for the torque tube, with pilot bearing too. There is a familiar theme running here, of replacing parts and making small upgrades as I go through the car. The diff clutch packs were starting to slip, https://racingdiffs.com/ returned the diff to full order and the occasional power slide. Although I've not needed many of the tools, I invested in two cases of Getrag Kent Moore tools (bought here on the forum), the shipping was as much as the tools themselves!
Engine
It's still the original, LS2 engine, on 223,000 miles and climbing, at the time of writing. It's stock power, aside from the headers (yup, not even a tune or cold air filter). Various rolling road power runs have shown it's still in great shape, losing just a few hp compared to brochure figures, before exceeding them with the headers. I've had two main issues over the last 5 years, harmonic balancer wobble and a sticking lifter. Replaces both turned into length overhauls, but the perfect time for more preventative upgrades.
A high volume Melling oil pump, Cloyes chain and sprockets, water pump, lower temp. 'stat, belts, tensioners and more were replaced, with a Powerbond 'Race' HB and ARP bolt. In hindsight I should have gone for an underdrive HB.
After a vigorous track session, at around 200,000 miles I started to hear an occasional tick at idle.
At first I thought this was chain slap and sure enough found the original tensioner broken in pieces, including in the sump.
I put it all back together, only to find the noise was still there. I was slight miffed.
I whipped the heads off and found one of the lifter rollers was a bit rough, thankfully with no damage to the the lobe. Z06 lifters, trays, Trickflow pushrods, valve stem seals, uprated rocker bearings and valve springs were added. Given that the original yellow valve springs have a bad reputation for breaking mine had lasted rather well, perhaps some good fortune and very regular oil changes helped?
IF I ever want more power it's all ready for a cam. New head gaskets and bolts and it was running beautifully again.
A significant headache was discovering that three of the header bolts had snapped flush in the heads. I only found this out AFTER reassembling the heads, doh! With no stub left to grip and hearing horror stories of snapped easy-outs, I invested in a gasless Mig welder and took to YouTube. I built up weld enough to tack a nut on and it worked in all three cases!
Radiator
During the US rad trip we'd noticed a slight coolant leak. We got lucky, as the radiator was coming apart!
A cheap, all alloy ebay unit was fitted. I don't like to support Chinese products, but on this occasion it was at least 5 times cheaper than bringing in a Ron Davis/Dewitts unit. The first one leaked during a competition in Scotland, where the car repeatedly bottomed-out on track before I fitted the uprated dampers and springs. The second, identical replacement has been good for three years now.
Power Steering
The base model doesn't come with a PAS cooler and I killed both the rack and pump (overheated/leaking). This was a very expensive mistake, but the Turn One replacements have been fault free, along with a fan cooled Mocal cooler in the fog light void.
Bodywork
Not much to report here. The dent on the passenger rear quarter was fixed with a new metal bracket and some gentle warming with a heat gun.
The crazed headlights were baked in the oven and Umnitza lenses put in their place. They made a big improvement, but after the first year the lens coating started flaking off, this is still happening now, requiring occasional polishing.
With fluid temps. on track getting high I did the unthinkable and chopped a hole in the hood for a vent. I agonised over this for weeks. At first I fitted a slender, BMW M2CS vent, before changing it to a https://trackspecmotorsports.com/ louvered vent. This is actually the M4 vent, as it best covered up the whole I made with the first vent! It does the job, very pleased.
The photo above is before the car had its dust washed off. The paintwork is actually very good, regardless of the miles. The original owner always kept the car garaged, which has ensured the Victory Red is still glossy and vibrant. Talking of 'garages', in the UK a typical 'single' garage is actually too narrow to fit a C6, at least if you want to be able to get in or out the car. Therefore, to make working on the car more comfortable and to protect the car I built a double carport. I would have built a large garage, but it's an 1800's house in a protected area, so this was easier and cheaper.
From this:
To this:
This previous photo gives the game away, as to the largest single cosmetic difference: race graphics. Again, something I agonised over, but when I started competing with the car in 2019 I didn't think it looked right with just a few stickers slapped on it.
Partly inspired by the Brabham F1 car.
A new, HUD specific screen made a big improvement compared to peering through stone chips. My car doesn't have HUD, but I thought it sensible to have this type fitted, given I had a choice. It gives an annoying 'ghosting' at night, with oncoming car headlights appearing double, not sure if that's normal?
Wheels
The car came with reproduction, chrome wheels, they suited the car and really stood out among England's boring hatchbacks (compacts?). Despite washing them regularly, the winter salt attacked the finish. In 2021, during the final round of the Scottish championship three of the five spokes cracked. I was very lucky, both to see the cracks before the final run and also that I just had enough points in hand to win overall!
In addition, I have two other factory sets of 5 spokes, bought cheap from this forum and shipped over (once again, the shipping was more than the wheels) and a set of black C7 wheels bought in the UK, that I had re-painted silver. I have recently started to use 20mm spacers and have longer ARP studs to fit. I use Nankang AR-1 tires on track and typically Yokohama on the road. I'd love some sets of lightweight, wider wheels, but it's all $$$$/££££, so stock will have to do for now.
Seats
I've saved the worst 'til last. The stock seats are comfy, but unsupportive. Whilst they'd been rebuilt by the previous owner they were sagging again. I decided I didn't want race seats, preferring a bit more comfort, with sliders, to remain wife-friendly. I'll condense four years of expensive trial and error by saying if you want to change seats, do it right first time and don't be cheap! I tried a pair of Recaros from a UK Vauxhall (didn't fit), an OMP 'race' sports seat and a Cobra Monaco Pro, both of which looked and felt cheap and I sat too high in any case. Next, I thought I'd be clever and ordered a pair of Corbeau Evo X seats from the US, along with their sliders. The seats were good value, but the shipping came as a massive shock at over $1000, plus taxes. I still have buyers remorse even now, years later. The Corbeau's were actually very good all-purpose seats, but, there was some height and weight to be gained by finally making that jump to a proper Sparco race seat.
The QRT-R seat fitted well (as advised in the track section of this forum), but my shoulders are broad, despite being slim, so that's moved to the passenger side and I now have a QRT Evo L, which is great. I'm just waiting on the AMT floor mount to get me even lower and I'll stop messing around with seats!
A Sharkbar and Schroth harness keeps me in place on track, I use the stock 3 point on the road. Vette works plugs keep the airbag light off.
Tomorrow's post will be about what I've done with the car and where I've been, sorry this one is a bit boring. I'll dig out some nice scenic European photos and videos tomorrow.
I loved your story. We took a similar trip 2 yrs ago but not in our C6. Couldn’t figure how to pack all the stuff we needed for an 8400 mi trip. Loved Williams Az and how it got it’s name among other places you visited. . Excellent work combining pics and words. We just did a 2400 mi trip in the C6 but I have been too lazy to write it all down. They are fun touring cars and those that are afraid to get them wet or cold don’t know what they are missing. Thanks for the story.
Thanks for sharing your story!
My wife and I Also drove through Kingman and Williams AZ on Route 66 and then up to to the Grand Canyon. We crossed that off our bucket list in 2003.
Glad you, your wife and the Corvette made it safely back to the UK.
Looking forward to your next installment.
Wow, such a great story! I read every word and brought back so many good memories. For the last 44 years I've had properties in Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix. And, at times, simultaneously.
From when you hit Kingman all the way to the Sunset hotel, this is my playground. I've driven these roads in some good road cars - A 2009 (Red just like yours) C6, an 81 Corvette, an M6, a number of Jaguars and MBs, a Bentley Continental GT and an AMG GTS. And soon to be, an R8.
You didn't mention it, but past Mexican Hat and around the area where you crossed into Colorado and the San Juan river, there is a famous monument called 4 Corners. Hopefully you stopped there (would have been a great pic) at 4 corners there is a monument "pin" you can stand on and literally be in 4 states at the same time - Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
Looking forward to more posts with your great adventures and hopefully you'll come back to the states and get more road miles in!
BTW, I love that 59 Caddy on the carrier! Those are worth some big dollars now; and I had a 59 Corvette, just like the red one, in blue/white.
That was quite a road trip and glad to hear it went smoothly. The American west is truly a vast land. I read your entire post and have travelled to most of those locations over the years. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome trip. I daydream off a trip like this. We traveled Monument Valley in a family car years ago. Beautiful country sides. We did travel from Indiana to Colorado Springs this summer in our Vet. A great trip in a fantastic car. We made it to the top of Pikes Peak.
Last edited by gtovet49; 12-05-2022 at 08:16 PM.
Reason: spelling
12-05-2022, 12:25 PM
My Corvette Changed My Life
Although I've not needed many of the tools, I invested in two cases of Getrag Kent Moore tools (bought here on the forum), the shipping was as much as the tools themselves!
