Buzzardz_vette

Ordered the Z51, 2LT, 7-speed Manual Transmission, Torch Red exterior, Adrenaline Red interior, Red Calipers, Carbon Fiber Instrument Panel Dash, Magnetic Selective Ride Control, MyLink Navigation, Black Wheels, Dual-mode Performance Exhaust Coupe through Mike Furman at Criswell Chevrolet in Maryland on Sep 24. The order was accepted by Chevy on Oct 26 and built on Dec 3-4.


Museum delivery took place on 16 Dec. My wife and a couple of friends from my club joined me at the Museum for the delivery of VIN 9070. We drove from Yorktown, VA to BG in one day (10.5 driving hours) in my Town and Country van. The weather was very iffy, especially in the mountains.





It doesn’t show it very well, but it is snowing in these pictures. Other than the mountains, the drive was very nice.

We took our friends to the Hampton Inn to check in and heading for the 1869 Homestead B&B in BG. If you get the chance, stay there for your delivery. The innkeeper Jan Strode and her husband Wendell, Executive Director of the National Corvette Museum, are the nicest people you will ever meet. They love talking about the Corvette. They directed us to two great restaurants where we had two great meals. We let our friends keep the van since Wendell offered to drive the wife and I to the Museum the next morning. About the only thing that marred our first evening in BG was that we got a large rivet stuck in one of my tires. Had to keep filling it up with air until we arrived at the Museum the next day. Wendell then took the van to a local tire dealer to get it replaced while we were on the tour of the plant. How can you not love this guy.

The car was located in Delivery 3.





We brought our club banner to get a little free publicity for the club. The other people there for deliveries said they wished they had thought about bringing their club banners. So if you’re doing a museum delivery and want to use your club banner, take it with you.

Here are some pictures some of our club members took from the webcam (we had a lot of people watching).






My delivery was scheduled for 10:30, but we showed up at 8:00 and the Museum let us walk through the museum displays while we waited. I wanted to make sure we were able to see the Museum in case the delivery took a long time (which turned out to be a pretty good idea).

Before the Museum, we did a walk around of the car looking for any problems. I would highly recommend you do this if you have the 10:30 delivery as it gives the Museum time to fix any problems. I ordered the Xpel protection film for the front bumper, complete hood and fenders, mirrors and headlights that were installed beforehand. I did notice a problem with one of the headlights and they pulled the car from the floor and removed the film and installed new film while we were on the plant tour.

At 10:30, we showed up for our delivery and watched a safety video along with the other deliveries and then they took us to the assembly plant for the tour where our names were on the big billboard at the entrance. Each delivery group (max of 4) had their own tour guide from the Museum, ours was Gary. We spent about 4-hours going through the plant, talking to the assembly workers, and watching the cars being built from frame to finished product. If anyone ever tells you that their vette has never been rained on, they are not telling you the whole truth. At the end of the line, all of the cars (even older generations) go into a rain booth and get pounded with a deluge of water to check for leaks. Someone is actually in the car at the time looking for leaks.

It was really neat being able to see all the different parts that go on each car depending on what options (Z51 vs non-Z51, coupe vs vert) were ordered and where they are install. We learned that the rocker panels are the only parts that are glued on and are installed on the frame before it is even sent to the assembly line. This is the most important body piece on the car and all other pieces are aligned/fitted to it. Gary told us that you never want to damage your rocker panels, because the only way to replace it, is to tear it off and you will never get the rest of the body pieces to align properly again. So make sure you use jacking pucks to jack your car.

After the tour, we had lunch at the Corvette diner in the Museum and then headed to the office to do all the paperwork. I opted to purchase the build sheet and have it and the window sticker laminated for $50. You will receive a plaque for your wall commemorating your delivery (the engraved plate is sent to you later), as well as, a bunch of paperwork and brochures of the Museum.

Then we finally got to the actual delivery.




Gary went over all the systems which didn’t take too long since I had already read the Owner’s Manual. While doing this, an elderly lady (80s, 90s??) stopped by and asked if she could get a picture of her in the car, so I let her in. Turns out she has owned a lot of corvettes with her husband over the years and decided to stop by to see the new C7s with her grandchildren.

One of the things Gary went over was the exhaust management (NPP). As he was cycling through the different driving modes and the changes in the exhaust sounds, my wife was standing outside the car talking to someone. When he got to the Track mode and the exhaust went wide open, my wife stopped talking and ask what we did to the car. I explained it to her and she says, “I love the sound, can you make it sound like that all the time?” So we turned off the exhaust management system and the pipes are wide open all the time.

Then it was time to leave and Gary drove the car out of the building for the picture outside (I asked and they do it that way for liability issues, so no burnouts on Corvette Blvd ). All the Museum employees came out and lined the corridor as we drove out and clapped for us. Received a lot of Congratulations and Thank You's from everyone. Parked out front and took our picture.






Then I drove the car up to the plant entrance for pictures. You are only allowed to do this on the day of your delivery so be sure to take advantage of this benefit. You can see the billboard with our names on it.


Then I noticed the moon coming up, so I turned the vette around and got some pictures with the moon above the car.






By the time we returned to the Museum, it was too late to take the Museum tour, so it was a good thing we went through it in the morning. I would recommend opting for the 7:30 delivery if you have a choice as this will give you more time to get things done and see everything.

We then left the museum and drove down the road to the B&B. Wendell has a large barn/garage and let us use it to park the car overnight. The next morning, we packed up and before driving out, took some pictures with the B&B in the background.










Then it was on the road to head back to Virginia.




(Click on this picture for a short video of the car on the road)



The drive wasn’t too bad through the mountains. We made it through the highest elevations right before the big snow hit and only had rain and light snow to deal with. The car had no problems driving in the water and falling snow and never lost its grip at speeds up to 70-80mph. I even took some wet clover leaf turns at 50mph with no problems. I put it in Eco mode and the switch from V4 to V8 was only noticeable when the exhaust got louder as it accelerated. I figured my wife would get tired of the loud exhaust, so after a few hours, I turned the exhaust management back on. She wasn’t happy about that and had me turn it back off. Seems she really like the sound.

We made it as far as Virginia where I64 Joins I81N and I81 was closed for construction. THEY CLOSED THE WHOLE INTERSTATE DOWN!! We were routed to a back road for about twenty miles and spent 2 ½ hours in 0-5mph traffic. It was then that I sometimes wished I had ordered the automatic. By the time we were allowed back on I81/I64, my knees were killing me. We finally made it home around 12:30am and I just parked the car in the garage and went to sleep.

Got up the next day and spent a few hours cleaning up the car. I am driving it to work and plan to use it for my daily driver except in bad weather so I can enjoy it.

By the way, we saw this on the way home, so some people will be getting early Christmas presents.

1bdvet

Thanks for sharing!

Greg00Coupe

Very cool and congratulations!!! I like that you both dressed in the RED theme both days!!! Sure is a lot of red on that beauty!!!

Enjoy!!

Checkmate1

Love pictures of Vette deliveries! Congrats to you and your family on this awesome Christmas present.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

11B250

What an awesome post! Thanks!

Makes me want to order my car and pay the extra fee to have it delivered at the museum! I know my wife will get a kick out of that!

VETJAZZ

Congrats! Beautiful ride. Exactly the way I remember my delivery on 12/11. BTW - I have an automatic and hit heavy stop and go (mostly stop) traffic through El Paso on my way to Phoenix. I opted for the manuel mode.

Yellogixxer

Cool narrative and pics!!

Buzzardz_vette

It's a once-in-a-lifetime event. Go for it. You won't regret it.

Buzzardz_vette

Yep, we planned it that way.

ExRedRacer

Thanks for the write-up. Very interesting!

MKP.ORG

Nice pictures. A day to remember for a lifetime.

capevettes

Congratulations It looks like you had a great experience. Enjoy the new Vette

keithp51

Congratulations on your Beautiful Christmas Present. Thank you for the insights and images. Great to see the C7 successes everyday here and the wonderful treatment you get at the museum. Have fun and drive

MThomas

Congrats!!! May you have miles of smiles!!!

Racerdj

Awesome write up and pictures! Congratulations

Rich Mickol

Congrats and thanks for sharing.

2vette2

PARANORMAL

Great Post. Congratulations

hotrod2147

Dream C-5

Very nice write up.