Some pics of my baby!

Took her out for a spin yesterday to the post office and when I got back just wiped her down with some detail spray and thought I should snap a few pics.....

Oh, man.... wait until I show Donnie. He'll have kittens!

Beautiful "Baby" Rich. Congratulations!

Is Donnie a Corvette fan? I've been on a few Corvette forums and there are a lot of people who are kind of fanatics about this car. But I guess the same holds true for many other vehicles as well.

I think that as long as I can afford to, I will now always have one. Of course, as I get older, I may have to switch from the manual 6 speed to the automatic. Hope that isn't in the very near future, however......... I do like shifting gears much more then just holding onto the steering wheel...

I am not a big fan of chrome rims but on the Lemans blue it looks good. Plus they don't chip and flake like the smoke ones do and end up looking like hammered crap.


And on word Rich SUPERCHARGER!!!!!!

bcfos said:

I am not a big fan of chrome rims but on the Lemans blue it looks good. Plus they don't chip and flake like the smoke ones do and end up looking like hammered crap.


And on word Rich SUPERCHARGER!!!!!!

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Actually that color is called Electron Blue. Chevy only put it on the Corvette for 2 years, if I recall correctly. At first I wasn't real crazy about the color, as I was really looking for a black or gray one as first preferences. But I wanted one that had spend nearly it's whole life in Florida and not exposed to salt and winter crap up north. So that did kind of limit me somewhat. Since I am in north Florida, I had to search for one further south then me. I rarely found any Z06 for sale that was less then 200 miles away. So when this one came up, heck, blue is OK, so I felt I could live with it.

Well when I saw it in person, WOW, it took my breath away. It's an eye catcher but not nearly as flashy as the Torch Red color or the Millennium Yellow. And I would have to say now that if I were to be looking all over again, I would want to find an Electron Blue one as first preference.

Now the wheels were an odd situation. I was a complete wet behind the ears Corvette newbie and when I saw the pics of that Z06 being offered for sale, I didn't have a clue that the wheels on it were NOT standard Z06 wheels. They were actually off of a regular C5. The guy selling it told me they were optional, more expensive wheels, which was an out and out lie, but I just didn't know any better. I also didn't notice that his saying the tires would need to be replaced pretty soon, actually meant that the front tires were showing threads on the inside edges. I mean REALLY showing threads. That so-and-so just let me drive off on worse then bald tires for an 8 hour drive back home.

Now I didn't know ANY of this until I took the car to the local Chevy dealership to have the oil changed and to also get the front turn signal lights repaired. The Corvette tech came into the waiting room after it was put up on the rack and said the dreaded "Hey, come here and take a look at what I found on your car." That's when I first saw those thread bare tires. He said I was darn lucky to have gotten this far on them. He then said, "By the way, why did you put C5 wheels on this Z06?" Excuse me? Well that is when I found out about the wheels. Long story short of it is that I believe that the guy did a switcheroo before I got it, probably selling the Z06 wheels and tires to someone with those bald tires on the C5 rims and just put them on to sell the car. Yeah, he got me on that one.

So anyway, now I'm in kind of a panic of sorts. I got this new (to me) Corvette that I am DYING to drive around, but with those death trap tires on it, I don't dare to do so. And obviously if I am going to get new tires, I want to get ones FOR the Z06, and come to find out the wheels and tires on the Z06 are 1 inch wider then the regular C5. So that meant to get the proper tires, I also needed to get the proper wheels. Sheesh........... Hadn't planned on THAT expense!

Well, the regular stock wheels on the Z06 are a painted gray color with a clear coat paint. Personally I didn't find them all that attractive looking. There was an optional wheel available that is a polished aluminum which I felt looked really good with the Electron Blue body, but I just could NOT find a set anywhere without getting them direct from GM. And they were REALLY pricey! I was posting messages on the corvette message boards trying to find someone selling a nice set of genuine GM wheels, but every nibble I got on a seller fell through for one reason or another. Some of those wheels looked like the owners did their parallel parking via braille. Crunch and scrape.... But finally a dealer on the east coast of Florida contacted me with a set of genuine GM Z06 wheels that had been chrome plated. They weren't the polished aluminum I was looking for, but by now the Z06 had been sitting in my driveway for a solid week while I'm trying to find wheels. The tires had been delivered and I was still dinking around trying to find wheels. So I just bit the bullet to get this over with and bought the chrome wheels. Not my first choice, but heck they look fine enough to live with, I think. Not sure how long the chrome plating will hold up, but if and when I start to have problems with it flaking, maybe it will be time for some new tires as well. In the meantime, I can keep my eyes peeled on a good deal on some of those polished wheels like I originally wanted.

BTW, the reason I wanted genuine GM wheels is because everyone on the forums said to stay away from aftermarket reproductions. Not only were they much heavier then the real GM versions, but there had been many cases of problems with them. Not all of them, but enough so that I heeded the warning. And honestly, I was shocked at how light a wheel and tire is on that vehicle. For as big as they are, they are remarkably light weight.

Oh well, probably more then anyone ever wanted to know about my wheels and tires.........

Yeah, Rich... Donnie is a major Vette fan. We drive through Bowling Green on a regular basis and he treats it like a religious experience *snicker*

I showed him the pics... I told him he would have to post his comment himself. hehehe

Heck I wouldn't mind a trip to the National Corvette Museum some day. But I don't get up that way much, so not sure it would ever happen.

OMG... i would step over my own mother for such that car!!! I have to ask- how bad is the insurance for it?

Nice car you have there.

Nasty bro, just nasty

sweet ride.i had a harley almost the exact same color.

omg rich...you brought me all the way to this forum...i actually thought it was a baby..haha...well..nice car..but remember...its just a material possession..it can go at anytime..so dont get too attached .......btw..it is a nice car

HAHA! Made you look.............

wow is that what fauna "Endowments bought ya "

JungleHabitats said:

wow is that what fauna "Endowments bought ya "

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No, Alan. Profits from my SerpenCo business over the years provided the funds for this toy. To give you an example of how well my business has been doing, if I sell just the rest of my adults I put on surplus recently I could buy another one. Actually two of them depending on the year and model.

When you have some free time, try to figure out how many paid Endowment level members there are here and compare that to the price of even the cheapest Corvette you can find for sale.

I love it... it coordinates with your blue name too.... you should get the license plates customized to say "WBSLAVE" ...
...and I think the chrome plates look just fine. I don't know anything about cars.... but wow.... it's definitely something to drool over.

Thanks!

This is the first car I have had since around 1980 that was not just a practical work related vehicle. My previous vehicle (which I still have) is a '98 Jeep Wrangler which I thought would be handy for driving down the zillions of miles of dirt roads around here. Then before that was my full sized Bronco, which was bought for pretty much the same reason, but when I lived up in Maryland, wanted the 4-wheel drive for snow and the occasional trips into the New Jersey pine barrens.

Then we had the vans. Got tired of renting a van for the shows, so we bought a '93 or so Chevy Astro. Started having some reliability problems with it, so then bought a '99 Astro keeping the '93 around as a backup. At the time we were doing 6 to 8 shows per year, so this seemed prudent to do. If a vehicle is going to give you problems, it will be right at the time you are getting prepared for the trip to a show. Besides, vans make great mobile storage units when not being used to drive to the shows! But we decided to get rid of the older one because insurance premiums were getting to be a burden. Then last year I bought Connie a Silverado pickup truck that she has been wanting since about the 3rd of forever. Here in north Florida, if you don't have a pickup truck, you "jest ain't natural", it seems.

So the vette was kind of out of character. Matter of fact, when I sent her a picture of it to Connie's sister, our niece was shocked when she heard about it because we NEVER did that sort of thing before in her memory. Mr. and Mrs. Practical, I guess.

But really this Corvette IS actually pretty practical. Much moreso then I thought it would be. For one thing, my Jeep doesn't have air conditioning. Seemed like a good idea when I bought it, but after a few drives in summer thunderstorms when you have to close up the windows and the humidity and heat inside about kill you, you soon learn differently. So yeah, now I am getting spoiled having A/C when I drive somewhere. And yes, you CAN carry stuff in a vette. It actually does have a trunk that you can put stuff into. No you can't carry a sofa, but bags of groceries are no problem at all. And yeah, I had some people say to me "Yeah, that car is really nice! I'll bet it can pass everything except a gas station! Yuk, yuk yuk..." Well hold onto your hat, fellas, this puppy, even with 405 horspower on tap, will get 32 miles to the gallon on the highway in sixth gear at 70 mph with the A/C running. So far even with some hot footing it here and there (hey it IS a vette after all!), I am getting an average of 23.62 miles to the gallon. NONE of the other vehicles I have, even the 6 banger Jeep or the Astro van does THAT good!

So yeah, even when I wasn't even trying, looks like I bought something "practical" after all.

ha! I would have never guessed it could hold 32 miles a gallon! I didn't think good looks and cheap gas prices could go hand in hand.
I'm not too sure if the color is extremely practical (which isn't a bad thing!), but from your description the car seems very practical.

Sorry, I'm not a fan of the black ones, like you had mentioned earlier you had originally liked. It seems everyone has a black vette.... or maybe I'm just thinking that because I work with two people who have black ones, and see them in the parking lot all of the time.

And to comment about how it can fit more in it than meets the eye.... I wouldn't have guessed that either! We used to have a pontiac fiero, a little sports car, and you wouldn't believe the number of times I've had to walk home from the grocery store... because we bought "too many" groceries.... It's good you guys don't have that problem. Maybe I'll call my mom up and talk her into selling her fiero for a vette....

I'm a Bimmer gal myself. Don't know too much about cars.... but when "BMW" is mentioned I'm Alllllll talk.

I will reiterate though, and I really don't say this about many cars I see....
that car is very impressive!

whoa.... used way too many 's... now my message just looks annoying!...

Actually I don't consider myself a "car" person either. Back in the '70s I had a GTO that I really loved tinkering with. Rebuilt the engine a couple of times and did all sorts of performance mods to it. TOO many, actually. Things started breaking because the power output puts stress on things not designed for it. So the last time I threw a rod, I threw in the towel on that stuff. I think I bought an old Ford window van, which was practical (there's that word again) because I was playing in a band and needed something to haul around my keyboards. Had a Hammond B3 organ and a couple of tone cabinets as well as a Moog synthesizer and amps. Of course, when I bought the van, I kept checking the emergency brake the entire time because I thought it HAD to be dragging as slow as that thing felt.

As for the vette, gee, I would like to say I have always wanted one, but that really is not the case at all. Back at Christmas of 2004 a friend of mine's wife died from cancer. He was really shaken up over it, and finally got up enough nerve to drive her car to the local Chevy dealership to get rid of it so he didn't have to look at it every day. While he was there, some fast talking salesman snagged him. Yeah, he was already down in the dumps and he was ripe for a sales pitch. So he drove home in a used silver colored 2000 Corvette convertible. And of course he sent me pictures of it. Prior to that time, yeah, I've seen vettes on the road here and there, but they didn't make much of an impression on me at all. I was kind of a "Jeep" person, after all.

But those photos kind of grew on me. Connie and I talked about Dave (the guy whose wife died) and we felt he was just really going through a bad period of time and this would help pick up his spirits a bit. And it may have been a touch of the "mid life crisis" as well, we thought. Kind of jokingly, I said to Connie, "Well heck, maybe when I go through my mid life crisis, maybe I should get a Corvette too." I really wasn't serious, but she just said "Sure, go ahead. As long as I can drive it too." Well damn.... Suddenly the idea didn't sound quite so stupid to me. I have NO idea why, either. It's not like I was pining away for one or anything. So just for grins, I thought I would check out prices to see just how dumb the idea was.

A new one was just out of the question completely. Mid life crisis or not, I just wasn't going to spend $40,000 to $50,000 on a car! Used ones weren't too bad, depending on what particular year, model, and options you were looking at. Some of the ads were right comical, actually. Things like "my Corvette has NEVER been driven in the rain" were quite commonplace. Finding cars 10 years old with less then 3,000 miles was not unusual either. Even finding one 20 years old with less then 10K miles was not all that difficult to find.

Anyway, it was a real learning experience for me. I decided that I wanted a C5 model, which was made from 1997 thru 2004. This was the period of time when Chevy decided to make the Corvette not only a race car, but a COMFORTABLE race car. And I noticed a lot of ads for the C5s saying things like "with lots of Z06 options" or "almost as fast as a Z06". Hmm, well why not just BUY a Z06, then?

But still, the prices were just a bit more then I wanted to pay, and I was thinking I was going to have to fall back on getting a C4 model. But I wasn't in any hurry, and actually Fall is the best time to buy a Corvette. Lots of people up north will not drive their vette in the Winter months, so they just lock it up in the garage and leave it there until Springtime. So this is the time they start thinking about selling the car rather then just storing it for several months. But the problem is, I didn't want one that had been up in the north, and maybe driven in snow with salted roads. When I moved down to Florida with my Bronco, I had to have the gastank replaced because it had rotted out from salt while I lived in Maryland. I guess that just made an impression on me.

Well I finally found a 2002 Z06 on Ebay that had a darned decent price on it. And the guy selling it was located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Come to find out, the guy did pull some fasts ones on me, as the wheels were not standard Z06 wheels, and the tires were bald and threads showing on the front ones. But I was too wet behind the ears to know the differences between the regular C5 and the Z06 at the time. And besides, I had a real bad case of tunnel vision when this guy comes roaring around the corner to meet Connie and I near his home. That damned thing looked AWESOME, and I didn't have any doubt whatsoever that I was going to be driving it home that day. It could have been without tailpipes, and I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Quite honestly even with having to buy new wheels, tires, brakes, etc., etc. for this car (which had 58,000 miles on it when I got it), I still think I came out ahead on the deal. I could turn around and sell it today and make a profit on it. Not like that is going to happen, though.

One really good thing about a Corvette is that you don't have to worry about the body panels rusting out on you. Basically a Corvette is something you can keep just about forever, and many people do just that. If something breaks, just replace it. I think nearly all the vehicles I had before were sold because of rust problems finally beginning to win the battle. Not a problem here. Heck, even the mufflers and tailpipes are made out of TITANIUM! And since I put on headers, the rest of the exhaust system is stainless steel.

About the only thing I can think of that would be a killer, would be gremlin electrical problems. The C5 Z06 is one complex piece of equipment. There are several computers onboard to do everything from control every aspect of the engine's running state to keeping the car from losing control via the Active Handling and Traction Control. If you start to lose control, the computers determine this and will selectively activate the brake on whichever wheel will help to bring it back under control.

Handling on this car is unreal. The suspension is VERY stiff, but it feels like you are part of the road and not just ON the road. Someone once told me that you can make a had 90 degree turn in a Corvette going 90 miles per hour and not lose control of it. I haven't tried it, but I DO believe it! I have never had any car handle like this one does. Not even close.

So does it sound like I like my vette?

Honestly, my only regret is that I wish I had gotten bit by this bug a long time ago. Instead of buying my brand new Pontiac Grand Prix back in '76 or so, I certainly could have bought a Corvette instead. Even buying an older '65 or '66 or so would have been just one heck of a fun car to have. The thought just never entered my mind back then, though....

Oh well, been fun rambling on about this.......