7.0sc SuperVette

I’ve had it for a few days now and the car is set up exactly the way I wanted it!...My dream car!

Big cubes and moderate boost built to provide lots of torque in the 3000 to 4500 rpm range. It is strictly a daily driver (my only car) and I want it to last. It is tuned conservatively for only 640 RWHP, so with 427 cubes, it is relatively low stressed for that output (compared to a 346 at the same output), and the short cam (224/228 .581/.588 on a 115 LSA) and 1 ¾” long tubes really bring in the torque at typical street level RPM’s. It is exactly what Andy said it would be and just what I wanted, a torque monster!!!

Andy tuned the engine so that it has perfect street machine manners-has a smooth 800 RPM idle with no lope and with it warmed up properly, you can ease the clutch out from a dead stop at idle in 4th gear and it smoothly rolls ahead! And when you hit the go pedal the thing just screams, it sling shots you ahead so violently you feel like you’re going to slide over the back of the seat into the luggage area!

I just put Nitto RII’s on 18x12’s on the rear-not drag radials but an order of magnitude better on acceleration than the GY F1 Supercar or the Yoko AVS’s I had before and the lateral force in the twisties is unbelievable!

Starting like that in 4th is not a good thing to do-as the engine is not going fast enough initially to maintain the oil film wedge (at the crankshaft) and could result in metal to metal contact. But the capability is there, when I’m in 2nd or 3rd at a stop and I think I’m in 1st-so I don’t get embarassed.

Andy's LUK clutch is light as a feather, smooth as silk and holds the torque! Andy replaced my chattering, heavy pedal SPEC (sea lion sounds) clutch.

Here is the Amazing part…

The development of my car has been many, many months as those of you who know me remember.

Andy took over when my MMS C5-R engine self-destructed after only 700 easy low RPM break-in miles and the MMS Company conveniently went out of business-wasting tens of thousands of my hard earned dollars-I am not a wealthy man and this C5 project is a once in a lifetime thing for me!

Andy is the most conscientious and has the most integrity of anyone I have met in the automotive field or any field for that manner. He is also the most innovative person I have ever met in this field. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Andy for over a year during which he has virtually worked all the bugs out of my early C5 (’97). He has done various sets of custom preliminary development work on my car taking hours and days of extra time which he has not charged me extra! I had one of the 1st custom 8 rib drives and when I had a problem he drove 50 miles to my house to correct it without blinking an eye.

I had initially requested a Darton Sleeve 427 block because MMS took all my money and I could not afford another C5R block. Darton Sleeves supplied Andy with a faulty 427 sleeve block plus some faulty machining instructions and faulty assembly instructions-Andy had that engine in and out of my car (tuned each time) and then the block completely disassembled back and forth to Darton 3 or 4 times (each time they said it was OK and back in and out of my car (and tuned each time) 3 or 4 times before Darton finally admitted it was a faulty cracked block.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Darton Sleeves, they make a good product out of the Generals dubious aluminum castings, but sometimes mistakes are made-and the tuner ends up paying!

They have only recently agreed to partially compensate him for the faulty block, but not the many man weeks of his labor performing the above!

At one point a couple months ago, Andy said to me that he was sorry that it was taking so long (I knew it was not his fault but the suppliers of the faulty block and other things, i.e. Spec clutch and other things I don’t remember) that he was going to get my car running to his and my satisfaction and he would not let me pay any more than I had paid up to that time (I was actually behind at that time)-it was going to be on him! What that finally ended up with was me getting a new C5R short block to replace the Darton fiasco, a new LUK clutch, a front mounted IC, a heavy duty radiator/fans, a custom fabricated set of two small supplementary radiators w/fans and probably much more stuff that I am not even aware of!!!

ANDY STANDS BEHIND HIS WORK…MORE THAN 100%!

I have been around his shop enough to have seen many other customers treated with this same concern and I have never heard of anything going out of his shop that was not right, and if it did, he would do whatever it takes to get it right for his customer! For example, in my case, Andy noticed that the 230/230 cam that he had installed in my engine because I felt that that was the perfect cam for my style of driving in the 427 seemed a little bit more than I was comfortable with after I drove it, and so without even a second thought, he took it out and put in the 224/228 that I am ecstatic over!

I just wanted to share my experience with Andy @ AandACorvette.com with the Corvette Forum… Thanks Andy!

Roy

USA-VET

PICs?

Roofless

Andy is the man in Southern CA, wish we could clone him and ship him out the rest of t he country.

Bat Boy99

We want PICs... We want PICs...

7.0sc SuperVette

No need for special medical processes...AZ is a pleasant drive to Andy's and then Amtrak home wilst reading "Corvette Fever" (a medical journal about compulsive behavior psychologies).

Roy

EatRice

this thread looks familuar.

7.0sc SuperVette

De ja vu?

Roy

Black01Z

where are u in AZ? beautiful car. what was the torque???????

7.0sc SuperVette

Frankly, I don't remember-it's in the same range as the HP!
I'm in So Cal.

Roy

c5chris

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! I've been playing with this idea for awhile now, I just gotta find time to pull the trigger.

How's first gear, and how does it feel on city streets?

Dave68

As much as I admire some of the "super engines" coming out of Andy's shop, I can't help but wonder what is going to happen when you get that "Smog Required" notification with your registration. What on earth could you do to get that thing to pass??? I know that certain supercharger setups are perfectly legal, but changing the block is asking for a "no-registration possible" condition. I guess you can always sell the car to an out-of-state buyer before smog is due, so enjoy it while you can!

c5chris

Good point, Dave. This is my biggest hindrance since it's a California car. I have a set of brandnew Stainlessworks/Swaintech LT headers sitting in my toolshed for 2 years that I never had taken out of the box due to Cali Smog Emissions.

From what I had understood from the smog tech that I had talked to, if you have a newer block or engine than what your car has, it would pass. I just dont know if they have a cap on size/cubes for a particular car. But if there are no smog equipment on the car then it would definitely not pass visual. Any engine can be made to pass smog (to a certain extent!) by leaning the A/F mixture for the event of smog testing and by doing the necessary steps (new plugs, new oil, run for over 30 minutes before testing. etc.)

#001 2001 Z06

Congrads, Roy.
I would expect with your smooth transition setup that you have now, that it would compete with any sparatic higher h.p.(800+) in any case. Enjoy your driver.

7.0sc SuperVette

I have a 3.90 gear..'nuf said!

Roy

Vettlldo

With the LS7 coming out in the Z06, is this a perfect engine swap in a 2004 C5?

NocarbutaVetteforme

Congrats on the car and it is damn nice to see the customer service you received. It seems as though not only does A &A due excellent work but that they excel at customer service as well.

7.0sc SuperVette

Andy actually invented customer service!

Roy

Pug

How reliable do you think this will be?

Would you drive it cross country?

Sounds like what I am looking for.........

However I have an A4 and would like to stay A4 W/mods.......

I'll have around 35k to spend once my cotton gets ginned and sold. Will it take more than that?

Dave68

I'm guessing that when the smog tech looks under his hood, he'll just shake his head, close the hood and have the next person in line pull up to the rollers. The replacement engine MUST have all the original smog equipment, regardless of age. His best bet is to sell the car before smog is due. Otherwise, it'll be a royal pain to get it to pass. I went through this scenario with my 68; it's no fun.

7.0sc SuperVette

The engine Andy built for me would be a perfect swap into a '06 Ferrari!

Roy