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Hi all,
As a way to saying thanks for all of your help in answering the stupid as well as the not so stupid questions and also bragging on my "sweetheart" I am posting pictures of her latest mods/upgrades/restoration. By the way that's her name, "Sweetheart" Sort of a joke with my wife as she says since I got her I have spent more time with Sweetheart than I have with her. I am going to start with photos from Day 1 when I purchased her about a year ago on Ebay (which I would recommend to no one ever!) Then I will add posts with each stage. About 15 minutes after picking her up.
Well I got her home and found at she was not quite as described but came to an agreement with the seller and started to tackle the mechanical first!
I replaced the Optispark and upgraded to the Version 2 Mod for it.
I replaced the Harmonic Balancer, the Water pump, Thermostat, Radiator Overflow tank, and Radiator fill tank. I replaced the Plugs, Wires, Coil and something else electrical but I can't remember what it was. I am getting old! I replaced the Knock Sensors, the brake booster, hoses and such. Then I did a few things to make her look better under the hood I will show in the completed shots.
I then moved to the interior and refurb'ed the LCD Display, The A/C head unit and the DIC while changing all the lights to Red LED's. I then fixed the dimmer switch.
Then I got new tires and had the tie rods replaced as I just wasn't going to do that with 6 inches of clearance on the garage floor!I could have but as I said I am getting old!
Starting work on her!
Last edited by TheWhiteHat; 05-10-2017 at 05:11 PM.
Now I was ready to go all out on the interior. So i gutted her, got rid of the all red upholstery and the red carpet. Then added Sound deadening and insulation and built new enclosures for the speakers! I also added USB ports and a switch for the Antenna and replaced the non-working GM antenna with an aftermarket that required a few modifications but saved me some serious bucks. You can see the USB ports and the Antenna switch between the power seat switches in one of the pictures. I also added an extra Cig lighter for the Radar detector.
Almost gutted
You can see the Sound Deadening and insulation and also the new back speaker enclosures for the new stereo system going in.
Here you can see the front and the new speaker enclosure for the front speakers and the USB and Antenna Switch between the Power Seat controls.
Passenger side seat well.
The storage compartment behind passenger seat
Closeup of the front speaker enclosure and the AMP wire coming in from the Battery.
Last edited by TheWhiteHat; 05-10-2017 at 05:23 PM.
Here you can see the Carpet Padding in and the Carpet started. I used the thicker pad and the Truvette mat back carpet. I originally ordered the cheap econo carpet but it was crap! Trust me on it. Pay the extra! well worth it!
Padding and then the carpet on the wall behind the seats is just sitting in.
Padding and then the carpet on the wall behind the seats is just sitting in.
Now the carpet is going in.
Carpeting going in!
Carpeting going in!
Carpeting going in and checking the black roof holders for the first time.
Now it was time for the new upholstery to go in. I had this upholstery specially made using what I saw that I liked about several different versions of covers and upholstery for both Sport and regular seats. So you may say I have seen that before but if you saw it in actual upholstery with the ribbed back and reversed stitching and the C4 logo all together I am shocked!
I also took the old leather off of the back of one of the seats and covered the lower dash on the driver side to match the passenger side rather than put the carpet back on! I just hated that look! i cleaned up the seat frames and repainted them. Replaced the missing vent cover, fixed some broken pieces and such. installed the new speakers (all are black with red accents)and new Sony stereo (red led display of course), added 2 small Amps and one large AMP (2 are lighted with Red LED's, built a custom box for 2 Sub's and 2 extra rear speakers with flashing LED's in them and two of the AMP's are attached to it with both a nice Neg and Positive Wire Distribution Box on the back of the sub box and a remote turn on Smart relay for the AMP's right on the top behind the speakers. That ensures that they cycle on in 2 second intervals when you turn the radio on so as not to blow a fuse and also auto powers them off if your battery drops below 12V! (And yes as my wife said I am going through my second childhood). I then added a thin box behind the passenger seat to hold the third amp and hide all the wiring going to the Sub box. I added some tastefully placed racing stripes to carry the red and black them and truthfully to cover up some damage caused by a previous owner. I also replaced the broken C4 logo up front and added the black stripes you see on the hood and vents. I am still looking for a replacement for the Vents on the driver side where someone broke it probably trying to get the battery out when they didn't know how!
Where we stand today.
So we start as we did with the repairs Engine first!
Engine Compartment Red hoses, Painted ASR cover etc
Engine Compartment from passenger side
Then the Dash Lights!
Hard to take good pictures but it looks cool all red!
Now the interior.
You can see the new Speakers and Sub box in the back. The USB ports between power seat controls and those sharp new seats.
You can see the new Speakers and Sub box in the back. The USB ports between power seat controls and those sharp new seats.
You can see the underdash on drivers side that used to be carpet is now leather that matches the passenger side. The USB ports and Antenna switch between power seat controls and the new cig lighter for Radar detector below radio behind gear shift. It also has a red ring around it.
More of the rear area.
you can see the red racing stripes oh and the driver seat did un-wrinkle after a day in the sun!
Now just a quickie of the Sub box lit up at night and the amps and such. not a great pic. but best i had right now.
The Amps in the foreground and The Smart Relay is with the 3 read lights and then the two LED speakers. the subs are on either side of them and each speaker/Sub has it's own dedicated box inside the Sub enclosure.
The Exterior!
New front Emblem then the stripes on each side and the blacked out vents on each side.
The stripes say 5.7 LT1
Well that is it for now. I have a couple of bugs that I will be asking about soon but honestly I am all typed out. I would like to get some type of small black accents on the rear half of the car but I have not figured out what yet. Any ideas? So what to do you think of Sweetheart? She seems to be happy that someone is finally taking care of her again! I found so many house type screws and such in her it was just sad. It seems she just had been fixed with chewing gum and duct tape over the years. Nothing done right just cheap! But she is on her way back!
Last edited by TheWhiteHat; 05-10-2017 at 06:23 PM.
With the new carpet and upholstery you'll have that new car smell.
This is the second or third C4 I've seen on the forum today with those. Nice!
I'd do the same on mine except:
Not correct for a special edition
I have an L98
The nice thing about the stripes is you can have anything you want put on them or nothing. There is a character limit for example I could not add 350 CI. I got them on Ebay for less than $20.00. Easy to install!
Last edited by TheWhiteHat; 05-11-2017 at 07:45 PM.
I recently redid my LCD with new polarizers and cleaned the orange filter which makes it look like new. I also redid all of the interior lights except for the dash with LED's, which leads me to some questions.
So which bulbs did you go with (also where did you get them)? Are they dimmable and do they react to the dimming sensor?
Did you have to get new twist locks, or did you use the existing ones with new bulbs?
Did you also do the info center bulbs?
Thanks,
Keith
Last edited by Keith Huffstutler; 07-09-2017 at 04:50 PM.
Congrats on slogging through the issues. I know that well and the satisfaction of getting a C4 setup exactly fitting one's dreams. The new pleasure comes from driving and showing it!
I recently redid my LCD with new polarizers and cleaned the orange filter which makes it look like new. I also redid all of the interior lights except for the dash with LED's, which leads me to some questions.
So which bulbs did you go with (also where did you get them)? Are they dimmable and do they react to the dimming sensor?
Did you have to get new twist locks, or did you use the existing ones with new bulbs?
Did you also do the info center bulbs?
Thanks,
Keith
Keith,
Responded to your PM. I also replaced the polarizer/ Mine was so dim you could not see it. What a change.
Here are the pics I promised. Hope I helped!
Old Halogen Lights from DIC, Headlight panel, A?C head unit and floor lights
White LED's To the left are the T10 top pillar lights behind seats. Top Middle are T10 I originally used in Instrument panel. Middle bottom are Floor Lights and right bottom (212-2) are door lights.
05-10-2017, 04:50 PM
1994 Corvette Back on the road after upgrades!
Nice tranformations, and now it's Spring start enjoying her, and don't forget to bring the wife.
