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10 days, many dollars, mods done! Wahoo! Caution: Fat with words and pics-
First of all, a big THANK YOU to all the forum members who commented on my various C5 threads, answered my many questions, responded to PM’s and even sent their personal e-mail addresses so I could receive photo’s etc., and yes, to the naysayers too, who made me stop and think about what I was going to attach to my C5 before I did it. You saved me some money and kept me from putting unsavory accessories on my Corvette! Without all your input, it probably would have taken me 5 times longer to research the info that many of you had at your fingertips, and gladly and helpfully turned me on to here on this forum.
To set the stage for the way in which I accessorized my C5, I must harken back to the 7 Harleys I owned and customized over the years. For each of them, I would do all the researching of catalogs, dealer’s shelves, attend shows etc., purchase the accessories ahead of time, have them all sent to the Harley dealer or my indy mechanic, and then, in an installation marathon, have all the accessories attached in a 3-4 day period. No waiting around for parts, no piece-meal installs.
Segue to the customizing of my C5. Again, thanks to this Forum and its generous members, I put together a detailed plan to customize the exterior and interior of my Corvette, purchased all the parts, had them shipped to the three shops who were to do the installs, and then had all you see here done in a 10 day period, with me taking the car home for the weekend in between shop days.
To start off the party, I dropped the car off at 7:00 am on a Monday at Service King on Duvan Drive in Tinely Park, IL, to have their very expert painter prep, paint, and install my ACI front spoiler. They matched the paint perfectly, and the piece seamlessly follows the contours of the front bumper. They called me Wednesday afternoon, and I picked the car up that day, taking a few minutes to check out the cool look of my new spoiler, before heading off to phase 2 of the fun.
Stopping in at Tire Direct in Orland Park, IL, I had the good fortune to meet Brian Loya again (who ordered my tires and wheels 2 week before), for his shop’s part of the project. Less than 90 minutes later, I was admiring the gleam of my new TSW Nurburgring wheels in the sun, and the Conti Extreme Contact DWS tires. I did a long drive down to Kankakee River State Park, stopping in at the campground area to again ogle my new wheels.
NO time to waste, though, because there were bigger fish to fry here! First thing Thursday morning, I drove up to my shop, Corvette Mike Midwest, in Burr Ridge, IL, for THE BIGGIES!
My C3 and C5 Guru, Alan, knew I was coming, and had already cleared a lift to start work on all the accoutrements he was going to add to my car. He promised to start in right away on the first phase of his ministrations to my ride.
True to his word, I got the call early Friday afternoon to pick up the car from his first surgery session to find the very cool Borla S-Type Exhaust attached, and reflecting nicely in the sun, looking like they were ready to roar. The Borla’s are the newer model, and to me, do not have much drone, and then only at a certain rpm. They are quite loud at idle, and when getting on the throttle, but exhibit a nice “burble” at cruising speeds. My Wife and I can easily converse and listen to music, without raising our voices or the volume too high on the stereo. They are just loud enough for me.
I took the car home for the weekend, and drove it extensively both Saturday and Sunday, checking out those cool Nurburgrings every time we got out of the car, and enjoying the louder exhaust.
Monday, I returned the C5 to Corvette Mike Midwest, for the last two BIGGIES to have their turn. The first were the Beautiful Baer Eradi-Speed two piece brake rotors, with black anodized hats and stainless fasteners, and black calipers with the white “Corvette” letters. The car came with red calipers when I bought it, but I really did not like that look with the pewter paint. I can see red on several other C5 colors, just not pewter.
Lastly, the upholstery shop put together the GORGEOUS Vette Essentials 2-color seat covers (black and pewter) and returned them to Corvette Mike’s for Alan to install, along with the pewter armrests, console cover, door pulls, and brake and shifter boots.
I must take a moment here to send high Kudos to Sandy, owner of Vette Essentials. I called her on a Friday evening, 7:00 pm her time, just with the intention of leaving her a message to call me on Monday for me to place my order for seat covers and the rest. To my great surprise and good fortune, she answered the phone! She was still at work on a Friday evening at 7:00 pm. She then spent a long hour with me on the phone with no rushing or pressure to hurry and place the order. She made several suggestions which I incorporated in my design, and then I went ahead and placed the order with her. I sheepishly asked her if she could somewhat “rush” the production of my stuff, as we were leaving in 3 weeks for Niagara Falls with the C5, and mentioned it would be nice to have the new seats in for the trip. She told me she understood how that would make it a really special trip for me, and promised to have the leather shipped to Corvette Mike’s in plenty of time for install before our trip. She did so with seeming aplomb, the shipment arriving ten days before our trip, and Alan and the upholstery shop caming through on their end too, getting my car back to me 5 days before we were to leave.
So finally, after the longest 3 days of my life, Bob from Corvette Mike’s calls me on that Wednesday afternoon, letting me know my car is ready for me to pick it up!
I drove as fast as traffic and roving Police patrols allowed, and pulled into the shop’s parking lot. Holy Smokes, just look at those beautiful Baer brake rotors and black and white calipers!
Then… THEN I approached my car with anticipation, and tore the door open like a kid on Christmas morning unwrapping the biggest present under the tree, and stared in awe at the GORGEOUS Vette Essentials Black and Pewter interior! OMG, it is beautiful! Better than I imagined… Cooler than I ever envisioned in my head… Classier then I ever anticipated… With the new leather smell, and the heavy duty quality of the leather itself, I felt like I owned a new Corvette!
So, to wrap up, over a 10 day period, the following accessories were added to my Pewter C5:
-Borla S-Type II Exhaust (Perfect Loudness for Me)
-Baer Eradi-Speed two piece rotors, black hats, stainless hardware
-New Ceramic brake pads (Quiet, low dust, quite firm brake pedal)
-Black Corvette brake calipers (Look way better than red on Pewter car)
-TSW Nurburgring Wheels, polished spokes, 18 X 9.5 front, 19 X 10.5 rear
-Conti Extreme Contact DWS tires. (Grippy, Quiet, Smooth on the road)
-ACI front spoiler, painted to match the car
-Vette Essentials black and pewter leather interior (Gorgeous)
Yes, as they say, you ARE NEVER FINISHED WITH MODS! I am finished with mods for THIS year. Next year after I save quite a few more pennies, I am going to do a complete carbon fiber engine treatment, along with stainless braided hoses throughout. Then……. That WILL BE IT!!!!!!! HA!!!!!
I LOVE my C5 Corvette with all the small touches I have added to make it mine…
Looks great! I would just change the outdated looking shift **** (look on ebay for tons of 6 speed replacements), and remove the moldings on the bumper.
LOL...looking great! I love the wheels and the interior turned out super, really nice! Great write up to boot! Enjoy, the ride and don't forget to wave.
Thank You! I Love the color too. I originally thought about straight up silver, but then my shop took this in on a trade. I looked at it one time and thought that the color looks sophisticated and classy.
LOL...looking great! I love the wheels and the interior turned out super, really nice! Great write up to boot! Enjoy, the ride and don't forget to wave.
Thank You! And I do wave to every generation of Corvette I see out there!
Beautiful (except for that ugly license plate on the front.)
Thank You! -Illinois requires a front plate, but I've never been stopped by Law Enforcement for it not being on the car. I usually drive without it, and the body colored cover in place, but I put it on when we drove to Niagara Falls Canada to avoid any problems at the Canadian or US border crossings. Since the photo, the plate is gone and the cover back in place.
Looks good. And I agree with taking the molding pieces off the rear. I like your choice of wheels, but then again, I might be a little biased since I have the same ones.
Looks good. And I agree with taking the molding pieces off the rear. I like your choice of wheels, but then again, I might be a little biased since I have the same ones.
Shakey
Thank You Shakey, and yes, those moldings have already been taken off.
07-17-2017, 09:30 PM
10 days, many dollars, mods done! Wahoo! Caution: Fat with words and pics-
Tastefully done, congrats! 
