C6 Z06 worth the upgrade?
02-23-2018, 09:39 AM
#61
Le Mans Master
It definitely got a little astray. But I love it. Everyone has very good points. So here's where I'm coming from.
My C5 has been ridden harder than Christy Mack. It's absurd. 12 owners, at least one repaint job, never maintained, used and abused, etc. I bought it as a fix & flip, and unfortunately fell in love with it, and now 2 years later, I'm starting to realize the amount of money I've dumped into it (trans, torque tube, clutch, interior pieces, electrical, stereo, wheels, tires, etc) all of it has been done to make it a reliable daily driver. IE normal preventative maintenance that should have been done to it all along. But yet, it's still a 21 year old car with 163k on it. It shows unfortunately. The motor and drivetrain is now 100% solid, but everything else, not so much. Definitely a lot better than some of the other cars I've seen on craigslist, but still not great.
I originally wanted to throw an LS3 in it. Then realized that if I throw that in, I would want to upgrade the radiator (dewitts another 1k). And if I did the engine, I would be worried about the trans and diff and would never drive it to it's potential. It's great as it is now, and I think I'm going to pay to have a bumper painted and a headlight cover painted to match, and sell it as is at a loss to someone who wants to take on that task. I love the car, but not that much that to justify a $5k paint job. Hell, I refused to buy new windshield mouldings for $1k so much that I rtv'd my windows in place. (Covered the windows in saran wrap, then sprayed PAM on them. Then used grey rtv in the window seal "track" and closed the doors overnight. Next morning, they were perfect. No wind noise, no leaking. Works great. Is it correct? Maybe not. But being that the car is the way it is, I feel like it's justified.
Oh, yes, I do do my own wrenching, to an extent. I've never rebuilt an engine, trans, or diff. Maybe one day.
So if anyone knows of a Black C6Z06 manual for sale for under 30k, let me know! Thanks guys
My C5 has been ridden harder than Christy Mack. It's absurd. 12 owners, at least one repaint job, never maintained, used and abused, etc. I bought it as a fix & flip, and unfortunately fell in love with it, and now 2 years later, I'm starting to realize the amount of money I've dumped into it (trans, torque tube, clutch, interior pieces, electrical, stereo, wheels, tires, etc) all of it has been done to make it a reliable daily driver. IE normal preventative maintenance that should have been done to it all along. But yet, it's still a 21 year old car with 163k on it. It shows unfortunately. The motor and drivetrain is now 100% solid, but everything else, not so much. Definitely a lot better than some of the other cars I've seen on craigslist, but still not great.
I originally wanted to throw an LS3 in it. Then realized that if I throw that in, I would want to upgrade the radiator (dewitts another 1k). And if I did the engine, I would be worried about the trans and diff and would never drive it to it's potential. It's great as it is now, and I think I'm going to pay to have a bumper painted and a headlight cover painted to match, and sell it as is at a loss to someone who wants to take on that task. I love the car, but not that much that to justify a $5k paint job. Hell, I refused to buy new windshield mouldings for $1k so much that I rtv'd my windows in place. (Covered the windows in saran wrap, then sprayed PAM on them. Then used grey rtv in the window seal "track" and closed the doors overnight. Next morning, they were perfect. No wind noise, no leaking. Works great. Is it correct? Maybe not. But being that the car is the way it is, I feel like it's justified.
Oh, yes, I do do my own wrenching, to an extent. I've never rebuilt an engine, trans, or diff. Maybe one day.
So if anyone knows of a Black C6Z06 manual for sale for under 30k, let me know! Thanks guys
You could do something similar, and use the entire drivetrain from the C5 in the project car. Just imagine the look on everyone's face at cars & coffee when you crank the motor in your tiny little honda cvcc roller skate and a big radical cammed v8 crackles to life!
02-23-2018, 09:40 AM
#62
Safety Car
What a joke LOL No body puts money in a C-5 and expects to get there money back be for real .. Its the fun factor that's it . I have $30.000 + in my 04 a good friend has $40,000 might be $50,000 in his 98 he has spent over the years .. I good friend has just spent $20,000 on upgrades on his NON Z-C-6 850 RWHP and on and on .. Value , buy a nice C-6Z add a few mods and have some fun and you might get some money for it fi ever want to sell.. I dough I could get $18,000 for my 04 Z.. Why we do it ,we are HOT RODERS and this it what we do .. Haveing fun in a HOT ROD Corvette is priceless.. We enjoy it ,Get our money back LOl LOL LOL .. NO ..
The following users liked this post:
3tt3v8P (02-28-2018)
02-23-2018, 11:18 AM
#63
Le Mans Master
Pro Mechanic
What a joke LOL No body puts money in a C-5 and expects to get there money back be for real .. Its the fun factor that's it . I have $30.000 + in my 04 a good friend has $40,000 might be $50,000 in his 98 he has spent over the years .. I good friend has just spent $20,000 on upgrades on his NON Z-C-6 850 RWHP and on and on .. Value , buy a nice C-6Z add a few mods and have some fun and you might get some money for it fi ever want to sell.. I dough I could get $18,000 for my 04 Z.. Why we do it ,we are HOT RODERS and this it what we do .. Haveing fun in a HOT ROD Corvette is priceless.. We enjoy it ,Get our money back LOl LOL LOL .. NO ..
As my old boss used to say, "That is the harsh reality..."
02-24-2018, 02:06 AM
#64
Melting Slicks
I love my C5 Z06, but with the prices of the C6 Z06s down in the low 30ties, it's tempting.
I have no plans of getting rid of my C5 Z06, nor would I trade for a C6 Z06. That has NOTHING to do with the fact that I think my C5 Z06 matches the performance of the C6 Z06, but I really like my C5 and it is paid for.
However, if I were buying my only Vette today, I might just go with the C6 Z06. It was one bad **** car! Last NA Z06 and that 427 is one hot motor. I admit, I would have to do a head job or find one where that was done just due to the horror stories.
However, I simply love, love,love the C7s and that will more than likely be my next Corvette purchase. You can actually find C7s now for around 40K, so not much difference price wise between the two.
But if smoking performance is what you are after, the C6 Z06 is definitely a beast, even in the day of the C7 Z06 and the soon to be released C7 ZR1. You can get an LS 6 up to Z06 HP easy enough, but you will not match that torque curve without a lot of bucks!
I have no plans of getting rid of my C5 Z06, nor would I trade for a C6 Z06. That has NOTHING to do with the fact that I think my C5 Z06 matches the performance of the C6 Z06, but I really like my C5 and it is paid for.
However, if I were buying my only Vette today, I might just go with the C6 Z06. It was one bad **** car! Last NA Z06 and that 427 is one hot motor. I admit, I would have to do a head job or find one where that was done just due to the horror stories.
However, I simply love, love,love the C7s and that will more than likely be my next Corvette purchase. You can actually find C7s now for around 40K, so not much difference price wise between the two.
But if smoking performance is what you are after, the C6 Z06 is definitely a beast, even in the day of the C7 Z06 and the soon to be released C7 ZR1. You can get an LS 6 up to Z06 HP easy enough, but you will not match that torque curve without a lot of bucks!
Last edited by bikeriderga; 02-24-2018 at 02:18 AM.
02-24-2018, 10:09 AM
#65
After reading every post, I gotta say, there are some interesting opinions. However, if I only focus on your post it appears you have already made your choice which is the C6Z. So, the only thing left is to test drive one to see if that is what you really want.
02-24-2018, 12:35 PM
#66
Safety Car
Not sure the ls7 is the solution to wanting more power reliably. How much more power do you want? even an ls3 is going to give you a ton more power and torque than an early ls1 without any of the potential valve issues or cracked sleeve issues. I've only known 2 people with ls7's personally. Both had the heads fixed when stock, then blew up a short time after. Obviously that is a terrible sample size, and its more overplayed on the internet than it is in real life, but it would scare me away from daily driving a c6z.
I've never seen an ls7 go 100k miles without having the motor opened up at least to fix the heads, and I've never seen one go 150k miles at all, much less 200k miles. Granted I don't look for them often, but you can find ls1/2/3/6 cars with that mileage pretty regularly. Again, take that with a grain of salt because there are more ls1/2/3/6 cars out there than ls7 cars.
Its a tough call, but I would personally drive an ls3 car before deciding what you want to do. Tons of people DD those without issue, and they can make really good power with minimal work.
Personally, I just like the c5 too much more than the c6. All my family and friends were trying to get me to buy a 2008, and I wanted to for the extra power, but I couldn't get down with the looks compared the the c5. So if I wanted more power, I would be ls3 swapping my car, not swapping out cars.
I've never seen an ls7 go 100k miles without having the motor opened up at least to fix the heads, and I've never seen one go 150k miles at all, much less 200k miles. Granted I don't look for them often, but you can find ls1/2/3/6 cars with that mileage pretty regularly. Again, take that with a grain of salt because there are more ls1/2/3/6 cars out there than ls7 cars.
Its a tough call, but I would personally drive an ls3 car before deciding what you want to do. Tons of people DD those without issue, and they can make really good power with minimal work.
Personally, I just like the c5 too much more than the c6. All my family and friends were trying to get me to buy a 2008, and I wanted to for the extra power, but I couldn't get down with the looks compared the the c5. So if I wanted more power, I would be ls3 swapping my car, not swapping out cars.
02-24-2018, 01:19 PM
#69
Melting Slicks
Not sure the ls7 is the solution to wanting more power reliably. How much more power do you want? even an ls3 is going to give you a ton more power and torque than an early ls1 without any of the potential valve issues or cracked sleeve issues. I've only known 2 people with ls7's personally. Both had the heads fixed when stock, then blew up a short time after. Obviously that is a terrible sample size, and its more overplayed on the internet than it is in real life, but it would scare me away from daily driving a c6z.
I've never seen an ls7 go 100k miles without having the motor opened up at least to fix the heads, and I've never seen one go 150k miles at all, much less 200k miles. Granted I don't look for them often, but you can find ls1/2/3/6 cars with that mileage pretty regularly. Again, take that with a grain of salt because there are more ls1/2/3/6 cars out there than ls7 cars.
Its a tough call, but I would personally drive an ls3 car before deciding what you want to do. Tons of people DD those without issue, and they can make really good power with minimal work.
Personally, I just like the c5 too much more than the c6. All my family and friends were trying to get me to buy a 2008, and I wanted to for the extra power, but I couldn't get down with the looks compared the the c5. So if I wanted more power, I would be ls3 swapping my car, not swapping out cars.
I've never seen an ls7 go 100k miles without having the motor opened up at least to fix the heads, and I've never seen one go 150k miles at all, much less 200k miles. Granted I don't look for them often, but you can find ls1/2/3/6 cars with that mileage pretty regularly. Again, take that with a grain of salt because there are more ls1/2/3/6 cars out there than ls7 cars.
Its a tough call, but I would personally drive an ls3 car before deciding what you want to do. Tons of people DD those without issue, and they can make really good power with minimal work.
Personally, I just like the c5 too much more than the c6. All my family and friends were trying to get me to buy a 2008, and I wanted to for the extra power, but I couldn't get down with the looks compared the the c5. So if I wanted more power, I would be ls3 swapping my car, not swapping out cars.
02-24-2018, 01:46 PM
#70
Safety Car
Both cars ended up with built motors after the originals let go, I really don't know the details of the original fixes though. Like I said, terrible sample size, not a lot of info, but it's clear that ls7's are not going to be the most reliable LS platform for a daily driver.
02-24-2018, 02:37 PM
#71
Melting Slicks
where are you finding "tons" of 150k mile cars? Of the several sites I just checked the highest mileage car I found was 99k miles.
Both cars ended up with built motors after the originals let go, I really don't know the details of the original fixes though. Like I said, terrible sample size, not a lot of info, but it's clear that ls7's are not going to be the most reliable LS platform for a daily driver.
02-24-2018, 03:00 PM
#72
Safety Car
There were three on eBay in the past week. Two on CL here in LA area, one with 163k the other with 211k It should be noted that all the high mileage cars I've seen were 06-07. The problem I see with the "fixed" cars is they either reuse the stock valves, or SS valves are used with monster springs, a larger cam and the stock lifters. Of the fixed cars with stock castings and matching parts, they last. The heads won't be any different that any other series. You'd never run a 650+ lift cam on stock lifters, rockers and pushrods but alot of people are when they do the "fix" because they're already paying for the work
02-24-2018, 03:08 PM
#73
Safety Car
Found the 165k mile car on CL. So now we have one with that many miles. Compare that to how many ls1/6 cars we can find with that mileage.
The point is that if you want reliable DD then the c6z isn't your best choice. The "fix" is expensive, maintaining the car is expensive, and the fix isn't an assured fix all as evidenced by failures after so called fix
The point is that if you want reliable DD then the c6z isn't your best choice. The "fix" is expensive, maintaining the car is expensive, and the fix isn't an assured fix all as evidenced by failures after so called fix
02-24-2018, 03:18 PM
#74
Melting Slicks
02-24-2018, 09:07 PM
#75
Jesus guys. Shaolin is right, I have found a lot of them. Much like him, I don't want to post links as I'm paranoid and that's my find. My kill. MY CORVETTE, BACK OFF!!! HISSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
Lol but nah seriously, there's one in Texas that I've been looking into it. I've bounced around a lot about this decision. I know everyone says the LS7 isn't reliable. However, I think it also depends on what you're doing with it. I've heard people say the LS1 isn't reliable because it throws rod bearings? Maybe so if you beat on it. I've owned a few muscle cars, and never once have I ever purposefully attempted to burnout, do donuts, peel out, etc. I don't autocross because I have no interest in that, and I don't drag race it as it's not meant for that. I just like having a fast car to punch it getting on the highway so I can immediately slam on the brakes once I catch up to the slow guy. Lol
But yeah, if you track it or drive it hard, the LS7 probably won't last as long. DD, maybe not. Maybe I'm completely wrong. Either way, yes, I would totally do the head/valve fix on it.
I've also looked into putting an LS2,LS3 in my car so much so that I purchased a 399CI forged, stroked, boosted motor to drop in. But, I put that motor in, I'm asking for problems as it'll start breaking things. So I think maybe it's time to sell what I got, sign up for more debt, and enjoy a car that's already "done". That's how I'm looking at it. I've been trying to drive one in my area to get the feel and see if I actually like it before I commit, however, no dealership will let me just test drive it without seeing approved finance. And no sane person is going to let me just drive their car without cash in hand or intentions on buying it (which I totally understand). I just don't want to fly to Texas to test drive a car I may or may not like. But, we'll see.
Thanks guys!
Lol but nah seriously, there's one in Texas that I've been looking into it. I've bounced around a lot about this decision. I know everyone says the LS7 isn't reliable. However, I think it also depends on what you're doing with it. I've heard people say the LS1 isn't reliable because it throws rod bearings? Maybe so if you beat on it. I've owned a few muscle cars, and never once have I ever purposefully attempted to burnout, do donuts, peel out, etc. I don't autocross because I have no interest in that, and I don't drag race it as it's not meant for that. I just like having a fast car to punch it getting on the highway so I can immediately slam on the brakes once I catch up to the slow guy. Lol
But yeah, if you track it or drive it hard, the LS7 probably won't last as long. DD, maybe not. Maybe I'm completely wrong. Either way, yes, I would totally do the head/valve fix on it.
I've also looked into putting an LS2,LS3 in my car so much so that I purchased a 399CI forged, stroked, boosted motor to drop in. But, I put that motor in, I'm asking for problems as it'll start breaking things. So I think maybe it's time to sell what I got, sign up for more debt, and enjoy a car that's already "done". That's how I'm looking at it. I've been trying to drive one in my area to get the feel and see if I actually like it before I commit, however, no dealership will let me just test drive it without seeing approved finance. And no sane person is going to let me just drive their car without cash in hand or intentions on buying it (which I totally understand). I just don't want to fly to Texas to test drive a car I may or may not like. But, we'll see.
Thanks guys!
