I have had the car for ten days, but I've been reading posts here for over a month in prep for my new arrival. I noticed how much everyone LOVES a question like "Should I remove my body side moldings?" I used the search function on the process, the reasons, the arguments for and against; I then gathered my courage along with the tools mentioned on the already exhaustive threads on how (and why) to remove BSM's. Prior owner had a great wealth of service records, nothing mentioning any respray or touch up of the original DBGM. I took my time, practiced patience and diligence, and Voila! the moldings came off. There was much relief and rejoicing. I didn't think it would make such a BIG difference in appearance for me to remove them, but boy, did the smooth sides make the car look more youthful and aggressive! The moldings came off with no breaks or damage to them, so they are put up on a shelf for safe keeping.
While I was at it, I removed the tail light louvers and applied some very thin chrome trim edge rings around each lens. It seems to pay homage to the C2 tails and is very understated.
The car got a full decon wash and clay, then I did a two-step paint correction and polish. I just need some pleasant weather and we're ready for cruisin'!

Here it is at its new home

Louvers removed from lights, kept the louvered frame on the plate for now

Here's the chrome trim around the lights

A close up of the chrome trim, and added plastic screw caps, too

Here's the BSM before--

And the new clean look AFTER

I finally own a Corvette!!

 

Congrats on the new Vette, she is a beauty.

 

Sweet ride. I really like that color.

 

Especially with magnesium wheels.

 

Very sharp. ( but I am keeping my BSM's )

 

I prefer the BSM too and not a fan of the tail light trim rings at all. They look great on my C3 but not for a C5. But that's my opinion only and others may love it.
To each there own.

 

Congrats and welcome. Great color combo and I like the addition of thin chrome trim edge rings around each lens. That's something that I haven't seen before. I think that DBGM is a great color on the C5 and especially with the tan top.The C5 looks great with or without BSM's however I am with ttros and keeping mine as well. Nice find.

 

Looks MUCH better. BSMs are gross. Now, you are just a "reverse lamp louvers removal" away from being really cool.

 

Good move on removing BSM.

 

Car looks great. Congrats!

 

Nice job. Looks clean.

 

Great job on the BSM. Glad they came off clean. Without all the gory details, what was your basic technique for removing them?

 

Beautiful car! Much better without the BSM and louvers.

 

I like the BSMs on a car, but yours looks good without them too. Great looking car.

 

Well, I started with a heat gun from Harbor Freight and gently warmed them up. That was followed by WD-40 sprayed onto the adhesive and sliding some 30lb fishing line behind it to saw away. As I went along, I inserted a plastic trim pry tool (wide blade) and gently pried apart the molding from the car body. That let me spray the WD-40 onto the glue, and lubricated the fishing line a little bit at a time. The combo of spraying WD-40, then sawing and prying gently as I went down the side of the car, rendered the best results. After the moldings were off, I soaked a shop towel in Goof Off and applied the heat again at a good distance, essentially "rolling up" the glue. My forefinger and thumb are still sore, and it's indeed a task you want to devote some time to accomplish.

*By the way--I did not mean to insinuate that those with body side moldings have less attractive Corvettes, I just think that the removal of them looked best for my particular color and personal taste.
My attempt to be unique and add some '60's retro flair isn't for everyone, and that is, happily, why we can each make our Vette "our own". It's hard to find things that haven't already been done, and of course imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! So, if I copy some mods that I see here, know that I do it out of respect!!
Now, where did I put those side pipes and fuzzy dice?

 

That's okay, I'm personally not a fan of spoilers, hood scoops, and fairings on a C5, but isn't it great that we have all these options available for our rides to make them what we want?

 

You have done a great job Sir...well, you do have a detailing business..., right? so who would have figured that you could do a fantastic job...um also.....BSMs=...
You did the right thing...again...congrats

 

Thanks, Yello95! I do have a detailing business that I started last fall. I've been honing my skills on my, and many friends' autos over the last 20 years, so why not try it as a part time business venture? This car was already in very good, garage-kept condition, but it needed a good mechanical polishing correction to remove spiderwebbing and swirls. That Corvette clear coat is tough stuff! It's always so rewarding to see a car's paint get reinvigorated from a thorough correction polish!

 

I don't think those are "magnesium wheels", The early thin spokes were painted, not polished aluminum.
My first C-5 was a 2000 dDark Bowling Green Metallic, a beautiful color.
Mine had the same wheels, and I removed the BSMs too.

 

Indeed, these are the polished aluminum wheels, except they weren't polished at the time I took the pics(!) We've had only a few days of dry weather around here, and this was my first chance to get it outside after I had done the paint correction. (I save the wheels for last, and so it wasn't 100% done)
I have seen pictures of the magnesium wheels on Bowling Greens, and they are a very nice option!
I'm saving up my cash for a set of Oak and Black 2 tone leather seat replacement covers, and am not sure which company to buy from.