When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'd been waffling back and forth between the coupe and the FRC a bit. While I prefer the looks of the coupe and liked the idea of being able to cruise around with the roof off, I couldn't shake the feeling that in the long run I'd regret not getting a FRC. After driving a coupe, as soon as I got in the FRC, I knew it was what I was looking for. The added stiffness is much more noticeable than I'd expected.
So, picked up the new ride last night, a pewter 99 FRC with 125k miles. The only two issues the car has that I'm aware of are the driver's seat is toast, both cover and structure, and both front TPMS aren't connecting, so getting the "service" error message. I'm okay about the seat because going into it I knew I wanted something aftermarket, so it helped get the price down. I'll see if I can trouble shoot the TPMS this weekend. While not a fan of these Z06 knock-offs with the fake 3 piece wheel nuts (my friend refers to them as "rhinestones"), it does have a Borla exhaust.
Good choice. Looks nice. The first thing I did to my FRC was change out the seats as well. Mine had 114,000 miles on it. Another first consideration would be plugs and wires. You will get a real idea what's under the hood if you change the plugs yourself.
You will really like the car.
[QUOTE=ubervic;1602950247]I'd been waffling back and forth between the coupe and the FRC a bit. While I prefer the looks of the coupe and liked the idea of being able to cruise around with the roof off, I couldn't shake the feeling that in the long run I'd regret not getting a FRC. After driving a coupe, as soon as I got in the FRC, I knew it was what I was looking for. The added stiffness is much more noticeable than I'd expected.
So, picked up the new ride last night, a pewter 99 FRC with 125k miles. The only two issues the car has that I'm aware of are the driver's seat is toast, both cover and structure, and both front TPMS aren't connecting, so getting the "service" error message. I'm okay about the seat because going into it I knew I wanted something aftermarket, so it helped get the price down. I'll see if I can trouble shoot the TPMS this weekend. While not a fan of these Z06 knock-offs with the fake 3 piece wheel nuts (my friend refers to them as "rhinestones"), it does have a Borla exhaust.
QUOTE]
Congrats! beautiful car and you will love it. great color! I agree about those wheels. Tho’ I find them attractive, the idea of cleaning all those ‘jewels’ is too much for me. I got rid of my quickly corroding c7Z06 repros just because they had 20 spokes and were corroding by the time they were 18 months. Are you thinking about full seat replacement?
Thanks everyone. The drive in to work this morning was exceedingly joyful. The Borla exhaust may be a bit loud for me long-term, but for the time being my nether regions get quite the tingle on start-up. And the burble on decel it to die for.
Originally Posted by chasboy
Congrats! beautiful car and you will love it. great color! I agree about those wheels. Tho’ I find them attractive, the idea of cleaning all those ‘jewels’ is too much for me. I got rid of my quickly corroding c7Z06 repros just because they had 20 spokes and were corroding by the time they were 18 months. Are you thinking about full seat replacement?
Back in the day, I'd considered a set of the Bullitt replicas with the fake bolts for one of my foxbodies, so I'm not totally hating on them. If I were going to run the wheels with the bolts, I'd just rather them be authentic two or three-piece wheels. My friends were definitely using it as an excuse to rip on me, such as friends do. If it weren't the wheels, they'd have found something else. When these tires are done and need replacing, I might look for some used C5Z wheels, likely a square setup, and do them in the charcoal color - love how the pewter looks with dark gray wheels. May even look at wagon wheels, don't know. I'm fine with what's on the car for the time being though.
Yes, full seat replacement. Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau; a true driver's seat (but not a full-race seat). You can't feel what the car's doing through the steering wheel with a tight grip, and when your seat doesn't hold you in place, the tendency is to death-grip the wheel. If you just want to boulevard cruise, stock seats are fine, but if you want to drive the car, you need something that holds you in place. I want to upgrade all the driver points of contact with the car; seat, steering wheel, shifter. Planned to be the next set of mods after the head unit.
I was initially on the fence about the color, but it's much better in person than photographs. There's a red C5 on here that's one of my fav's on the forum, and if I were wanting a more track-focused car I would've probably pursued the yellow for the C5R vibe. But for a daily driver I was wanting something more subdued, so specifically didn't want the red or yellow. The coupe I'd looked at was the dark highland green, which looks great in photos and theoretically would love - I was looking at S197 Mustang Bullitts before I took note of the C5s. But in person, it just wasn't for me. Likewise, the pewter was kinda "meh" to me in photos, but in person I like it a lot more.
Other than fixing the TPMS issue, first thing I'm going to do is an Android Auto double din.
as you can see, my coupe is pewter as well. I have a Kenwood head unit with Carplay and I think it could be the best mod for a C5!! I love those Mustang wheels, but Pewter is so much easier to care for and if you treat it right, it does shine.
I have an App which lets me put just about any wheel on a side view of a car. I’d gladly ‘try on’ some wheels for you. I just need a ‘flat’ side view pic.
this is my car with a set of C6GS replicas:
as you can see, my coupe is pewter as well. I have a Kenwood head unit with Carplay and I think it could be the best mod for a C5!! I love those Mustang wheels, but Pewter is so much easier to care for and if you treat it right, it does shine.
I have an App which lets me put just about any wheel on a side view of a car. I’d gladly ‘try on’ some wheels for you. I just need a ‘flat’ side view pic.
this is my car with a set of C6GS replicas:
Big fan of the C6GS wheels, one of my favs.
If I think about it, I might snap a profile of the car and take you up on the offer. FWIW, I've pretty good photochop skills.
This gentleman on Reddit made a Corvette for sale locator including most of the major online sites. It is not "all" Corvettes but it is a cool place to look:
You can't beat an FRC. I purchased mine last July. I have always wanted to own one and I'm extremely happy I went with the FRC over the coupe. They look so much more unique. I miss the option to take off the top but don't miss the creaks and rattles that come with it on a 22 year old car.
So, not hating on your beautiful FRC but if it was mine the very first thing to go would be those louver things in the front wheel coves.
Notice that, did you? Yeah, on my "everything wrong with this car" list.
Originally Posted by chevyorange
This gentleman on Reddit made a Corvette for sale locator including most of the major online sites. It is not "all" Corvettes but it is a cool place to look:
Very cool. Certainly would have helped with my search.
Originally Posted by EVL JAKE
You can't beat an FRC. I purchased mine last July. I have always wanted to own one and I'm extremely happy I went with the FRC over the coupe. They look so much more unique. I miss the option to take off the top but don't miss the creaks and rattles that come with it on a 22 year old car.
I still think the coupe looks better, and yes, topless would be great, but the absence of creaks and rattles was the quick sell. Hands down.
About a month ago, got the Sharp Light Innovations DLRs installed.
Over the last few weeks got my seats installed. Braum Elite S, Planted brackets, and C6 belts reworked by Safety Restore.
The seats bolt right in using the Planted brackets as long as you swap for the C6 belts. The brackets do position the seats right up against the tunnel, but I ended up rolling with it because it makes grabbing the recliner lever easy. But there is a little room to slide the seats away from the tunnel if I notched the brackets a bit.
Very happy with the quality of the seats. The seat back feels great, but the seat bottom feels a bit flat. I put spacers under the front of the seats first, and it helps, but then doubled up the spacers on the front of the seats and it feels pretty good now. The seats fit in the car good, but not great. They do reduce headroom a little, with the extra spacers it gets a bit worse, and because of the thickness of the back of the seat you can't slide the seat all the way back as it hits the tunnel where it thickens (photos below). I'm 5-10 and can put the seat far enough back that I can't reach the pedals. I haven't put my helmet on, but I think there's room for me to fit with a brain bucket for track days. If I were to let one of my 6-2 friends drive on track, they'd have a hard time fitting with a helmet on. I'll eventually swap out the bracket on the driver's side for one of the Marrad ultra low brackets, which does look to have the slight slope which should also put the seat bottom at a favorable angle without spacers.
Ingress/egress is certainly a bit more difficult, but once in, the car is a much more engaging to drive. Heel-toeing, shifting; I'm held in place allowing me to get a good feel for what the car is doing. I don't ***-clown on public roads, so I've not been much past 6/10ths, but I can't even imaging trying to track a car with the stock seats. My stock driver's seat was broken, both the left side of the back as well as the left side of the base having collapsed, so it's not an apples to apples comparison. But it is a whole new world.
The C6 belts don't recline super easily, it's not bad, but not as good as factory, and I'm not happy with the way the buckle feels after having to grind it a bit to fit the C5 receiver. I trust it, but would have preferred to swap out for a C6 receiver, or bolt a C6-compatible belt extender to the planted seat bracket.
02-04-2021, 07:48 AM
