I just bought my 1st Corvette, has been a long time love of mine and my Dad's.
When my Dad passed this past July, I decided to get one in remembrance of him. I went with a gorgeous 2000 C5 with only 39k miles. I drove it for about an hour before I bought it, but never got stuck in traffic.
I finally did on my way home and noticed it was hitting the 230 temp. I read many threads on here that it could've been normal, it does have a ton of upgrades to race. Last weekend I watched it hit 235 with the heat on and scared me a little not gonna lie, I would think with only 39k miles water pump wouldn't be bad.
I bought a new radiator cap, a fail safe thermostat, and upper hose due to the hose collapsing after parked for a week. I'm not that mechanically incline (only know enough to be dangerous) and hate to sound dumb but, is it normal for a hose to collapse? Seems logically like a vacuum problem but, I don't know. The car is a beast to me and really don't want to think I screwed up just yet, going to start with basics and ask questions before I know if I screwed up buying something semi-built and not me doing the build. Any help is appreciated

 

Welcome aboard! Someone with more expertise will chime in soon.

 

I've had MANY modified vettes... 235 is not uncommon in warmer areas of the country during prolong idling times. I would personally keep a close eye on it, but many on here see 235 often.

Give us a detailed list of modifications on your car. Buying a highly modded car can be a blessing or curse depending on the DIY backyard mechanic or professional LS1 shop doing the install and tuning.

General rule:
-profession "well known" shop labor
-always dyno tune
-top of the line parts (your setup is only as good as the cheapest part you bought to cut cost!)
-keep all receipts

General rule 99% of the time....STAY FAR AWAY FROM:
-car owner installed their own parts
-car owner or their friend with a laptop tuned the car
-no official dyno tune or HP/TQ/ AF ratio numbers (this is a DEAD give away... its a budget build!)
-stay away from the cars who are advertised with TRACK times...they've been ran hard and put up wet! Very few people who spend $20K-$50K modifying a car have the heart to beat it up on the track.... LOOK for a garage queen if you plan to spend the big money

Welcome to the Corvette community and best of luck on your new purchase.

Here's my latest C5 build....
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...r-pic-s-2.html

 

mild cam, cartek stage 2 heads, ported intake manifold, long tube headers with bassani x pipe and corsa catback, dewitt aluminum radiator, vararam cold air intake, ap racing 6 piston calipers on front and 4 piston rear with 2 piece slotted rotors,cartek metallic clutch. mallet/penske coilovers

 

From all that I researched so far, past owner didn't cheap out but some mods might be outdated. I'll post some pics as soon as get them on my puter

 

OMG... now that is a VERY top tier list of mods, even the cartek brand heads. NICE
Sounds like you have the best of the best. The list of mods cost more than the used c5

we need PICTURES!

 

 

Welcome to the asylum...

 

Welcome to Corvette ownership! Your reasons for buying a Corvette similar to my own. Growing up, my father owned, bought new- C-1 through C-5 Corvette (a 2003 anniversary). So when I bought my 2001 C5, 4 years ago, I bought the convertible version of the last Corvette he owned. Luckily my dad, now 89 is still with us and he is able to share vicariously in my Corvette ownership. While he'd owned several Corvettes, some of which today would bring very big money; he maintained the C5 was the best Corvette he had ever owned. So you chose well.

My Corvette is unmodified, so you have lots of plumbing in your car I don't recognize. But I think I spot an errant manual headlight **** near the driver's side strut. These slip off easily; in fact when I bought my car, one was off and in the engine bay, not unlike yours.

As for the temperatures; your modified car might just like to run a bit hotter than normal, but I have seen 230 in my car; even after a new water pump and 187 degree thermostat. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. But you might consider checking your radiator. These cars are bottom breathers and can pick up a significant amounts of trash that can block the radiator.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome and congrats on joining the fold ! I celebrated 45 years of Corvettes myself this past summer !

With regards to your warm coolant temps, perhaps a complete 'proper' coolant flush and refill would be a good idea. The fact that the radiator has been replaced might suggest it wasn't done correctly (air pockets)

 

Love the color!
To me, your temps are high because you have a Dewitts radiator and that should keep things cooler than 235. A collapsing hose is not normal. The long tube headers do add heat under the hood but my supercharged 99 has long tube headers and I rarely see above 200 and that is with a stock radiator. You got something going on. I would start with the basics, blow the AC condenser and radiator out with compressed air. Blow from the engine side towards the front. You will be amazed at how much crap the AC condenser and radiator accumulates. Let us know the results.

 

Enjoy your new ride!

 

With a Dewitts, your temps should be lower. I also agree that the first step would be to clean out the radiator and condenser. You might also check your coolant level if you haven't already. BTW, your coolant should be orange and not green. With that taken care of. Welcome to the forum, and congrats on what seems like a really great car! It certainly looks amazing, I hope that it brings you many miles of smiles.
Don't forget to SAVE THE WAVE!!