Parts courtesy of Corvettes of Houston who got the parts to the UK in ultra-quick time. Now how do they stack up?

CAGS - 5 minute job, simple and easy to fit. OK quality.

Column Lock Bypass - neat and unobtrusive and easy to fit.

Performance hood seal - not impressed at all. Covered in adhesive goop that was already coming off. Wasn't sure whether I stuck it to the vertical edge or the flat edge and ended up with a big ball of goop and a glue-free seal. Will have to get some double-sided tape and fit it properly. Disappointing.

Steering wheel emblem - $17.95 for this? It's rubbish. Brightens it up a little but no way can that price be justified.

Stainless Steel lettering front and rear - initially disappointed but maybe because I've got MBA Camaro items on my Z28 which are bigger, better and nicer. Could be that the Corvette indentations are shallower and the lettering thinner and more delicate but I didn't need all this paint-on priming nonsense with the Camaro lettering so why here? Having said that, I stood back and yes, they look fantastic.

Corvette dust caps - very nice for $12 I must say.

Finally, I cut down my aerial to about 8 inches. I searched for a nice tip cover and finally came up with a really smart solution - one of the black tip covers on the Rollerball refills araldited on the top. Looks stock and cost nothing.

 

It is easier to call it MOD fever and easier to spell too.

 

I got my last two orders from Corvettes of Houston each only 2 days after my initial order.

As far as the hoodseal, they are all like that no matter which vendor you purchase from. You are better off removing the original adhesive goop by rolling it off with your finger tips and installing the hoodseal using 3M double sided molding tape. In the US, any Walmart usually stocks the tape for around $4. Most auto parts stores should carry this as well.

As far as the steering wheel decal, I think that they are all the same except for maybe Vette Essentials. VE might have better, higher quality decals. Auto Buffs sell theirs for $10 shipped. As decals age on the shelf the become harder to work with since the glue seems to deteriorate and loose it's adherence.

Good idea to install the CLB

 

What are the import duties/excise taxes on a Corvette in the UK?

 

Ordinarily the duties on import are 10% on cars, 3.5% on parts and then once that's added, 17.5% VAT plus a clustoms clearance fee of £!0. However, sometimes you get an order through for less than a certain value and nobody asks you for anything. At least...not yet.

Thanks for the tip on the double-sided tape but they don't sell useful stuff like that in the UK although I can use DIY doual-sided tape. So does it glue on the vertical part or the horizontal part. I'm planning on doing both to be on the safe side. LOL.

Any mods where you think "Wow, that was worth it?". I was going to get a shifter but read a post about them being quite stiff and I don't mind the stock shifter.

 

The hood seal material can be purchased at any home improvement center. I bought a 12 foot section for $8 and did two cars and had some left over.

The adhesive is placed facing downwards, that way when the hood closes it will compress the rubber seal and make a nice tight seal. If the adhesive is applied facing the front of the car it will eventially pull away as the hood compressed it and fall off.

Have someone slowly lower your hood while you watch what happens to the hood seal, it will become obvious which way to mount it correctly.

Cheers

Tom