Got new floor mats in today, Lloyds. Loop pile; eventually new carpet will be loop pile, in the C7 style.


Also got this cup holder in ...
(Incidentally, that picture in the Amazon ad is a C7. You can see the type of carpet it has.)

So question for longtime C5 travelers; what coffee "thermos" do you use with this cup holder?
The one I have (that fits the C7 perfectly) doesn't fit this one well. Mine has a slightly expanding base which is too big to fit all the way down in this cup holder.

 

Car set a P0492 code today. Researched and of course all the necessary info is right here on this forum. Ordered AIR block off plates.

 

Yep, generally would pop that AIR system code once or twice a summer but never persisted, always went to History quickly.

Looked into it at first, seems check valve sticks after a while. Some folks would squirt WD40 or similar down tube to free it up but since code never 'stuck', didnt seem worth the trouble.

Occasionally would also find HVAC B361 (or something like that) in History when I checked; blend door synch or something but it never persisted and heat/ac always worked, blew outta proper locations so never worried about it.

You gonna remove the entire AIR system?

 

Yep. Don't see any point to it with long tubes. I don't believe after market cats respond like factory cats, and their location further downstream probably changes it up too.

If I go bigger cubes, I'll be going with 1 7/8" or maybe 2" headers. So no AIR fittings with those.

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On a different note; I am definitely going to need window tint done. I'll have the transparent top done with a clear ceramic, but the sides and back will be done to the legal limit.

Question, I have an opportunity to get my hands on a NOS transparent roof. Would you? I do see the spidering on this. No big deal, but...? Also, the hard top *will* be on most of the time; probably mid-March thru mid-Nov. Thoughts?

 

May as well tear it all out then. When you do, you'll notice a short piece of the passenger side air tube has a 6" length of heat shield on it. Under it is clamped a short length of high temp tubing bridging a small gap in the tube. That was LG's recommendation way back when to relieve any stress in the rigid tube; apparently the LG Pros had a few instances back then to crack the air fitting off the header tube. They welded in a small gusset plate beneath the air tube fitting by the time I bought them but, well, better safe than sorry. Also, if you do replace the headers at some point they are attached using ARP studs/nuts instead of factory bolts so a regular wrench might not work on them; can't remember if it's just a 12 point nut or Torx...its something with a lot of points on it.

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If you do have the current top coated in ceramic, be sure they prep & polish it first to remove current ceramic coating. I did the whole car in Kamikaze Miyabi (2 layers) + Kamikaze ISM (1 layer) back in August 2017. Didn't do the solid top though.

Car originally came with solid top only which we swapped with new GM top about 9 months after buying car. The transparent tops do tend to get that spiderwebbing on them after many years. Dunno if ceramic would help with that, especially in your somewhat hotter climate but I'd imagine it would.

Guess a new top depends on just how much the spiderwebbing bothers you but certainly safe to say it will probably continue/accelerate in your climate.

 

It would be LG doing the delete, so'll trust their best judgement.

On the top, please let me clarify. I was speaking to having a clear ceramic tint film applied on the underside of the transparent top. It's primary purpose is to reduce UV and heat.

 

On the header bolts, I saw that. No problemo. Personally, I always use Stage 8 locking fasteners. However, yours have proven out.

 

Updates:

Last weekend I upgraded my garage light. Sorta car related. Replaced my 4 bulb, 4' CFL light fixture (ballast took a dump) with an equivalent size LED unit. WOW! 6500 lumens. Pricier comparatively but well worth it.

I installed an RadioFlyer LED interior light kit today. One of the footwell bulbs popped when I tried to get it in. Trying to get a replacement. The mirror map lights were a pain but I eventually got it done. Caution doing this with 15 year old plastic bits. Great upgrade for the interior lighting.
I didn't realize the kit didn't include the underhood bulb so I ordered that today. Probably the extent of LED upgrades I'll do.

Got one the thingies for the transparent top. Even on a cloudy day, it didn't help at all with the glare on my new DD head unit. Window tint is a definite go. The screen does have several angles of tilt and that helps, but tint will likely be a better solution as I'll need it for the Texas summer anyway.

I was going to install my Flameball shift ball but I ordered the wrong size fitting for the sickspeed adapter. I'll have to order a new one once I can figure out why my account isn't working with them all of the sudden.

That's it for now.

 

One other thing is the electric steering. Definitely a different feel, but hard to describe.

 

That's a majority of the items that prompted us to look at upgrading accompanied by my laziness in remedying things like you are; nice work so far...huge difference already.

Our new arrival has TPW of 02/25/2019...I'm probably one of the only new car buyers hoping they run into some delays. It was -8 degrees here yesterday. Methinks Spring is nowhere in sight despite what that furry little rodent predicted this morning on Groundhog Day.

 

One update I still need to do is mount my front license plate. Unfortunately in Texas, it’s a $200 fine without one and the State Troopers will definitely write you up. Well, I don’t need to unnecessarily invite The Man into my life; and I’m sure they have better things to do than hassle poor ole me.

With the acknowledgement that there is *no* way to mount a front plate on a Corvette that looks aesthetically pleasing, my personal preference has been the Sto-N-Sho bracket. My experience relates back to my C7 ownership. The factory bracket for the C7 partially blocks the grill (see below) and I can confirm this drives the engine temp up at least 5* in the summer.


The Sho-N-Sto stands forward a bit, so it still allows the air to circulate behind and flow thru the middle of the grill. Plus it’s easily removable, so you can completely unblock the grill at the track. You can see pictures of this at the manufacturer’s website linked above.

With that in mind, I ordered one for the C5. Not a simple bolt up, you need to drill a couple of holes.
Not sure I want to do that so I ordered a factory filler plate and a clear cover. I may eventually use the Sto-N-Sho, but I just don’t want to drill body parts on it, even if they are underneath.

 

I've got my punch list figured out for my major drivetrain servicing. My intent is to check the health of the major components, primarily to see if they will support doing a head/cam/intake package on it. Not sure I want to really do all that tho, (compression test, leak down, oil analysis, etc.) because I don't think I'll reach my performance and driveability goals that way. Trans & diff are going to need to be built no matter what. And before I do anything under the hood. So there's a lot I listed I may not do.

21st Century Muscle Cars did the work on my C7, so that's where it's going to get the below work done.

1-Check belts & hoses; replace as necessary.
2-Pressure test cooling system; repair as necessary.
3-Replace air filter.
4-Engine oil & filter change. Capture oil sample for Blackstone analysis.
5-Transmission oil & filter change. Capture oil sample for Blackstone analysis.
6-Differential oil change. Capture oil sample for Blackstone analysis.
7-Compression test on all cylinders; report results.
8-Leak down test on all cylinders; report results.
9-Install new spark plugs.
10-Replace existing oxygen sensors.
11-Install wideband sensor; 12-Install Catch Can; Mighty Mouse C5/C6-Mild
13-Remove A.I.R. system.
14-Dyno tune; report results.

 

On the suspension, brakes and tires, the stuff I listed below is what I'm thinking, but will come later.

1-Health check on all suspension components, ball joins, end links, etc.; replace as necessary.
2-Replace shocks. Undecided on make/model, but need to be daily driver friendly; no Z06 shocks. Probably Viking or QA1 adjustable so they're tunable at the track.
3-Stainless steel brake lines.
4-Brake system flush; what fluid to use for replacement?
5-Lightweight rotors?

6-Tires. Current tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ ZP. They are in good condition with lots of tread left but they're 5+ years old. I'm hoping the age of the tires attest to their poor dry/cold performance. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZPs I had on my C7 had better dry/cold performance.

The MPSS ZPs are what I would like to go with but they don't come in a C5 size (245/45R17 & 275/40R18), so I may go with the base C7 tire sizing (245/40R18 & 285/35R19) on a set of MRR M755 C7 ZR1 reproduction wheels in a C5 fitment. Or find another high performance summer tire.

Other tire choices with C5 sizes include Bridgestone Potenza RE-11, Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500, Nitto NT555 G2 & Toyo Proxes. Out of those choices, I think I would prefer the Nittos because I can run the NT555R drag radial in back, paired up with the NT555G2 in the front. Unfortunately, none of those choices are runflats. The MPSS tires really spoiled my on high performance & runflat technology.

Thoughts to park for later.

 

Looking forward to seeing these results...

 

Getting windows tinted today. Pix later.

 

Got the tint done today. Darkest legal amount. Unfortunately, I still have a glare on the head unit face. Fortunate that the hu has tilting face to deal with it.
I was hoping to get a clear UV reduction done on the transparent top. but this stuff doesn't work on lexan tops.

Not the best pictures to show off the tint, but it is what it is.

 

I have a two-top 2003 but gave up on using the transparent top because of summer heat. Why don't you use the solid black top?

Recently purched from a forum member the front license plate attachment in my car's color (Electron Blue). Really looks sharp. Your car is black and the flat black stock attachment should not alter the appearance (HATE the need for a front plate).

 

I got one of those pop in headliners from Ecklers. It is a stone, cold bee-atch to install. For now, its cool enough, but I may just switch over to the painted top in the summer.

I'm currently using the factory filler and it doesn't look too bad. But I didn't realize it wasn't painted, so I'm waiting on a painted version. I also bought a clear cover, but realize now that it won't work with the filler panel. I may go ahead and install the Sto-N-Sho.

On another note, my rear view camera quit working. :/ Probably just unplugged, I hope. But it went out when it was on, while backing up.

 

A black Vette like mine, I'm sub'd. Looks like you are going along the same lines as me. Maybe I'll get some ideas from you Good luck!