bigsapper:

Don't know why a clear plastic plate cover won't slide down into the stock U shaped filler panel with the plate. I chose the thinnest clear one at the local parts store and it works to keep the front plate clean and fresh looking.

Of course I've heard that everything in TEXAS is bigger so that may be your problem.

 

This is what I mean for a clear cover...


The two bottom screws that retain this cover are covered by the U shaped plate holder.

 

Color matched U surround.

OK, I get it now. Havent seen C5 owners with the bubble type cover in our area. Sorry for the poor quality photo -- quickly done to show the difference matching color can do.

 

Car is going in on Monday for the following laundry list of service & upgrades...


1. Check belts & hoses; replace as necessary.
2. Replace air filter; customer provided.
3. Engine oil & filter change; Mobil1 5w-30. Perform visual analysis for contamination and/or wear. Capture oil sample for Blackstone analysis.
4. Perform cooling system pressure test; advise of needed repairs. Flush cooling system; install 18 lb pressure cap
5. Perform engine compression test on all cylinders. Report results.
6. Perform engine leakdown test. Report results.
7. Replace spark plugs.
8. Perform throttle body bypass.
9. Inspect harmonic balancer; replace as necessary.
10. Auto transmission service (synthetic oil & filter). Perform visual analysis for contamination and/or wear. Capture oil sample for Blackstone analysis.
11. Differential service (synthetic oil). Perform visual analysis for contamination and/or wear. (no oil capture)
12. De-screen MAF.
13. Install catch can; customer provided.
14. Install wideband sensor & harness; customer provided.
15. Remove A.I.R. System; customer provided blocks.
16. Install LED fog lights; customer supplied.
17. Dyno tune. (running very rich at idle ,,, may need new 02s?)

 

[QUOTE=bigsapper;1599018011]Car is going in on Monday for the following laundry list of service & upgrades...


Please post your results. Many are following your thread to get info to maintain the C5.

One thing that I may have missed. You mention checking the cooling system, which is very wise, but I always flush & replace any vehicle I buy unless the records clearly show that it has been done within the prior three years or 50k miles whichever is less. Dexcool has had a checkered reputation for lasting as long as GM originally said it would. Further, has the cap been changed to 18# of pressure? The C5 came with a 15# cap. The extra 3# gives 9 degrees more of boilover protection which may be needed in your Texas summer heat.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the cap; will do.

My thoughts on the flush is I'm likely to do a H/C package (or a 427 build) in 12-18 months which would take care of that. But I may go ahead do it now. Best to deal with the here and now, rather than a "potential" future.

 

On my engine build, my initial impression was I would need a big inch build (427/441/454) to meet my performance goals (11.0x @ 3,000' DA) while having a factory reliable daily driver. But the more I research the more I'm seeing that it looks possible, using the SBE. The hard part is I don't want to do a H/C package and find out I didn't hit my perf target. Money down the drain. I don't mind spending money, but I don't like wasting money.

Using the SBE, I would definitely need to jump to at least a 3.42 rear, whereas with a bigger motor, I could get away with a 3.15. That would be helpful for long distance cruises.

One thing I'm pretty settled on at this point...I'm doing a FAST 92 intake. I just picked up a brand new silver-blade LS2 throttle body. I'll send it to Tony Mamo for a port along with getting his ported Fast 92. This will be part of my phase 1 bolt-on build (probably August time-frame). Should tie me over until I get my trans/diff/etc done in prep for a bigger HP motor.

Phase 1 Bolt-on build...
o Fast 92 intake manifold (MMS-ported)
o LS2 throttle body* (MMS-ported)
o Meziere electric water pump
o Summit Racing 25% underdrive pulley
o Summit Racing 1.8 full roller rocker arms
o Z06 Ti exhaust (the GHL exhaust is just too loud for my tastes, all the time; really needs a mild-to-wild switch)
o 21st Century Muscle Cars re-tune
(still researching fueling requirements for flex-fuel)

* brand new from AC Delco on Amazon

 

Any feedback yet on Monday's adventure?

 

Just got off the phone with them. It won't be ready until Friday.

Quite the laundry list of things to do.

 

Woof! My wallet will need to recover after this. (get an upfront quote next time, dumbass )

Overall, the drivetrain looks very healthy. All the fluids look to be good. I'll send off the engine & trans oil for evaluation tomorrow.
Dyno came in at 348/372; I'll post a scan of it later this weekend. BTW, I'm happy with those numbers. Matt was worried that I would be disappointed in the numbers (I showed him the last dyno sheet 382/377), but I told him I knew that was on a happy dyno. He laughed and said it must've been a drunk, happy dyno, lol.

Here's the engine numbers; first number is the cylinder, second number is the compression, third number is the leakdown.
Tale of the tape...
1) 175 psi -- 11%
3) 187 psi -- 8%
5) 190 psi -- 7%
7) 183 psi -- 10%

2) 181 psi -- 9%
4) 183 psi -- 10%
6) 188 psi -- 8%
8) 182 psi -- 9%

The injector duty cycle is at 81.3%; so I won't be doing E85. Way too much $$$ for only about a 10hp bump. E85 needs at least 11.5:1 CR to really make an impression.

I'll post more details later this weekend, along with the scan of the dyno. Just wanted to get the numbers out there for those waiting.

GO ENJOY YOUR ST PATTY's DAY FRIDAY!

Thanks again to @BudgetPlan1 for taking such great care of this Vette. Matt (21st Century Muscle Cars) was truly impressed.

 

Happy to hear it went well...a girl did drive it 95% of the time

Always felt kinda 'optimistic' about that dyno sheet; others we had done were usually in the 345 range but what the heck, fun piece of paper anyway.

As for the compression/leakdown test, are those numbers in line with an 18 year old motor? Is a factory fresh motor gonna be near 0% leakdown? Is the compression psi relatively equal when new?

Our wallet got a bit lighter today too:

 

Woof, woof!

 

On the compression, for a stock motor, 175+ is very good. For leakdown 8-12% with a 3-4% variance is considered good. Engine reads like a well broken in solid motor. Probably would have read near similar @ 25,000 miles.

 

Matt said that typical dyno numbers (for him) on a completely stock C5 LS1/A4 was generally in the 300whp range. 350hp with a tune, CAI & LT is pretty good.

 

My C7 was a lemon and I bought a C5 to have something fun.

 

Dyno ...

 

AIR block on driver side...


AIR block on passenger side...


Mighty Mouse catch can...

 

Some of the unexpected (entirely on me) expenses...
-- I forgot I spec'd to replace spark plug wires.
-- Leak down & compression test was 3.5 hours. Not that I had any idea how long it would take.
-- AIR removal required R&R the intake manifold.
-- Coolant flush was a last minute change that I didn't calculate in my budget.
-- Wideband was apparently way more involved than I thought, 2.5 hours.

There were a few things I could have easily done myself and saved some money but figured since it's up there, get it done.

Lesson, get estimates upfront. 21st Century has no problem doing that, it was just neglectful on my part. At the end of the day, I'm 100% happy with the work they did and won't hesitate to continue going there.

In the meantime, that means I'm probably done with discretionary expenses for the year. I'll be putting new tires on in a couple of months and that's probably it. The MMS Fast 92 & LS2 TB will sit waiting for my wallet to recover.

 

I find myself taking this approach more and more as well these days.

I could have pulled, prepped and coated the wheels on the new car, did it on all our other cars but since Esoteric has the car, just easier to have them do it. Garage floors seem to get harder (and harder to get up off of) with each passing year.

I hear that...after the purchase of new car and bill to save it wrapped and such, time to sit back and just enjoy for a bit.

All in all, seems like an overall good report on the C5; solid starting point all things considered?

As for a C7 in the 11's with no upgrades, would likely take a better driver than I. I'm thinking 12.4 area would be entirely satisfactory.

 

Now you know you are starting with a totally clean slate and your engine is really healthy for the long term, so its money well spent now before you start upgrading. The bright side is that you didn't have to replace your harmonic balancer right now, that would have added a bit to the total.