So last night I was installing my Borla ATAK cat back and that's when I noticed it. The driver side diff mount was gone, broken off of the diff cover. At first I thought it was the transmission mount but still. Yesterday is one week of owning it and it is my first vette. Someone clearly knew this happened as you can see in the photos they fabricated a bracket to support the diff. It hasn't made any odd noises like it's thumping around so that's good. I don't mind putting the time and money into this car, but I really am disappointed by how poorly the previous owner took care (lack thereof) of the car.

So far the repairs and issues still needing addressed are as follows.


Stock air box was broken and zip tied together, replaced with Corsa CAI
Front driver side marker light was glued into the bumper due to broken tabs, replaced with smoked LED markers all around.
8" door speakers installed wouldn't let the windows roll down past halfway, installed spacers to pull the magnets away from the track while I get replacement speakers.
All the speakers had the wires wrapped around the terminals instead of using connectors. Installed blade connectors.
Passenger speaker wire was mashed exposing the wires. Fixed.
Stereo has the electric noise from a bad install job.
Wood screws were used to secure the front license plate mount into the bumper
Lower and upper radiator supports were destroyed, lower is replaced, upper shows up today.
Horns didn't work, picking up new ones today.

Also the front DS tire seems to have a slightly smaller gap to the fender than the pass. side. Will look further into that as well but nothing yet appears to be out of spec inside the wheel well.

Hopefully this is the last issue I discover for a bit.

Just wanted to rant a bit because I feel these cars deserve a bit more care than it was given.

 

Does anyone have experience with this type of repair?
Can you replace just the cover without pulling the diff?
I have seen photos of side covers on differentials that don't appear to have the mounting foot on them, is that a different style for the Z06/ZR1?

 

I don't have experience with the differential repair but that is a beautiful car and I'm glad it's in much better hands now. Sorry you've had to deal with short-cut repairs and installs but it seems like you are prepared to tackle everything with the best approach for a proper, permanent fix. Good luck!