Looking good, can't wait to see it, all done.

 

Looks great, mine is getting painted Lexus pearl blue next week.

Sweet, you had me wondering as mine worked on the Z06 bumper during mock up

 

Love to see yours when its finished. I thought about having mine repainted a new color, but I love Shark Gray so I decided to stay with it.

JV

 

What type of CF spoileris that?

 

I assume you mean my old one, seen here on page 1 of this thread, before I started this project. Its sold by several forum vendors, like this one...

http://www.customcorvetteaccessories...erspoiler.html

 

Typical Monday. While painting the front fender vents gloss black this past weekend (they come from the factory primed) I managed to ruin them. Long story; contaminated paint followed by paint remover which distorted the plastic structure. So I called to order new ones but GM is back-ordered. More delays. Like I said, typical Monday. While waiting I decided to overhaul my brake calipers and install LG's new racing brake ducts up front. I'll do a separate thread on that evolution, but here's a peek...

JV

 

Nice work again! You will have the best fade free stopping power out there!

Did you replace the dust boots? They didn't look to be burned up in the pics.

 

Thanks. Yeah, the pressure seals were still soft and pliable, but the dust boots were dried out and brittle. Evidently Brembo just recently came out with a rebuild kit for the stock calipers on the C7 Z51, which I found out in a phone conversation with the owner of a racing supply company in NJ. I don't know if he's a forum vendor, but if anybody needs/wants that info just let me know.

JV

 

Thanks, can you PM the info? Appreciated!

 

Dust boots were brittle already? How is that even possible on a car of this age?

 

Heat from tracking the car heavily, probably from running the OEM rotors for most of the first year. I switched to AP Racing 'J' hook rotors a few months ago, and also decided to spring for the LG brake cooling kit.

JV

 

Wow, I didn't realize they could go that quickly. I can't wait to see this thing when you are done, great thread so far.

 

I've been following this thread with interest but I have to ask did you explore the idea of cutting the base stingray rocker and grafting on the lower quarter z06 flare and duct? It doesn't seem like it would be as invasive. Need to do some light glass work and Painting rocker on the car would not be as easy but the nasty work peeling the whole rocker off would be avoided. Great work btw

 

Thanks. I ruled out cut & graft because I have no confidence at all in my personal ability to do that kind of body work and I wanted to be able to do everything except the painting myself. My research led me to see that, while somewhat messy, the aperture panel remove and replace operation was something I felt good about tackling. Plus I feel better with whole panels

JV

 

 

As someone who has done a lot of body work on these cars kudos for taking a rocker swap on. People always think it's "easy" and have no idea how much work goes into ripping them off, prepping the area, and getting new ones on in the right location. They're the basis for aligning all the other panels on the car.

Additionally, it looks like paint match is very good for panel painting, rare with a metallic grey.

Lastly, to the poster who expressed surprised at the dust boots. On our racecar we run OEM stock calipers and just remove the boots from brand new calipers when we're putting new ones on. They simply will not hold up to track/race use and melt and cause more of a mess than they're worth. High performance race calipers don't come with them to begin with and you're expected to rebuilt the caliper (swap seals) more frequently.

 

Jet
Don't know if you've seen this thread:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...p-to-oops.html

It shows the aperture that a body shop took off and it doesn't seem there is much glue left. I wonder if the newer cars have reference points that the older ones didn't, that would make it easier for this part to be reinstalled. Hopefully, the poster will have more pics.

It looks like they also removed the door and left the hinges in place. Don't know if that would make any difference or be easier or not.

I just found it interesting compared to your project.

 

Thanks for the reference. I had read earlier that he was mulling over how to do the repair but I hadn't seen that thread yet. I agree there is less adhesive, and one of the things I found when doing mine was that the factory used waaaay more than what I would have thought necessary. The aperture is not a structural part, it is like crown molding in a living room - it just makes a nice looking area when the door is open and gives the rear quarter and front fender something to align with. As for the hinges, I probably should have done it his way. I didn't realize that with the fender removed it may be possible to reinstall the door by closing it in place and then insert the hinge bolts.

I'm really getting frustrated now, the delay in getting the last few parts is killing me. In the mean time I transferred the rear bumper wiring harness and installed the new fuel door. The fuel door came primed only, and I covered it with 3M carbon fiber adhesive wrap. I can always paint it later if I change my mind.

JV

 

Okay, the parts I ordered have finally come in so I can get back to the reassembly. When you get ready to install a panel, make sure you have all the clip on u-fasteners in place before mounting it. When prepping the aft end of the rear quarter panel, you'll be installing the 'L' brace in the wheel well, and the 'S' bracket onto the rear flange, where the rear bumper cover attaches. Things need to go on in a certain order here because they overlap each other: First the U clips in the four holes in the quarter panel where the S bracket mounts, then the L brace on the inside, then the S bracket itself.

Here is the L brace under the Right panel.



In this view I'm just holding the S bracket up next to the lip of the quarter panel to show that it covers the L brace screws, so they have to be put on in the correct order...



Everything in place and tightened on the passenger side...



Here is the L brace on the drivers side:



And the drivers side all set to proceed with mounting the rear bumper cover:



Here is the rear bumper cover clipped in place with all electrical connections back on the wiring harness for a test. No other screws/bolts have been attached yet, as this is a test fit and electrical connectivity test. There are several areas where adjustments can be made to the fit and panel gaps. The inner attaching bolt of the L brace is in a slot so it can be moved inward or outward as needed. Also the S bracket can be loosened and moved very slightly fore and aft. Shims can also be placed almost anywhere to adjust the fit.







All electrical connections checked out, including lights, deck release button and key lock.



NOW, Does anyone know how the Z06 rear brake cooling ducts fit and function. This first picture is the oem bottom-feed cooling duct from the Z51 which I have left in place so far. The next pictures are the Z06 ducts which are supposed to feed from the chin scoops in the lower panels behind the doors. But for the life of me I can't figure out how they are supposed to mount or where they would direct that air. I tried every imaginable orientation but they don't even come close to fitting anywhere near the back of the scoops. The exploded parts drawings I can find are of no help whatsoever. If anyone has any info on how these go on, please chime in. I know I can just continue to use the old Z51 ducts, but that leaves all the wiring and other modules visible through the duct opening, which looks ridiculous. Thanks for any input.

JV

 

Those rocker vents just direct air towards the brakes, not related t the other vent at all.

The first one gets a screw from the bottom and one in from the back. Other one is a screw and a push pin I think.