C5 Corvette Z06 Named Fluffy

Why is it called ‘Fluffy’?

Jacobs came up with the name when his buddy Mark Stielow was thinking up a name for another one of Stielow’s ’69 Camaros. “He always names his cars things mean and ugly,” Jacobs told the folks at hotrod.com. So, he suggested Stielow change things up. The car was supposed to be painted white so he, somewhat jokingly, told Stielow to name the car Fluffy. As it turned out, he wasn’t sold and instead painted the Camaro red and called it Hellfire.

However, when Jacobs picked up a Speedway White ’01 Corvette Z06, he thought the least he could do was poke a little fun at Stielow by naming his new Vette Fluffy.  

Right car, right place, right time

Jacobs, who’s always had an affinity for Corvettes, was in the market for a new, reasonably priced yet competitive autocross toy. As you may know, C5s are such a competitive platform, to begin with, that’s where he started looking.

He eventually came across a lackluster eBay ad for a ’01 Corvette Z06 that was pre-modified. He called up the salesman to inquire further who then emailed over some of the vehicle’s paperwork. Jacobs was sold after seeing the first page: a Katech receipt dated May 2001 for $26,000. “It was at that moment I became more than mildly interested,” recalled Jacobs. “A friend local to the dealer did a quick recon mission to confirm that it was a clean car then a Wednesday flight to and from Dallas sealed the deal and Fluffy was now on its way north.” 

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So, what was on the receipt?

The $26,000 Katech receipt went to a bevy of performance parts, including a fully built C5R 427ci engine with ported heads, LG headers, Penske shocks, T-1 springs and antisway bars, AP Racing brakes, Fikse wheels and Doug Rippie Motorsports hood. Inside the cabin, the Corvette was fitted with Sparco Evo racing seats and Sparco harnesses. As far as 2001 goes, this C5 Z was at the top of its game.

By 2015 though, the car was ready for a refresh. 

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Upgrading the ‘Vette

Jacobs was well aware that even though this Corvette had already gone through a few rounds of updates, it still needed some upgrades before it was ready for competition again.

First on the list: An upgraded oil pump. He sent the car over to Finish Line Performance in Naperville, Illinois, to throw in a high-performance Melling pump and give the engine a once-over.

Next in line were those AP brakes. Again, great for 2001 but not so great for 2015 so Jacobs had Randy Johnson of D&Z Customs throw on a new set of Wilwoods. The front got a pair of Aero6 six-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors while the rear got Superlite four-piston calipers and 13-inch rotors.

Next, Jacobs took the Vette’s Fikse wheels and moved the rear 18x11s to the front of the car and then had the front 18x10s re-hooped to turn them into 18x12s to go out back. The updated wheels were then wrapped in BFGoodrich Rival S tires measuring 315/30R18 front and 335/30R18 rear.

At this point, the Jacobs were ready to race—or so they thought. 

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What went wrong with Fluffy

Jacobs and crew took the C5 out for its first test ’n’ tune session but quickly found out the new brakes weren’t playing nicely with the old master cylinder. They stuck it back on the trailer and got it worked out before their next event, The Motor State Challenge in Michigan a few weeks later.

While at that event, something else happened. “Once at the hotel, I went to unload the car off our open trailer and nearly killed myself. Blown right rear shock had spewed oil all over the deck.” Jacobs told us. Luckily for him, a couple of guys from RideTech were there and hooked him up with a set of their HQ triple-adjustable coilover shocks. 

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Finishing out the 2015 season

The rest of the 2015 season went well for Jacobs and Fluffy with no other major problems. But, by the time the competition season was over, he already had some ideas of how he’d like to continue modernizing the Corvette.

Jacobs promptly dropped the Corvette back off at Finish Line Performance and had the guys at LandSpeed Development do some work on the old 243 heads. They beefed ’em up with new Xceldyne valves and Brian Tooley Racing valve springs to get them ready for a custom-grind camshaft from Custom Machine Performance.

On top of the valvetrain upgrades, Finish Line Performance also threw on a FAST intake manifold, Lingenfelter throttle body, and an Airaid cone filter. When it was all said and done, Fluffy saw an increase of 50 horsepower; now making 521 horses to the wheels. Torque also increased significantly, up about 40 lb-ft to 507. 

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A successful 2016 season

Following a successful season in 2016, the only major change Jacobs decided to make was swapping out the stock transmission since it was bound to go eventually. In its place went a Tranzilla TR6060 from Rockland Standard Gear paired with a Centerforce Triad clutch. 

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Another upgrade following the 2017 season

While there wasn’t much need to upgrade during the 2017 season, near the end, Fluffy’s original timing chain went out while he was wide open at 6,500 rpm and burnt nine valves. Jacobs had that fixed and now the car is, to use his term, “dead nuts reliable”, winning him numerous class championships in his local autocross division. The car has also given him the competitive edge he needed for some impressive finishes in Optima’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car competitions and Motor State challenges. 

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