'00 FRC Hardtop - moar LS/Murica/long distance high speed cruising

[hinrichs]

Thats a hell of a score and prolly the most oddball wheel and tire combo I have ever seen. Cant wait to see them mounted up.

[nsogiba]

For the first time in this entire thread I have something "stance-worthy" to post about this car. I am by no means a real stance enthusiast as I **** the stretched wheel phenomenon but I can truly appreciate high quality, genuine, period correct wheels that look great when paired with functional fitment.

Back in 1999 I was a starry eyed 11 year old with an already healthy obsession with anything automotive. As a big fan of the original Gran Turismo simulator on PS1 back in '97 or so, I was even more so excited for GT2 to come out that year.



One of the coolest features (in addition to the very realistic cars and tracks) was the ability to customize your cars with aftermarket wheels at the "Wheel Shop".



I always loved the classic looks of wheels from BBS and usually put some variant of those on my favorite cars in the game. Fast forward almost 20 years and here I am, casually surfing Craigslist to see what's out there for my C5. The ad said C5 Corvette BBS wheels...



Which immediately seemed unusual as I never thought BBS had made anything for this car; I figured they were some crappy reps in a BMW bolt pattern or the seller was just plain confused. After some research I found out BBS actually did make a set of LM wheels for the C5...

2 hours later I'm reluctantly pulling up in the seller's driveway, greeted by an '03 Coupe and 2 late model MX-5s. The guy must be an enthusiast, I think to myself...



Looking over the wheels, they seem legit if not very unusual....but, the part numbers and sizes checked out and they were real.









It turns out the wheels came on the red '03, which the guy had just recently purchased. He was returning the car back to stock and didn't need the wheels anymore. He had bought the car from the original owner, who was an older gentleman and bought the wheels brand new at a cost of almost $1000 each and decided to drive the car year round. What do you do when you drive a car year round in the NE US? You put Mud and Snow tires on it....

IMG_20180718_131506884 (1) by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr



I kindly paid the man his asking price of $350 and loaded them up into my trusty steed.





So for now, the OEM C6 wheels will stay on until I have a chance to test fit the LM's. The initial plan is to see how they fit with or without the .375" spacer up front and the 1" spacer out back. I absolutely plan on reverse mounting the faces to gain some offset and make the lips stand out visually. Once that's figured out, I'll have the faces refinished (probably in the factory BBS silver) and polish the lips myself.

[nsogiba]

So did you ever wrap it? =)

I didn't, I returned that wrap and decided I wanted to go fast instead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJGsSuFRIg

Been wondering what has happened to this

It's getting a cammed L92/LS3 (6.2L for the non-LS folk) built for it. Should be done in a month or so. I didn't post the build thread for the motor swap here, figured it wouldn't be that popular since it's not really stance related.

In case anyone is interested, here ya go:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids/1881754-ls-swapping-my-ls-l92-ls3-into-c5.html

[hinrichs]

Been wondering what has happened to this

[Earl]

So did you ever wrap it? =)

[nsogiba]

So I've been tinkering with little stuff on this thing but nothing really worth mentioning except for this

The original paint is not up to my standards (rock chips and very fine sandblasting of front bumper and fenders around wheels). I am of the mindset that repainting body panels/permanent color changes devalue a car, so a total respray is out of the question.

I have been tossing around the idea of a "neutral" shade - something that doesn't have too much of a specific identity - yellow is too loud, red attracts police, etc etc. A shade of silver, gray, etc is my style. I want something that will have some attitude, but is not tacky, garish, and doesn't scream "look at me". My only real criteria is a high gloss finish. The matte/flat thing looks cheap and unfinished to me.

I bought some samples of Telesto Gray, Gloss Dark Gray, and a 3M Metallic Gray. I put the Telesto Grey sample strip on the car, spanning multiple body lines, and it just didn't have the depth I was looking for. Looked somewhat cheap and showed marks/scratches easily, because there was nothing to draw the eye away from those blemishes. So that killed that idea.

0821162101a by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0821162101 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0821162101b by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0821162103 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Here's what I'm thinking: Anthracite Gray by 3M has the right shade of brightness to it while including enough metallic flake to give it depth. I love how it looks in that last picture.




I like how it has that depth when out of the light....



But has that brilliant glossy finish with light applied.



Looks really nice pulled off on this Miata.



And even better on this S4
3m Gloss Anthracite vinyl wrapped b5 s4 work meister s1r by hkarmy1134, on Flickr

10661995855_ea4df64df1_h by hkarmy1134, on Flickr

I guess the closest C5 factory color to this shade would be a Medium Spiral Gray, which was never available on the FRC body style...


Here is a Medium Spiral Gray C5 for reference.




just found this over on the 'Tech - Cyber Grey C5Z06

[nsogiba]

Glad to see it back together.

Feels good to be driving it after a long winter. Runs better than ever.

badass as usual. I've never really liked the c5 but you have me second guessing myself

out of interest, why did you sell the titanium exhaust?

Good question, the answer is sort of long and drawn out.

There was nothing wrong with the Titanium exhaust by itself; the sound was awesome, it was significantly lighter than the stainless version, and the tips looked better.

It all goes back to the cutouts I installed in the midpipes last summer. Cutouts closed, no problem, but cutouts open, there is an awful drone that resonates throughout the cabin at any speed, any RPM, any load. They sound great with the engine in the upper rev range but since they're pointed at a 45 degree angle at the ground, all the sound waves bounce off the pavement and back up into the chassis. I got the idea last year to relocate the cutouts into the rear section of exhaust, just before the mufflers, and route the cutout outlet into the inner exhaust tips, essentially doing a "muffler delete on demand". This way, with the cutouts open, all the sound would be directed straight out the back of the car, past the bodywork, eliminating some of the resonance inside the cabin.

This is all well and good but the cutouts and associated v-bands are made of stainless steel, and the Titanium exhaust is...titanium. They haven't yet developed a method to weld dissimilar metals yet, so I made the decision to sell the titanium and install a stainless OEM exhaust. I have yet to move the cutouts because I first want to experiment with the sound. The sharp eyed readers will recall that I got a free OEM stainless axle back from the guy who bought my Z06 stuff - I chopped the mufflers off those pipes and am in the process of building straight pipes that will mimic the sound of the "muffler delete on demand" axle back. If the sound is good, I will have enough evidence to move forward with the cutout relocation. At that point I can probably sell the straight pipes for a nice little profit.

So, yeah.

[hinrichs]

Glad to see it back together.

[hkz286]

badass as usual. I've never really liked the c5 but you have me second guessing myself

out of interest, why did you sell the titanium exhaust?

[nsogiba]

The rest of the work was boring reassembly, I tend to get a little OCD with torquing everything to factory spec, but the first start/drive went flawlessly (despite being 20F outside).

0309172153a by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0309172141 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0311171840 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

So after a long and agonizing 500 mile break in for the clutch, trans, and new rear gears (of which all was spend <50mph), it was time to put it to the test.

0312171530 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0321171919 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Hauls stuff like a beast.

I had a titanium Z06 exhaust on the car but sold it to a local with an automatic C5 ragtop - I installed it for him, and he was kind enough to leave me his old stockers (stainless steel). So now I had that stainless set, in addition to the stainless stockers on the car that I bought last year. More on that later...

The factory tips are awfully ugly, so I chopped up some spare 3" polished stainless laying around and chucked it up in the drill press to spend time polishing it. The final effect is a brushed finish. I used a 3" hole saw to cut a slug out of a 2x4, then jammed the wood inside the pipe, put a nut and bolt through the wood, and got it all in the drill press.

0319171330 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Welded over the existing oval (trimmed) tips:

0320171704 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I used a small steel rod welded to each pair of tips to keep them perfectly square and level.
0320171704a by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr


Finally installed my race pads in prep for an open lapping session at Toronto Motorsports Park. Great stopping power (finally activates the ABS) but dust extremely hard.

0412172045 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Track day bro
0414171855a by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0414171856 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0414171938 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0414172015 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

0414172015a by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Great evening lapping - but it exposed a few flaws in the car. Still need to address the minor oil consumption issue that only occurs on track, so an LS6 valley cover/PCV is waiting in a box in the garage. I also found myself wishing for more grip in corners. More on that later in a future update...

Finally, I got fed up with the wheel hop that occurs when aggressively leaving a light, so I ordered up a full set of Energy Suspension Control Arm bushings - in the process of installing that now. Like I said earlier, I should have done that while the cradle was out, but such is life.

0412172046 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I'm working on this thing quite often now, so hopefully I'll be posting more updates soon.

[nsogiba]

been a while since any updates, but I've been busy on this thing.

With the majority of the small stuff assembled, it was time to get the drivetrain back in the car. The Pfadt trans mount is easily the most "bling" piece on the car, shame it's hidden underneath the rear end. I installed it with the hopes that it would cure some of my wheel hop from a dig.

0228172115 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Filled the trans up - this stuff isn't cheap but gets good reviews.

0301171848 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

So the whole reason for all this drivetrain work was to improve shift feel and eliminate some of the "slop" in the gear lever, most of which was in the factory shift linkage that runs from the lever back to the trans. The small factory u-joint consists of a small pin held in a brass bushing, which had worn out.

Measuring for the new setup:

0301171931a by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

A factory replacement shift linkage u-joint doesn't exist, and I think the linkage arm is discontinued. The other option was a custom machined replacement brass bushing, but that would have worn the same way as the old unit. So I found a universal steering shaft u-joint on Amazon, chopped the ends off it, and welded it to the linkage. ZERO slop achieved!

0306172111 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

While the rear subframe was out I also tossed in new sway bar bushings. In retrospect, I should have installed all new poly bushings in the control arms while the cradle was out, but I was confident that the Pfadt trans brace would cure the wheel hop. (This did not end up being the case).

0305171548 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

How to get the ultimate lows - remove wheels and put the lift all the way down.

0305171613 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

[nsogiba]

Yes. That's the factory finish and it sucks. It takes on almost a Salmon Pink hue in some light. I'm not that much of a purist that I want to keep the original color, especially for track only wheels.

In daylight they were more of a silvery gold
_DSC4790 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

But in darker artificial light, not as metallic. More brown.

_DSC4993 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

[loekaaz]

Those magnesium wheels, weren't those always that brown/goldish color?

[nsogiba]

Bunch of small updates, I have been working on this thing a couple days a week getting little things done.

Torque tube out
_DSC7628 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr



Removed the World's Largest Snap Ring using a pair of needlenose
_DSC7631 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Driveshaft out, inspecting the 2 rubber couplers:
_DSC7687 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

How cool is that! Made in West Germany! makes you wonder how old the tooling/mold is, and if it's still in use today...has to be from the 80s, at the latest...
_DSC7686 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr


The originals had 115K on them and were in ok shape, but were starting to crack. The GM replacements were $180 EACH. Turns out there is a BMW application made by Febi/Bilstein that is a functionally identical but much less expensive.


Factory torque spec is fairly high on these, apparently I have shitty tools.
_DSC7692 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Ah, the good old BMW days, proper giubo orientation and loctite on fasteners
_DSC7693 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

New pilot bearing
_DSC7689 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Drilled out the line on the new LS6 slave, before and after. The "after" is still a baby .125", LOL.
_DSC7677 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Took a break from mechanical work to refinish the original period correct N73 Magnesium wheels. These were a $3000 option back in the day and were fairly rare. I picked up another pair of rears to have a square 18x9.5" setup all the way around. I'll probably end up using these as track wheels only.
_DSC7680 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

[nsogiba]

Stock photo of Pfadt Trans mount vs stocker to hopefully knock down some of the wheel hop

2 mount by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

LS7 Flywheel all degreased and ready to slam in
2 mount by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

While reassembling the T56 I had some trouble lining up the shift rails on the guide pins, as the rails want to walk down when the trans is sitting vertically. Made some Sharpie marks on the rail blocks to be able to peek through the guide pin holes and get an idea of where they were. Worked like a charm.

_DSC7696 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC7697 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Took a break from the monotony to go to Vegas and kick the shit out of some cars. Somehow it rained that day...in Vegas...in the desert...

_DSC7647 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC7654 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC7644 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC7667 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC7661 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr