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

[nsogiba]

Another pull off

_DSC5266 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5267 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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By now we were really climbing in elevation, and the microclimate changed - tons of fog! These pictures were taken just 2 minutes after the ones above.

_DSC5271 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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We started our descent out of the clouds and promptly got stuck behind a sightseeing F150. I took it as a hint to back off and let the brakes cool off and I'd occasionally get a whiff during a slower hairpin. Overall, a very involved, fun, higher speed road. Very few other enthusiast cars, but I was grateful for this. I will have to get the video uploaded soon (more gopro footage).

After realizing that Tellico Plains didn't have much to offer in the way of lunch, we hit the road right away westbound towards Nashville.

_DSC5277 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

More gas. 28.5 mpg on the highway, average speeds 80-90 mph.

_DSC5278 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

More filth accumulating on the car.
_DSC5279 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

We arrived in Nashville and checked into our hotel, which had an attached parking garage - not cheap at $27 a night, but well worth the peace of mind. I was able to secure a nice corner spot and let the car cool off for the evening. It had seen a hell of a workout all day and had not yet skipped a beat.

photo 4 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Wife and I went to the Peg Leg Porker for dinner and walked around town to stretch our legs after sitting in the car nonstop for 2 days. On our travels we encountered a small foreign car shop that had some nice machinery outside. As a former BMW owner and still an enthusiast, these two caught my eye:

Technoviolet E36 M3 with LTW spoiler

photo 2 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

E39 540i M-Sport (rare car). I owned an LS powered E39 540i, so these will always have a special place with me.

photo 3 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Finally we settled down at a couple bars and saw some fantastic live music, enjoyed some good drinks, and called it a night. I was too exhausted to document any of the nightlife and just enjoyed the sights and sounds, followed by a great night's sleep.

[nsogiba]

Finally at the bottom of the hill in Robbinsville, took some time to relax, pull footage off the GoPro to make room on the SD card, and eat something

_DSC5250 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Nice and filthy. Eat that, show and shine guys

_DSC5251 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Turned the GoPro back on and finally hit Cherohala Skyway. Much higher speeds, bigger overall elevation changes, and better views! We ran from Robbinsville to Tellico Plains.

_DSC5252 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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Hit a solid 70-80 mph on some longer straights, loved the tight sweeping turns.

_DSC5264 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5265 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

[nsogiba]

Just now getting around to posting about my trip. It has been a busy couple weeks, but here we go!

I had been planning this trip for about 6 months, and it was the best road trip I have ever done. The route:

map1 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Planned stops included Tail of the Dragon (Deal's Gap), Cherohala Skyway, Nashville and its various attractions, Corvette Museum, and Corvette Motorsports Park in Bowling Green. The rest was just "play it by ear".

Wednesday July 6th:

Left work at noon, picked up the wife from her job downtown Buffalo, and we hit the road. Honestly, the trip down to Knoxville was fairly uneventful - the further south we got, the more speeds picked up and the better the scenery got.

We stopped for lunch at the famous Chik Fil A chain of restaurants. I wasn't expecting much from a fast food joint, but I was pleasantly surprised at the friendly service, delicious food, and nice atmosphere. Somewhere near the PA/Ohio Border:

photo 1 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

The rest of the trip down to Knoxville went quickly. Kentucky was a blast - long, rolling hills, and cruising at 90-100mph with many other cars for hours at a time. By the time the sun set we were into Tennessee and it had started to rain. Finally arrived to our hotel in Knoxville and passed out.

Thursday July 7th:

The next morning I woke up very disappointed to find that it had rained hard all night. However, I decided to try my luck on the Dragon anyways, so I left Active Handling on and had a quick drive over to the beginning of Deal's Gap/Tail of the Dragon.

Pulled over for some pics by the dam:

_DSC5207 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5208 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5209 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I guess that's why they call them the Smokey Mountains.
_DSC5210 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Stopped at the first overlook:

_DSC5211 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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_DSC5215 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

The scenery was amazing out here. And so quiet, too

_DSC5216 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Elevation change from the dam we just saw

_DSC5217 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5218 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Getting a better view.
_DSC5219 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5220 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Some local culture.

_DSC5221 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5222 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

From there I fired up the GoPro, strapped in, and did the Dragon loop. Great drive, the C5 handled it well. Chassis felt smooth and balanced. Despite keeping it generally under 50mph due to the rain, I was still hit with a great sensation of speed through the turns. The switchbacks and huge elevation changes in the middle of the turn were the most entertaining.
I have the gopro video file on my other computer, will need to post it up here.

Pulled over again for pictures at the TN/NC border.

_DSC5230 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Entering NC

_DSC5228 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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Wife enjoyed the ride, for the most part.
_DSC5226 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Down at the other end of the loop, at the "touristy" section

_DSC5234 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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Throughout my drive on the Dragon I saw mostly Harleys and cruisers. No sportbikes, probably due to the weather. Two wackjobs in stickered up Mini Coopers hauling ass going the other way, and the occasional minivan. The crappy weather worked well in that I was never held up by a slower vehicle in front of me.

A few cars passing us on their way to start a run:

_DSC5239 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5241 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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Someone else has good taste! Black C5

_DSC5249 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Getting ready to hit the road again

_DSC5247 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

[nsogiba]

Damn man you are restoring that thing, you changed a bunch of broken pixels to a bunch of broken parts... Are you going to turn into one of those fat bald old man driving a C10 corvette? being a purist and everything?

with love
Goodbye from the other forum

Not so much of a restoration as it is just fixing broken shit so I can really thrash on the car and not worry about it breaking.

I am not a purist by any means. I learned a while ago that life is too short to stick to one chassis, generation after generation, because you "are a die hard Chevy/Vette/BMW/Honda/whatever" guy. If the car looks, sounds, and drives in a way that gives me a chubby, I am in.

[LCG]

Damn man you are restoring that thing, you changed a bunch of broken pixels to a bunch of broken parts... Are you going to turn into one of those fat bald old man driving a C10 corvette? being a purist and everything?

with love
Goodbye from the other forum

[nsogiba]

Still no dice on the noise - so the list of “while I’m in there” continued. C6 Z06 shocks at all 4 corners. Definitely necessary since the old shocks were 16 years old, 110K on them. The shock mounts themselves were also worn, and included with the new stuff. At just $250 for all 4 new shocks, why not? I also dusted off my old “nifty fifty” 50mm 1.8 fixed lens!

_DSC5187 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Old units out, front mounts.

_DSC5173 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5181 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Oddly enough the C6 top mounts were different, slightly angled, and they didn’t fit the C5 chassis, so I swapped the C5 mounts over onto the C6Z shocks.

_DSC5188 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Rest of the shock install went quick and easy. Next up, while looking over the front suspension, I had noticed the belts were looking sad. Out they came

_DSC5184 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

New parts. I used Goodyear Gatorback belts on my 6.0 LS BMW with great luck, but I couldn’t find them for a C5 application on any website. Some closer looks on Rockauto revealed that Continental listed some belts that had that telltalle cross hatch pattern on the belt ribs. Decided to pull the trigger

_DSC5198 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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I wasn’t expecting to have to replace the idler and tensioner pulleys but they were worn - and the bearings were noisy. Quick trip to the store for some new parts:

_DSC5200 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

After allllll that stuff, I finally tested out a theory - that the fiberglass front spring was binding on the aluminum control arm after the front leaf spring bolts had been removed. An old tire sacrificed its life and offered some insulating material. Cutoff wheel + tire means ultimate smokeshow!

_DSC5194 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

So I compressed the spring on each side, greased up the side that contacted the spring, and slid it in. SUCCESS! Noise fixed. The spring now moves freely with no binding against the control arms.

Next up: passenger window regulator, LMC5 install, and S2000 seat mounting revision.

[nsogiba]

I did not want to alter the factory paint work if I didn’t need to, so out came the wet sanding supplies, clay, compound, and polish…

Popped the headphones in, cracked a fine cold PBR, and GOT TO IT

_DSC5158 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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Nice and glassy!

_DSC5162 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr





So with the exterior looking better again, I turned to this annoying clunk in the front end that had been bothering me. It occurred when the wheel was turned - and with the suspension getting loaded/unloaded.

I had already replaced the sway bar end links front and rear, so the search continued. Found that the sway bar bracket bushings were looking sorry and original

_DSC5164 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5166 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5168 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

New parts - polyurethane Energy Suspension pieces - teflon tape to prevent squeaks

_DSC5170 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

_DSC5172 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

The new bushings fit great and compressed nicely with the bracket torqued down. I also added the supplied grease to make sure things were lubed up.

_DSC5171 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

[nsogiba]

Been busy the last couple weeks, getting ready for my trip down to Tail of the Dragon, Nashville, National Corvette Musuem.

C6 wheels in the rear always looked sunk in due to offset, so I grabbed some 1” hubcentric spacers and got them bolted up.

_DSC5142 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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The unthreaded bullnose tips on the factory studs needed to be trimmed as they were interfering with the insides of the wheels. Sick colors bro

_DSC5147 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Got everything all bolted up, no vibrations, rode perfect. Squeezed in an oil change too, 2nd one since buying the car.

_DSC5144 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Next day at work - kid in a Buick sideswiped me as I was leaving work. Right as I had got the front bumper fixed, too.



Luckily, the damage was fairly superficial…we settled without a claim, as I was confident I could get it looking exactly as before, if not better. BEFORE:

_DSC5150 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

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[C2_mad]

the seats look like they belong there.... good call

[white out]

The S2000 seat fits the FRC very well.

[LCG]

I missed the seat update... how? They look WAY nicer, neat idea!

[nsogiba]

I have been chasing a noise in the front end for a few weeks now - a creaking/clunking at slow speeds when turning, loading and unloading the suspension in the front right. Already changed the front sway bar end links and made sure all control arm bolts were tight, and it persists, so I placed an order for some polyurethane Energy Suspension front sway bar bushings as the current ones are probably original and look like they have some slop in them. Also snagged C6 Z06 shocks for all 4 corners, a new window regulator for the passenger side, and some new drive belts just for good measure. Will document my install.

The S2000 seat has been fantastic, but it's mounted slightly too high and needs to be reclined a bit more to be really comfortable - so I picked up a set of aftermarket universal C5 seat brackets that I will weld to the S2000 rails. They have the incline built in, will bolt up to the C5 floor, and sit a lot lower than my custom stuff.



I want to get all this done before my 4th of July trip down to Nashville, so the clock is ticking.

[nsogiba]

S2000 rails are 17-3/8" wide on center, C5 rails are 14-1/4" on center. with the S2000 seat fully pushed back against the rear tunnel wall, the rails rub against both sides. it fits, but barely. I finished up this install tonight and am loving it.

[reiernumans]

Are the S2000 seat rails that wide? Looks like quite the project! The seats still look extremely comfortable though, can't wait to see the finished install.

[hinrichs]

Wow thats such an improvement, never thought corvette seats were the best looking.