New Balance and Jean shorts..non typical C5 build

[hinrichs]

Ran out to NJ to grab my seat Tuesday night. Have not been out near Englishtown Raceway in a long time. Took the truck which was kinda dumb, but the seat fit in the back.

IMG-3688 by minthinrich, on Flickr

It did come with a half decent mount that fits a C6. I threw the seat in for a test fit to see where it would land since it wasnt adjustable at all, and if I could make the mount work. Last picture of the stock passenger seat installed.

IMG-3689 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3692 by minthinrich, on Flickr

If I would have thought ahead and ordered seat bolt extenders I probably could have used the mount. I went hunting in the garage and grabbed a set of Sparco side mounts that I had saved from the MK1 Gti I bought. I want to swap them for omp mounts just for a little more adjustment eventually. Decided to just make my own floor mount which came out half decent. I should have made it a little higher up, but it works fine for what I need.

IMG-3695 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Decided to relocate my fire extinguisher down onto the seat mount to give the passenger more knee room. This is temporary until I get another fire system on order and installed. I still need to order a harness for the passenger side, but the carpet is back in and seat is bolted down.

IMG-3696 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3697 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[hinrichs]

More street car stuff. I never liked the way the sub box fit that came with the car. It sounded good but looked dumb. I had this kicker hideaway sitting in the garage for a few years now so I figured why not use it. I was going to put it in the wifes car, but I can use the old sub for that. Got it installed in the rear cubby and it fits perfect under the cover. I will probably pull it out eventually, but I like decent-ish sound when driving it around.

IMG-3668 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3670 by minthinrich, on Flickr

I have been on the fence trying to decide on a passenger seat. After lots and lots of marketplace hunting, I ended up finding exactly what I wanted. Gently used OMP WRC-R. The seat is basically new and gently used. I paid half of what a new seat would be, which was my plan since it really will not have that many passengers. The WRC is basically the same as my seat, just without the head portion. Now to decide on a mount and belt.

IMG-3663 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Threw on some vinyl for internet cred, and also the class numbers for the upcoming race.

IMG-3634 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3626 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[hinrichs]

Cage/Seat/Steering wheel look great. . . so does the passenger door. Driver needs some ingenuity, but shouldn't be too bad to make it all good.

I do plan to do something better this coming winter. I wanted to keep as much of the door card as I could on the driver side, but it was much thicker compared to the passenger side due to the air vent. I plan to make some kind of ABS panel I think, but for now it will work.

I added some padding to the cage and ran out quick. Makes me really wonder how many feet of piping I installed, since 9 ft doesnt even fully cover the driver side lol. I do have more on order so hopefully that shows up fast. This makes me feel better on the street plus it doubles as an arm rest.

IMG-3638 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[white out]

Cage/Seat/Steering wheel look great. . . so does the passenger door. Driver needs some ingenuity, but shouldn't be too bad to make it all good.

[hinrichs]

I still have cage padding to add but the interior is "finished" for now. Someday I will get the dash fitment better, but honestly the side you can see that sticks out has been bad since day 1. Most of the mounting tabs were broken when I pulled it out of the car. I still would like to flock it or something just to see how it turns out. I also threw in the fire extinguisher mount which works fine for now and will pass tech. I will be ordering another onboard system like I had in my E36.

IMG_3617 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Just 2 pics of the driver seat and cage. I have padding coming on Friday to replace some very thick stuff that I bought in error. I should have known better and went to my local shop but whatever. I also was able to get the driver lower dash back in which really made it look finished. I will order a passenger seat next week if I dont end up using my friends Kirkey for this year.

IMG_3618 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG_3619 by minthinrich, on Flickr

I felt really bad doing this, but I wanted some kind of door panel back in the car. I planned to sell them to recoup some money.....but really didnt think anyone would need the grey color my interior actually is. The passenger side I was able to keep a lot of the panel and window switch which worked out well. I still have some minor trimming to perfect the fitment but its very close. Driver side panel fits very different so a lot more got chopped away. In the end with the doors shut it looks very good to me. I did attach the window switch controls and everything works as it should, just harder to get to it.

IMG_3602 by minthinrich, on Flickr
64209288860__50038C9C-A63F-4D16-9975-E1CBF849A82A by minthinrich, on Flickr
64209398855__FF12D555-E8D6-40D0-ABE5-2DA8ACF23BD7 by minthinrich, on Flickr


I drove the car finally yesterday, I will take it out again today and maybe stop for some pics along the way. The alignment is much better but still needs to be checked.

[gnmzl]

Good work on that cage, I like how it blends in with the car. I'm sure you can't wait to drive it

[hinrichs]

Spent a few days welding. It really wasnt all too bad, but I did make one mistake which would have made final welding easier but oh well. If I ever install another one of these I sure know some tricks. The worst part was cutting the rear wheel tubs to get to the main hoop plate. I waited to do this till the end which was dumb, but I was really trying to not cut this part. Nice little window that I closed back up on both sides.

IMG-3564 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Threw on some eastwood extreme chassis black, wish I prepped it better.

IMG-3550 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Still working on fitment, but the trunk/hatch is looking decent now that I got the speaker covers back on.

64125131751--9EEA0F54-E9A5-4B39-8DF2-355ABE1E1EA5 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3570 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Need to make a decision for a passenger seat as well. I am really torn in what to do. My fake OCD says it needs to match close with a WRC-R bucket, but thats not exactly cheap for it to not get used. Either way the stock seat sits very high and now has no seatbelt.

IMG-3566 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[white out]

Nice!

[hinrichs]

So after a lot of cutting, and I mean ALOT, I finally was able to get the cage fit, and all tacked in. The worst part was massaging the windshield frame since this cage fits so tight everywhere for driver fitment. I will get some horror shots if I still can. I have one spot to cut yet but that is for final welding. Here is the full cage fit in the car.

IMG-3497 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3499 by minthinrich, on Flickr

The top does fit on the car as well. Here is before most tubes were added, but you can not see the upper roof bars which makes me happy. I think the "best cage on the east coast builder" has them lower.

IMG-3495 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Last picture I decided to throw in my seat mainly to make sure the extra small rear support fit with my seat. Large/tall drivers do not fit with that extra bar in the car. Good thing for me I have tons of clearance everywhere. I had issues with that in my E36 where no matter where I put the seat, when I tilted my head to the left, I hit the cage. Sure I run padding but its very thin and minimal and it was still too close. It honestly made the car annoying to drive and you felt almost claustrophobic while racing. Right now the corvette feels roomy as can be. I would have loved to put NASCAR style bars in the car, but loosing my windows was not worth it for me. The car seems to be just as easy to get into as before, but there are 2 bars yet to be installed which I will test today.

IMG-3500 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[ThayQi]

Dude you're quite serious about this it seems

Looks awesome, I always had a sweetspot for the C5 Corvette and always love myself a good track-oriented Build! <3

[gnmzl]

Good progress, would love to see the cage installed soon and trim fitted back

[hinrichs]

Spent a few hours over the weekend stripping out the interior to get ready for the cage install. Thought this sticker on the seatbelt was rather funny.

IMG_3474 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Small pile of parts. I will need to install most of it back in to stay in a street class outside of the seats. I do have some exceptions for things that physically can not go back in due to bars from the cage. From what I can tell I should be able to make it look half decent.

63976540835__3B1E0162-3F1B-4DC1-A687-9FE72183BD92 by minthinrich, on Flickr

I still have a little bit of carper in the rear, but Its not really near where the bars land. Also taking dash out was surprisingly easy. The cuts are also very minimal to get it back inside the car

IMG_3476 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG_3477 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[hinrichs]

Jungle gym showed up, hopefully I can start the prep and install next week

63959807638__408CA7B6-D3CB-4222-8887-31653E2F4294 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[SebastienPeek]

Its a lot of cutting, and full weld in.

Ahah a lot of cutting! I'm so pumped for you

[hinrichs]

That new cage is something else! Is it bolt in or weld in?

Either way, solid progress. Looking forward to seeing this rip around!

Its a lot of cutting, and full weld in.