The £7700 Corvette C6
Discussion
Thank you, Spa is such a brilliant place to race at. 
Great tip, I'd thought of fabricating heat shields, but these look good as an off the shelf item. The ball joints are quite wide on the C6, so I might need to widen the hole on these ones. I might order one and see how I go. The dust boots only melted at the Goodwood event, usually on track they're fine, probably dues to a cool down lap or two.
Great tip, I'd thought of fabricating heat shields, but these look good as an off the shelf item. The ball joints are quite wide on the C6, so I might need to widen the hole on these ones. I might order one and see how I go. The dust boots only melted at the Goodwood event, usually on track they're fine, probably dues to a cool down lap or two.
Fishy Dave said:
Hi Nigel,
Good to hear from you sir. I confess I'd forgotten the Coupes had these, were they standard or aftermarket?
Standard, but they almost always got left off when replacing bottom wishbones (which you’ll probably remember were almost a consumable item on Coupes…)Good to hear from you sir. I confess I'd forgotten the Coupes had these, were they standard or aftermarket?
Also, it was very easy to get stones trapped, which made an awful noise, so quite a few owners removed them.
I did the same to my bottom ball joint on my Coupe as you did to yours on your C6 - heat paint on the disc showed I got to somewhere north of 750 degrees on a track day at Bedford. I replaced the shields after that….
Nigel_O said:
Standard, but they almost always got left off when replacing bottom wishbones (which you’ll probably remember were almost a consumable item on Coupes…)
Also, it was very easy to get stones trapped, which made an awful noise, so quite a few owners removed them.
I did the same to my bottom ball joint on my Coupe as you did to yours on your C6 - heat paint on the disc showed I got to somewhere north of 750 degrees on a track day at Bedford. I replaced the shields after that….
Ah yes, I do remember that horrible screeching noise now you mention it. Also, it was very easy to get stones trapped, which made an awful noise, so quite a few owners removed them.
I did the same to my bottom ball joint on my Coupe as you did to yours on your C6 - heat paint on the disc showed I got to somewhere north of 750 degrees on a track day at Bedford. I replaced the shields after that….
Clive was back in action on Sunday, at Knockhill, for the final round of Super Lap Scotland, running in reverse direction. SLS is basically like race qualifying, or Time Attack, with lots of cars on track at once, each trying to set their fastest lap. Much more track time than a sprint, less risk of damage compared to racing.
For the first time I was able to tow the Corvette, having borrowed a trailer and used the T5 camper to tow. The week before had not been good preparation, with a fever preventing a planned geometry set up, an early hours loading, followed by an all-day drive from Wiltshire to Knockhill, arriving at the circuit in the dark and rain.
Loading in the early hours.
I did have a slight detour, to the 'Corvettes at the Lakes' meet, a welcome break for an hour or two.
Next morning, I started with scrutineering and a chance to see what the car weighed. I'd guessed at the same weight as last season, 1544kg with driver and half a tank. It was a good guess, 1550kg on the circuit scales. Thanks to the power increase the headers gave me I was now close to the power to weight limit of class D. The first two sessions were very wet, so I left my road tyres on (newish Yokohama V105), they proved to be brilliant, topping the times in Group 1 (multiple classes), that's against 3 x 4wd cars too.
The forecast was for a drier afternoon, so I swapped onto last seasons Nankang AR-1s. These have done a lot of heat cycles now, but budget wouldn't run to new ones. In fact I still only have a set of three wheels, as I've not replaced the one I cracked a year ago. This is a pain as I keep having to ask (pay) tyre companies to swap a tyre between rims.
I was immediately happy with the set up in dry qualifying, less oversteer now I have the stiffer front spring, in fact I don't think I'll make any more changes to suspension. Once again, Clive was fastest in this session.
So, it was on to the final, where it's one car at a time, with an out lap to warm brakes and tyres, the timed 'Super Lap' and an inlap. It was one of my best final laps, with a little too much oversteer coming up from Duffas Dip, partly due to coldish tyres, but a 56.623 lap was right up there with the best I've achieved before. Looking at the results breakdown it was interesting to see that second place (Honda Civic) was regularly faster than me in the speed traps, showing the Corvette is good under brakes and cornering.
http://www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202022_files...
So, that was a win in class D and trophy for fastest road car too.
Here's the video, with a few slides in the wet to begin with:
I really enjoyed myself, the paddock atmosphere is great, drivers friendly. A couple of them who had bought Clive books came over with their children, for photos, or to sit in the Corvette. Happy and proud.
I broke the journey up on the way home, staying overnight in a quiet layby near Shap. The camper's high pressure fuel pump decided to leak, making the clutch slip, so I have that job to fix next, but it got me home.
ETA on the diff rebuild parts has now slipped a month, to early October, grrrrr.
For the first time I was able to tow the Corvette, having borrowed a trailer and used the T5 camper to tow. The week before had not been good preparation, with a fever preventing a planned geometry set up, an early hours loading, followed by an all-day drive from Wiltshire to Knockhill, arriving at the circuit in the dark and rain.
Loading in the early hours.
I did have a slight detour, to the 'Corvettes at the Lakes' meet, a welcome break for an hour or two.
Next morning, I started with scrutineering and a chance to see what the car weighed. I'd guessed at the same weight as last season, 1544kg with driver and half a tank. It was a good guess, 1550kg on the circuit scales. Thanks to the power increase the headers gave me I was now close to the power to weight limit of class D. The first two sessions were very wet, so I left my road tyres on (newish Yokohama V105), they proved to be brilliant, topping the times in Group 1 (multiple classes), that's against 3 x 4wd cars too.
The forecast was for a drier afternoon, so I swapped onto last seasons Nankang AR-1s. These have done a lot of heat cycles now, but budget wouldn't run to new ones. In fact I still only have a set of three wheels, as I've not replaced the one I cracked a year ago. This is a pain as I keep having to ask (pay) tyre companies to swap a tyre between rims.
I was immediately happy with the set up in dry qualifying, less oversteer now I have the stiffer front spring, in fact I don't think I'll make any more changes to suspension. Once again, Clive was fastest in this session.
So, it was on to the final, where it's one car at a time, with an out lap to warm brakes and tyres, the timed 'Super Lap' and an inlap. It was one of my best final laps, with a little too much oversteer coming up from Duffas Dip, partly due to coldish tyres, but a 56.623 lap was right up there with the best I've achieved before. Looking at the results breakdown it was interesting to see that second place (Honda Civic) was regularly faster than me in the speed traps, showing the Corvette is good under brakes and cornering.
http://www.smart-timing.co.uk/Results%202022_files...
So, that was a win in class D and trophy for fastest road car too.
Here's the video, with a few slides in the wet to begin with:
I really enjoyed myself, the paddock atmosphere is great, drivers friendly. A couple of them who had bought Clive books came over with their children, for photos, or to sit in the Corvette. Happy and proud.
I broke the journey up on the way home, staying overnight in a quiet layby near Shap. The camper's high pressure fuel pump decided to leak, making the clutch slip, so I have that job to fix next, but it got me home.
ETA on the diff rebuild parts has now slipped a month, to early October, grrrrr.
[quote=Fishy Dave]Clive was back in action on Sunday, at Knockhill, for the final round of Super Lap Scotland, running in reverse direction. SLS is basically like race qualifying, or Time Attack, with lots of cars on track at once, each trying to set their fastest lap. Much more track time than a sprint, less risk of damage compared to racing.
So, that was a win in class D and trophy for fastest road car too.
Here's the video, with a few slides in the wet to begin with:
[quote]
Loved the video - plenty of arm-twirling.
But Knockhill anti-clockwise was confusing!
Anyway congratulations on the Class win.
So, that was a win in class D and trophy for fastest road car too.
Here's the video, with a few slides in the wet to begin with:
[quote]
Loved the video - plenty of arm-twirling.
But Knockhill anti-clockwise was confusing!
Anyway congratulations on the Class win.
Mr Tidy]ishy Dave said:
Clive was back in action on Sunday, at Knockhill, for the final round of Super Lap Scotland, running in reverse direction. SLS is basically like race qualifying, or Time Attack, with lots of cars on track at once, each trying to set their fastest lap. Much more track time than a sprint, less risk of damage compared to racing.
So, that was a win in class D and trophy for fastest road car too.
Here's the video, with a few slides in the wet to begin with:
[quote]
Loved the video - plenty of arm-twirling.
But Knockhill anti-clockwise was confusing!
Anyway congratulations on the Class win.
Yes, it's our only chance to drive anti-clockwise in the UK, now that Rockingham is a distant memory. Less twirling than usual, but still enough to be fun. Hoping to tempt you to try it next year for a round? So, that was a win in class D and trophy for fastest road car too.
Here's the video, with a few slides in the wet to begin with:
[quote]
Loved the video - plenty of arm-twirling.
But Knockhill anti-clockwise was confusing!
Anyway congratulations on the Class win.
Cambs_Stuart said:
Always good to see an update and congratulations on the trophy. How did the wheel spacers affect the handling?
Thank you. Honestly, I couldn't tell they were there, although I had to remove the rear spacers to fit the set of wheels fitted with dry weather tyres. The 'pockets' in the back side of the alloys weren't deep enough to accommodate the studs.Fishy Dave said:
Yes, it's our only chance to drive anti-clockwise in the UK, now that Rockingham is a distant memory. Less twirling than usual, but still enough to be fun. Hoping to tempt you to try it next year for a round?
Somehow I don't think so - I'm a bit lacking in budget, bravery and ability! Great result at SLS Dave, well done!
I can totally understand your angst with spacers, it would concern me too. I’ve been meaning to quiz you on your thoughts of a ‘square’ set up which seems popular amongst the amateurs in the USA. I am thinking 18’s all around… Maybe chat next time we cross paths…
That rear brake pad wear rate is shocking, if I didn’t know you better i’d have assumed you’d been lighting up the TC/AH every corner.
I can totally understand your angst with spacers, it would concern me too. I’ve been meaning to quiz you on your thoughts of a ‘square’ set up which seems popular amongst the amateurs in the USA. I am thinking 18’s all around… Maybe chat next time we cross paths…
That rear brake pad wear rate is shocking, if I didn’t know you better i’d have assumed you’d been lighting up the TC/AH every corner.
A belated thanks Ritchie.
I've just seen this for sale: https://www.facebook.com/groups/115393255814480/pe...
£22,000 for an '08 LS3, manual, wide-body, with some choice mods is a great buy. the current exchange rate would mean paying at least an extra £10,000 for a car like this from the States.
I had a small mention in this month's Practical Classics, I can only assume they've seen this thread, as I've not been in touch with anyone?
Clive has barely moved since Knockhill a month ago. The noises and clunking from the diff suggest a breakage is imminent. I have ordered a 12 ton press, so have everything I need to repair the diff, other than the parts themselves. I have two sets on order, one from Summit, the other from Zip, it's a race to see which arrives first.
I've just seen this for sale: https://www.facebook.com/groups/115393255814480/pe...
£22,000 for an '08 LS3, manual, wide-body, with some choice mods is a great buy. the current exchange rate would mean paying at least an extra £10,000 for a car like this from the States.
I had a small mention in this month's Practical Classics, I can only assume they've seen this thread, as I've not been in touch with anyone?
Clive has barely moved since Knockhill a month ago. The noises and clunking from the diff suggest a breakage is imminent. I have ordered a 12 ton press, so have everything I need to repair the diff, other than the parts themselves. I have two sets on order, one from Summit, the other from Zip, it's a race to see which arrives first.
The master diff rebuild kit finally arrived from ZIP Corvette, sadly missing a few parts, but they were quick to apologise and send replacement parts at their cost.
So, out came the diff again, third time this year. I was in a bit of a rush, as I needed to identify what was causing the clunking noise, so that I could source a used, replacement diff in the States.
I quickly found two faults, firstly, every bolt holding the ring gear in place was loose. Not just a little bit, you could turn the bolts by hand, although none of them had backed out thankfully.
The second fault was the large 'nut, holding the pinion in place was dangerously loose, I could turn it by hand, with the only thing stopping the whole thing from falling to bits was the 'stake'.
This nut is supposed to be tightened to 370lbft, with a Kent Moore tool, this is a huge torque and it's clear from the grip marks on the nut that the specialist who rebuilt my diff a few years ago did not have the correct tool, hence it undoing.
Much time was spent checking every bearing and the teeth. Everything looked perfect, therefore, rather than changing bearings and therefore giving myself the considerable headache of learning how to set and check backlash and spacing in a weekend, I chucked everything back together. At least I now have every part I need if I need to go in there again in the future. Ideally, I'd have liked to have replaced the ring gear bolts, which are a fine pitch and have probably stretched. Time was against me, so they were threadlocked and put back in, with new bolts on order.
A mix of Redline lsd and non-lsd synthetic diff oil was put in and within metres it was instantly noticeable that the clonking noise had gone, yes! The reason for adding some non-lsd oil is to experiment with a little more locking effect (less friction modifier).
At short notice, I booked a business trip to the Classic Daytona 24 event, with track day at Sebring the day after. I gave myself a day off too to explore and pick up a few Vette bits.
I used my Hertz gold membership for an upgrade to this Dodge, just the 3.7 V6, but I covered 800 miles over four days and thought it was a nice place to be, although it's 245 rear tyres were easily overwhelmed without really trying.
My club president, Mike Jordan (with son Andrew) was competing in their 911, good to cheer them along.
Nice C3 parked on Daytona Beach
This was the very C7 I saw race at Le Mans back in 2019, very cool, I spent quite a bit of time looking at it up close in the garage.
After a number of meetings I had the opportunity of riding in the pace car for the start of one of the races, a nice experience, in the new Nissan Z car too.
Le Mans winning 956.
Next day I picked up a local set of oem C6 wheels for $250. At last, I'm back to 3 sets of wheels, to replace the part set I was left with when I cracked the wheel at Knockhill last season.
On to Sebring, in time for lunchtime parade laps in the Dodge. A well run Chin track day, the same company I used when I drove my Corvette at COTA those years ago.
I met some nice guys with a trio of track-prepped C6 Z06. I spent a happy 20 minutes being driven round at great pace in an unsilenced, Katech-engined Z06 on slicks, with aero. My neck got a bit of a work out, a brilliant experience.
Ecklers Corvette was en route after a drive up route A1A. The parts counter was pants, the three items I wanted were out of stock and no showroom to see, clearly a large warehouse though.
Back to the Daytona Chevrolet dealer to pick up some parts, diff shims, ring gear bolts, oil filters etc.
Longer ARP wheel studs and Borg rear offset bushings (a set each for me and Mr Noisy)were squirreled away in my suitcase and I headed for home.
Although it looked glamorous, I really did worked hard over those few days, with plenty of meetings. Sadly I came down with a pretty serious case of Flu the day after and it's taken some weeks to recover.
So, out came the diff again, third time this year. I was in a bit of a rush, as I needed to identify what was causing the clunking noise, so that I could source a used, replacement diff in the States.
I quickly found two faults, firstly, every bolt holding the ring gear in place was loose. Not just a little bit, you could turn the bolts by hand, although none of them had backed out thankfully.
The second fault was the large 'nut, holding the pinion in place was dangerously loose, I could turn it by hand, with the only thing stopping the whole thing from falling to bits was the 'stake'.
This nut is supposed to be tightened to 370lbft, with a Kent Moore tool, this is a huge torque and it's clear from the grip marks on the nut that the specialist who rebuilt my diff a few years ago did not have the correct tool, hence it undoing.
Much time was spent checking every bearing and the teeth. Everything looked perfect, therefore, rather than changing bearings and therefore giving myself the considerable headache of learning how to set and check backlash and spacing in a weekend, I chucked everything back together. At least I now have every part I need if I need to go in there again in the future. Ideally, I'd have liked to have replaced the ring gear bolts, which are a fine pitch and have probably stretched. Time was against me, so they were threadlocked and put back in, with new bolts on order.
A mix of Redline lsd and non-lsd synthetic diff oil was put in and within metres it was instantly noticeable that the clonking noise had gone, yes! The reason for adding some non-lsd oil is to experiment with a little more locking effect (less friction modifier).
At short notice, I booked a business trip to the Classic Daytona 24 event, with track day at Sebring the day after. I gave myself a day off too to explore and pick up a few Vette bits.
I used my Hertz gold membership for an upgrade to this Dodge, just the 3.7 V6, but I covered 800 miles over four days and thought it was a nice place to be, although it's 245 rear tyres were easily overwhelmed without really trying.
My club president, Mike Jordan (with son Andrew) was competing in their 911, good to cheer them along.
Nice C3 parked on Daytona Beach
This was the very C7 I saw race at Le Mans back in 2019, very cool, I spent quite a bit of time looking at it up close in the garage.
After a number of meetings I had the opportunity of riding in the pace car for the start of one of the races, a nice experience, in the new Nissan Z car too.
Le Mans winning 956.
Next day I picked up a local set of oem C6 wheels for $250. At last, I'm back to 3 sets of wheels, to replace the part set I was left with when I cracked the wheel at Knockhill last season.
On to Sebring, in time for lunchtime parade laps in the Dodge.
A well run Chin track day, the same company I used when I drove my Corvette at COTA those years ago.I met some nice guys with a trio of track-prepped C6 Z06. I spent a happy 20 minutes being driven round at great pace in an unsilenced, Katech-engined Z06 on slicks, with aero. My neck got a bit of a work out, a brilliant experience.
Ecklers Corvette was en route after a drive up route A1A. The parts counter was pants, the three items I wanted were out of stock and no showroom to see, clearly a large warehouse though.
Back to the Daytona Chevrolet dealer to pick up some parts, diff shims, ring gear bolts, oil filters etc.
Longer ARP wheel studs and Borg rear offset bushings (a set each for me and Mr Noisy)were squirreled away in my suitcase and I headed for home.
Although it looked glamorous, I really did worked hard over those few days, with plenty of meetings. Sadly I came down with a pretty serious case of Flu the day after and it's taken some weeks to recover.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Tuesday 29th November 09:12
Amazing thread, just read through all 23 pages over the last couple of days. Fantastic story and so happy to see you’re still enjoying the car in spite of the mileage that so many others would turn their noses up at.
I bought my current car with 145,000 miles on it sight unseen, wasn’t quite as far away as yours but the car was in Orkney and I’m in the North of England, so reading your thread brought back some familiar feelings, but mine was an 8 hour drive as opposed to a transatlantic flight!
I’m glad there are people out there like me who don’t just write performance cars off as potential purchases due to high miles. People who put cars like this on a pedestal and don’t use them for fear of diminishing their value are not my type of people.
My car is also LS engined, so your thread fills me with hope for many many miles of low fuss motoring to come! Especially given that you’re on track so often too and all the wear and tear that comes with that use/abuse. Fantastic stuff.
I bought my current car with 145,000 miles on it sight unseen, wasn’t quite as far away as yours but the car was in Orkney and I’m in the North of England, so reading your thread brought back some familiar feelings, but mine was an 8 hour drive as opposed to a transatlantic flight!
I’m glad there are people out there like me who don’t just write performance cars off as potential purchases due to high miles. People who put cars like this on a pedestal and don’t use them for fear of diminishing their value are not my type of people.
My car is also LS engined, so your thread fills me with hope for many many miles of low fuss motoring to come! Especially given that you’re on track so often too and all the wear and tear that comes with that use/abuse. Fantastic stuff.
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