Ok. Here's the deal. Currently I own a 97 Honda Prelude, nice car but lacking some power that I would like to see. I'm 25 in St. Louis, MO. This is the perfect time in my life to own a Vette, and have a bit of fun before having kids.

I would like to know a few things before I pull the trigger on any purchase though. Anyone from the midwest or a varying climate city, could you tell me how feasible it would be to make a C5 a dd? Or should I expect that in cold weather/light snow that I will NEED something else?

Also, is there anything in particular that I should look out for when shopping around? Any particular parts succeptible to failure, etc...
I have in my possession the C5 buyers guide from Grassroots Motorsports, and have a bit of knowledge, just looking to expand and hopefully purchase.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
CG

 

Well first of all I think making the switch would be definately in the right direction. I take it, your looking at the C5? 97 - 04? maybe.
It's a whole different class of car altogether
All I can say about being a daily driver is it's probably just a better idea to have a beater so you can use that during the winter months. Are you talking much snow and ice?
I really don't think putting chains on the Vette would be a good idea, not to mention what these conditions can and will do to the car.
As far as issues with them, sure there are some minor problems....the fuel gauge problem on the earlier ones (97 - 98). I would just say use some good gas and a one with a high octane. The problem exists because of sulfur buildup on the sensor. And than there is the issue of the dimming dash display in the Hvac unit...pretty easy fix though, and if your familiar with Ebay, there is a guy selling the units on there at a very reasonable cost, and he does good work. There will always be an issue here and there, but overall depending on your driving style and conditions as far as maint. goes I think you'll be very happy.
There is what we call however, The Corvette tax....and seems like everything is going to be higher compared to other vehicles. Overall I would say you'll be happy with the switch

 

Hummm?
I live in St Louis also. This is the perfect time for me to own a vette
and have a bit of fun now that the kids are grown! (I'm 53) I just
bought a 97 vette and I do have it as an everyday driver. I get some
weird looks as I drive around in the rain AND snow. I did a LOT of
legwork and looked at many of them. Found one at Schroeder motors in st
Charles. It's still new and my first so I don't have much info on parts and repairs.
It sounds like you are doing you homework. Let me know how it goes.
Good luck looking.
Joe

 

I had a Prelude of that vintage (can't remember exactly, '96 or 98, VTEC - nice car). The vette will feel all of: immensely more powerful, particularly more torquey, . . . heavier and requiring more deliberate, strong inputs, and not quite as well screwed together on the inside. It will be less costly to maintain in the long run, get you a lot more challenges for street races, provide more satsifaction in "having it your way" on the street, but ultimately lead to a much stronger desire to "mod" it rather than leave it alone, than you had before.

 

Lee's right...Big difference. Go for it.

 

Drivin' a Vette in the snow?
Let me put it like this,........
I see people, after every snow storm, off in the ditch, sittin' in a 40g 4x4!
I have seen people with nearly bald tires, go forever and not get in trouble!
How you drive will determine your success.

I recommend, as others here, that you take care of your Vette, and leave 'er home whenit snows. Your paint and undercarrage will look better, last longer, and you don't run the chance of somebody in a 40g 4x4 runnin' into your Vette!

Enjoy your search, 'cause when you get your Vette, you'll be so danged excited that you'll forget the "lookin' for" part!

 

Thanks for the info...

Just wondering though, as far as a "Vette Tax" are you referring to the upgrade on the price of pretty much everything, or are you referring to some sort of tax that is paid out on vehicles which consume more fuel and expell more emissions.

St. Louis isn't really that bad for snow and such. Plus the future mrs has a 2000 Civic that would be great for me to run around in the snow in :P

Just because I can't seem to locate this information very easily, how much gain could I expect out of I/H/E mods? I expect that this should be proportionate to the amount of HP it is putting to the ground, in other words the gains should be much larger than what I see now.

I still have yet to go out and really get behind the wheel of one of these, to really see if I should do it or not, but as far as the build quality... should I expect that it is assembled much like any other domestic vehicle, or can I expect that these are really well laid out and solid as far as the interior are concerned?

Also, I have read that the suspension in these cars are very tuneable. Has anyone here corner weighted the stock suspension? Or is it recommended to upgrade?

Once again thanks for the info. I am now leaning towards unmodding the Prelude and using that money to pick up a vette and keep the Lude for a winter car seeing as how it has over 112k miles on it and still handles fine in the snow. I will just need to get the lowering springs off of it otherwise, it will become more of a plow than a car.

 

The "Vette tax", is a higher price put on parts just because it says "Corvette " on them.[&o]
There are a lot of suspension options available. The system I have is available for C3's and C4's.

 

How much gain could I expect out of I/H/E mods?
Real no-BS gains are much less than manufacturers will claim. These are my experieince from dyno tests, all RWHP. Stock C5 has about 305-310 RWHP (M6).
iCAGS (interrupt computer assisted gear shift - a $29 dollar device that kills that annoyingforced 1 to 4 shift on the 6 speed that is built in at the factory, without alerting the car's computer. Best mod you can make (the car you buy may have this if its not brand new).
Stock engine, re-tuning (reprogramm ECM)it right to the A/F limit for premium fuel only by someone who knows what he/she is doing - maybe 5-8 RWHP.
Cat-back exhaust - really does not matter which one - 5 - 10 HP
Cold air induction: simple ones (Blackwing) - 3-5 HP;
more expensive and complicated to install ducted
ones (Vararam) - 10-15 HP depending on weather, driving
LS6 intake on standard early C5 - 4 HP
FAST intake on standard early C5 - 8 HP, on later model with LS6 --4 HP
Removing the cats - nothing on a stock engine
Long tube headers with oversize cats - 20 - 35 HP (LS engines really like good long tube headers)
1.8:1 ratio rocker arms (I don't recommend this but it's cheap and effective) - 12-20 HP depending on other mods. Just realize you can't go with a cam later without changing back and on a tired engine you run the risk of dropping a valve.

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build quality... should I expect that it is assembled much like any other domestic vehicle, or can I expect that these are really well laid out and solid as far as the interior are concerned?

Overall quality is better than a Camaro, but frankly, not as good as a Honda, but in some ways I think the design is better - a bit more elegant and pragmatic in places.
The interioris a bit "Fisher Price": big chunks of molded plastic that sort of fit okay, but big gaps. I've had lots of wear and tear show on mine with only 4 years and 15,000 miles, although in fairness we've done a lot of work sitting in/disassembling the interior now and then. I've had three plastic parts break/crack with no really extreme abuse. Body work is good, suspension and so forth is really pretty good -- not Porsche quality but good. Electrics can be iffy - some folks have lots of problems and others have none. Avoid buying the first year or two of any series (C5, C6) and the electric problems seem to be greatly reduced.


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Also, I have read that the suspension in these cars are very tuneable. Has anyone here corner weighted the stock suspension? Or is it recommended to upgrade?

Suspension: I've weighed each corner on mine. Stock C5s and C6s are fairly balanced. A good trick is to move the battery to the trunk (Lingenfelter has a great kit). This moves about 1% plus from the front to the rear, really changing the ratio. The suspensions are adjustable to a great extent, particularly ride height, so don't buy aftermarket parts 'til you play with it. If you plan to mod the car much, buy the full three volume service manula (Ecklers has it).
Also, buy a set of lifting pucks (rubber hockey puck type things that snap into the underbody for jacking, lifts, etc.

 

Hi, I am putting a modified 56 Chevy truck body on a C5 corvette chassis. I am currently building the frame rails, I need to know the distance from the center of the leaf springs to the floor on a stock C5, so I can get the truck to ride at the height I want.