howdy,
i am in need of some help in choosing what to do next.
first a little history to set the stage . . .

this whole ball of wax started at age 35, with the arrival of the third baby, and an early onset midlife crisis
that, and the pictures of the new c5 camaro.

pretty quickly i decided ~2-2.5 years was too long to wait for something fun and fast.
i banged my head on the GTO's a pillar, and don't like the Chargers . . . so i bought a mustang. it HAD to have a backseat.

'07 GT, 5 speed. 4.6L., which has snowballed as follows:
~5k in suspension, ~9k in a built, forged, stroked long-block with cams, and P&P heads, 7.5k into the twin turbos which are being sent in 32 days.
i envision a cage, a built rear-end, and T-6060 6 speed tranny.

had i known how things were going to go , i would have done things differently, (at least by starting with a USED platform, instead of new).

so what does that have to do with us now, here?

i am starting to anticipate what the next car will be, and may need to make some decisions soon.
i currently have an opening to buy a new, custom ordered Shelby GT-500 AT msrp, but have to move quickly, (i.e. this week)
if i stick with the gt-500, it too will get suspension mods, and either upgrade to a twin screw supercharger, or maybe even switch to twin turbos, as well.

if i do not stick with stangs, then i may have more time to choose my vette.
the second car does not require a back seat.

there is, however, a time sensitive vette available:
2003 C-5, Z06. it has 30k miles on the car, and 250 miles on a new Z06 5.7L crate engine,
(it was reportedly a company car, and threw a valve, and had been babied by a 55 y.o. GM exec.)
asking $33.5k, but he already volunteered it'll come down when the time comes.

this would be a rare opportunity to get a vette with such a new engine
i am not sure how important this is?
i am always suspicious of a previous owner having beaten the snot out of a car, and worry about getting a lemon
(which is why i tend to buy new, and keep a long time)

i envision twin turbos on the vette as well.
so . . .
which vette to go with?
looking at compression ratios and displacements which would best lend itself to twin turbos?
do the zo6 engines (either the '03 5.7 liter, or the new '07+ LS7's) have too high of compression ratios?
thus making a C6 the better choice?

looking at displacement : 5.7 vs 6.0, vs 7.0 liters . . .
the extra displacement sure makes a diference when naturally aspirated , but . . .
after the turbos go on, to what degree does that level the playing field?

the '03 Z06 is putting out 405hp, which is about the same as the '07+ C6 with the tiny extra bit of displacement.
is either more suited to twin turbos than the other?

longwinded, i know;
thanks to those who endeavored to persevere,
doc

 

oops
forgot to subscribe for replies

 

It sounds like you like to modify the car, so I would suggest avoiding the GT500, it has been pretty well tweaked already, and there probably is not a lot more to get withoug risking a big bang. The current ZO6 may be a bit of the same thing, already a bit stressed. I would suggest a stock 05-07 C6, at 400 HP you probably can bring it up to 550 or so without having it blow up, and this will satisfy your need to tnker with the car. If you really wanted to have a car just to drive, I would suggest other choices, such as a stock 08 C6 with the exhaust option, I think this gives 435 hp, more than you really need, or the 500 hp ZO6, even more still but the ZO6 will not respond so well to tinkering.

 

03 z06 i voted just bc i have one lol

 

Everything tells me to go with the 2003. I think 30K is a better deal though!