Page 1; General pics,
Page 2; Misc pics,

Updates:

03/13/12: Since the weather is so unexpectedly pleasant, I reinstated full coverage insurance on it, effective Wednesday, and I plan to drive it to work this week.

11/01/11: Enjoyed it all summer and have now put it in storage for the winter. I plan to get it out again on April 1st (weather permitting).

04/28/11: Just got the M12 tranny installed.

1/31/11: Just purchased a lightly used M12 (Z06) trans. This transmission was completely rebuilt by Rockland Standard Gear with REM micropolished gears, steel 3-4 gear shifter fork, carbon fiber synchros, and hardened input shaft...Should be installed as soon as the weather breaks...

The M12 trans ratios are 2.97, 2.07, 1.43, 1.00, 0.84, 0.56 versus the stock values of 2.66, 1.78, 1.30, 1.00, 0.74, 0.50

10/19/10: The Corvette will shortly be stored for the winter. Hopefully I can source a trans during the winter and have it installed in the spring.

9/25/09: Just got a set of '01 Z06 wheels (Alcoa forged wheels). These wheels are an inch wider than stock (9.5" front, & 10.5" rear).  I also plan to install a set of Nitto NT05 tires on them (275/40R17 front & 295/35R18 rear). These will complement the 4.10 rear end that (God willing) I plan to have installed in the spring...

Pics with the new wheels & tires:

Background:

I bought this (my first Corvette) in the summer of 2007 from an Indiana State Trooper with 112 thousand miles on the clock. It had a several previous owners, and started out as a corporate lease vehicle, but was in very nice condition.

History of the FRC....

The hardtop (FRC: Fixed Roof Coupe) debuted in 1999. Of the thirty-three thousand Corvettes made that year, four thousand were hardtops. The standard features of the hardtop were a Tremec T56 (6 speed) manual transmission, Z51 suspension, power steering cooler, and a 3.42 rear end.

 The hardtop is similar to a convertible, except that it has a fixed roof. It retains all of the chassis braces used in the convertible, as well as the top bow used in the targa version so as a result it is 12% stiffer than the other body styles, as well as being 80lbs lighter (the 80lbs is primarily due to the lack of the coupe's rear hatch glass).

These differences resulted in the FRC being the favored body style for hardcore racers, although the less fanatic enjoy the FRC due to the uniqueness of the body style..Being of the former and also of the latter group, I think that the FRC is one of the most attractive Corvettes to date..

While it's true that the FRC was the value leader (i.e. cheaper) compared to a base coupe, it's also true that they are the rarest C5 (only 9% of all vettes made in '99 & '00 were FRC's), so resale values vary according to one's perspective ..

The only performance option for the '99 FRC was the RPO JL4 Active Handling System . Also available was a power driver's seat, and quad speaker sound system. No other options were available until late '99 when GM discovered they weren't selling as well as they had hoped. At that point the FRC was offered with most of the same options that could be had with the other bodystyles. All '99 FRCs had black interiors.

The FRC becomes the ZO6 in 2001:

In 2001 the hardtop was replaced by the Z06; below is a list of the changes (courtesy of Jake Latham).  

·   Addition of rear brake ducts

·   -Screened inlets on front fascia, & no fog lights

·   -Wider tires; 265/17 front, 295/18 rear, on 17x9.5 & 18x10.5 rims (one inch wider, front & rear, than the standard C5 wheels).

·   -Better flowing LS6 (243) heads 

·   -LS6 cam (0.525/0.525, 204/211 on 116) - 385hp (2001) 405hp (2002+) 

·   -MN12 transmission with shorter gearing (1st thru 3rd comparable to a standard vette 6 speed with a 3.90 rear differential

·   -Titanium exhaust system

·   -Lightened windshield glass

·   -New, stronger clutch & improved master/slave cylinder

·   -Stronger rear differential (shotpeened ring gear)

·   -Red brake calipers (otherwise identical)

·   -Trans overtemp warning light on instrument panel display

·   -Gages with special checkering, 6500 redline & Z06 font

·   -Redesigned PCV system to help combat oil burning

·   -Red LS6 Fuel Rail Covers

·   -FE4 Z06 suspension - uprated springs, bars (30mm/23.6mm), shocks (note front spring and rear bar same as Z51)

Improvements:

Power:
-OEM Z06 Titanium exhaust

-Throttle body coolant bypass

-"Flip Tie" cold air intake

-LS6 Intake manifold

-160°F Thermostat

-OEM 28.8# injectors

-1 3/4" long tube headers

-Wideband dyno tune

-Saikou Michi dual catch can

Suspension:
-Bilstein Sport shocks
-Updated OEM Z51 28.6/23.6mm swaybars
-Polyurethane sway bar bushings
-Aluminum swaybar endlinks

Maintenance:
-OEM GMPP spark plug wires
-NGK TR55IX spark plugs
-Hawk HPS brake pads
-ATE PremiumOne slotted rotors

Esthetics:

-Painted brake calipers

 -OEM 2001 Z06 wheels (Alcoa forged).
-Lowered a half an inch
-Painted the lower portion of the rear fascia satin black

Transmission:
-OEM C6Z06 shifter/knob assembly
-M12 transmission

Performance:

After the longtubes and LS6 intake maniofold/wideband dyno tune, I had it dynoed. It put down 326 hp and 338tq. Thats approximately 384hp and 398 ft lbs at the crank. This amounts to a 40hp/50ft lb increase...It's a more than satisfactory increase for bolt ons...Below is a pic of the dyno run.

Electronics:

When my fobs and pressure sensors began to give me trouble, since the keyless and the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) use the same receiver I decided to converte the 97-99 keyless entry and TPMS to the system used in the 01-04 Corvette. This involved the replacement of both fobs, the TPMS/keyless receiver and the TPMS sensors in the wheels. Interestingly, converting the entire system using used parts cost less than two replacement 97-99 fobs.

Here's a couple of pics after lowering.

Here is my time slip from 10/31/09.

Here is a video of this run:

A few pictures of the Z06 Titanium exhaust and of the longtube header installation: