1996 CORVETTE LT1 Z51
Castrol GTX Video Entry:
Castrol GTX Picture Contest:
Shell Picture Contest:
Cleaned and Waxed the Vette (03-13-09)! Look at that Shine and Reflection! (the pics dont do justice!!) To this day (May 5th) I have not had to wax the car! Just clean it!
A few days after I worked so hard cleaning and waxing my Vette, guess what... just my luck
Look at the size of thoes tires!!!
Words of advice: I was forced to use my Vette the few days we had snow and it was not fun. On the wet street it is fine (a lot of grip because of the huge tires), but on the snow, it is very slippery. A nice feature that helped big time is the Acceleration Slip Regulation (ASR)! Every time the tires lost grip the car would give itself less gas and brake accordingly so I would not slide and lose control. It is a GREAT feature. You can feel it working, but it also lets you know if it is on by coming up in the information center. You can also shut it off if you get stuck, so you can spin the rear tires. Its a great piece of engineering!
Below are the pics of the car the day I got it! It took me a good month to get use to the sight of the Vette in the garage!
I am the luckiest kid in the world! My new Vette is awesome, and I am pumped to drive it around!
It is in great condition with 67K miles. Never seen rain or any sort of bad weather (until now unfortunately ).
Just cleaned and waxed it because it was nice out. The hardest part was getting the hose defrosted. The inside was a block of ice! I'm glad I took advantage of the nice weather, but have to wait for the salt to wash off the road. Normally the roads are black not white!
I cleaned out the car the day I got it and had to find the coins that were ratteling in the car. Well I did and was surprised because they were 1996 Quarters, so for good luck I put it in the change holder!
Interior
Corvette enthusiasts explain how this is the last year that the Corvette was designed as a true sports car (new ones are more of a luxury sports car). Part of the reason is the Interior!
When you get in the car, you really get in the car! You sit in the car like a fighter pilot sits in a jet! I have never sat in anything like this car (and I have test driven 20 sport cars when shopping for the right car), its truly something special!
Not only is the way you sit in the car special, but the cockpit itself is amazing! The designers truly designed this as a drivers sports car.
Specifications:
Head Room-----------------36.5in
Leg Room------------------42.0in
Shoulder Room------------53.9in
Hip Room------------------50.8in
Cargo Room--------------12.6 cu/ft
Take a look at this Dash! It combines the best of digital and analogue gauges.
This car is a special order car with interior options including climate control, 6 way power seats, C/D and casette am/fm radio with power antenna, and two tone interior package!
Climate control above/radio below
Driver and Passenger Power Seat Controls
Now, you want the open air feel of a convertable, but the quietness and body stiffness of a coupe, so...
Corvette put the best of both worlds with a removeable clear hard top!
I love to just go in my garrage and just sit in the car. The interior is just so nice!
The Trunk One of the Bose Speakers
There is no glove box so the arm rest is a pretty nice storage space which also houses the rear hatch release.
Exterior
Torch Red
Specifications:
Wheelbase-----------------96.2in
Length (overall)-----------178.5in
Width (overall)------------70.7in
Height (overall)------------46.3in
Tread (front)---------------57.7in
Tread (rear)---------------59.1in
Ground Clearance---------4.2in
Front Overhang------------41.6in
Rear Overhang------------40.7in
Normal Oil Temp----------190F-210F
Normal Coolant Temp----190F-210F
All 4 wheels are super clean and have pleanty of tread!
Front and Rear Tires: 275/40/17 (that means 10.8 in wide!)
Performance
LT1
Took the intake out to check the filter and clean!
Air intake
As you can see, the screen over the mass airflow sensor straightens out the air currents to get an accurate reading. This is looking from the back by the throttle body.
Pretty Clean for a 96 I would say!
Some Figures:
Rated at: 300Hp @ 5000rpm and 340 Ft/lbs of torque@ 4000rpm
If this engine was rated back in the 1970s it would produce over 400hp which is more than the LT1 from back then! Thats how it got its name!
10.5:1 Compression Ratio
Iron Block
Cast Aluminum Cylinder Heads
Hydraulic Lifters
Bore and Stroke (inches) 4.0 X 3.48
Chain Driven Camshaft
12V Opti-spark ignition system
Reverse Flow Cooling System (allows coolant to hit the cylinder walls first to provide cooling to the more important parts first)
Coolant Capacity: 14.8 Quarts
Oil Capacity: 5 Quarts Special Synthetic
Gas Tank: 20 Gallons
MPG: 15 city / 27 highway
My MPG: 20 50% city/highway
Security
With such a nice car, you need a nice security system to protect it.
The ignition key has a resistor chip, so the only key that will work is mine. If someone puts a forien key in the car, the car will shut down power completely for 3 min.
The car came with only one set of keys, and getting spares is tough. I found a website: Streetkeys.com, and they have the keys cheap. They also shipped free and fast (2 days). I recommend them to anyone!
So I got 2 ignition keys and 2 door keys and had to find a place to cut them. Forget Home Depot, they were useless. So I went to NAPA and they cut all the keys for $6. They fit perfect. NAPA is great, and made my day!
The Chevy Dealer wanted $27 a key! So it worked out well in the end!
Passive Keyless Entry (PKE) System:Now with the best feature: The key fob! Besides all of the regular features like door unlock and rear hatch unlock, the key fob has a great feature. As you walk to the car, the door on the side you walk to opens up when your within 5ft. When you walk away, the doors lock and the alarm arms, and the horn honks to let you know.
This also prevents the key from getting locked in the car!
Spare Tire
I have not checked out my spare tire since I bought the car, so I checked it out. The previous owner did not put the spare tire in correctly so it was a hassel to get undone. Plus the bolt was hard to undo because it has not been used for a long time.
I cleaned eveything and painted the black metal that holds the bolt for the tire. I just wanted to touch it up so it doesnt rust.
Super thin Spare Tire (hopefully I will never need it)
Before After
Before After
I ended up also getting under the car and checking everything out, and I cleaned everything that was dirty.
Now it is nice and clean, and I know how to get the spare out!
Accessories
I got a lot of cool stuff for my car for Christmas!
I figured that it would be helpful for you guys to know what works and what is a waste of time and money.
Most of the stuff worked/fit great, but a few acessories did not work.
Hat: Got a Corvette hat to wear while I cruise!
Door Sills: I got black door sills with corvette engraved in white. They looked cool, but they did not fit. When I would close the door, it hit the sills.
Rear Fuel Paint Protector: I got a black leather sheet with Corvette stitched in red, which tucks under the fuel door. It is suposed to protect the rear paint from the gas pump, but it did not fit under the fuel lid. It was way too big and the backside of the sheet is white and shows throught the water hole in the lid.
Performance Plaque: This was pretty cool! The tape they give you is sort of weak, but it worked, and added a nice touch to the interior. I wish it was bigger, but it is pretty nice the way it is.
Tire Shine: This tire shine is the best out there! All you do is clean the side walls and brush this on with the sponge they give you. It lasts over a month with a bright shine. The pic of the tire is 4 weeks of use with the tire shine on it. Looks Good!
Black Magic Wheel Cleaner: I was watching BullRun and saw their commercial and it said that it will not damage any protective coating and will help shine the rims up after cleaning. I have to get some pics but I give it a 4 out of 5. It would be nice if it would make it harder for brake dust to stick, but I cannot complain for $4!
Weather-stripping Conditioner: This stuff is great. It is called Krytox by DuPont. It is a grease with the consistancy of Crisco and you put it on the weatherstripping with your finger. All of the squeaks that I use to hear are now gone after the application. Not only that, it adds life to the weather-stripping which is expensive to replace. You can see it work right when you rub it in! Down side: 1 tube is $50!
Car Manuals: A must have. One for the Tranny and Engine, and the other for everything else! Plus catalogs such as Ecklers, Corvette America, J&D Corvette, and Mid America Motorworks!
It is freezing temperatures in the Northeast so there will be no testing of the Car Soap and wax! Trust me, the first nice day will be clean the car day, then drive around with the top down!
OK, well the weather was super nice today so I decided to wash and wax my car with the new car soap and wax!
All I can say is my Vette was clean and reflective before, now it is like glass that has been painted a fresh coat of torch red!
Corvette Video Games
Having a Corvette is awesome. Being able to play your car in a video game: priceless!
This game is for PS2 and has all the Corvettes from C1 to C5. I got the game for my Dad who got me into loving Corvettes. It is cool to see your car in a game and then drive it in real life!
Then next game is pretty well know and only had the C6 Vette in it, but I customized it as much as the game would let me.
Barrett Jackson 2009
Had to include this to show how people want the C4 body style and performance. The exterior is nice, but the interior is arguably the nicest in all of Corvette history.
Check out these C4s! Big Bucks being spent on the C4s!
Kill List
(Kind of)
I do NOT Street Race (not worth my life), but I figured I will put a list of cars that have pulled up next to me wanting to race!
2006 Jeep Cherokee SRT8- this was funny because my Dad was in the car with me, and when he reved his engine we laughed.
1995 Chevy Silverado- I was at a red light and an old beat up pickup truck pulls up next to me reving its engine. I did not even bother looking at the guy and when the light turned green his rear tires spun so much that the people behind him were honking their horns for him to go!
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser- I was at a red light and this guy comes out of no where and takes off next to me. All I gotta say is that this suv was slow!
2005 Frod Mustang GT- finally a real muscle car attempted to race me! He reved his custom exhaust stang, but I could have got him. Gotta give him credit, he had guts for wanting to race a Vette!
I am constantly updating this page with new pics and upgrades. This is just the begining, and I am sure I will not run out of stuff to put up with my new Corvette!
I'm new with the Vette, but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask me. Additionally, a helpful place for all Vette owners is the Corvette Action Center. They are all real nice and friendly there, and will help you with anything you have problems with!
Proud to be an American!
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Page 2: Things to Fix
Page 3: Car Shows
Page 4: Photos
