Good Morning Gurus... Well it's actually closer to afternoon. Just dropping by for a quick hello. I hope all is well. I'm getting more accustomed to the C5 and really like it. I did cut the factory shifter down an inch and put a Hurst shift knob on it. That helps a bit with the long row of the gear, but I'll eventually put another shifter in it for sure.

Darn Holidays are creeping up on me. I need to get busy around the house. Hope you guys have a good weekend.
See you around.

Quote:

I don't know about that. It's a different movement for sure and I haven't figured it out completely yet.

Tom, That's exactly the stuff I used. This morning the dew was beaded up and the canvas was not wet.

I still have some small stains that didn't completely come out but I was afraid to scrub too hard.

OK, I was out most of the day taking a drive to Maryland's eastern shore with the wife. When we got home I had a little daylight and took a few shots. My driveway is tight and doesn't leave me the best options for shooting.

I average 28mpg on the way home. That's pretty damn good I think! I'm getting even more pumped about this car now than when I first brought it home.

Attach file:

---

  50th_00.jpg (911.32 KB)


  50th_01.jpg (808.31 KB)


  50th_02.jpg (832.82 KB)


  50th_03.jpg (643.72 KB)


  50th_05.jpg (651.44 KB)

I know it's almost Thursday already but I just got in from a long day at work, then came home and buffed out the rear trunk lid of the '03. The car has been sitting outside for a while because I have some light stains on the tan canvas convertible top and some clear coat hazing on the trunk lid. Everything else looks awesome. It took me three hours and at least four grades of polish to get where it needed to be. I was soaked in sweat but I think that trunk lid looks like a mirror now.

I'm amazed that someone owned this car for twelve years and the only thing they ever changed was the oil, brakes and tires. I need to stick to that mantra!!

Tommy... I have moved up to project manager and back down to worker bee and then back to project manager... Who knows. I do what they want me to do, which is really anything that we need done to make classes happen.
I don't know how much we discussed this before, but I work for the DOD Cyber Crime Center and we train the nations military cyber crime stopper. ( I know its corny ) but its true. Thirty years ago we were training guys to drive tanks and shoot guns and fight in the desert. Today we are teaching them to fight with ones and zeros. Anyhow, we have upped our enrollment by a bazillion and its going higher all the time. Most Americans are numb to this, but there is a real threat out there....

C5's.... They are different. I'm trying to figure out how to get the backlight on my climat control to come on again. It was on last night when I drove home, but this morning I couldn't see shit!!

A very good friend of mine took delivery of a 2016 Z06 on the Thursday before Carlisle this year. We left his house at 4:30am in the Z06 with only 35 miles on the odometer. When we came home on Saturday he was exhausted and had to work the late shift that evening. So,...I got to drive that beast back home from Carlisle. I can only say that it was just incredible feeling and I didn't hardly get on it at all because it was someone else's brand new Corvette. Just awesome.

Marcus, I sold the C4 last year to a guy that came down from PA. I personally think he got a steal at $10k
I had over $7K in the motor, trans and dif. That's not including the interior mods and Pioneer DVD/NAV system.

I loved the car but sometimes I think it almost better to leave these cars as they were. The more I modded it, there always seemed to be something else.

I always loved the color combination of the 50th Anniversary model and this one became available for a fair price. It has a little more mileage on it than others I looked at but the price and history were good. Plus the BORLA exhaust sounds awesome! :-)

OMG.... You would find that old picture!! LOL
Great to see you guys still hanging out here.

Ha.... How you all been.

I finally replaced the C4

I picked up a 2003 50th Anniversary Convertible last night. Needs a little TLC but in good stock condition. One owner car.

I'll probably need some advice on a few things as they come up.

Take care - hope to be around some.

Don

Good Morning Gurus!!! I had a telepathic connection that indicated you all wanted to see some photos of my Miata!!

Well you guys mostly hit every reason for my non-participation right on the head. I mostly try to keep up with things on FB as I only have enough time between work and fun to do so much social networking online!! LOL

The weather here has been pretty crappy and the Corvette has only been out and about a couple times since the OC Boardwalk cruise back in November. It needs a re-tune or something. Last night I did take it out to the grocery store to pick up a few things and it was idling high and running pig rich.

Yah - that JOB... keeping me very busy these days. Gonna get busier too. I'm now officially Project Manager and am studying to take the PMP exam the end of Jun or early July. As Tommy stated yesterday, the commute is not better, but we are entertaining the idea of moving closer to my work. Id rent out the house here in Chesapeake Beach and probably just downsize to a smaller rental house closer to work.

The beer brewing continues to be rewarding! I have won two competitions in the past six months. One for an IPA and the other recently for a Christmas Spiced Ale that may be featured and brewed large scale by Widmer Brothers. My Gingerbread Spiced Ale is one of five beers that made it to this level and will be judged this week. The winner of this round will go to New Hampshire to brew their beer large scale for a special release. Timing is not so good for a spiced ale, as we are on the cusp of spring and summer beer brewing already. Anyhow its fun and good to know that my beer can actually be recognized outside of this household!

I will also mention, for nothing less than sharing or fueling a debate as I usually can... I have lost 70lbs since last October and still slowly losing a pound or so every other week. Slow going now, but still working. All I have really done different now is I have started eating real foods. No boxed foods, nothing with added sugars and no enriched grain products. I have embraced whole fat foods and reduced carbohydrates. I get most of my 80-100 carbs per day from vegetables and of course a few beers on the weekends. I have essentially gone NSNG, except I won't give up my beer!! After I lost the first 35-40lbs I started picking up my activity levels again and started jogging and riding my bike again. Really have not felt better in many years!!

I hope I didn't put you to sleep but, since Matt dredged me up from FB last night I thought I'd stop by and say hi. I will have to say that you guys are very consistent and I do miss the morning banter. But I just don't have time in the mornings to get online, and by the time I get home in the evening I'm pretty shot.

Take care and hope it soon starts warming up for all of us!!

Been at work 3.5 hrs.. Waiting for 3:30PM - Whistle Blows early today. Like Fred Flinstone, I'll be scampering out of here into my car and peddling home!!

Not much planned this weekend. I'm gonna try to get my PCM to talk to my laptop again. I have been having trouble getting them to synch. Never had that problem before.

Anyhoo! Hope all of you have a safe and happy Laborious Holiday!

Oh god, is it only Tuesday?

I hate when I have to get up at 5AM and can't go back to sleep because I have to drive into the office!!! :-)

Cheers! Have a great day! I'm Still Carlisle Dreamin'. Kinda like California Dreamin' but without the chicks in bikinis!
Nevermind....

Later dudes and dudettes, I'm gonna meander to work!

Yah! Good morning to all you too! I'm at work this morning to recuperate from my weekend! It was a blast but now back to the grind. There is so much I wanted to do in Carlisle but didn't get a chance. I guess there is always next year!!!

I almost went for them in chrome... I really like them a lot.

Letty... Your car is way cool! Is that roll bar approved for track days? How many people does that wiener mobile hold? Looks like a huge vehicle.

Quote:

Yeah.... I whimped out because it was raining at my house on Friday and I decided to go up on Saturday morning instead. I should have posted here but forgot as my mind was all over the place. I only took a few photos during the day. I don't know where the time goes when I'm there. It's like getting sucked into a worm hole and the time shrinks to about 10 minutes even though I was there until late in the day.

Damn, I'm still tired but can't get back to sleep this morning. It's been a busy two days of doing this and that. I spent most of Friday afternoon and early evening brewing ten more gallons of my house American IPA; "Skipper's Ale", named after our Jack Russel Skipper. As soon as I got cleaned up from that, a friend sent a TM and asked if I wanted to attend a night time Happy Hour from 9-11PM at the Old Stein Inn. It's a German Restaurant and Biergarten not far from Annapolis, MD. They were tapping a new keg of a special Doppel Boch from Munich and giving away free steins in preparation fro the upcoming Oktoberfest season , So I hurried my clean-up efforts at home and headed out the door, (much to the chagrin of my spousal unit.) Got back home around 11:30PM and hit the hay until 3:45AM when the alarm went off to get up and get out the door for Corvettes at Carlisle! YEAH!!!!

On the road just before 5AM I made it around the back side of the fairgrounds avoiding traffic and lines and made it into the registration building only 5 people back from the first customer of the day. I made the Fun Field and parked the Vette all before 7:15AM.

The weather turned out to be absolutely gorgeous with a nice breeze despite the heat from the sun! I think there were about 25 C7 Corvettes on display between the Chevrolet Tent, Kerbeck Corvette and random sightings from Factory Reps that had driven them in. I was just overwhelmed again by the explosion of Corvette related paraphernalia and cars! a really great experience for anyone that loves Corvettes. There are tons of photos on the Corvettes at Carlisle Facebook page. I didn't take many photos this year as I was just trying to soak up all the new stuff around.

It's been a whirlwind weekend so far. I still have to cut the grass and then go to a birthday party this afternoon for a close friend. I think I need to get back to work tomorrow just to get some rest!!

Attach file:

---

  carlisle2013.jpg (154.83 KB)

Damn you guys are up early this morning! OK, I'm out the door to fight the DC/Baltimore traffic today. Looks like an OK weather day building up. Mostly sunny, 85 and humid! Better than rain I guess.

Take care, have a good day.

Good morning guys. This is my Monday off. I have been getting every other Monday off for a while now and it's helpful to get caught up on things I wouldn't usually have time during the work week. I work 9 hour days and get off one every other week.

It's cloudy and dreary here too! I hope the weather clears by the end of the week for Corvettes at Carlisle. I'm going Friday and probably Saturday too. I'll be hanging out at the Corvette Club of America tent on the Fun Field. We share a tent with a club from New York called the Lost Caravan Corvette Club... They are a fun group of people to hang with too. Please stop by and say hi if you are in the vicinity and see the banners. I'm planning on picking up some new floor mats, roof weatherstrips and maybe some new chromed kick plates for entering the car. Mine current plastic ones are pretty beat up. I scored a free key fob from a friend last weekend . He is supposed to bring it to me at Carlisle. He found it in his tool box in the garage. He sold his '94 many years ago and has no need for the fob.

Well... back to chores. Chat later

Good morning all... Raining here today. I couldn't sleep again myself. I was down in the garage at 0630 tinkering. I think I found and fixed another vibration that was bugging me. When my AC was working before, I would get a vibration when the AC was on and the compressor clutch would kick in. Turn the AC off and the vibration would go away. Well it did it again on my way home from the shop yesterday and I decided to take a good look again at the fasteners attching the brackets to the compressor and alternator. Sure enough, one of the nuts that secures two of the braces to the "long Header bolt" was simply missing. I replaced it and tightened all the braces and brackets up again. Hopefully, the rain will stop later and I'll take it for a test drive.

Other than that I have beer to bottle and laundry to do. In between that action I'm waxing the Corvette and getting it ready for Carlisle on Friday.

Hope you guys have a nice Sunday!!

Here are two cool C5s in my color. I'd rather have the buckskin colored interior than black. But both are nice. There were about 200 FRC cars manufactured in both 1999 and 2000 according to a thread I searched up on CF.

http://corvettetrader.com/ads/1998corvettecalifornia9959.htm

http://tinyurl.com/mrxl8rv

Ken, undoubtedly the 2003-2004 was the best years for C5. It may be difficult to find one without HUD as it was very prevalent. I have friends with all years odf C5 and they are very good cars. One of my favorites is the 1998-1999 Nassau Blue.There were not many made and it is a beautiful, hard to come by color. Mix that with the Fixed Roof Coupe and you have a potential future rarity.

If I find one I'd buy it now.

Great Car! It will sell! Clean as a pin and really low mileage!! Good Luck

Quote:

Yup, That's what I'm going back to!!!

Quote:

I guess I'm just getting tired of it, and the clean ones I see with solid red really pop. I don't like the old, wrinkly, dirty, worn, red seats but new Torch Red pops like FIRE!!
LOL

Very cool Tommy! What kind of supercharger? Pro-Charger?

Good day all. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and straightened up the garage a bit, swept the floor and got it ready to pull the Vette back in today. I'm going to pick it up from the dealership later this afternoon. Frank (my Vette guy at the dealership)found the problem with the AC and repaired the ground that was not doing its job. Now I have cold AC but the HVAC controller is stuck on 60 needs me to do my thing on it again. I fixed that damn thing almost ten years ago and now its doing the weird button thing again. I also now have working wipers again too. The wiper cover with park switch costs about $100 at Zip and the install is pretty easy. So, now I have almost all my Gremlins fixed. After I get the HVAC control head working again this week I'll be able to determine if I have heat. At the moment its stuck on 60... Great Cold AC but can't tell if I have heat yet.

TASKS COMPLETED
Headlight motor bushings replaced
Windshield wiper cover and park switch replaced
AC Ground repaired
Turn Signal Flasher replaced
Removable roof panel rear fastener replaced
Almost forgot.. Fixed exhaust system and installed stock mufflers

TO DO
Console Drink Cover Lid, spring replacement
HVAC Control Head refurb/clean as needed
Replace console elbow rest pad (again)
R&R left Door Lock and Opener Bezel - Send out for hydrocarbon.

WISHES
Tint the side and rear glass
All new HID and LED lighting interior and exterior from CorvetteMods
Go back to solid red seats

I put the Koni adjustable sports on mine about two years ago and have been very happy with ride quality on the soft setting. I haven't experimented enough with them in the firmer settings to know any better though.

Very cool Bill!

Good morning all. Supposed to be cloudy here today all day. I am considering going to a cruise-in in Annapolis this morning, and then driving over to my club Autocross, but the cloudy weather stinks.

I watched the movie Oblivian last night staring Tom Cruise. I thought it had an interesting and relatively original concept for a Tom Cruise movie. I usually don't like his stuff but this was pretty good. I'd recommend it to Sci-Fi people.

==============================================================================

This last part of my post is for Letty, and a carryover from yesterday's Chat where she asked me about brewing beer at home.


Well.... Brewing beer at home can be as simple as Bill stated in his reply to yesterday's thread, or as complicated as one would like to make it. To make really good home brewed beer, and be able to reproduce your results takes some experience. However, I wholeheartedly recommend you give it a try if you are the slight bit interested.

Most people usually start out with a simple 5 gallon bucket kit which can be purchased at a home brew store local to you, or online at places like these:

More Beer
Midwest
Northern Brewer

Most beginner kits use liquid malt extracts which are about the consistency of molasses and allows you to skip the whole mashing process. This is a good way to start for newbs as it lets you concentrate on the very basics of cleanliness and the basic brewing process. The most laborous part of home brewing is all the cleaning, before, during and after.

Some people want to jump right in to all-grain brewing and will go that route but it can be complicated for the first time brewer as it adds more equipment and requires a fair amount of more time to the "Brew Day"

When a beginner moves up from the store bought "kit", usually the upgrades will be a larger brewing vessel so that all of the beer can be brewed in one kettle. Most kits begin brewing on the kitchen stove and use "partial" amounts of water to get going. To make 5 gallons of beer it may take 8 gallons or more of water and most home stoves can't handle that. So beginner kits use extracts and lesser amounts of water in the boil, then have you dilute that wort (what beer is called before it is fermented)to bring it up to the desired amount. This method works pretty well but better beer is made by going with a full boil in at least a ten gallon boil kettle. There are more and more of these tips that I could fill the pages here, but can't as this is a Corvette forum.

This link is to some guys that are highly respected in the Home Brew World that have some great videos and podcasts for Basic Brewing techniques. I met these guys for the first time in Philadelphia in June while attending the National Home Brewers Conference. Jim will never remember me as an individual but I really enjoyed talking with him.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/

A good forum to get information is Homebrewtalk.com
They have a whole forum just for newbs

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/


Please don't hesitate to contact me here or on Facebook if you want more information.

I know this stuff pretty well. Kind of like Bill knows race cars... I know about brewing beer.

Yup... new key was bad! I went back and asked if they check the "new" keys before grinding..... er, well usually.

I tested the first new key here on my meter and it showed an open circuit. That's odd, but the new, new key (2nd key) they just cut works great, so all is well.

I only have one set of keys for my car. Since I have been so happy with it lately, I decided to give it a gift and buy a new set of keys for its birthday.

Well, maybe not such a good idea.

Before I went to have the key made I verified the resistance in the chip for my key. It ohmed out at 2.99k ohms. I checked the chart and that would indicate that I use a CODE 9 VATS Key.

So... happily I went to the local ACE Hardware which makes hundreds of keys for my little town every month since its the only place in town. Anyhow, they checked my key and got the same results I did. CODE 9 for GM VATS keys. They made the key and I walked out the door with a smile on my face. Hopped into the Vette and stuck the new key into the ignition....

Immediately the smile turned into a frown. No start. All the DIC lights came on and the radio etc. but no starter. I tried this a couple times but figured it was a bad chip in the new key.

(I do need to check the new key with my multimeter, as I haven't done that yet.)

Nonetheless, I thought I would have to pull the battery cable and reset the PCM, but after sitting for about ten minutes the car started with the original key.

Does this sound like the VATS system problem? and if this new key turns out to be the correct resistance do I need a new ignition switch or something?

I had a big win today with my slow turn signal problem. I replaced the factory flasher with a heavy duty version and problem magically went away.

However, just to clarify and make things right on this thread for future searches by unsuspecting C4 owners, I thought I'd jot my notes down here. So there would be no confusion in the future.

After getting off my lazy butt and pulling out my FSM for my car. (1994 Coupe) I found the that the Turn Signal Flasher can be found on the drivers side harness under on the left side of the steering column. It is clipped onto the metal frame (Skeleton) that the carpeted hush panel is screwed to.

The easiest way to get to it without breaking your back is as follows:

Step 1
Remove the four torx srews that secure the carpeted hush panel, unclip the connector for the courtesy lamp, move the hush panel to the side and lay it on the console - 4 Torx screws, 2 in front, 2 on the side.

Step 2
Remove three torx screws that secure the triangular plastic end cap that is just above the hood release. This is the end cap with the silkscreen of the hood release on it. - 3 torx screws

Step 3
Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold the "skeleton" to the dash frame on the left side of the dash and pull the aluminium pan down so there is access to the flasher.

Step 4
It will be directly in front of you. Simply pull it from its clip and remove it from the connector and replace it with a Heavy Duty unit.

Test turn signals and reverse instructions.

Now the turn signals work at the correct rate in which they were intended.

Good afternoon! The day started out cloudy and rainy but all cleared up around noon time and now the skies are blue and the roads are dry.

Was going to brew some beer today but I'm being lazy... Not sure what to get into now that half the day is gone!

Quote:

Holy crap! I have a few bricks that I had before the Sandy Hook shooting. Wish I had more. I don't know anyone that would pay that kind of money though. WalMart around here never has any on the shelf, I go up there a lot on Saturday mornings and I never see any. I think they get like ten boxes in a week and the employees buy it all up.

Last night and tonight will be deal days and tomorrow they will bring out the big guns

I had a white '69 Z28 in the early eighties. It was the real deal but beat up pretty bad. It had been raced at the local strip for a long time before I got it. Welded in roll bar and cut up back seats. I tried to make it into a nice car again but in my early twenties didn't have the financial resources to make that happen. I wound up selling it for a few thousand bucks to some other guy that probably did the same.

I'm enjoying this already. Friday night is the low dollar stuff I guess. However, of interest to me was a 1977 1/2 Camaro Z28 they just sold for $15,500. The announcer said it sold so high because it was a rare 4spd.

I bought mine at the end of 1977 from a guy that had just purchased it new and then had to go overseas for a new job. I paid $4,500 for a nearly brand new one. Mine was probably even more rare than the one BJ just sold, as mine was a 4spd with A/C delete, radio Delete and window cranks instead of pwr accessories. I have not seen too many of these cars besides the two I have owned but the red one would surely be more desirable had it been cared for and survived.

I cleaned up and sold another one in the mid 90s but it was white with black interior, AC, Automatic all power options. Sold it for a few thou less than I had put into it. A real waste. I guess I had fun doing it. Then I bought the Vette.

Attach file:

---

  1977Camaroz28.jpg (41.88 KB)

Next year we should do a road trip to Reno! Stay in one of those fancy casinos and go to the auction and check oit the cruisin life.

Very cool Bill! Wish I was close

Good mornin' all. Crappy weather here all week. It might clear up a bit this weekend but I'm not counting on it.

Nothing special happening today either, just workin' for the man.

Quote:

Damn... That's why mine rusted out from the inside out. I think I need blinker oil too because my blinkers are pretty slow.

A friend of mine has had some driveability issues with a 2008 Z06. They could not find the problem using the onboard computer so they have installed a temporary "Black Box" that provides more data than the factory onboard system.
I didn't know they had that capability, may be something you might inquire?


Quote:

I'm tired this morning. Long day yesterday, although had some fun last night. One of the projects the "Annapolis Home Brew Club" has been working on is a series of Bourbon Barrel Home Brewed beers. How this works is we picked up four recently retired 50 gallon oak bourbon casks and fill them up with beer. Let them age and then distribute to the original donors.

After a specific recipe has been selected, each brewer contributes 5 gallons of that recipe to the cask. This makes it easier since most of us really only brew 5-10 gallons at a time. Last night we gathered at my friend Ron's house to distribute the aged Belgian Tripel that has been siting in the cask since spring time. All that needs done now is to carbonate it and chill. This Belgian Tripel is a bit sweet for my taste since I'm really a hop head but I think the ABV comes in around 10% which is pretty healthy for any ale.

Cheers! Have a good day folks

Shriner Corvette info.
http://www.tangieronline.org/pdf/TangierCorvettes.pdf


Link to Shriner Corvette (Not origianal)

http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2010/0 ... ecums-st-charles-auction/

So Bill, What is the connection with the Shriners and the '66 Corvette delivery? Very cool photos

Last year there was a rumor that Mecum was going to handle the Corvette auction at Carlisle but nothing came off it that I know of.

Damn... back to work today.

I had fun driving the Vette this weekend without getting asphyxiated. I took it for a good ride yesterday on my day off. Hit several places between Annapolis and home staying as close to the waterfront as I could.

Wish my Orioles were doing as well as the Royals!!!

Well, it was fun having off but now I need to get status and get back to work.

Have a great day all.

Attach file:

---

  dhVette01.jpg (289.41 KB)

Well, Chuck, I'm about useless. I got my laptop hooked up to the ALDL cable and tried several times but could not get my PCM to communicate. I have forgotten my settings and will have to go back to the drawing board. I got the comm port to work but it kept telling me that my PCM wasn't talking.

Looks like you are getting more data than I but I'll keep trying this week and see what I can get.

Quote:

Attach file:

---

  like.jpg (6.60 KB)