AccordWarrior : 1999 Chevrolet Corvette

[AccordWarrior]

Engine

- 5.7L LS1
- Corsa TigerShark Catback w/Pro Series Tips
- Otherwise Stock

Suspension

- 100% Stock


Wheels/Tires

- BBS LM (LM133, 17x9 F / LM134, 18x10 R)
- Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Runflats: 245/45-17 F - 275/40-18 R

- OEM Wagon Wheels (spare)
- Goodyear Eagle F1 EMT (spare, junk for storage)


Interior

- Corbeau A4 in black microsuede - Removed / Sold
- OEM Sport Seats - Rebuilt
- Corvette Buddy Cupholders
- Lloyds custom floor mats
- C6 Carbon Edition Shift Knob
- C6 Carbon Edition Shift Boot
- C6 Z06 Shift Assembly


ICE

- Pioneer AVH-4100NEX
- Boston Acoustic G2 Subwoofer in Custom Enclosure
- Boston Acoustic GT50 Amplifier
- Boston Acoustic Door/Rear Deck Speakers


Exterior

- Very stock
- OEM Translucent Targa Top
- Vosla HIR Bulbs
- Depo blackhoused turn signals
- DRL LED Switchback bulbs (white DRL)
- Sylvania LED amber running lamps
- Morimoto Elite Yellow HID Fog Lamp bulbs


Future Plans

Immediate
- Install Metra radio bezel
- Fine tune shift assembly
- Fix Corvette Rocking Seat

Future
- Replace Oil Pressure Sensor
- Repair / replace saggy A-pillar vinyl
- Detailing


It's a very fun STI replacement and I'm really looking forward to making it my own.

[owequitit]

Looks like a nice buy!

[cp[mike]]

wooooooweeeeeeee

i love the color, how is it to drive?

[deevergote]

I can't wait to see it in person! I really do like the color... even more than your previously intended black, I think!

[AccordWarrior]

Looks like a nice buy!

Thanks Scott! Needs a bit of TLC cosmetically for my (unreasonably high) tastes, but it's in fantastic mechanical shape. I should be able to whip it into shape over the course of the summer. The difference between GM interiors and Japanese interiors...scary.

wooooooweeeeeeee

i love the color, how is it to drive?

It's a completely different animal than anything I've driven previously. It has a ton of torque, so it gets up to speed almost effortlessly. I've only driven it on the test drive as I don't have plates on it yet. The shifter has relatively long throws, but it's more precise than I had anticipated. It's feels very big, as it is very wide, but it also is very comfortable inside. I drove a Nissan 300ZX non-turbo and as much as I loved that drive, it did feel pretty tight inside comparably.

I can't wait to see it in person! I really do like the color... even more than your previously intended black, I think!

The color is very interesting in person. Under the fluorescent lights in my garage it is a dark to medium blue with almost a hint of green. In the overcast light it is dark blue, almost purple. In the bright sunlight you can almost see a red in the color.

[Grumpys93]

Nice upgrade! I am digging that color as well. I would be interested to see it under the lighting conditions you mentioned. Possibly a good color if I ever paint the accord.

[AccordWarrior]

Nice upgrade! I am digging that color as well. I would be interested to see it under the lighting conditions you mentioned. Possibly a good color if I ever paint the accord.

Thanks!

Once I get a decent camera (should be getting a DSLR as an work anniversary gift) I will try and get photos to show the different shades it can be.

[AccordWarrior]

Updated the lead photo. Once I get a chance to clean the car a bit more, I'll take a few photos of the audio setup in the back, it actually looks really nice.

I've got the upgrade headlamps coming soon. I had the harmonic balancer replaced and all the maintenance caught up on this past week. I still have an oil leak I need to hunt down as well as an exhaust leak to trace, but otherwise it's doing pretty well.

I'm looking forward to getting my iPod interface wired in since not having tunes is pretty lame. The Vette uses an amplifier for the antenna which is a 5 VDC line which most aftermarket HUs don't use, so my reception is spotty. When I have some time to take apart the dash, I plan on trying to get that whole setup straightened out.

Overall, I'm most looking forward to driving it. Even though I've had it almost a month, between waiting for inspection, being in the shop, traveling without it, etc, I've driven it for (4) days total

[AccordWarrior]

A snap from July 4.

[AccordWarrior]

New picture time! I got a DSLR as my 10 year work anniversary gift (love working for companies not based in the US, they're SO much more generous) so I figured I'd test it out. Bear with me, I haven't the slightest clue what I'm doing yet.

[Ronald_Type-R]

Whoa you're still around! What's up man!! Nice car!

Ronald

[AccordWarrior]

Whoa you're still around! What's up man!! Nice car!

Ronald

Never left! Thanks! It's a world of difference from the STi, but it's so much fun to take down to the waterfront on a warm summer night! Undecided what or if I want to do with it so for now I'm just driving it. I wanted a 300ZX TT SO bad but they're unobtanium around here and I just couldn't do a NA model thus the Vette hit all the points I wanted.

Still got the Land Cruiser? I saw your car builds over the year and you have SUCH great taste.

[owequitit]

I really like that projector upgrade. I thought when you first mentioned it that they were going to be fixed like what Matt Farrah did to his C5, or like the MMC NA2 NSX's. I like these a lot better. Stock but better. I have started thinking about one of these as they are relatively cheap now.

[AccordWarrior]

I really like that projector upgrade. I thought when you first mentioned it that they were going to be fixed like what Matt Farrah did to his C5, or like the MMC NA2 NSX's. I like these a lot better. Stock but better. I have started thinking about one of these as they are relatively cheap now.

I do as well, although like anything, there are always compromises when you veer from OEM. The pop-up headlight assembly has a bit of play in it, and when you have a razor sharp cutoff line as these projectors do and a stiff suspension, you end up with a bouncing cutoff, which is a bit annoying to drive with. My biggest concern was the impact of this on oncoming traffic, but I've yet to be high-beamed or otherwise signaled and I have passed multiple LEO, both state and local, without any incident, so I think I'm okay.

I personally dislike the fixed headlamp design from a cosmetic standpoint, although I'm sure it is a bit better than the popup design in terms of a bouncing cutoff. Less moving parts means lighter weight though, and there's definitely value in that. The stock headlamps are so poor, anything is better than OEM. The only thing that the upgraded headlamps showed me was that my clean CarFax vehicle most likely had work done on the front fender/bumper area as the panel fit isn't amazing and I have found some evidence of paintwork. It's high caliber work as it's not noticeable unless you know it was there (fooled me until a few weeks after I had it).

These cars are definitely getting cheaper. I may have overpaid a bit for mine and veered a bit from my original wants simply because at the time I was losing my rental car in a week and hadn't resolved the totaled Tacoma situation and needed a car. Mine was relatively well cared for and the major issues (body control module) had been addressed and most of the wear items were recently replaced. I've since had to do the harmonic balancer and drive belts since I was getting a chirp (I need to have them re-done as the OEM replacement isn't within spec and is making noise again) and all fluids.

At the time they were a bit pricier than the 300ZX Twin Turbo I had originally wanted (as I've blabbed on a bit about now) but much easier to find. Having driven a NA 300ZX I can say the Vette is definitely MUCH larger inside and might be the widest vehicle I've ever driven in. The 300ZX is a much tighter fit.

The Vette has torque literally everywhere and in almost any gear, it's unlike anything I've ever driven. You don't run the revs out in the car, and it really doesn't like to rev, at least compared to a smaller 4-cylinder like the STi. That being said, the power delivery is SO linear it feels slow. I was merging onto the highway and stood on it and thought to myself, this is REALLY slow, and I looked down and the needle was swinging past 80. The STi was frantic and would let you know how hard it was working to go fast.

The other thing is that the STi only wanted to cruise at 50 mph. If the speed limit was 30, it wanted 50, if it was 75, it wanted 50. The Vette wants 35 mph everywhere, and with being so low to the ground and being so wide, you feel like you're doing 50. I regularly cruise on the highway at 65-70 MPH, not because I'm worried about attracting attention, but simply because it feels so fast.

The interior/exterior design is polarizing. From the front 1/4 view, I don't like how it looks all that much. It's almost impossible to tell the convertible and coupe apart at that angle, and the OEM ride height doesn't do it any favors up front. From the side and rear 3/4 view, I think it's beautiful. The interior is typical GM of the era, large switches with odd shapes with non-positve action. The Japanese did it so much better, even in their less impressive offerings. The plastics don't feel great and it does rattle a bit (which I plan to change as I get working on it). I have the Sport seats and they're a bit meh. They're comfortable, but they're not supportive and move a lot. The leather is holding up decent, but it's starting to chip a small bit. The fit and finish on the carpet leave a little to be desired as well. I also need to replace some of the trim where the vinyl is lifting, but it's hard to be critical about a 17 year old car, too. Personally I wish I had held out for the black interior, but timing didn't work for me.

I know I sound like I'm being negative on the car, but it's the funniest thing because it's easy to be objective and not like X, Y and Z about it when it's sitting there, but once you're driving it, it's a real fun car to drive. Driving around on a warm summer night with the roof off and stereo up has to be in the top 5 things I've done in my life that's been awesome. I loved the idea of my STi, all the mods I had on it and the feeling of boost, but otherwise when I drove it, I was always nervous something was going to go wrong with it. The Vette doesn't give me that feeling. Driving it erases any negative feelings I have about the car. It's SO much fun and SO worth it.

I do hope to eventually do some additional changes to the car as time progresses. I want to figure out the front bumper fit and have that addressed as needed. I want to upgrade to a more modern set of turn signals and go LED. I'd like to do a full black interior conversion with a better set of seats (Corbeau A4 are likely my choice). I'd also like to upgrade the shifter assembly, knob and boot to something nicer. Lastly, I would love to do a set of more aggressive wheels, but I don't think that will happen anytime soon.

[owequitit]

Yeah, that is all pretty consistent from what I have seen from that era of GM's. I personally love the design, even more so now that it has aged a bit. The bigger exhaust tips in the rear make all the difference with it looking like it has a big butt.

I also like that they are still relatively simple and cheap to own comparatively, and beaucoup HP is literally just a few bolt-ons away (not that I would want much more power).

I was also considering an older used S2K.

Not time to decide yet, but who knows what the future holds.