A Corvette in it's Unnatural Habitat, One Year and Fifteen Thousand Miles Later

"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips) 03/23/2020 at 18:30 • Filed to: The stereotypes exist for a reason, Boomer cruiser, Ruining a future classic, My Corvette is best Corvette

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At 4:00 AM on March 23, 2019, I awoke from a restless sleep to receive a ride to Charlotte to take a flight to Newark, NJ. I landed, an Oppo picked me up(Ben), and at 76,453 miles, I departed. Twenty-three hours later I arrived in my driveway in a new to me daily driver Corvette. A year later it has been by far the best car I have ever owned.

Why a C5?

I have always hated Corvettes. I have hated GM, in fact I still have very little respect for the brand. They build hideous monstrosities with very few exceptions now. However, occasionally they pop out a gem, and usually that gem comes in the form of a Corvette. I still wasn’t sold on them, no matter how much I heard “Can’t beat it for the price” or how many people loved them. To me they were and always had been the old guys garage queen, nothing more, nothing less. So why did I suddenly decide to want one?

Because it’s a bargain: 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, through the quarter in 11.9 seconds, now well under $20k. Those numbers come in a car that can achieve(albeit in absolutely perfect conditions)30mpg. My neighbor across the road had a Commemorative Edition Z06 for sale a few years back, and that started the turning of the gears. It took trading in a car I fell out of love with in on a car that I still love, but was a lemon(If you haven’t seen the story, it’s a fun one). The excuse arrived when that went downhill. I realized I didn’t need a practical car anymore. I’m young, I don’t have kids, and worst case scenario I can convince people not to ride with me by saying the 4Runner has enough room.

Things I do not like about it:

Obviously the interior is a really weak point. It looks quite dated, and some of the materials are, bad. That all being said about the quality of the interior, it still has less squeaks and rattles than my 2018 GTI had. It’s held up well for as bad as I’ve heard it was. The worst part is the seats, which I have replaced, but that leads to a new issue: The actual seat space. Much to the surprise of me, the fat mans sports car has less seat width than a Miata. Yes, there are less seat options due to width than a tiny little Miata. So, adding a seat is a compromise. That compromise for me is that it sits ever so slightly higher, and distorts the HUD.

Things that I do like about it:

Pretty much everything else. Driving it every day is a blast. It has plenty of room for groceries and tons of luggage. The gas mileage isn’t awful considering it’s a 5.7 V8 designed in the 90's and how I drive it.

Things I absolutely love about it:

It is an absolute joy to drive! It’s unrefined, everything makes noise, it has almost no sound deadening, the suspension is stiff, but all of that means that it’s a 3100lb car with over 400hp. It’s a visceral experience on a mountain road. Both the GTI and the FiST had tighter steering, but neither of those cars had nearly as much feel or grip. It goes as fast as you want it to go, and it feels like there is way more to give. In that way, it’s surprisingly forgiving if you leave at least stability control on. The stock titanium exhaust starts out quiet but quickly screams from 3500 rpm to the 6500rpm redline. It’s always making noise. It’s the first LS that I actually like the sound of, and I don’t just like it, I love it.

Things that have gone wrong:

Some bulbs and the headlight motors are going out. That’s it. It’s the first car that I’ve had(and the past two have been new) that hasn’t had major issues in the first 10k miles.

Why Corvette owners install Gimp Masks:

Would I buy 0ne to daily drive again?

Absolutely yes, it’s been the best car I’ve ever owned, and while I still love my trusty old 4Runner, it’s no longer my favorite by a long shot. This has been the first car I’ve ever had that I’ve had absolutely no regrets about. So heres to trying to mile out a Z06!

So, AMA I guess.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/23/2020 at 18:33

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I need to finish working on mine....you post is making me irritated...

CB > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/23/2020 at 18:38

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If and when you replace this, would it be with another Corvette (when C6 and C7 prices drop, of course)?

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > CB 03/23/2020 at 18:40

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I would like to have an NA built C6 Z06, but not as a daily. I don’t particularly like the C7. The C7 Z06 might be a fun daily though.

PartyPooper2012 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/23/2020 at 19:57

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Is it that time of the year to dig mine out of hibernation too? It needs cleaning.. badly! 

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > PartyPooper2012 03/23/2020 at 20:09

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So does mine. 

shop-teacher > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/23/2020 at 23:11

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I’m glad you finally found a car you love. Keep driving that baby!

PartyPooper2012 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 07:22

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Yeah. That’s pretty bad... but mine is so filthy inside. I’ve been fighting it from inside - blower inside was not working right so dealer took it apart to fix. Looks like they might have messed up hazard switch. broke the housing. I went to hit it and it went into the abyss. Had to remove the dash, get new housing etc. So all the stomping around inside left buncha leaves and foot prints etc. 

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 11:23

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How does it handle snow?

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 11:38

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This is good Oppo!

The C5 is one of my favorite Vette generations. It looks sleek, fast, but restrained and understated. I’m glad you’re enjoying it and hope it gives you many more trouble free miles.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > PartyPooper2012 03/24/2020 at 11:39

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god i can just imagine that scenario, shit i’m in a bad spot better hit the hazards. *SMACK* whoa where the fuck did my hazard button go?!!?!?!?

Hope that turned out well and I don’t feel like an asshole for laughing about it.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 11:41

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The fun part of being a Corvette fan is that if you mile it out....you could probably find a low mileage option for sale from some dudes garage. So you could straight up reset with a replacement C5 Z06 if you wanted.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 11:45

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Your posting about this has inspired me to want one of these someday. The cars I am missing in my stable (if I somehow had room for more cars) would be some sort of off road camping rig and a rumbling V8 thing that would do well as a cruiser. While the Subaru makes for a nice practical fast cruiser on occasion , the horendous gas mileage and lack of burble make me yearn for a vette to fill that role. Plus I refuse to own anything not capable of turning so this seems like a good fit there. Someday! Keep inspiring, I enjoy it.

Also fun fact, your experiences with the FiST and the GTI are my prime examples of why I think those are “okay” but wouldnt want to own them. Despite the numerous other problem free accounts out there. 

benn454 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 12:00

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 Glad you're enjoying it. Used Vettes are stupid cheap for what they are, which is great for us gearheads. 

DasWauto > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 12:40

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Are these at all tall people friendly? I’m 6’5” and in  a C7 I’m looking at the windshield header, at least on the passenger side. I’ve never gotten a chance to try the driver’s seat.

If I autocross happens this year I should be able to try one on for size as a fellow competitor replaced his Miata with a Z06.

I need to own a v8 some day and this would be my preferred route, probably followed by LS swapping the 128i though I’d like to avoid that becoming necessary.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 03/24/2020 at 16:04

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I personally have no experience with it in snow, because it doesn't snow here, but plenty of others do fine in it. It all comes down to tires and the snow depth. 

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 03/24/2020 at 16:10

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The difference with the FiST and the GTI is that the GTI works well as a daily without compromise. The FiST isn’t fun enough to justify being as uncomfortable and cramped as it is. 

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > DasWauto 03/24/2020 at 16:12

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From everything I’ve gathered, the C5 is the roomiest of all generations. I do know of someone who is 6'7" who fits. I’m 6' with a 30" inseam(all torso), and I still have 4-5" of headroom, even after  losing an inch to the seat change. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 03/24/2020 at 21:54

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You know a car is cramped when it feels more cramped than a miata. Like sure it has a back seat and can store way more stuff in the trunk too than my Miata. But I was extremely upset about how the FiST sacrafices driver space to give more back room space. Just the way the pillars for the doors setup the arm rests and the seat belt placement and everything about it was wrong. I went into that rental expecting to love the car but I just couldnt stand the ergonomics. The clutch pedal placement wouldnt fit my feet and the car just screamed econobox inside. My frigging STi has a nicer interior with less rattles and that car is known for being a horrible interior and fit/finish. Sure it was a rental so who knows what its been through but still. When I got it in the twisties it was fun but it wasnt as fun as my miata and it wasnt anywhere near as fast as my subaru. It was a meh compromise in between that just didnt work for me. The Focus ST I love everything about though so its interesting.