josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

I need all you guys with a serious eye for automotive styling to give me some input here. I'm wanting to make the car into a classy, sleek, and eye catching LT1 WS6 which you dont see that often in really good shape.

The car as is...





The wheels going on it in the same 18" size with the same tires, stock Z06 argent finish with polished lips, polished fake rivets , and they'll have chrome lugnuts...



Other notable things...

I'm going to be swapping out the tinted rear lights for red third brake and side marker lights, stock taillights, and an all black center filler panel to bring more red to the rear of the car and to tie in better with the brake calipers.

Now lets finish the car's appearance out...

The car is white, the black is only tied in by the tint and CETA valance and the black in the taillights and I want to keep it like that, the wheels are argent and polished, and the brake calipers are C5 Z06 units in red.

Here is my biggest thing... I'd like to do what I can to tie the wheels and brake calipers into the car so I'm looking to tie in polished or charcoal and red into the car.

My thoughts are from taking a good long look at a C5 Z06 as it ties a little red into the front and sides of the car to go with the brake calipers and the argent finish of the Z06 wheels...



Possibilities...

* possibly silver or charcoal metallic firechicken nose decal with red outline
* possibly either silver or charcoal metallic "Trans Am" script outlined in red... OR polished/red stainless WS6 fender emblems like these (#1) or like these (#2)
* possibly stainless "Ram Air" emblems for the hood like on the hood of this car
* possibly stainless "PONTIAC" rear fill ins for the letters in the rear bumper
* possibly replace the stock WS6 rear emblem with one of the stainless laser cut pieces like the second one I'm thinking about putting it on the fender

I'm personally thinking...

* no nose emblem and no hood emblems or decals, but then the front seems so empty and I'd like to tie it in somehow but think I'd really need either the polished Ram Air hood emblems or a polished front bird with red outline to tie it all in
* fender emblems #1 style mounted a little lower than they would be on an LS1 car because of the lack of the fender vents
* stainless PONTIAC fill ins
* maybe replace the stock WS6 emblem with the #2 style WS6 emblem

That would tie in the polished lips and the red calipers on the side of the car with the WS6 fender emblems, and the rear would tie the red and polished in as well with the WS6 emblem, rear lights, and stainless fill ins. But are the WS6 fender emblems too out of place on the smooth fenders of the LT1? Do I need to tie more argent/charcoal/gunmetal into the theme? Any other things I need to change like painted the door handles body color (something I'm planning on doing as well as getting lock covers and having those painted to match also)? Any input is appreciated here guys.

Rough photoshop of the clean style with argent centered wheels and the red accents that I'm talking about...



Rough photoshop of the argent centered wheels and painting the calipers black and getting rid of the red entirely...

WayFast84

im thinking leave it alone unless, you do ceta and 98+(cant tell if they are, or arent) tails(no tint!) then it will be awesome, which it all ready is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

99WS-6T/A

iTrader: (6)

i would leave it alone but the only thing that i could think of doing is maybe some black bird stripes on the good. either way that is one sexy car. and your pretty handy with the camera great pics

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

Those argent/polished C5 Z06 Motorsports are going on the car. They're already bought and I'm swapping them on as soon as they get here. Not dealing with fully polished wheel upkeep on this car. And as is there is zero red on the car besides the calipers, and while swapping the tinted rear lights over to red will help the rear, I still think I need to tie it into the side of the car possibly or at the very least the front. May possibly paint the door handles and get lock covers in body color and just add a silver or charcoal metallic front bird outlined in red like this car... http://www.willmannwebsolutions.com/.../Formula/5.jpg

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

I thought possible Blackbird stripes but the front end on the LT1 cars looks so long already I didn't want to accentuate that anymore.

I just want to tie the red and polished and/or charcoal in more than the fully clean look. I just dont know exactly how to go about it for sure.

Louie83

iTrader: (3)

I think a big part of the reason the car looks so sleek is because there are no badges or stickers. I would leave it that way.

As for tying in the polish and charcoal: I think that wheels can make or break a car - they are a huge focal point. The wheels you picked out are nice, so I don't see it as a problem if they stand out rather than blend in.

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

While I agree, the calipers stick out like a sore thumb and dont tie in with anything as is and at the very least that has to change. Here is a quick photoshop just to do something minor to get them to tie in a little more with the fender emblems and I also tried to darken the centers to what they'll look like and body color the door handles but I just shaved them in the 'chop but it was just a quick crappy job so dont mind the quality on those...

Louie83

iTrader: (3)

Personally, I would do the calipers black.

It already looks clean and classy, might as well continue going in that direction.

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

I've thought of that too but it would be a pain to tape off the "CORVETTE" letters on the calipers and I actually like that as its a dead giveaway to the C5 Z06 brake conversion which is something you dont see on alot of F-Bodies and the red also helps to keep the car from being so desaturated like it just stepped out of a black and white picture with nothing but white, black, and shades of grey.

I cant say its a bad idea though because I think it would make it look pretty sleek and let the whole car flow instead of the red breaking it up. I just dont know if thats the direction I want to go.

Here ya go... looks clean and flows but still looks a little flat to me where the red pops a little more...



EDIT: On second thought that does look really good, if I taped off the CORVETTE lettering you'd still be able to see the upgrade, and the argent centers of the wheels I'm putting on it add just enough contrast to keep the car from looking totally black and white. We may be on to something here. I think if I go this route it's essential that I get the door handles painted body color and get some lock covers and do the same.

6LITEREATER

iTrader: (56)

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a newbie, I am formally DEMONBIRD...

I like that pic... I like your thoughts, here's my suggestions:

NO WS6 emblem on the sides...

Paint the door handles and locks WHITE...

Replace the tail lights with LS1 style (blacked out center piece), replace the rear markers with red and the front turn signals with a black housing set (like on my Camaro)...

Get a GM emblem (the new square ones from 2006 up cars) and put it where Silver02TA had his (bottom of the quarter, on the rocker in front of the rear tires like on new Z06's/C6's)... MAYBE paint the lettering inside it red (it's the subtle stuff that makes a car), probably not...

NO other emblems (no TRANS-AM on the side or Bird nose) EXCEPT a factory Red WS6 emblem on the back AND stainless/chrome PONTIAC inserts on the bumper...

Since you've now got no emblems sticking out to clutter the look up I would add a stipe to the center (like the 25th I posted in your other thread) or black bird stripes BUT do a Red outlined/pinstriped in silver theme or a Charcoal outlined/Pinstriped in Red theme... My vote is Red outlined/pinstripe in Silver to match the factory WS6 emblem...

SO, if it were my car I (specifically) would:

Go with the 25th style stripe (I like it more than the blackbird stripes on LT1's because it carries all the way to the back of the car) that is red with a silver pinstripe/outline...

Factory red WS6 emblem on the back with stainless PONTIAC fill-ins...

New GM emblem (unpainted) on rockers...

That would be one slick, SICK car !

EDIT: Everywhere I said "25th Anniv." I meant "Comp T/A"... In other words a stripe like this but in a red/silver or charocal/red combo:

kaos_

iTrader: (12)

those grey/red badges the car came with looked pretty sweet i thought. a killer colorway.

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

So you're saying have the main wide stripe be red and then have a silver outline? Or vice versa?

I'm not feeling stripes on the car at all. It accentuates the longer front end and I'm not liking that. Thats what the clear corners up front were for, to make the front end flow seamlessly and appear shorter.

I can obviously do this in small steps and add as need be. Get the door handles and locks body color ASAP. Get the new wheels and the taillights on and see how all that looks with the red calipers. Then possibly look into bringing more red into the car or just paint the calipers black at that point although I'm leaning towards keeping the red and tying it in.

DEMON/6LITER, you're going to have to link me to some of those GM badges and where you're talking about putting them. If you're talking about the badge I think you're talking about and talking about adding it where I think you are I'm definitely not up for that. The only place I'd add anything would be on the front fenders or where the factory "Trans Am" script on the door was.

The grey/red decals the car had on it when I bought it hasn't escaped me either and I have thought about going back that route again once the new wheels and taillights go on.

AbsolutHank

iTrader: (4)

Hmm...I kinda think the hood needs some color, somehow. That was a noticeable problem I had with my LT1 TA...its just too much of one color, between the fenders, hood, and long fascia.

If you are still wanting to tie in the red(which I like on the white), maybe get the 98+ Ram Air decal in red for the side of the hood, like the WS6s have. Thats about the only clean way to add a dash of color without it really being overpowering or too noticable.

Definetely paint the door handles body color. How do you feel about painting the sail panel black? I think that would look really sharp...kinda like a cockpit.

nasty99WS6

Hey Josh, how are ya. Car looks nice. I personaly would probably only add the polished "ram air" lettering on the hood. The lt1 birds look really nice sleek and uncluttered. I am more a fan of the red taillights, than the smoked blake ones, but that is a preference.
I definetly think less is more with that bird. youve done real nice with it so far.

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

Thats what I'm talking about!!! A man who thinks like me. I like the red on the white as it gives it a one-off look IMO instead of being so flat. And I completely agree that somehow that front end needs something, albeit something very small, to break it up because it is so long. Originally the car had these decals on it which are basically the opposite color of the WS6 emblem on the rear, and I may do "Ram Air" on the hood in the opposite colors with red being the main color outlined by silver just like the factory WS6 emblem or even have red be the primary color with a thin charcoal/argent outline just to be a touch towards the wheels...



Maybe between just that little touch of red on the hood, and swapping the taillights and the rest of the rear lighting out it would be just the slight splash of red that I needed to tie it all together. Then I could do the polished PONTIAC inserts in the rear to tie the wheels and tips into the car and call it a day.

On doing the sail panel in black its not my cup of tea. Just doesn't look right to me and I like how the white breaks up the tint but I may photoshop it just to see.

No Juice

iTrader: (11)

I would have to agree with the ram air decal on the hood. I was looking at it and saying to my self what happened to the red/silver ram air on the hood, I liked that look?

I would say put the decal back on, paint the door handles white, and leave the tail lights blacked out. Maybe add red Pontiac fill-ins to bring red to the rear of the car. Finally, I would think that the machined faced Z06 wheels would look better that the rivets.

lastcall190

iTrader: (36)

IMO I would go WITHOUT the rivets, put the decal back on the hood (you're right, the front of the LT1 looks like it goes on forever, and a stripe just drives that point home ), unblack the tails, put some 98+ on, leave the center blacked or just buff anything on there out, some dark red inserts maybe... Car looks so damn clean to begin with I'd probably just leave it as is, but it sounds like you really want to change a few things.

-J

WayFast84

No stripes and no badging, yesterday I was thinking door handles, but didnt say it in the post.. the cars sexy DONT MESS IT UP!

Out1aw

iTrader: (1)

I think the simple and clean look is the best on that car. White looks so much better when it has subtle modifications, no badging, and a nice set of wheels. Simple = better in most cases. The badging and striping and all would throw off the clean lines and nearly perfect styling of the LT1 WS6's.

Sgt. Spuds

iTrader: (1)

Ditch everything red, its a tacky color IMHO.