GSXRofDFW

I am looking for a C5 this upcoming spring. I am looking at the early ones because I want money left over for mods.
My max budget is 30,000
I am looking at cars in the 17-18,000 range. It looks like I can get a pretty nice C5 for that with higher miles.

My wish list is shocks, sway bars and decent rotors, pads and SS lines and all poly bushings.

Engine wise I would love a L92 headed stroker long block from sdpc or TSP.

I have made an extensive parts list and calculated for every supporting mod I can think of like all the exhaust, new clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder, intake and tb, new water pump etc. Basicly all the crap I can think of to get it back running after a swap.

BTW I am a BMW Master mechanic with access to press, alignment rack all of my tools as well as my garage at home. Labor is FREE!

Do you guys think I could do all of the above for 30,000
Is there some big expense I have over looked because of my lack of knowledge about the Vette? Any high mileage items I should think of replacing / repairing. I know the seat bolstering wears though easily.

dixonk

iTrader: (8)

I think you should be able to pull of a decent h/c setup with that. It will be close though depending on the brands you choose.

Shoaf85

iTrader: (9)

The rear will probably need to be beefed up a little with some hardened output shafts with that kind of power. Another option for you to consider is to buy a car that already has a lot of bolt ons and you can just use them after you build teh new motor, you may even find one with a built stroker in it already, but in the end this can save you a lot of money!

GSXRofDFW

I have seen some cars for sale that already had a good set of headers and an exhaust that I would be ok with. That is a few 1000 off right there.

I am staying away from cars with built engines because #1 who knows who did what or how it was taken care of and #2 I don't want to pay a premium for some guys parts that I will not be using.

ls1290

iTrader: (20)

Doing the labor yourself with save you a lot of money. If you look around you find a C5 that has some of the mods you want already installed, so you can save a bit more there. I definitely think you could all you want to do for $30K based on you will be doing the labor. One think to keep in mind is that if you are not very familiar with C5s or LS1, make sure to ask a lot of questions even if you think they might be simple and dumb.

Keith

will82

Lets see:

Used Coupe ~ 18,000
Coilovers ~ 1,700
Sways ~ 800
Brakes ~ 1,600
Headers ~ 1,500
Clutch ~ 1,200
Hardened Shaft ~ 300
Radiator w/ oil cooler ~ 800
Electric Water Pump ~ 540
AFR/TFS/ETP Heads ~ 2400
Cam & accessories ~ 800
z06 catback ~ 450

That puts you right at $30,000 and with top of the line suspension, 6 piston front brakes, top of the line clutch, hardened rear-end left shaft, top of the line radiator and oil cooler, top of the line 225cc heads so you can reuse them down the road with a 400+ cubic inch stroker bottom end. You should get over 450rwhp now with a good cam and top of the line heads.

Or you could go cheap on everything else and get a stroker now, but I really think in the long run setting up the car right first and then later getting a stroker you will be better served.

Plus 450rwhp in a c5 will be fun, then after a while when you start craving more you'll be ready to afford the big short block and the rest of the car will already be set up.

Eurospec2

iTrader: (2)

Would modify this list quite a bit

Used Coupe ~ 18,000 there in the 14-15 range with high miles, your changing everything so who cares about milage?

Coilovers ~ 1,700
Sways ~ 800 These 3 are nice, but no way necessary,
Brakes ~ 1,600 these cars handle and brake great in stock form



Headers ~ 1,500 Dont have to cost anywhere near that much

Clutch ~ 1,200 Dont scrimp here, pay up and get a good one the first time, 1200 should do it

Hardened Shaft ~ 300

Radiator w/ oil cooler ~ 800 Dont need this
Electric Water Pump ~ 540 I would never put this on my car, WAY to much electrical drain on a car that already has a weak charging system

AFR/TFS/ETP Heads ~ 2400 If i were you d just build a motor, As someone whos built a few BMW motor's in my day, LS1 motors are cake in comparison so you should be fine doing the work
Cam & accessories ~ 800

z06 catback ~ 450 <--- Money well spent

GSXRofDFW

The only reason mileage may be a concern is because of rock chips and stuff. Besides that you are correct. Everything would be re done.

Building my own engine instead of buying a long or short block is an option but when I tried to price that it seemed hard to beat the price of an already built unit.

kerryt1

iTrader: (10)

dig around on Corvetteforum.com in the C5s for sale section...you should be able to do pretty darn well for the budget you have.

EDIT: I just had another idea....look around for a really high mile 2001 Z06 (Low $20s). Then you could leave the suspension alone and build the drivetrain only.

vette#3

iTrader: (1)

I agree ,the c5 for sale forum has some Very nice cars with Mods that are allready on the car, u may luck up & find a c5 with turbos or a charger & a full list of mods allready on the car for a little more than your wanting to spend ,but then again Budget & Mods dont go together ,i did notice your List had a set of headers for the c5 for 1,500 ,u can get c5 2inch big step hdrs from sdpc for 900.00 & there kooks they dont get better than that ,american racing ,the corvette tax for the c5 & LS1 parts has went down a bit since the ls3 has came out, imo ,I am sure u will find a decent c5 ,once u get one ,thats all u will want to drive

123sugey

Check out my car for sale for $14,500.00 in the Florida members section - under " Anybody want a 10 second C5" !!

whatsgrip?

neodamonkey

iTrader: (7)

You could buy my car for about 30k

11SecVette

iTrader: (1)

ha - too funny! budget and C5 don't work my friend

Seriously though, let me help out - you should buy one already modded. So what if someone else had the "fun" of waiting for months to get the right parts, chase down bugs like crazy, pull out hair and spend thousands of dollars? You can get it already done, and enjoy it right off the bat. Just make sure you have it thoroughly checked over. Just my .02!

Quik Z06

iTrader: (5)

I agree!! I bought my 99 FRC the way it is and dont regret it for a second. Just make sure it was all done by a reputable shop and tuned by someone that knows what their doing. My FRc had to have close to $60K in parts and labor into it and I bought it for half.