LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion - Greetings from Rogersville, AL! And proud owner of a 2002 Corvette Coupe.

Well my name is Cody Strife, i'm from the crappy ass state of slavery, otherwise known as Alabama, known for its blood thirsty repubics and lack of good paying jobs. Nontheless, I find my ways to make money as a Union Electrician and recently bought a 2002 Corvette Coupe, Torch Red, 6-speed in beautiful condition for 15,000 dollars. May be too much, but considering it had a borla exhaust, k&N intake, new michelin tires, and around 1,500 dollars worth of receipts for tune-ups, brakes, alignments, and problematic parts such as that oil pressure sender thing, lol, I figured it would be a good buy.

The venture into the realm of 8 cylinder powered sports cars really comes as a surprise and then as not so much of a surprise when you guys find out my roots.

When I was 15 years old, I thought I wanted a Mustang, you know something of that nature that is popular with teenagers, but when my brother brought home a completely different car in nature, a roadster, known to many from my Local Union 558 as the faggot car, but that nonetheless, paved the way for the affordable sports car movement of the 90's and also reintroduced the two seater convertible in a barage of bland, uninteresting front wheel drive cars, the Mazda Miata. I feel in love with its light and nimble chassis, telepathic steering, and incredible connection to the driver. With only 90 rear wheel horsepower, it served as a reminder that even the smallest of sports cars can be an unbelievable amount of fun on your favorite county back roads and that the amount of fat a car had mattered much more than simply horsepower-to-weight ratio.

It wasn't too long until I wanted to learn more about automotive mechanics and things like that, it got me off the gaming frenze and PCs, and into using my summer savings to purchase a huge craftsmen tool kit, that ten years later, I think back as the best purchase I made, haha.

So, from that humble beginning came so much more. I have had nearly a dozen Miata's which many I have turbocharged and supercharged, as well as my 2001 S2000 that I just sold for 16,000 with 360 rear wheel horsepower. (it ran the 1/4 at 111 mph in 13.321 seconds with bad wheel hop and street tires, not too bad!) Not to mention, over a dozen sport bikes (600's and 1000's) as well which range from Kawasakis, Suzukis, Hondas, and my personal favorite and the absolute best bike I have ever owned, the 2009 Triumph Daytona 675 triple cylinder sport bike. (I have a Triumph Bonneville T100 now and I love it too!)

So to wrap this whole short story around, I feel in love with light-weight roadsters, vehicles that were not necessarily rockets, but that were quick on their feet and that placed agility over pure muscle. True, it took me a while to purchase a world class American sports car, but given the limitations on the domestic market, it made perfect sense considering our cars seem to always tip the scale around at least 3,500 lbs and more. In other words, they were obese and uninteresting cars to me. I always like the Corvettes, particularly the C5's and C6's, as they seem to be the sole survivor of the "gram strategy" that has all but been abandoned by the domestic sports car market, and that choice rewards the driver with good power-to-weight ratio, as well as excellent fuel economy, and a car that is nimble and light on its feet. In essence, it reminds me of that 2,100 lbs Miata, but with alot more power. I am enjoying the privilage of owning a Corvette. :)

Love the car, it does lack in some areas when compared to the Honda S2000, mainly the interior quality and fit and finish of certain body parts, but overall, it is a world class performer, and i'm ready for something new. I know DOHC inline 4's like the back of my hand, and even though the principles of internal combustion engines are largely the same, this is a completely fresh and exciting road to venture on. I'm looking forward to upgrades :)