Went out for some folding chairs

haha wow. yea, headlights are expensive to tool, I could see that.

After Audi acquired Lamborghini they released the Diablo 6.0 and needed to give it an update. The most noticeable update was the loss of pop-up headlamps. In their place were a set from the Nissan 300ZX and they look right at home. Nissan also needed a set of headlamps for its R390 race car and again the 300ZX gave them up. I guess you could call the 300ZX the slut of the headlight world in the 90’s.

In a word, yeah. The BMW had shorter gears (3.91) than this (3.42) so you were shifting more often, the motor was more eager and more rev happy with the cam and LS6 manifold, and just overall felt more “peppy” up top - but then again it had DBC, all torque management removed, etc. However the Vette weighs 1000lbs less than the BMW so at lower revs the Vette responds MUCH better to throttle inputs. Even with the tall gears you just breathe on it on the highway in 6th and revs start to climb. I’m curious to see what the vette runs at the dragstrips as it is, pretty much bone stock. I’m guessing low 13s, which is on par with where the BMW was - difference being that the BMW was pretty much full bolt ons and even a cam where the vette is basically bone stock.

This is pretty interesting. I knew the Diablo lights looked familiar…

long live pop up headlights

yeah i had the non pop up headlights. I called them the frog lights. Cause no matter what you do, they are ugly. I did them just for the massive weight savings

NX parts. what ya need! i got it! lol

When perfection is achieved it’s hard to look elsewhere.

Time to resurrect my old LSX stainless license plate frame, which lived a life of glory and burnouts and commutes on my 6.0 LSX BMW.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1624/24769790771_7519a49457_k.jpg_DSC4656 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

the mild hardware on the BMW plate had left its mark on the stainless plate frame. not good.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1706/24567745650_859ef3a9ad_k.jpg_DSC4657 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

the black background to the LSX nameplate had seen some mileage too.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1644/24236344993_7749e2ddfd_k.jpg_DSC4658 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

a brillo pad made quick work of the staining

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1655/24235020204_b38fcc5cd0_k.jpg_DSC4659 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I ran the brillo pad over the whole surface of the stainless plate frame for good measure, the wife definitely won’t be happy about the outline left on her kitchen towels from all the dirt and corrosion removed. I thought this was pretty funny

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1575/24836903696_c12892fcd5_z.jpg_DSC4660 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

the solution for everything is carbon fiber (3M wrap)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1558/24745275702_aa54b73ed7_z.jpg_DSC4664 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

lay the background against the vinyl wrap

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1615/24745263932_7d89b74d71_z.jpg_DSC4665 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

work the edges out with your fingers for a smooth finish

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1694/24769689561_9c6b5ea79b_k.jpg_DSC4666 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

ok, so work out the edges, trim it, and put it behind the plate frame - now we’re talking

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1496/24836846936_20081d4bf8_z.jpg_DSC4668 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

ok - let’s get serious - no more cosmetic BS - time to get dirty

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1445/24863096145_c1f9c3e422_z.jpg_DSC4670 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I am a big fan of cheap/free mods that return REAL gains, so the zip tie mod was in order. the existing air filter had seen better days.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1461/24567619150_4a9ed3bd0c_z.jpg_DSC4671 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

this should breathe just a bit better.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1660/24236193963_0421e8bc19_z.jpg_DSC4673 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I am a big advocate of starting fresh on maintenance history so I decided to start fresh on all drivetrain fluids, starting with the differential.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1682/24863034935_821ec7ab6c_z.jpg_DSC4674 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

The diff oil MAY have been changed - not sure. At 105K I’d rather not take a chance
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1545/24234861884_a0022d98b9_z.jpg_DSC4676 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

What came out wasn’t too bad in all honesty. A bit dark but overall clean with no particulate
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1682/24745134372_9f51890475_z.jpg_DSC4678 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

I also changed the trans fluid (T56) with new Dex III, no pics. What came out (again) wasn’t bad, but wanted to start fresh. Finally, a fresh oil change with 5W30 Mobil 1 Full Syn. and AC Delco Filter rounded out the fluid changes.

the MaxJax lift makes things a bit easier

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1551/24862998785_32ee13e063_z.jpg_DSC4679 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1521/24495392859_a2c1809aed_z.jpg_DSC4680 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Oil and Filter
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1604/24495379799_ef7a3ac946_z.jpg_DSC4681 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Rounded out the maintenance with new TR55 spark plugs and Red Chevrolet Performance Plug Wires

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1562/24769523871_c1d279ef32_z.jpg_DSC4682 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

The old plugs looked so - so, but the gap on them was abysmal - up to .075" on the worst ones
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1711/24236087833_707114c459_z.jpg_DSC4683 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Driver’s side 1 3 5 7

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1654/24862913155_3ffff02b65_z.jpg_DSC4686 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Workspace

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1638/24495335269_033d6cf6b0_z.jpg_DSC4684 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

105K worth of use
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1654/24862913155_3ffff02b65_z.jpg_DSC4686 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

new red GM Performance Wires
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1536/24567433250_d077484c0d_z.jpg_DSC4687 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Luckily, I was able to reuse all the stamped metal heat shields for all the new wires.

Took the wife to the driving range and hit a couple buckets of balls. Car ran flawlessly. I spent Super Bowl Sunday morning washing the exterior, vacuuming inside, detailing the dash and door panels, cleaned glass, and cleaning the “udders” inside the engine compartment. Some minor leaves/crap in the udders, removed them and the AC drain and hosed them down inside and out.

Picking up a set of Z06 Titanium mufflers tonight locally to replace the droning no name bullet mufflers on the car now

Now that the car is pretty much all set with maintenance, I am going to passively start looking for some longtubes and and LS6 intake. In the meantime while I wait for spring I’ll be trying my hand at paint correction since the clearcoat has random light scratches everywhere from 16 years of use. I think it has a lot of potential to look great with some work.

Damn, nice work. I have a real nice Flex orbital with an assortment of pads and polishes you can grab if you want.

good work!

I think I’m all set, I got a real nice PC 7424XP as a wedding gift a couple years ago and it worked wonders with some harbor freight pads on my snowmobile. Do you have any recommendations on pads in general? Do we have a “detailing DIY” thread? That’d be cool.

Nice work, I’m jealous of the simple maintenance. Do those wires have a nice positive click to them when installed, or are they like the MSD wires that you don’t really know if they’re on or not? I always liked the Taylor wires other than the fact that they fall apart after a couple removals.

The coil end has a nice positive 2 clicks, so you know you’re on. The plug end has a much softer single click, I had to pull it off and re-try to make sure they were seated. For the money you can’t beat these wires, I think I paid like $65 for them

For my rotary I got my last set of pads from Al Wil supply on Transit by the 400. I picked up the 3M dimpled pads, iirc they were <20 each and worked MUCH better than the no-name ones I’ve gotten online in the past; there was a lot less buildup and caking.

I’ve been working on my C5 a bit over the winter here and there and making some good progress. I’ve repaired some deep scratches that were through the paint… maybe I’ll make a thread.

How’d you make that gif (?) in your sig?

Sounds like the MSD wires (I should’ve specified the plug end in my last post). I know it’s not a big deal, it’s just a pet peeve of mine. Good price though.

Sawwwweeeeeeet

Worst plug wires ever lol

I have had a ton of issues with them not engaging/falling off/slightly disconnected.

forgot to add the pic of the stock heat shields on the new wires

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1624/24745005112_8f600c5a23_z.jpg_DSC4689 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Super Bowl Sunday: spent a couple hours cleaning the old person smell out of the interior. vacuumed, cleaned glass, cleaned seats, cleaned dashboard/door panels, everything got a coat of armorall/leather conditioner and a quart of febreze spray. now it’s inhabitable.

quick wash on the exterior. paint correction to come in a month or so
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1478/24926940345_9887a1f483_c.jpg_DSC4690 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1714/24300062093_5f69638b50_c.jpg_DSC4691 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

took a ride out to Rochester to grab Z06 Ti’s

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1529/24833562691_dc5697916f_c.jpg_DSC4692 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1528/24808934082_2d01619977_c.jpg_DSC4695 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

the “custom” exhaust needed to go. the shop that did the work was nice enough to weld in the bullets where the old flanges used to be, making the system one piece from the header flange to the tips. wouldn’t be a problem if the exhaust didn’t loop up over the axle. the bullets sounded okay when you romped on it but otherwise droned around town pretty badly.

The h-pipe was long gone, replaced by this x-pipe, which will stay
_DSC4695 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1602/24631419390_43f161dd52_c.jpg_DSC4698 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

generic bullets in all their exhaust shop crap glory

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1581/24808911852_7c40727317_c.jpg_DSC4699 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

snaking over to the tips
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1655/24900561736_3c423eb75b_c.jpg_DSC4700 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Tip alignment wasn’t amazing, and the tip diameter seemed out of place and too far apart between sides
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1443/24559205939_e43f9563cb_c.jpg_DSC4703 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1676/24299966883_5f79e7c0d8_c.jpg_DSC4704 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

chop chop. out they come

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1695/24299956533_9426ca9c32_c.jpg_DSC4705 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1581/24808841692_e921f1e3af_c.jpg_DSC4706 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

Blank slate
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1712/24926785335_8de1d237ec_c.jpg_DSC4708 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr

pipes and flanges get in tomorrow, I need to mock up the mufflers and align the tips - then connect them to the existing x-pipe

Looks great! This is really making me lean towards a C5 instead of a WS6 Trans Am (I love them big nostrils). Keep up the great work.

      • Updated - - -

These are awesome!

Gotta step up to 303 aerospace over armorall. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0004ELKC4

Is it NASA approved??