Corvette Rear End
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011Corvette Rear End
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 Corvette Rear End 1980 1982  US $875.00
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 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 Corvette NEW Rear Sway Bar End Mounting Kit US $65.00
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 C4 Corvette Rear Suspension Rod End Camber Rods US $220.00
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‘04 Commemorative Edition Z06 - The “Best” C5 Corvette?
Despite Corvette’s early spotty racing history, their presence was never missed at race tracks, as they are typically loud and always a contender. Were it not for Corvette’s rich racing heritage, the car never would have become GM's halo car. Unlike the 50's when GM said, “We don’t race cars”, the ‘80's and ‘90's saw many drag racing and NASCAR factory racing efforts from Oldsmobile and Chevrolet. By the time the C5 came along, GM was DEFINITELY racing.
Race car builders Pratt & Miller were hired to help design, develop, and build the C5-R. By ‘99, the first all-out, factory-supported Corvette racing team hit the track. The first year was rough with 2 finishes in 5 races. In 2000 the team collected 2 wins in 8 races. Then in ‘01 the team took 8 wins in 10 races, including the ultimate prize of winning Le Mans for the first time. For 2002 the C5-R team won 10 of 11 races, including Le Mans. In 2003 the team changed its colors from the familiar bright yellow paint to dark blue with white and red hood and top stripes. Competition was especially fierce in ‘03 and the team “only” won 5 out of 10 races and came in second at Le Mans.
Back in the world of production Corvettes, work was well under way on the C6 Corvette. The C5 had been so well designed that by ‘99 Corvette engineers had done nearly everything they wanted to do with the C5. It didn’t take much convincing for Chief Corvette Engineer Dave Hill to champion an all-new Corvette with a projected launch date to coincide with the 2003 50th anniversary. 2001 was not a good year for GM and the economy, so the proposed C6 was put on hold. When the C6 was finally given a green light, the projected introduction was as an ‘05 model.
The introduction of a new Corvette presented a challenge to Corvette planners; how do you generate interest in the last year of a car’s production when customers know that a new car is coming soon? Answer; make a “special edition.” The last C3 and C4 Corvettes offered special editions. So planners tapped into the success of the C5-R racers and offered the Commemorative Edition option available on all three Corvette models; the coupe, convertible, and the Z06.
All ‘04 Commemorative Edition Corvettes had special Le Mans Blue paint with bold white strips that ran over the hood dome, top, and the top of the rear deck, with thin red strips on the outside of both white stripes. Included were special badges, embroidery on the headrests, and polished Z06 wheels with special center caps. Since carbon fiber is a common material used on race cars, the Commemorative Edition was the first production Corvette to use a carbon fiber hood. You can see the carbon fiber weave between the white and red stripes. Coupe and convertible editions had a two-tone shale interior, while the Z06 had an all-black interior. To sweeten the deal, every performance and luxury option was included. The coupe and convertible option cost $3,700, while the Z06 version cost $4,335. A total of 6,899 units were built, accounting for 20-percent of all ‘04 Vette sales. The Z06 version was the most expensive Corvette in ‘04, costing approximately $13,500 over the base Corvette, for a total of just under $58,000.
So, to get back to our original question; is the ‘04 Commemorative Edition Z06 “the best” of the C5 Corvettes? Not to diminish other C5s, but this package had trim, paint, and the unique carbon fiber hood, all of which were ONLY available in ‘04 with this option package. So, if I have to pick a Corvette that represents the pinnacle of production, performance Corvettes, I’d vote for the ‘04 Commemorative Edition Z06.
I’m sure that if Zora Arkus-Duntov was still running the Corvette show, he would have wanted “more” for the Commemorative Edition - at least front and rear spoilers, a domed hood, driving lights... ah, now I’m getting carried away.
THE END
This article was written by K. Scott Teeters, an editor for Alex Schult of www.SmokinVette.com and a freelance columnist and artist with VETTE Magazine. His monthly column, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” has been running consecutively in VETTE since 1997 and can be found on the very last page of every issue. You can find reproductions of his Corvette art at: www.IllustratedCorvetteSeries.com
About the Author
SmokinVette.com Corvette Forum. We are one of the larger Corvette forums and have been featured on Jay Leno's Garage, Speed Channels "Super Cars Exposed", SEMA and announced on the "The Tonight Show". We are a free forum for all Corvette owners. Swing on by: Corvette Forum
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Corvette $15.99 Corvette |
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Rear End $2.99 Rear End Vinyl Sticker Express yourself with a bumper strip. Add a magnet to make it removable. Size is approximate. Woman, man, humor, sarcasm, wit, butt, ass. |
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E&G Classics Rear Exhaust Mesh Surround [06-08 Corvette] $139.43 "E&G Classics makes very high-end products. If your objective is affordability, admittedly an E&G Classics product may not be for you because none of their products are cheaply made. If, however, you want a high-end product and you refuse to put cheap products on your car or truck, then you absolutely will not regret buying an E&G Classics product, we guarantee it. All E&G Classics products come with a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty!;;;;All E&G Classics products are made in the USA." |
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Energy Control Arm Bushings - Rear End Control Arm Bushing Set (Black) [97-01 Chevrolet Corvette] $55.96 Must Reuse All Metal Parts |
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Energy Control Arm Bushings - Rear End Control Arm Bushing Set (Red) [97-01 Chevrolet Corvette] $55.96 Must Reuse All Metal Parts |
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LeBra Front End Masks [97-04 Chevrolet Corvette] $64.99 LeBra Front End Masks |
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Face the Situation at the Rear End of a Bull $19.99 Face the Situation at the Rear End of a Bull - Premium Poster |
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Rear End View of Four Zebras $39.99 Nicole Duplaix Rear End View of Four Zebras - Photographic Print |
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Closeup of a Grevys Zebra's Rear End $34.99 Tim Laman Closeup of a Grevys Zebra's Rear End - Photographic Print |
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Closeup of the Rear End of an African Elephant $34.99 Tim Laman Closeup of the Rear End of an African Elephant - Photographic Print |
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Chevrolet Corvette (C5) $89.22 Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Chevrolet Corvette (C5) is a sports car produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1997 through 2004 model years. The first truly allnew Corvette since the original, a new generation of designers and engineers achieved higher levels of performance, sophistication, and quality hailing the fifth generation as the best Corvette ever. The C5 was a major change from the previous generation. Designed from the outset as a sturdy convertible, as opposed to a coup that was subsequently weakened by the removal of the roof structure, the car now had a hydroformed box frame. The transmission was moved to the rear of the car to form an integrated, rearmounted transaxle assembly which was connected to the allnew LS1 engine via a torque tube; this engine/transmission arrangement helped facilitate a desirable 5050 (percentage, frontrear) weight distribution for the vehicle. Author: Kjeld, Pollux Variste Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 112 Publication Date: 2011/08/26 Language: English Dimensions: 9.02 x 5.98 x 0.27 inches |
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SSBC Spindle Splash Shield (Rear Left) [67-82 Corvette] $78 Splash Shield;; Rear Left |
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SSBC Spindle Splash Shield (Rear Right) [67-82 Corvette] $78 Splash Shield;; Rear Right |
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Powerslot Rotors - Rear Left [97-04 Chevrolet Corvette (All Models)] $114.72 Powerslot Rotors - Rear Left |
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Powerslot Rotors - Rear Right [97-04 Chevrolet Corvette (All Models)] $114.72 Powerslot Rotors - Rear Right |
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Classic Design Concepts Paintable Wings - C6 Rear Spoiler [05-Up Chevrolet Corvette] $429 esign Concepts is now offering a C6 rear spoiler. This polyurethane part uses the stock mounting locations. The CDC offered C6 Spoiler adds a touch of performance uniqueness to your Corvette. |
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SSBC Parking Brake Cable - Stainless Steel (Rear) [65-82 Corvette] $78 Brake Cable;; Rear;; Stainless Steel |
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Rotora Rotors - Slotted (Rear Left) [Chevrolet 97-03 Corvette] $125.44 Rotora Rotors - Slotted (Rear Left) |
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Rotora Rotors - Slotted (Rear Right) [Chevrolet 97-03 Corvette] $125.44 Rotora Rotors - Slotted (Rear Right) |
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Sarona Body Kit - Rear Bumper [91-96 Chevrolet Corvette 2DR] $360 Sarona Body Kit - Rear Bumper |
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Chevrolet Corvette $6 Chevrolet Corvette |
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Corvette C6 $6 Corvette C6 |
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Close View of a Grants Zebras Rear End $39.99 Joel Sartore Close View of a Grants Zebras Rear End - Photographic Print |
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Rear Bumper End Cap by Crown Automotive $13.99 1997-06 Jeep TJ Wrangler;Black;Rear;Passenger side Rear Bumper End Cap by Crown Automotive |
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Extreme Dimensions GTO Body Kit - Rear Lip [91-96 Chevrolet Corvette] $335 Extreme Dimensions GTO Body Kit - Rear Lip |
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Extreme Dimensons GTO Body Kit - Rear Lip [84-90 Chevrolet Corvette] $335 Extreme Dimensons GTO Body Kit - Rear Lip |
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SSBC Repair Kit for Disc Brake Caliper (Rear) [65-82 Corvette] $35 Brake Caliper Rebuild Kit;; Rear;; For 1 Caliper |
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Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Red) [84-87 Chevrolet Corvette] $35.48 Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Red) |
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Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Black) [84-87 Chevrolet Corvette] $35.48 Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Black) |
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Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Red) [88-96 Chevrolet Corvette] $35.48 Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Red) |
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Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Black) [88-96 Chevrolet Corvette] $35.48 Prothane Strut Rod Bushings - Rear (Black) |