CCC Newsletter for this month.

About a year and a half ago, I noticed a car for sale in the ‘C5 for sale’ section of Corvette Forum that got me really excited. At the time Jean and I had a desire for a convertible and couldn’t part with the ’01 coupe, so our budget pushed us in the direction of a used C5. The one I found had all the pre-requisites: It was white, it had low miles, the price was good, and as a bonus it had a supercharged engine! After a few phone calls and some banking action, we were boarding a plane for Dallas, Texas, on our way to 21^st Century Muscle Cars. When I first laid eyes on the car I was stunned. The white paint was a pearl-ized high dollar custom job, and the aftermarket hood and custom wheels were awesome. When I took it for a test drive it didn’t matter if the car had ‘cooties’, I was buying it as the power was intoxicating. Of course when I missed a 2 to 3 shift and zoomed the engine to 7000 and threw the blower belt, I pretty well had to buy it!! After a new belt and an oil change we were on our way back to Alabama. To make a long story short, when you buy a car that has had lots of modifications, be prepared for lots of work. The biggest problem was the programming of the cars PCM (computer). The guys at 21^st Century took care to make sure it made max power, but neglected part-throttle operation (cruising) and idle. I was plagued by a ‘check engine’ light, stalling, and generally rough running. This forced me to buy PCM re-programming software, and learn how to do it. I have been tuning cars all my life, but never via computer. So now after a year of tuning, and replacing the O2 sensors and the MAP sensor, I am finally satisfied with the way the car runs. Its an absolute joy to drive with ‘instant’ torque with a little push of your right foot, and it’s civilized in traffic.

Modifications:
        Engine – Lingenfelter short block with forged pistons and balanced rotating assembly, non-intercooled Magnason supercharger, 21^st century ‘blower’ cam, Comp valve springs, gutted pre-cats, X-pipe, and B&B mufflers. Results: 453 RWHP and 460 RWTQ, (this was with version 121 out of 135 engine re-programs, maybe 470HP now).
        Body/Chassis – Custom paint, hood, and tonneau cover. Hoop bars behind seats, HID headlights, white face gages, Hurst shifter, Kenwood stereo with amplifier and subwoofer, Motorsport wheels, slotted rotors and painted calipers.
        As I said, when you buy a modified car to be prepared for work – The intake manifold bolts were loose, the HID headlights out of alignment and the covers were scrubbing the hood edges, the hood was misaligned, the hoop bars were completely loose, the convertible top rear window was loose (due partially to the custom tonneau cover hitting it), the slotted brake rotors were reversed (rights on left and vise versa), and the brake calipers were loose (one came completely off while driving).
        So, it has been a learning experience but so rewarding every time I get in and drive!!!

Bruce

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CORVETTE GAZETTE
February, 2008 The next club meeting: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at the Golden Corral, Dothan. IN THIS ISSUE: (patience - as always, it's a work in progress !! ) *Caravan Dates announced ! Standby to Volunteer !*
The Boatyard and Friends - photo by Bill James
President’s Comments National Corvette Museum New Members	Family News Events approaching and departing
Check out our website at www.circlecitycorvettes.com

President's Comments: Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!! I hope it's a good one for all. I know the trip we took on the 3rd to share some time with our Tallahassee friends was an excellent time! The food and the friendship plus the weather made for a wonderful day. I always look forward to the get-togethers with other clubs. Thanks to all the club members that went and brought food. It's hard to believe that our club is 30 years old. We, the Board, are working very hard to come up with ways and ideas to celebrate it. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let us know. We certainly want to make it special! I am happy to announce that Bill Cramer Chevrolet will once again be sponsoring our Beach Caravan. It is very important to have sponsors and with Bill Cramer Chevrolet doing it again it make John's life a little easier. Thank You Judy & Russell Lewis for helping to make this happen. Bruce Carter has volunteered to be the Local Events Coordinator. Thanks for doing this Bruce. He will be keeping up to date as to what's happening and will be taking suggestions. A lot of members have been asking about a trip to the National Corvette Museum. Well mark your calendars for October 17-19. Charley will be getting in touch with the folks at the museum to make sure there's no conflict. We're looking at making this a working weekend. Our club will be helping do things around the museum. Charley will explain more about it at the meeting. That's all the exciting news for this month, so till next month...... I'll see around the Circle Kelly Walker-President-Circle City Corvette Club (BDCS) -----------------------------------------------------------

*National Corvette Museum News:* Click for the Museum Homepage: National Corvette Museum - opens in its own window. The Museum Homepage has links to all museum pages! Click here for Charley's NCM Newsletter page. Greetings from your NCM Ambassador! - Charley ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech Tips: If you are one of many in the club that own a C5, you’re in luck – the price of tires has come down!! I was on Corvette Forum the other day and noticed folks talking about a C5 tire for $87. I couldn’t believe it so I went to tirerrack.com an checked it out – its true. General tire company makes the Exclaim UHP tire (ultra high performance), which has been tested by Tire Rack and came out pretty good, and the price for the 245-45-17 (front tire for C5) is only $87!!! The rear’s are $136. Kumho isn’t to far behind with the Ecsta SPT for $98/$158, and there’s the Sumitomo HTRZ II for $87/$112. Now, these are all non-runflats, if you want a run-flat, go for the Kumho Ecsta MX XRP for $156/236. I run Kumhos on my C5 coupe and on the ’96 – there is nothing wrong with these tires. The General’s were discussed in length on the forum and the folks who had them were very pleased. There was only one negative comment, high road noise, although another rebutted that with a ‘normal road noise’ comment. So, there’s absolutely no reason to pay $800 and up for a set of non run-flat’s for your C5. C6 folks, sorry, it’ll probably be a couple more years before tires in your sizes come down to these prices. So push the little black button on the center console (to disable traction control), and put the loud pedal down and spin those rear meats, they are not that expensive any more!! Bruce -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Local Events: March 8 - MACC Attack Corvette and Hot Rod show, 10:00 to 3:00 Barbour Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama. $30 pre-registration. Limited track time available. Parade Laps with photo ops at noon. T-shirt and dash plaque to the first 100 entries. See the Mid-Alabama Corvette Club event at: www.maccattack.net March 8 - Tallahassee Cruisin' Corvettes Car Show - Click here for the flyer Car show registration 8-12. Awards at 3 p.m. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent Events:
Lunch at the Boatyard in Panama City Beach. A great place, great food, and a pleasant cruise.
Meeting up with the Emerald Coast Corvette Club at city hall.

Car of the Month: About a year and a half ago, I noticed a car for sale in the ‘C5 for sale’ section of Corvette Forum that got me really excited. At the time Jean and I had a desire for a convertible and couldn’t part with the ’01 coupe, so our budget pushed us in the direction of a used C5. The one I found had all the pre-requisites: It was white, it had low miles, the price was good, and as a bonus it had a supercharged engine! After a few phone calls and some banking action, we were boarding a plane for Dallas, Texas, on our way to 21^st Century Muscle Cars. When I first laid eyes on the car I was stunned. The white paint was a pearl-ized high dollar custom job, and the aftermarket hood and custom wheels were awesome. When I took it for a test drive it didn’t matter if the car had ‘cooties’, I was buying it as the power was intoxicating. Of course when I missed a 2 to 3 shift and zoomed the engine to 7000 and threw the blower belt, I pretty well had to buy it!! After a new belt and an oil change we were on our way back to Alabama. To make a long story short, when you buy a car that has had lots of modifications, be prepared for lots of work. The biggest problem was the programming of the cars PCM (computer). The guys at 21^st Century took care to make sure it made max power, but neglected part-throttle operation (cruising) and idle. I was plagued by a ‘check engine’ light, stalling, and generally rough running. This forced me to buy PCM re-programming software, and learn how to do it. I have been tuning cars all my life, but never via computer. So now after a year of tuning, and replacing the O2 sensors and the MAP sensor, I am finally satisfied with the way the car runs. Its an absolute joy to drive with ‘instant’ torque with a little push of your right foot, and it’s civilized in traffic. Modifications: Engine – Lingenfelter short block with forged pistons and balanced rotating assembly, non-intercooled Magnason supercharger, 21^st century ‘blower’ cam, Comp valve springs, gutted pre-cats, X-pipe, and B&B mufflers. Results: 453 RWHP and 460 RWTQ, (this was with version 121 out of 135 engine re-programs, maybe 470HP now). Body/Chassis – Custom paint, hood, and tonneau cover. Hoop bars behind seats, HID headlights, white face gages, Hurst shifter, Kenwood stereo with amplifier and subwoofer, Motorsport wheels, slotted rotors and painted calipers. As I said, when you buy a modified car to be prepared for work – The intake manifold bolts were loose, the HID headlights out of alignment and the covers were scrubbing the hood edges, the hood was misaligned, the hoop bars were completely loose, the convertible top rear window was loose (due partially to the custom tonneau cover hitting it), the slotted brake rotors were reversed (rights on left and vise versa), and the brake calipers were loose (one came completely off while driving). So, it has been a learning experience but so rewarding every time I get in and drive!!! Bruce -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Members:
We welcome our new members to the club!!!
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Birthdays and Anniversaries:
HAPPY February BIRTHDAYS Bruce Carter February 15 Dick Maccabe February 20 Ronnie Lowe February 23	February ANNIVERSARIES: Jim & Elaine Dodd February 17 Stan & Karen Kennedy February 19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REALLY COOL TRIPS
For Sale: Hello Everyone, As a long time Caravan Chat member I would like to give my fellow Chatters the opportunity to "adopt my Baby" so I know it will go to a good home. I have been suffering with a bad left knee for several years and have always had to deal with the pain. However, the time has come when I must part with my beautiful Millennium Yellow Roadster with its six speed transmission. My days of pushing a clutch are over so I must reluctantly move on and get an automatic. My 2002 Roadster is fully equipped with every option available on the 2002 models except Z-51 suspension (mine has the F-45 three way adjustable suspension). It has a black top and black interior. HUD, 12 CD player, electrochromic mirrors, 6 way electric seats, high polished wheels, and all the rest. Everything has been meticulously maintained. This car has never been smoked in and has been used mostly for short to medium length vacations and Corvette Club trips and Cruise-N-Eats. Never been a daily driver. No paint or body work ever. Current mileage is 26,475 miles. (Mostly cruise control miles on trips). The tint coat Millennium Yellow paint is still in excellent condition as the car has been stored in a temperature controlled garage year round. Whenever we used the car on a trip, we took a car cover to cover it at night. This car is still all stock and is a real head-turner as it has won first place trophies at all of the local car shows I have entered it into. One of the best things about this beautiful car is that it is still covered under the GMPP Zero $ Deductible extended warranty until April 2009 or 52,100 miles. There is nothing like the security of knowing your car is still under warranty. We are asking $32,500 dollars for this car that is still in like new condition and has been "babied" its entire life. I live in Saraland, Alabama which is about 15 miles north of Mobile, Al. My telephone numbers are 251 679-0081 (home) and 251 689-2903 (cell). I sincerely hope that I can find someone to give this car the TLC I have given it. Sanford Flach Member of Port City Corvette Club NCM member NCM Club Ambassador

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President: Kelly Walker Vice President: Bill James Secretary: Barbara Pattberg NCM Ambassador: Charley Robertson Treasurer: Bruce Carter Caravan Coordinator: John Hickman Local Event Coordinator: Bruce Carter Newsletter Editor: Bruce Carter Member at Large: Jackie James Member at Large: Charlotte Countryman Webmaster: Brent Gourley	Save the Wave