Blue Bullet Blog–The C6 Z06 Ownership Experience

**Hib Halverson** · 01-13-12, 12:51 PM

I'm thinking about ordering a brand new Corvette.

My checking account says: Ouch! Scary thought.

My brain says: WTF? Are you nuts!?

My heart says:

Go for it!
My left foot says: I want a 427!

Uh-oh. I sense a bout of indecisiveness coming on.

My Wife and I have owned a bunch of Vettes since we got into the hobby a number of years ago, but everyone of them has been a used car. My '71 Big-Block hot rod? It was ten years old when purchased it from a guy who was in the Corvette club I was in at the time. My '95, I bought used out of the GM media fleet. Our '04, I bought used from Tom Henry Racing, the used Corvette and Camaro side of Tom Henry Chevrolet in Bakerstown Pennsylvania, after they found it for me on another dealer's lot in nearby Pittsburgh. It was once a GM captured test fleet car which the Pittsburgh dealer bought in an auction. My Wife, the Fairest Sandra the Red, Dutchess of Goleta, bought her '82 CE from its first owner.

I decided, for the first time in my long affair with America's Sports Car, that I wanted a spanking new Vette–one which includes plastic bags on the seats and that new car "smell"–as opposed to worn upholstery and that "used car smell"–cigarette smoke, stale beer or rotting ham sandwiches.

Next step: pick a dealer who not only offered a good price but fit my comfort zone as far as the ordering and delivery processes. After buying a Vette and two other Chevrolets from Tom Henry at competitive prices and with great post-sale support, it would be hard not to go for a fourth. No doubt, there are those around the country who fashion themselves as "volume Corvette dealers" which might have been able to beat Tom Henry's price by a slight amount. And, no doubt, some of those Vette dealers, an example is Jack Cauley Chevrolet in Michigan, offer a positive buying experience. A few of the others–some of which have been torched mercilessly on this web site–might not.

Tom Henry is my kind of Chevrolet dealer. He'll tell you that he's "conservative" and that being so may have cost him some sales but he's kept his self-respect and ethics. Henry is, also, a hot rodder at heart with an affinity Corvettes and Camaros. His personal "collection" includes two of each and one of the Corvettes, a '72 LT1, he's owned since it was new. A hard-working teenager, he purchased it from the dealership when it was owned by his Dad. See - Tom's Toys Corvette LT1 for more about this car.

Back in the mid-'90s, Tom Henry was interested in road racing so he formed a separate division, "Tom Henry Racing", to sponsor a race car. "THR" also bought and sold used Corvettes and Camaros. Today, THR still deals in used hot rod Chevrolets, but it also builds and sells a special "tuner" version of the fifth-generation Camaro called the "Tom Henry Racing Camaro."

I've always been an "engine guy". While I certainly appreciate the technology in the LS9 (see Corvette Action Center | Model Center | C6 | 2009 ZR1 | Ruthless Pursuit of Power: Supercharged Edition - Page 1 of 7), the engine I think best demonstrates the Corvette's powertrain technology is the 505-hp LS7. Sadly, our government's increasingly stringent fuel economy regulation will make "big" motors like the LS7 impossible after 2013. I want that engine. The mystique surrounding it's big-thumping 427-cubic inches, 7100 rpm rev limiter, titanium connecting rods and titanium intake valves was just too seductive.

Guess all that's a clue as to what I want: a Z06 set-up as a basic "track car".

Carlisle Blue with the white stripe sold by Chevrolet Accessories, please. Titanium grey inside but I think GM should keep its high-zoot interior, the fancy navi and On-Star. I'll take mine 1LZ but with Z07 and a CF hood. I'll have the Tom Henry's body shop paint the top to match the rest of the body and I'll take the option which adds the neat-looking Chevrolet Accessory pedal covers.

So wadaya'll think?

Should I spare my checkbook the pain and listen to my brain or–follow my heart and send Tom Henry Chevrolet a deposit?

**BigJimZ16** · 01-13-12, 01:05 PM

Go with your heart Hib! You can't take it with you. While you're on this side of the grass you have to enjoy each day. Regrets, yup there will be a few, but enjoy the fruits of your labor and live life to the fullest!!

I'm already thinking real serious about a white 427 vert... the Z16/Z06 might have to go...

**Blue260** · 01-13-12, 01:21 PM

Buy it...Drive it...Beat it....Enjoy it!

chris

**LLC5** · 01-13-12, 02:36 PM

If your going to order a new LS7 I would make sure to pop for the "build your own engine program". It's not cheap (7K?), but it is something that you cannot get any where else that I know of, and I am sure it is something you would never forget. I'd like to go just see all the equipment and tools that GM uses in making one.

**Hib Halverson** · 01-13-12, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by BigJimZ16

Go with your heart Hib! You can't take it with you. While you're on this side of the grass you have to enjoy each day. Regrets, yup there will be a few, but enjoy the fruits of your labor and live life to the fullest!!

I'm already thinking real serious about a white 427 vert... the Z16/Z06 might have to go...

I think a lot of folks who don't like the Z06'es hard-edge are going to look seriously at that 427 Convertible. I just wonder if the car is going to be constrained due to a limited number of LS7s available.

As for whether or not to order a C6...I'm still pondering...

**BigJimZ16** · 01-13-12, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by Hib Halverson

I think a lot of folks who don't like the Z06'es hard-edge are going to look seriously at that 427 Convertible. I just wonder if the car is going to be constrained due to a limited number of LS7s available.

As for whether or not to order the car...I'm still pondering...

Come on Hib... Live a little!!!

**67vet** · 01-13-12, 06:59 PM

Hib - having read many of your submissions on this forum, I know you have done a lot of research into what you would want. So, you should enjoy if you can.

We wanted the convert with blue top and all titanium interior, as luck would have it, we were able to find one and not have to order.

Good Luck.

**lt1george** · 01-13-12, 09:26 PM

Hib, Go down to Tom Henry Chevrolet and go for it. Enjoy the ride.

**Hib Halverson** · 01-13-12, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by 67vet

Hib - having read many of your submissions on this forum, I know you have done a lot of research into what you would want. So, you should enjoy if you can.

We wanted the convert with blue top and all titanium interior, as luck would have it, we were able to find one and not have to order.

Good Luck.

Wow!
I just looked at the image of your car. It really looks cool parked on all those late-fall leaves.

**midyearroadster427** · 01-14-12, 06:41 AM

if your going to do it..then do it dont think about it....if you're going to race it then you have to have the coupe, I would pick a different color though....seeing how I have CB and white stripe coupe.....go find your own color..hahahahahaha....listen ...from an older guys perspective....if you can afford it then do it...life is way to short and one never knows when the sun stops rising .....enjoy my friend

**C6 CRZN** · 01-14-12, 08:01 AM

My C6 was my first new Corvette and I'm glad I bought it.
Go for it, you will be happy you did.

**Huskerman** · 01-14-12, 08:32 AM

I'm new to the forum but have a lot of expieriance in justifiying toys...........Here are a few to consider........You are not getting any younger, you deserve to have a reward for a life of hard work and sacrifice.......the C7's may be a disapointment (I hope not) and they will surely not have the 427 LS7. It will make you happy and proud thus making your wife happy also..........also remember that...............nevermind.............Just do it!

I also have never owned a new Vette and I have had 8 of them. If someday I do the same thing which I intend to down the road.......I will only buy it if I can pick it up at Bowling Green.....that's how big an event it will be for me......I hope you would consider that also. Good luck and post a lot of pics.

**Hib Halverson** · 01-14-12, 09:33 AM

The C7 a "disappointment"? I'm not so sure.

I think the answer to that question depends on the perspective with which you look at the sitch.

I you're a hardcore "engine guy" coming from 427s and supercharged 6.2Ls, well then, until GM introduces the "next" Z06 or ZR1, yeah, it might be a disappointment, but...

My guess is the car will come to market with less weight and a 5.5L engine with a somewhat higher rpm range, direct injection, variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation. With that, we may see 425-hp@6500 rpm, a 7500 rpm rev limit and better mileage. What such an engine might lack is the incredible torque of a supercharged LS9 or a 427-cubic inch LS7.

That said, the performance of a car which weighs 200-300 lbs less and has 425-hp will be "sporting" to say the least.

....just maybe not as "sporting" as something with a 427 in it.

But, we can't "live" in the future. We can only enjoy what's here now so....back to the original question I'm wrestling with: should I order a new Z06...the first new Corvette I've ever owned.

or should I listen to my brain

and invest the money wisely then buy a scale model of a 12 Z06.

**Red Vette** · 01-14-12, 12:32 PM

Hib
First it was good that I finally met you at the NCM last labor day weekend (I was with LTL4Man), as you said, good to put a face to the CAC name.

Buying a new corvette is a great experience. Of my 11, 3 were purchased new. I know how the fever gets to a person when desiring a new corvette. I wanted a C5 Z06 for several years and finally my wife said okay and I found a used one in 2010. I also wanted a new red C6 convertible with a red interior. My wife said okay and I purchased it. So I scratched my itches by purchasing the corvettes, and I do not regret it at all. While you are soliciting opinions on the CAC, the final decision must be yours and I am sure you will make the correct decision. I suggest that you weigh all the variables, and then if you can afford it, buy it and keep it a long time. If you think you will want a new C7, then don't buy the Z06 this year or next. But I do agree with the opinions of the others on this post, if you want the Z06 then buy it. I know you wouldn't have asked for our opinions if you really were not anticipating purchasing the Z06 and I know you pretty much knew what the responses would be.

Let us know if you purchase a Z06 and of course, post the photos. A lot of us will get to see it for the NCM caravan.
Barrett

**froggy47** · 01-14-12, 01:43 PM

Nobody who posts on this thread is going to say "don't do it", so that's already established.

If it will ever see a track, as you did say, vert's are out.

I would look at 2lz, I don't have the specific, but it seems to me there was something that came on 2lz that "I" needed to have.

Extra 7k to "make believe" you built the engine, I don't think so, I do enough wrenching once I have a new (to me) Vette.

I love buying new, but the Vette has got so pricy that, for myself, I will take over someone's low mile garage queen & detail it up with Meguiars products (smell good) and make believe.

It would kill me, these days, to drive a new one off the lot & take a 10-15k hit in depreciation as I "turn the key" that first time.

I am "keeping an eye out" for an 09 or newer 2lz z06 so pm me if anyone knows of one (pref black).