Manny doesn't need to come out west (for me) as my car is going east!

[VelocityYellowRules!]

Confession time, it's good for the soul after all,

So, I bit the bullet and decided to go for it. In for a penny, in for a pound. So with luck the weather will improve, I have to get the car to Edmonton and then by train it goes to Breslau/Manny. It will be loving attended to, getting an A&A supercharger, new radiator (silly 2006 Z06 requirement!) and the LG ceramic coated headers.

The goal, to hit and hopefully seriously exceed around 620 rwhp and 725 plus crankshaft horse power.

It should help me to deal with the very unlikely event that I encounter the GTR or either of the two Gallardo's or some of the ZR1's that haunt Grande Prairie. The new 2014 (I think) Viper is going to putting out some ridiculous power but for some reason I think it is going to be a very high price tag, like 130K plus, so that even with the oil industry here there may not be any sold locally. There is also, apparently, an Audi R8 V10 but I think it is stock. I know it is silly of me but I'd like to think that for a while I'll have the fastest car inthis neck of the woods until a fellow Corvette owner sees the car and then gets Manny to prep his!

Other considerations, the methanol injection, replacing the gear shift, painting the smooth interiour dash parts, a boost gauge (amusing to watch the needle going up and down!) and a shift light - unless Manny is right and with more time in the car my ear becomes better attuned. But the car accelerates so fast now that I've hit the fuel shut off twice and sure gave thanks it has this feature!! Oh ya, and maybe some dustless brake pads. I enjoy my stock chrome rims but the front ones get dirty the 1st stop sign after the carwash.

So for my fellow Breslau Corvette owners, drop by and let me know how Manny is doing with the car and excuse all the dust on it right now..........

I hope for pickup as soon as possible in the spring, the sooner the better as then I can spend some time there before driving back for seeding.

Christmas comes early for me this year.

Cheers,

Garry

 

[CCO]

Awesome plan, Garry. You'll be very happy with the results come spring of '13.

Keep us in the loop with developments and it will be a pleasure to drop by Manny's to see the Z and its progress.

C.

 

[HLN A55]

Fantastic!!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it

 

[Manny@Dasilva]

Well the cat is out of the bag now lol.

Garry Velocity Yellow , will soon become "terminal Velocity Yellow "

We will be doing a full write up with picture's and video for all to follow along.

Right from the day it reaches ourr facility .

This winter the members of this site will be in for alot of viewing

 

[xlr8r]

Looking forward to this--congrats Garry. Wish I had the cake for this!

Let me know if you require secure storage for the 'Vette in Edmonton. There's a spot next to mine that you're welcome to park it in.
[mob][/mob]

 

[Riley P]

Very Cool! I can't wait to hear about the write up an see the car on it's way! I can't wait to hear your impression of the new power! It's going to be one exciting Spring!

 

[VelocityYellowRules!]

Good evening xlr8r,

Thanks for the kind offer! If it helps me strategically with carrying this out I may come calling.

I am a bit worried (OK actually a lot) about the weather. The next 5 days up here are colder than normal and with snow most days. Not that it can't warm up after that but I rally don't want to try a road trip to Edmonton with snow/ice on the roads. As I told Manny my greatest disappointment now that I've made the decision to proceed with this is having to delay shipping the car until March or April.

Am I ever glad that harvest got done 9 days ago, we could not have combined since.

My gf was not all that excited about this, the "isn't 505 hp enough and how fast do you need to go?" line of thinking but it is more complicated than that. As much as I enjoyed getting the car this year I expect that this will result in similar degree of happiness being brought into my life. It is sort of nice to have something odd and unusual and special in one's life outside of the usual things, family, friends, HEALTH and so forth. For me this is it and I want to have as full an experience with it as I can.

So send warm weather my way, everyone, please!

Cheers,

Garry

 

[xlr8r]

Garry. PM me for adress location, pics of house, blah blah blah. All I'd ask for is a ride in that beast once it's all done.

I'm only offering to help you get out of mother nature's way easily. Happy to do it, let's bring it off line if it's going to help.

A word of caution--I travel for work a lot. Timing shouldn't be an issue as long as you give me a few day's notice.

Either way, I'd love to get in that car (either passenger's side or driver's side) once it's done. It's going to be a monster!!!!!

You seem str8-up my friend--and I am envious you can do this. Perhaps my base-model can learn a thing or two from having you around.

Either way, Mi casa, su casa. A few weeks--dont worry about it--over the winter, we might have to talk. Was thinking of putting a storage ad on-line for the winter. Get that yellow bitch here sooner--i can provide safe harbour either way.

If you're concerned about me, Riley and I have crossed paths--I'm pretty sure Riley (and even Manny) could put your mind at ease--I AIN'T NO ISAAC.

Cheers.

 

[Manny@Dasilva]

Garry. PM me for adress location, pics of house, blah blah blah. All I'd ask for is a ride in that beast once it's all done.

I'm only offering to help you get out of mother nature's way easily. Happy to do it, let's bring it off line if it's going to help.

A word of caution--I travel for work a lot. Timing shouldn't be an issue as long as you give me a few day's notice.

Either way, I'd love to get in that car (either passenger's side or driver's side) once it's done. It's going to be a monster!!!!!

You seem str8-up my friend--and I am envious you can do this. Perhaps my base-model can learn a thing or two from having you around.

Either way, Mi casa, su casa. A few weeks--dont worry about it--over the winter, we might have to talk. Was thinking of putting a storage ad on-line for the winter. Get that yellow bitch here sooner--i can provide safe harbour either way.

If you're concerned about me, Riley and I have crossed paths--I'm pretty sure Riley (and even Manny) could put your mind at ease--I AIN'T NO ISAAC.

Cheers.

I don't know Garry , seem like a shady guy

All kinding aside Vince is a stand up , and a great forum member

 

[VelocityYellowRules!]

Good morning Manny, Vince,

I don't think I would be uncomfortable at all with my car being at your place Vince. All I really need is a stretch of good weather and right now Mother Nature is conspiring against me. The forecast, if that is possible, has gotten worse, freezing rain today and snow the next 6 days! Highs of no better than 2 or 3 on the warmest days. I am hoping that this will be a blip and not the way we're going to head into November.

By the sound of things the return trip is not going to be the long part but stopping to meet other forum members will take more time! So of course if it works out I'll be stopping in a few locations. Just have to wait to see what the spring brings us!

Why does the forecast always get worse and not better the past 10 days?? October should be a lot better than this. I think it is time to put the winter tires on the SER as well. Currently changing the spark plugs on my mom's Frontier, she accidently got a litle diesel fuel in with the gas and it sure didn't like that. I'm not sure if this is common with modern vehicles but actually have to remove the intake manifold to get to two of the spark plugs - WTF was Nissan thinking?

So please everyone focus on warm weather for this area so I can get the Z to Edmonton this month!

Cheers,

Garry

 

[Riley P]

Make sure you put Saskatoon on your list for when you come back!

 

[VelocityYellowRules!]

Good morning Riley,

First things first. Came up with a better strategy to get things moving at my end. Found an enclosed car trailer in Grande Prairie, 8 by 20, $100 for 24 hours. I'll still need it for two days but now my weather problems are taken care of! Well icey roads would still be a problem but falling snow or sleet or something like that are not an issue. So Manny is currently working hard on finding the mover from Edmonton to his place but I am now confident that I can get it done at my end!!!!

You read minds now too? Stopping in Saskatoon you say?? Wow, Corvette ownership really imparts some interesting side benefits!

Actually I think I told you that I used to live in Saskatoon, when I was like 3 or 4. Dad worked at the Upper Atmosphere Research Department at the U of S.

But I have another interesting connection to Saskatoon as well. My life has had a number of pretty odd occurances in it overall. You know, cancer followed by a nasty divorce, lost my job after 20 years etc.

Well back in about 1998, I think it, was I met the 1st love of my live. She was a Agriculture student at the U of S but we worked together for the same company when she was in the intern program. About 20 months into the relationship she called me on Sunday to tell me she was breaking up me me. WTF? But not the usual reasons, falling out of love, met someone else, fooling around or anything like that. Hazzard a guess why? She was called by God to be a nun!

Now before you think that this was just BS in breaking up with me I'm still in touch with one of her (sibling sisters) and when I was in 'toontown back in 2009 we had coffee together. Her sister toldmethat she was due to take her final vows a few weeks later which she did and is now a bonified Sister of the Presentation of Mary! I'm sort of proud of her actually but just wish that the order was not so hard - the first thing they told her was that she had to break up with me immediately and she could not have any contact with me ever again. Afraid of competiton maybe? Anyway I'm glad for her and it makes me feel good to know that she is happy with her choice and God is a whole lot better off to have her as a foot soldier.

So a stop in Saskatoon should be in the books!

I never realized, Riley, my hands are trembling as I type this, but is is really true you married a woman who drives a (shudder) Mustang, Roushe or otherwise? I'm thinking she must have bought it after you guys were married so it was too late, right??!!!! Nice color though. Do the two of you ever compete at tracks or in xc?? Good couples activity.

Cheers,

Garry

 

[CaledoniaBrian]

Good morning Riley,

First things first. Came up with a better strategy to get things moving at my end. Found an enclosed car trailer in Grande Prairie, 8 by 20, $100 for 24 hours. I'll still need it for two days but now my weather problems are taken care of! Well icey roads would still be a problem but falling snow or sleet or something like that are not an issue. So Manny is currently working hard on finding the mover from Edmonton to his place but I am now confident that I can get it done at my end!!!!

You read minds now too? Stopping in Saskatoon you say?? Wow, Corvette ownership really imparts some interesting side benefits!

Actually I think I told you that I used to live in Saskatoon, when I was like 3 or 4. Dad worked at the Upper Atmosphere Research Department at the U of S.

But I have another interesting connection to Saskatoon as well. My life has had a number of pretty odd occurances in it overall. You know, cancer followed by a nasty divorce, lost my job after 20 years etc.

Well back in about 1998, I think it, was I met the 1st love of my live. She was a Agriculture student at the U of S but we worked together for the same company when she was in the intern program. About 20 months into the relationship she called me on Sunday to tell me she was breaking up me me. WTF? But not the usual reasons, falling out of love, met someone else, fooling around or anything like that. Hazzard a guess why? She was called by God to be a nun!

Now before you think that this was just BS in breaking up with me I'm still in touch with one of her (sibling sisters) and when I was in 'toontown back in 2009 we had coffee together. Her sister toldmethat she was due to take her final vows a few weeks later which she did and is now a bonified Sister of the Presentation of Mary! I'm sort of proud of her actually but just wish that the order was not so hard - the first thing they told her was that she had to break up with me immediately and she could not have any contact with me ever again. Afraid of competiton maybe? Anyway I'm glad for her and it makes me feel good to know that she is happy with her choice and God is a whole lot better off to have her as a foot soldier.

So a stop in Saskatoon should be in the books!

I never realized, Riley, my hands are trembling as I type this, but is is really true you married a woman who drives a (shudder) Mustang, Roushe or otherwise? I'm thinking she must have bought it after you guys were married so it was too late, right??!!!! Nice color though. Do the two of you ever compete at tracks or in xc?? Good couples activity.

Cheers,

Garry

Wow Garry...that is quite the story for sure.

 

[New C5er]

Wow

Hopefully this thread never stops. It is all the beginnings of a miniseries turning to a novel and then who knows what it will be next. Don't stop. (Please).

 

[Riley P]

Hi Garry!

No, she didn't buy the Mustang after we got married. She's always loved the Mustangs (she used to ride horses so the Mustang was a perfect fit). She bought the GT new in 07 after having an '05 and had the dealer install all the Roush parts before taking delivery while adding or deleting parts that she liked (which shows how good of taste she has in selecting components, etc.). As I met her late last summer we never had a chance to Autocross the cars and this summer was filled with planning for a wedding. Next summer I hope to find some Autocrossing (maybe with DJer as well) that we can do together. My impressions having driven both cars now is that I could never go over to Mustangs...although a 2013 GT500 would be something to experience! I always thought the newer Corvettes were a little too big but not after hand washing our cars back to back. It is so much easier to wash the Corvette as it is lower and smaller, not to mention that the Corvette is faster and gets a solid 8mpg better on the highway. The stereo in the Mustang is head and shoulders WAY better than the Bose. It corners like it's on rails (Over 1g), sounds awesome, has better seats, but it doesn't have anything over my car that I couldn't upgrade to match or excced it....except for the two extra seats.
On a side note, when we get out of useless debt (some time in the next 8 years) she has given me the blessings to upgrade my car to a C6Z! Whoo! Maybe by that time I'll be able to move up to a C7Z!

Sorry to hear your love chose to follow God's path instead of being with you. That has to be heartbreaking and frustrating but I hope it comes clear why things turned out this way so you can find some peace with it.

Anyway, looking forward to your stop in Saskatoon!

 

[VelocityYellowRules!]

Good morning,

Being a farmer, even with harvest season concluded my morning ritual is to always first look at the weather forecast. It still looks poor up to next Thursday. But as I have some papers to sign in Edmonton and I want to tie that in on the same trip I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to move the car anyway.

But it was a huge relief to think up renting a trailer to move, it turned out to be much less expensive than I was expecting. Having the car now seeing snow and been snowed on is bad enough but to drive it in snow, especially when it is close to being zero and slushy is not something I'd be too happy about doing.

It was a bit of a tough decision to undertake this project. Of course Manny is helpful in discussing the technical side of things with me to make sure I am understanding everything that I am taking on. I'm not sure why a stock Z would not be sufficiently powered for anyone but I also know I'm not the only one to suffer from this syndrome. I think it has to be with how I conducted myself in my life up to this point. Most of my vehicles were always very practical in nature, my first vehicle being a Datsun 720 diesel pickup! I even drove it for a year after I lost 5th gear as I was too cheep to fix the tranny and I really didn't go anywhere other than from where I was living to where the farm was so like weekly trips of 200 km return. But yes eventually I did fix it and drove it until body parts started to fall off - the final straw being when the right rear fender came off and was dragged by the light wires. My solution, probably made a lot of sense at the time was to buy another 720 diesel with a low compression engine and swap the engines..........

So I was always more concerned with paying off debt than acquiring toys and home electronics. Lucky, at my age I am in a good position and so having fallen in love with the C6's was able to complete both the dream that I had for myself and to fullfill the promise I made to myself for being lucky enough to survive cancer. SoulSurfer and some of you know what this is like.

Oddly, the final 3rd stage of the treatment was so brutal I ended up checking myself out of thee Cross Clinic a few days early as I was going out of my mind. But even as we were leaving my first stop was to go about 4 blocks east on Whyte Avenue to the Chev dealer to start serious discussions about getting a Z06. It just took longer to get done!

Getting dumped as your gf is going to be a nun.........I always tell people that if they think their lives are rough to pull up a chair and I'll give them a story. Funny they usually leave feeling a lot better about their situation! It was a sudden change in direction to be sure. We were planning to get married, oddly she wanted to get married right away and I wanted to wait until she finished her university program. I'd gone to Saskatoon twice to meet her family. But then that Sunday phone call..........

There is no doubt (for those of you of faith) that I was at first shocked, stunned and then extremely bitter toward God for this. One of the reasons I was still single at that time in my life is that I knew I had a love of agriculture and as I would be farming my wife would also have to share this passion. As well I was just a grain farmer and while a lot of women are attracted to livestock I am just a grain farmer and would never want to raise livestock. The nun was from a large grain farm and was also excited about us building up a farm together.

But over time I came to understand that God had not brought us together for us to be married, but He wanted her to experience love in order to be able to make an informed decision when He called her to religious life. With this I was able to understand better what had happened and why. I was still pretty p&%@ed at her religious order that they force the people who become nuns or priests to cut off all ties with not only people they might have been in relationships with, but also friends and even contact with family is restricted, both in person, by phone or letter. Sad to say but for a mainstream religion you can almost see why it would be considered a cult. They make the people totally dependent on the church and even if you want to leave how do you do so as you've had no contact with anyone outside of the order? But I digress.

I also think that maybe, on some very small level, I had done something for God and so several years later when I was faced with the trials of cancer and a divorce this tiny debt was repaid a multitude of times over.

I did learn to stop saying to myself that things couldn't get any worse as they often did. But you do become stronger and able to cope with things.

I hate to say it but when I started dating again 1 year after my ex left (you HAVE to take the time) I met some terrific women and had the time of my life but now have met one terrific lady, my Mackie-Jackie. 18 months in and all is good. So proof no matter how low you are feeling in your life things do and will get better.

Riley, your points are well made. The interior has always been a source of let-down for C6 owners and it sounds like the C7 may go a long way to dealing with this. What I find odd about the Mustang is that they would make a 650 hp supercharged version and it would only achieve the same acceleration as a stock Z06 and only be 2 mph top end faster. That to me shows how good the design was with the C6 Z06, being 7 years old now.

But different strokes, right? Now doubt cost is a big factor for some. You can get a new vert Stang for 30K or there abouts and that would only get you into an older Z51 - which oddly would still outperform it! I think that the cars offer different experiences. I mean there has to be a reason outside of price why the age of the average Corvette owners is in the 50's. But you do sound like a most fortunate fellow in that you have a wife that shares your passion for cars, Mustang driver or whatever. That is something special. The rear seats may even save you from owning a, forgive me please, wagon or minivan of some kind at first. But even I replaced my 2 door Beetle TDI with a 4 door Sentra as it is too useful to ignore. Be careful as she has some inexpensive mods available to her. There is a pony driver in Grande Prairie with a '94, SC and a bit over 600 rwhp and pulls 11 sec. I'm going to be calling him out this summer after I get my car back from manny though!

I do hope that you both set a good couples example at the local tracks, autocrosses and other such car functions. For example we only had one women who drove at the xc and it would be good to see more of them having fun with driving.

But I think I could have cordoned off her car from the Corvettes at the show and shine!!!!

Sorry for rambling, again.........

Cheers,

Garry

 

[Riley P]

Ramble away!!!! I find your posts quite heartfelt and honest. As for the interior comment, I like the C6 better than the C5....and saying that, I really don't mind the C5 interior either and I'm comparing the C5 interior to the Mustang. The only problem is that on road trips, I want the A/C on and she doesn't as she is always cold...which I understand is normal for women. Anyway, you can't shut the air off coming through the vents, you can only slightly redirect it. Corvette Central has some vent plugs that I think I am going to invest in to make us both happier! The dual climate control also does not adjust the temperatures enough to keep us in our comfort zones.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear about you coming to terms with your first love becoming a nun. I'm also trying to take lessons learned by others and apply it to myself. I don't want cancer to make me realize how precious life is and to put into perspective what is really important in life (although I've had to deal with this indirectly by my mom passing away from cancer when she was 53). What a shitty year and a half struggle....but man was she tough! I don't think she ever let on how much she suffered.

So, with that lesson in life, I feel you have to be responsible but need to enjoy yourself too and that's why I still have my Corvette. I can't really afford it right now but I also can't afford (mentally) not to have it as it brings too much joy. I like to feel that I was able to purchase the Corvette because I never drank very much, didn't get into drugs, worked my butt off in school to get a good job and drove my gutless 85 S-15 from '93 until 2011 to save money. At one point I put a new body on it as it was about to fall off and now it is nicely rusting away again ....and it may make a reappearance in my life as I can't afford the Jimmy I'm driving right now and is for sale....but the Corvette stays! Actually, my wife won't even let me sell the Corvette (she's a good girl). Now....the next step is to find an autocross to increase the joy!

 

[xlr8r]

Would be cool if you started a new thread in the spring about your journey across Canada, how you liked the new mods, and pics and stories of the fascinating people you'll meet from the forum. Would be an awesome thing to have on here.

 

[VelocityYellowRules!]

Good morning xlr8r,

That is an excellent idea! If I was really on theball, and doubtful for someone as tech unsavy as I am I would do it on the way each night. I suppose it depends on who comes with me if anyone. But if not I can write it all up when I get back. I expect and hope that there might be some interesting experiences along the way home. I'll have to become proficient with downsizing my photo images. I've tried the software that was suggested but have not been able to get it to work yet.

A message for Manny, my email is for some reason not sending messages. So I have received both your messages regarding transportation but just am unable to reply to them directly. I've tried my work computer as well but same problem - and same server so not unexpected. But I've called them twice yeaterday and left messages but they have not replied. I hope they have not gone belly up..............

On the weather front, a severe snowfall warning yesterday, up to 15 cm of snow in some areas (that's 6 inches Colin). But I threw my brand new winter tires on the SER last night and have a trip planned to GP where I hope to stop in and check out the enclosed car trailer I will be using to see if there will be any problems with how steep the ramp is (fold down rear door type of trailer) and how the car gets fastened down, if it is with those wheel cargo strap net type of things or what. I am excited to try the tires out and the winter is the only time I like to go drifting as the snow and ice make it easier to do with much less tire and drivetrain stress but still good practice in car control.

But really excited now to get the car on its' way to Manny and now hoping that I can come up with more $ for additional work while it is there. That darn Manny put the bug of methanol in my brain and now it is something I'm thinking about too.

Cheers,

Garry

 

[Manny@Dasilva]

I got it Garry .

Good to see the excitement brewing with you .
I am sure as everyday passes the anticiption will be overwhelming . Now load the yellow missile up and get to Edmonton

The methonal injection , is a mod we do with 99% of the forced induction builds we do . Lets you run safer and gives a little more hp , and who can't use more hp