Corvette Build- Wiring and Final Assembly (Phase 1)

Wiring is hardly my strong suit. Hopefully patience, and some friends that know what they're doing will help.

Start by figuring out what wiring will NOT be needed....

I had to take the whole gauge cluster apart to add the "Check Engine" LED light. This picture shows the start of wiring up the new electronic gauges that replace the old mechanical gauges.

The task of rewiring was pretty overwhelming if I looked at it as one project. If I took one wire at a time it's less intimidating.

I created wiring schematics and a pin list for each of the main connectors. Getting almost all of the gauge wiring into three main connectors will make things a LOT easier to work on things.

My buddy Mark Eggenberger, whose really sharp at wiring came over and helped me figure out the final wiring issues. That allowed me to start final assembly, at least for phase one.

I used a Braille 21 LB battery, as much for the small size as the lightweight. It's MUCH easier to remove than stock size when I need to.

Starting to look like a real car. I got it running in May 2013, but with the big cam in the motor, it really needs the ECM to be reprogrammed to run right.

Having the wiring done meant that I could assemble the completed interior for the first time. It came out better than I could've expected.

I put new wheels and tires on it as soon as the new front suspension was aligned. The wheels are 17X7 with 225-50-17 Z rated Yokahama tires. The wheels are similar to the old Cobra wheels.

I LOVE the view from the drivers seat!

Sample Photo 11

Cosmic, dude! The gauges are pretty cool at night.

Some more gratuitous engine pictures. The plan is to just enjoy driving it for a while, until I'm ready to put the body and drivetrain on the new chassis.

I got the ECM reprogrammed in June '13 and it runs amazingly well. The motor runs smoothly at low RPM's, and pulls like a beast right up to 7,000 RPM's!

To get the car "final tuned" I bought it to Newtech Performance and had it tuned on the chassis dyno. After the programming changes, it put down 378 HP (at 6,400 RPM) and 348 Lb/ft of torque at the rear wheels. Figuring conservatively, that should be about 435 at the flywheel. Not bad for a mostly stock engine that's only pushing 2,800 lbs of car. The driveability is outstanding, I get about 25 MPG on the freeway, but this is the most playful motor I've ever driven.

I had the seats recovered in really high-end leather and had additional bolstering done at the same time. With the embroidering and the French stitching they came out really nicely.