Greg's No Bounce Beater
After hearing a 'clanking noise' in the front of the 'Beater' (Blue ND badge C5 Convertible for the new members) he then proceeded to check things out. He finally took the sway bar off as it was an aftermarket one and a bit larger in diameter and with that the noise ceased. He decide new shocks were needed to give a bit more clearance and get a better ride, hence the following article sent in on 7/20/17.
Put new shocks on the "Beater" yesterday. After reading up on the "Corvette Forum" I decided to install C6 Z06 shocks. Rears were "easy" and went off and back on without much fuss. The fronts were a lot of extra time and effort because they make these shocks in Mexico and in order to save about 50 cents they don't include the top rubber bushing and washer. They assume you will reuse the stock one. That's great except I had Bilstien Sport Shocks on the car and the bushings... are different. The dumb ass that put the Bilstiens on didn't save the parts from the stock shocks. I won't mention his name as it would embarrass him but I know him well. A call to Penske Parts told me that they still stock those parts... the top bushing is $20 each and the washer is only $11 each. That seems like about $62 plus tax less the club discount and totals to a lot of money for something they should have included anyway. I ended up searching through my hoard of "stuff" and found some large rubber insulators or bushings that I drilled out to provide a hole large enough to fit over the bottom bushing and then sanded them down to get them thin enough to get the nut back on to hold the shocks in place. Donna raised a little cane about the burnt rubber smell (and the grease on my good jeans) but that's about normal. The final install looks okay. I'll just have to remember to check that top bushing in a few months to make sure the material is tough enough to hold up to the abuse it will get. The test drive makes me think the C6 Z06 shocks do ride a little smoother. When I was compressing them manually to install a couple of zip ties (easier installation trick) they did seem to be much firmer than the Bilsteins but that could have been due to the Bilsteins having lost some of the compressed gas from use. While the wheels were off there was an opertunity to clean ssome areas not usually accessed easily. Donna helped out by cleaning the front wheels and tires. I love my garage and lifts as they make this kind of work much easier but I'm getting too old for this nonsense.
Put new shocks on the "Beater" yesterday. After reading up on the "Corvette Forum" I decided to install C6 Z06 shocks. Rears were "easy" and went off and back on without much fuss. The fronts were a lot of extra time and effort because they make these shocks in Mexico and in order to save about 50 cents they don't include the top rubber bushing and washer. They assume you will reuse the stock one. That's great except I had Bilstien Sport Shocks on the car and the bushings... are different. The dumb ass that put the Bilstiens on didn't save the parts from the stock shocks. I won't mention his name as it would embarrass him but I know him well. A call to Penske Parts told me that they still stock those parts... the top bushing is $20 each and the washer is only $11 each. That seems like about $62 plus tax less the club discount and totals to a lot of money for something they should have included anyway. I ended up searching through my hoard of "stuff" and found some large rubber insulators or bushings that I drilled out to provide a hole large enough to fit over the bottom bushing and then sanded them down to get them thin enough to get the nut back on to hold the shocks in place. Donna raised a little cane about the burnt rubber smell (and the grease on my good jeans) but that's about normal. The final install looks okay. I'll just have to remember to check that top bushing in a few months to make sure the material is tough enough to hold up to the abuse it will get. The test drive makes me think the C6 Z06 shocks do ride a little smoother. When I was compressing them manually to install a couple of zip ties (easier installation trick) they did seem to be much firmer than the Bilsteins but that could have been due to the Bilsteins having lost some of the compressed gas from use. While the wheels were off there was an opertunity to clean ssome areas not usually accessed easily. Donna helped out by cleaning the front wheels and tires. I love my garage and lifts as they make this kind of work much easier but I'm getting too old for this nonsense.
