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C5 Corvette Z06 Body And Exterior Makeover - Extreme Makeover C5 EditionClassic Design Concepts' "nip and tuck" From the October, 2004 issue of Corvette Fever By Dale Amy Photography by Dale Amy, Todd Lamb
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Classic Design Concepts' new... Classic Design Concepts' new front and rear fascias are only one aspect of its C5 Corvette shopping list. The CDC snout is decidedly aggressive, with seemingly no end of air inlets, while the ducktail spoiler on the rear fascia adds a healthy degree of raciness without resorting to tackiness. But there's far more to CDC's C5 dress-up catalog. We're all ardent Corvette aficionados, yet we look for ways to differentiate our ride from the next person's. While few would disagree that the current C5-whether in coupe, convertible, or Z06 hardtop form-is among the more handsome Corvettes to ever storm off the Bowling Green production line, there's always room for personalization, and that's where the aftermarket boldly steps up with a whole gamut of individual choices. With this in mind, let's take a look at some new hardware from Classic Design Concepts, an established firm out of Walled Lake, Michigan, on Detroit's west side, one that may not be familiar in Corvette circles, but that has been designing and producing automotive restyling products of the highest quality for well over a decade. For your beloved C5, CDC comes at you from four different directions with some exterior, interior, underhood, and exhaust eye-candy guaranteed to garner favorable attention. Outside, CDC's offerings include front and rear fascias (with associated hardware), and a carbon-fiber hood. Underhood, a full carbon-fiber dress-up kit can be had, while a cast-aluminum accelerator and dead pedals are available to finish off the interior. Lastly, a couple different Corsa stainless exhaust systems can be selected (the narrower exhaust opening in the CDC rear fascia won't work with the stock location of the factory exhaust tips). CDC's urethane front fascia... CDC's urethane front fascia is available with or without the chin spoiler, and can be had with a choice of grille screens for use with or without fog lamps. It also includes a pair of brake cooling inlets. The following is a look at these Classic Design goodies, and some of what's involved in installing them. Our subject vehicle is Todd Lamb's Z06. Though stock in appearance underhood, save for a previously installed carbon-fiber cold-air snorkel, it packs a Lingenfelter 427-inch stroker short-block. As with most aftermarket body components, CDC's are shipped unpainted, providing the best opportunity to have your favorite painter precisely finish them to match your car's exact hue. Though fitment of the body components is a relatively straightforward bolt-on process and can easily be accomplished by tool-friendly readers, the rest of you may opt to have your paint shop do the installation grunt work. As for the underhood and interior bits, even an automobile journalist could handle that assignment. Overall, we were duly impressed with the quality of all this CDC stuff, and think you will be too.  Likewise, the rear fascia...  Likewise, the rear fascia is of high-quality urethane, and its subtle spoiler is apparent in this shot. Not shown here are the supplied grille sections to be fitted to the outboard openings.  Also included with the rear...  Also included with the rear fascia kit are new export (i.e., European) inboard lamp assemblies with integral backup lamps. These are required since the fascia eliminates the factory backup lamps outboard of the license plate. Speaking of the plate, a new license bezel (not shown) is also part of the rear fascia kit.  The nine-piece carbon-fiber...  The nine-piece carbon-fiber engine dress-up kit includes covers for the intake and coils, fenderwells, radiator shroud, and brake booster, along with a battery cover with integral storage box. The backsides of all but the intake cover are pre-fitted with automotive-grade Velcro, making for a simple, but secure, installation.  To finish off the interior,...  To finish off the interior, cast-aluminum accelerator and dead pedals are available, with or without a C5 logo.  CDC's carbon-fiber hood arrived...  CDC's carbon-fiber hood arrived back from the paint shop after we had to leave for our next assignment, so we weren't there to document its installation, but we're told it's an uncomplicated job. The lightweight hood incorporates a distinctive shape reminiscent of the '68 big-block Corvettes.  The coil covers are removed...  The coil covers are removed because we need to undo the four bolts securing the fuel-rail/injector assembly to install the carbon-fiber intake cover. This minor step is the most technically challenging procedure in the whole carbon-fiber dress-up kit, and CDC's instructions are quite explicit.  Unlike the rest of the engine...  Unlike the rest of the engine dress-up kit, the intake cover uses no Velcro, and simply bolts in place using the factory fasteners that secure the fuel rails.  CDC technician Jeff Carroll...  CDC technician Jeff Carroll found it easiest to reattach the factory coil covers, then add the carbon-fiber covers. In all cases, the parts to which the kit's Velcro strips are attached should be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol to remove any grease.  We don't have room to detail...  We don't have room to detail installation of the rest of the carbon-fiber underhood components, but trust us when we say it's a simple process requiring only a few handtools and the ability to peel and stick Velcro. The kit also includes decals for the coil and intake covers to provide a little contrasting color. It all makes for a nice look.  Next, we turn our attention...  Next, we turn our attention to swapping the rear fascia, in preparation for which the muffler/tailpipe assembly must be unbolted. Our subject 427-inch Z06 had a whopping 3-inch-diameter system to support its 492 rwhp. Removal of the fascia can start with undoing four pushpins (three are shown here with arrows) just above the tailpipes. Topside, along the rear edge of the trunk/hatch opening, a number of screws must be removed.  To get at some of the fascia...  To get at some of the fascia attachment hardware, the rear wheels and plastic wheelwell liners must come off. Naturally, we don't have room here for every step, but this is necessary to get at some bolts and/or studs securing the fascia to the rear quarter-panel, and to get to the side-marker-light sockets that must be unplugged as part of the process of freeing the fascia's side marker/taillight/backup-light wiring harness that will be transferred to the new fascia.  In this shot looking up at...  In this shot looking up at the left rear corner of the fascia, some of this attachment hardware is visible along with the side marker light. The metal retainer ring (arrow) on each side of the fascia must be removed and fitted to the new fascia. These retainers contain locating studs, which help align the fascia with the rear quarter-panels.  Getting at some fasteners...  Getting at some fasteners requires removing the outboard taillights, which must be done anyway to transfer them to the new fascia. As mentioned, the kit comes with new inboard lamps combining a red-lens section and a clear-lens backup light.  After unclipping the fascia...  After unclipping the fascia wiring harness from the right side of the bumper impact bar, the old unit is ready to come off. Notice the holes along the rear edge of the quarter-panel where some of the fascia fasteners pass through.  In this shot, the license-plates...  In this shot, the license-plates lamps and the third brake light have been bolted in place on the new piece. Likewise, the new fascia's grille screens have been secured. Though the inboard taillights can go in at this time, the outboard lamps must be left out to access some of the fascia-mounting hardware.  Here's the finished rear fascia,...  Here's the finished rear fascia, complete with a new license-plate surround (we chose to paint this to match the fascia, but you could also do it in black). No, we didn't take off Todd's 3-inch exhaust and replace it with the kit's 2.5-inch setup shown here. We just temporarily bolted up the Corsa system to show you what it looks like.  We'll skip over the front-fascia...  We'll skip over the front-fascia procedure, which is similar to the rear. There are small bolts and/or pushpins securing the fascia top and bottom, and more substantial hardware attaching it to the front fenders. Once again, CDC's instructions are thorough.  The center, left, and right...  The center, left, and right air deflectors must also come off, as do the fascia "close out" panels to which the corner deflectors are secured. The close-out panels and center air deflector will be reused. The deflector is necessary for proper engine cooling.  It's pretty ugly with the...  It's pretty ugly with the fascia off. The headlamps must be in the up position to remove the fascia. Simply turn on the headlights, then disconnect the battery. The arrow is pointing to a connector that has been unplugged to free the front-fascia wiring harness. Our subject vehicle has had revisions to the factory brake ducts. This required slight modification to the kit's supplied duct inlets.  The finished fascia looks...  The finished fascia looks something like this. The kit's brake scoops feed from the elongated corner openings.  The CDC shopping list also...  The CDC shopping list also includes a quad-tip, stainless Corsa exhaust system, specifically chosen to fit the outlet dimensions of the new rear fascia. Without this system, exhaust modifications will be required to fit the stock exhaust tips within the smaller opening.
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