Picked up a (damaged) 05 V for less $20K with 13K miles, fixed it and WHOO HOO!

[NormV]

I picked this 05 up off one of the infamous auctions sites in late winter similar to what Derek did last fall. Have not really had time to spend fixing it up until recently. Rodney from RPM transmission picked one up about the same time but is probably much farther ahead than me. I did get a set of Eibachs installed and replaced a few dented and broken exterior components. Energy Suspension should have some sway bar bushings. Gutted the stock 66 lbs. exhaust(compared to Corsa's +80 lbs. boxed), have Dallas' B&B headers coming the end of the month, and pulled this shifter to lose some rubber. Looks like it did a soft, engine off roll over.



Norm

[Jon]

I'm waiting for parts from Dallas too

I got the catback from him.

[theloanman219]

is it forum wide?? I got the shifter! I hope. I have a deposit on it anyways.

[z06bigbird]

Get it going. I will drive it for you.

[NormV]

I replaced a sway rear end link, lower control, straightened out both adjustable rear suspension rods, and had a wheel inpected that had a flat tire. The lower control is steel where the upper is aluminum.

Impressive that the steel lower arm would fold before the aluminum. The wheel was not bent but had a flat tire. No wonder these wheel are so heavy, they must be really over built to support the weight of the car over potholes. I replaced passenger's side fender and will hold off on replacing the driver's side. Thought I'd try my hand at the paint less dent removal tools for a few hundred dollars as I have some work to do on the passenger's roof A-pillar. Total so far for replacement parts is around $500.

While the suspension was partially apart I picked up a set of Eibach springs and sold the stock springs. Ended up costing $90 in the end. I removed the spring pads on the rear since the load leveling shocks keep the stock height. Keep the rubber pads on the fronts. Still have the old school nose down slant, but it will do. I am running the stock shock. I have adapted the C5 Corvette shock to fit the rear but the slightly extra weight and a really short shock would have to cut the rear spring. I'll see how this works first.







The PCM bracket is pretty flimsy and it let the PCM tear from the wiring harness, expecially when doing barrel rolls. Unfortunately the PCM never arrive with the car, just a handful of colored wires. I attempted to rewire it but there are too many wires of the same color doing different duties.





So I thought I'd measure the resistance between the PCM connection and plug where it attaches to the sensor...got to love CAN-data bus as every wire has resistance to any other wire in the whole harness. So I ordered a new one for a little over $600. The bottom one is the new one. New PCM($175) with the help of Rodney from RPM Transmissions who is working on a similar project.



I had to remove the fuel line where they connect to the top of engine, radiator and fans(radiator has a crack in the bottom - think JB weld would hold until I can get in and claim it under warranty as many have been replaced?), and removed the exhaust system(headers on the way and gutted the mufflers). Two holes, copper high temperature silicone(700F) sealer, and plugs from Home Depot left the mufflers gutted and sealed up. Why keep the keep the stocker? It weighs 66 lbs. on the bathroom digital scale as oppose to a aftermarket exhaust from Corsa that weighs 86 lbs. boxed. Probably will not have a sound of the Corsa but should be slightly louder than stock.










Lowered the transmission(drive axle and while I was there shifter) to get the engine harness over the top of it. I got the front ABS wiring loose and the PS steering cooler loose and noticed that the harness is a figure "8" and must be installed before the engine/sub frame is in the car. Then I noticed the AC line entangled in this figure 8. I don't have AC in the summer/winter car('00 C5 Coupe) and don't really miss it with the top off and keeping the windows clean. Besides the C5 is just a work car/track car as I am the only one that drives it. But since the car will be a fall/spring car I decided to remove the AC and not reconnect it.



Unfortunately the more I remove the more that is not going back on and the more opportunity for improvements.

Norm

[onebadcad]

Looks like a job for someone who ever is committed to the V, or committed to the V making a few dollars for them when finished-hoping the first one.
Good luck on your project, but looks like you will not need it, as hard work always wins out in the end.
Have to ask, was their roof damage or does the first photo play tricks on the eyes due to camera, angle, lighting, etc...?

[dvandentop]

norm shoot me an email have a few ??? for ya

dvandentop@Msn.com


thanks man!

[NormV]

C5 Corvette shifter on the V shifter platform made for a 2 inch drop in stalk height. I used a stock C5 shifter from when I installed a Hurst in the Vette. The Hurst is very heavy and positive engagement so I figure a decent drop on one side of the fulcrum should not be too bad.

The V shifter is a bit tall and vague. More help with linkage bushings will help too. I used BernzOmatic torch on the V shifter and it came right off. More heating was required to get the C5 shift and shaft separated and finally had to boil the inner sleeve out once the shaft was free.

Here is the stock shifter:



Rubber under the stock shifter had to be removed:



C5 Corvette shifter installed on V stalk with a little adhesive:



Side by side:



The bottom of the C5 shaft is made different so just drilling out the rivets and bolting in the C5 shaft on the V plate was not an option. This will allow the use of any C5 or C6 shift knob and you'll not have to worry about it popping off. Used C5 shifters can be had for around $50.

With a previous 05 I had trimmed the shaft for a 1/2" reduction.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...pics-free.html

Norm

[NormV]

Originally Posted by onebadcad

...Have to ask, was their roof damage or does the first photo play tricks on the eyes due to camera, angle, lighting, etc...?

Yes, especially the passenger's side above the door. I drive about 35-40K a year, so it will be stone chipped before you know it.

Norm

[NormV]

I checked with Energy Suspension and they did not have bushings in the size that the V's shifter assembly would require. So off to Home Depot and I found a package of 4 nylon bushings that would fit the V linkage. This will do the shifter to transmission mount on the front of the shifter which is part of the sloppiness of the stock shifter. The bushings are in halves and a vise was used to compress both ends on with the metal sleeve in between. The package of 4 costs .55, yes, 55 cents. They should withstand around 400F which is as high has the soft rubber that was removed.





Norm

[The Tony Show]

^ Very nice. This might be my next mod. Let us know how much lateral play it eliminates, please. I can't stand how much movement there is while in gear (I can wiggle it side to side a good inch).

[NormV]

Most of the lateral play is coming from pair of bushings that attach the shifter base to the car. You can see all the air pockets that can easily be deflated between your fingers. The blue bushing above will help give a more positive engagement.



Norm

[NormV]

I wanted more options than the stock almost 30 lbs., 6-lug wheel. Though sexy, there is just too much unsprung weight. Along with the run flat tires can make the wheel tire combo close to 60 lbs. The stock CTS bolt pattern leaves little to be desired in the weight/aesthetics.

I had an extra C5 hub(five lug) and took some quick measurements...and it fits. My biggest question was the wheel offset and if I would be going backwards with C5 brakes on the V. The V caliper does not use a separate caliper bracket like the C5, but is integrated and all made out of aluminum. Nice setup. Another concern is whether the rear hub would accommodate the V axle and found that it slips right in. The V caliper to hub mounting holes would have to be elongated to fit for the rear. The front fits fine.

Here is the stock setup:





Hub to hub with V on the left:





V spindle on the right:



17x8.5 C5 thin spoke weighing in at around 17 lbs.(plus tire) minus rotor:



Caliper would not fit under the 17x8.5 wheel but is just setting on the hub:





C5 front pad laid next to V rear brake pad/caliper:



Front pad/caliper with a front C5 pad laid inside. The surface area is very close between the two:





So I am leaning toward C5 front calipers on all four corners with 17" wheels. That would mean C5 rotors and pads which gives quite an array of pad material for track days and rotors choices. Because the C5 rotor is slightly smaller it will loose some heat soak capacity. The C5 hub was not designed for the heavy V so there is a possibility that the bearings may wear faster. But when you add up the 41 lbs. C5 wheel with non-run flat vs. 60 lbs. stock V with run flat along with the couple of pounds of rotor mass reduction it adds up to close to 90 lbs. of rotating mass reduction. The only draw back would be the 56mm offset of the C5 vs. 42mm for the V. The wheel clears everything on the rear but may look too sunk in.

Stay tuned for more.

Norm

[theformer]

What a great thread and what a great project! I'm following along closely... please keep on posting because this is awesome to watch unfold...

[The Hog]

Nice work Norm, that thing is in pretty damn good shape all things considered. The wiring can be daunting at first but if you get pinouts for all your connectors they are not too bad at all. Find a buddy that has access to Alldata and ye' shall find all you need. Make friends with someone at a GM dealership, you are going to need their help getting the new PCM programed to jive with your security module and BCM. It should run for exactly 1 second on its own before the computer kills the fuel. Once you get to that point you will be set. The Passlock III security system is a little bit of a pain to negotiate