Barry & Liz's Corvette Site

Welcome everyone!
Here we are in sunny Colorado in December with our red, white and blue Corvettes. We didn't really start out with a plan to be so patriotic, but each of us truly chose our color because that was our favorite.

We have been blessed this year enough to be able to add the Navy Blue C5 and the White C4, so that we now own a 1991 Red ZR-1, a 1990 White C4 Coupe, and a 1999 Navy Blue Metallic coupe.

This is our 1991 ZR1 which Barry drives most of the time. He wanted a Corvette ever since high school, when a friend was GIVEN a '69 blue convertible (that he soon after totaled). We bought this one on August 28, 2001.

Like all ZR1s, it is fully loaded with all the Corvette options:

* 6 speed ZF transmission
* FX-3 adjustable suspension
* Bose Gold CD/cassette player
* Blue-tinted removable roof
* Sport seats
* Electronic air conditioning

For those not familiar with the ZR1, it differs from the standard Corvette in the following ways:

* 375 hp LT5 engine
* Wider (by 3") rear body panel to accommodate 315/35 X 17" tires mounted on 11" wide wheels
* On the front of the car are 275/40 X 17" tires that are normally on the rear of the standard Corvette
* Different doors to align with the wider rear body
* Beefed-up ZF 6 speed transmission
* Heavier duty suspension with greater lateral acceleration capability
* Special tinted windshield, with a cutout in the tinting for a radar detector

Other cosmetic tip-offs are:

* The third brake light is mounted above the top of the rear hatch
* ZR-1 badges are placed on the right side of the rear bumper, and from 1992 on ZR-1 badges also appear on the sides of the hood just behind the front wheels (many 1990/1991 owners have also added these badges, as is the case with our car)
* Special rear license plate bracket that provides black spacers to fill the 1.5" gap between the plate and the back-up lights

This beauty came into our lives in January 2002. I love this color and feel it's the most attractive C5 available.
It's a '99 Navy Blue Metallic C5, with lots of cool options. I leave home now knowing it's going to be a hectic day, but first I get to have fun drivin' my Navy Blue Angel. At the end of the day, I walk out to the parking lot again to see her and it's a joy driving home or wherever I'm headed.

Liz LOVES her car!

Here's the view that most people see of the ZR-1, but it usually gets much smaller very quickly....:)

Note: this pic was taken before the license plate frame was put on, which includes the 1.5" black spacer on each side of the plate.

The LT5 engine, AKA "The Heart of the Beast". It is claimed by many to be the best engine GM ever produced, and some think one of the best in the world. The 1990-1992 version produces 375 HP, using 4 valves per cylinder and dual independent intake runners, fuel injectors and throttle control per cylinder.

While it is a 5.7 liter V8, it bears little resemblance to the version that GM has been producing for decades. It was jointly designed by GM and Lotus, and was produced by Mercury Marine in order to more tightly control tolerances. The radio gets far less use in this car because the engine makes much better sounds.