It’s easy to get lost in the custom car world and forget what it’s all about. At the end of the day, cars are meant to be driven, and that’s exactly the philosophy that powers this C5 Chevy Corvette.
Owned and built by Teo, engine builder and tuner at Teo Tune, this slab of performance started life as a 2003 Chevy Corvette Z51 50th Anniversary Edition. Now, however, it’s definitely a bit more.
Outside, we see a few small aesthetic enhancements. The Spiral Gray Metallic exterior color is complemented by a new carbon lip for the rear, while custom wheels from Ace Alloy sit in the corners.
“These are a combination wheel where they kinda look like original wheels but they’re not,” Teo says. “So they look like a combination of C6 Z06 wheels and C5 Z06 wheels. They’re aftermarket, but they’re designed to clear a big brake kit.” The wheels come with the same tire width as a stock C5 Z06, sized at 265 in front and 295 in the rear, although the diameter is set at a square 18 inches front and rear. Making the traction are Nitto NT05 tires.
Moving into the cabin we find Corbeau FX1 Pro seats and a new Hurst short shifter.
However, the big news is under the skin, where this Chevy Corvette comes with a new 6.2L forged motor, built by Teo.
“I enjoy building motors,” Teo says. “I wanted a cast iron block, a little bit heavier but I just prefer it that way.”
Teo kept the standard red C5 Z06 5.7L fuel rail covers for a stock, sleeper look. That said, the engine now sports C5 Z06 ported heads and a new cam. There’s also a set of Dynatech long-tube headers with high-flow cats connecting to Borla mufflers. All said and done, the owner claims 505 horsepower at the wheels on 91 pump gas.
Teo also upgraded the drivetrain with a rebuilt torque tube, C6 Z06 clutch, and 4.10 rear end, while the suspension received C6 Z06 shocks at all four corners and Hotchkis sway bars front and rear.
“I kept it GM family, but the next model up,” Teo says. Rounding it out are six-piston Stoptech brakes in front and C6 Z06 brakes in the rear.
It’s a thoughtful build designed for one thing – fun behind the wheel. And in the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?
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Comments
Interesting story & video that really hits home (here in SoCal where this was filmed) as I’ve owned many different years of Corvettes but the one I’ve enjoyed the most is my 2001 C5 Corvette. Set up very similar to the one seen in the video (except for a modified 4 speed auto tranny that clicks off lightening quick shifts) my “Silver Streak” C5 is a hoot to drive, it rides and handles exceptionally and with a slightly modified LS1 (still pumping out a reasonable 400+ horsepower) is still able to easily stay with traffic, cruise the freeways of SoCal and still do some “canyon carving” and due to a lack of many of the “electronic goodies” that you find on C6 & C7 Corvettes that are constantly a problem, the C5 when properly set up is about the “most bang for your buck” Corvette that you can buy today! There may be faster and more expensive Corvettes out there (always will be too) but the C5 defines the best of Corvette lineage since it’s went to a “V8 engine” back in 1955, and that is getting the most overall performance for your money. It’s an “All American Hero” that is still popular today when it comes to getting the most sports car for your money. Here is the best part…there are still lots of really well kept C5’s out there in America for you to choose from (and there’s also those obvious “Junk Yard Dogs” out there too, buyer beware) so if you’ve got the desire to own a Corvette, perhaps have some mechanical knowledge and like to tinker and not spend a “King’s Ransom” going “fast with class”, or just keep it stock & Cruise America, you can’t go wrong with a C5 ‘Vette.
There’s something to be said about a car that’s sporty enough to be fun and inexpensive enough to not worry about wear and tear. I’ve put over 100k miles on my C5, from the sweltering summer heat, to inches of snow in the Rocky Mountains in the winter. It has enough tech to be reliable (traction control), but not so much to take away from that direct connection to the machine and, ultimately, road. Styling-wise, I love the look of the C7 and C8, but there’s something about the more reserved C5. It’s not the best, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s just a damn fun, fast, cheap and reliable car to own. And best of all, you don’t need a 7 year loan and spend 1/3 the cost of a house on one!
I have to laugh a bit at the latest videos of C8 owners drag racing. They all just enable launch control and mash the peddle to the floor. Don’t get me wrong, the technology is impressive, but at some point, all it demonstrates is that you had the money/credit score to buy the product.
Where in southern California is Teo tune or tuning? I have a 2014 Cadillac CTS V coupe that I’d like to have tuned or looked at as I wanna mod it up from 635hp at the crank to about 707 or 800hp! Stock it was 556hp but I’ve done the air raid intake and Borla exhaust on it and currently bought the 2.55 supercharger pulley for it, as I’ve heard it makes a big difference. Any help guys, is greatly appreciated.
Sorry no way N/A heads and cam stock LS6 that makes 505hp at the tire on 91 pump gas. 400 to 415 sure, but not 505hp. Install our blower, A&A corvette then sure..
Its a 6.2 iron block swap not the stock LS6
Back in October 2020, I wrote about my 2001 C5 Corvette and now almost four years later, yep…still got it and I’m still having a great time with it too! One thing I’d like to point out, although it has an “auto tranny” (good old four forward speeds Turbo Hydro), it has been modified further so that I can upshift and down shift (using the console mounted stock gear shifter I might add) by using a modified higher rpm stall torque converter, a modified valve body and internal pump, plus using a good auto transmission shop and mechanic who knows their way around these particular rear mounted transmissions. I’ve laid to rest the old adage that these were simply “Buick Roadmaster transmission” and not worth playing with compared to the very popular 6 speed manual transmissions that are so highly thought of. I’ve owned many stick shift Corvettes over the years, and yes, they are fun to drive…except in heavy Sunday Drive traffic like we’ve got here in good old So’Cal. where “bumper to bumper” is the norm and not the excpetion anymore, yeah…it’s sucks sometimes.
So, the reason for the auto tranny was two fold, one…most of the stick shift C5’s that I went looking for were “run hard and put away wet”, beat to within an inch of their very existence for the most part and made all sorts of horrible drivetrain noises and sometimes even would not shift properly, not to mention their clutches, flywheels, prop shaft and various components like the clutch plates, master cylinder ect. were not well maintained (the torque tube components holding the prop shafts were also in need of replacements…a very costly repair job, trust me!) and so I decided to look for that one in a million, well kept, reasonable mileage, expertly maintained auto tranny (2001 and newer) C5 preferably with the extra cost “3.15 performance gear ratio” as one of it’s options and I found exactly the C5 I was looking for, owned by an original owner with enough common sense to not beat the crap out of their C5 but instead treated it respect, “used but not abused”!
Long story short, with said auto tranny modifications, a Borla “Cat Back” exhaust system, a K&N filter system, a complete tune up with new plugs and plug wires, then a quick update of the computer while having the car on a Dyno, resetting the spark & timing, and a few other minor relatively inexpensive add-on’s under the hood (nothing internal in the engine) I was able to pick up close to 50 honest horsepower and torque figures allowing what once was a “still fairly quick for a stock LS-1 2001 C5 Coupe” and brought the low 13 second ET base line quarter mile times (13.15 ET) into the high 12 second ET range (12.70) range and raising the quarter mile MPH from a decent 107.36 MPH (stock) to a very satisfying 112.42 MPH!
Again, quite respectable for basically still stock C5 with an auto tranny! The shifts are now very quick, the launch out of the hole easy to manage (with the traction control on) and all this with stock rubber in the rear!
Obviously I’m not going to take on a good running C6 or C7 Corvette (auto tranny) as they’ve got six and eight speed trannys that are way more modern that the 4 speed auto I’m having to work with, but at a very reasonable cost, I’ve managed to at least make my C5 give these newer generation a real “run for their money” all things being equal.
Could I make my C5 go quicker and faster? Oh Hell Yeah! But…at 76 years old and wanting to keep my C5 for a few more years (just hit 70K, not too bad for a 23 year old C5) but still enjoy a little bit more performance than “pure stock”. I think I’ve managed to have the best of both worlds, and should the “need for more speed” ever arise, these LS-1 engines are so adaptable to modifications that’ll bring the horsepower and torque figures to whatever your wallet can handle and still more than likely still be fairly reliable if you do things right.
Okay, ’nuff said…just thought I’d throw out the fact that not every C5 with an auto tranny is a “slug”…I’ve surprised more than a few stick shift C5 owners from stop light to stop light and so far, it’s been absolutely reliable and fun to drive.