March 30, 1998
The first C5 Birthday Bash at the NCM has come to a close. H. Michael Trahan member C5R# W0154 of Hasting MI, won the promo car cover at Saturday evening drawing. A GREAT time was had by all. Some of the news form the celebration, came from the man himself, Dave Hill. There will be two new colors announced for the 1999 C5 Corvette. One, a color similar to the Daytona Blue of the the 1963 Corvette, and a Magnetic Red. The Magnetic Red will be a custom "Candy Apple" type paint requiring several trips to the paint shop. It will therefore be a $500 RPO.

March 18, 1998
We told you about it in the November 7, 1997 Hot News. Now, according the May 98 edition of "Corvette Fever", Aztec Gold made it out the door on just FIFTEEN 1998 C5s (3 were Convertibles) before it was discontinued for quality control reasons."Corvette Fever" figures these will be out on the market through some select dealers, keep your eye open for a VERY RARE C5 color.

March 13, 1998 4:PM CST
It's Friday the 13th and a full moon... But GM was notified by the decal supplier for the C5 Indy Pace Car that the decals were applied to the last Pace Car today. Ready for shipment back to the plant. Umm.. if you get one of the last Indy's, you'll have to let us know if the decals are in the proper place, and right side up!

March 6, 1998
"We hope by now most of you have received your "Motor Trend" (April 1998) magazine. There is a timely article about the '99 C5 fixed-roof coupe on page 43.  We would like to clarify some of the points made. The '99 fixed-roof Coupe will be available one of two ways:

1. The Economy Version will be an automatic with a single base axle standard, 4-speaker stereo cassette, fixed mast antenna, and 17-inch five spoke wheels with smaller-sized tires all the way around.

2. The Kick Butt Version …the SIX-SPEED one! …. will have available a special performance package which includes the MN6 (6-speed), performance-handling suspension, and gives enthusiasts back what is needed for street battle - 18" rears and 17" fronts - same size wheels and tires presently on the Targa and Convertible.

Some additional points regarding this new fixed-roof Coupe are as follows:
Stereo may be upgraded to an eight-speaker Bose system.  A 12 CD disc changer is scheduled to be available also. Five exterior color choices are being offered, but the interior color choice is limited to black.  The standard fabric seats may be optioned up to leather (black only). Options NOT available include F45 - Real Time Damping, T96 - Fog Lights, JL4 - Active Handling Suspension, and a Power Antenna. Remember, the picture in "Motor Trend" on page 43 is just an artist's interpretation - and we at the C5 Registry do not believe it should be viewed as the actual finished look of the 1999 fixed-roof Coupe. Interested?  Get with your dealer quick, supplies are limited!!"

March 2, 1998
Look for a mast type radio antenna as standard equipment on the 1999 C5 fixed roof coupe. The standard power antenna on the Convertible or the "in glass" antenna of the Targa  will not be on the fixed roof coupe.

March 1, 1998 - Color Choice News
Five color choices will be offered for the new C5 fixed roof coupe, but the interior choice is limited to black. Fabric interior will be standard on the fixed roof coupe with leather as an option. Carmine Red will be discontinued and replaced with a new color, Rumored to be a Red Metallic pearl type paint. A pearl yellow color choice is also being discussed.

March 1, 1998
New options for the C5 Corvette will make their debut for the 1999 model year. Among them will be a Telescoping steering column, and a heads up drivers display! Strong Rumor: Late in the 1999 production year, the LS1 power plant for the C5 will get a 30hp bump to 375hp. The new LS6 engine will follow at a later time.

February 27, 1998
In the April edition of  a well known magazine, they state: "Look for a change on the exhaust system on the 1999 C5 fixed roof coupe". Gone will be the complicated undersized four pipe rear system. "The C5 Registry's guess is a re-designed and improved two pipe system", across the board on the 2000 model year.

February 26, 1998
The last of the 1998 model Indy Pace Cars will be built Friday,  February 27, 1998 and will be VIN# 120776. They made the deadline!

February 25, 1998 - Dan's E-Mail Crashed!
While downloading a large amount of e-mail today, our leader Dan Adovasio's e-mail took a nose dive! If you've sent mail to Dan between 1:30 PM on February 25th, and 7:30 PM on the 9th of February and have not yet received a reply, please mail him again c5dan@c5registry.com

February 24, 1998 - Fixed Roof Coupe
Fact: The C5 Corvette fixed roof coupe will be shown to the press only at the Indy 500 on Memorial Day. But production will not begin until August 1998, and you probably won't see it in the dealer showrooms until September. Look for a price tag around $32,000.

February 23, 1998
Ron from Pro Auto Tech called us to report he had just put his Modified C5 "The Mongoose" on the Dyno. He has 340hp at the rear wheels with 352ft/lbs. of torque. That translates to 400hp at the flywheel with 410ft/lbs of torque. [Click Here For Dyno Results and Details]

February 21, 1998 - Could be Bad News - (If you have a Six-Speed on Order)
GM notified Chevrolet dealers Wednesday, February 18th that they definitely are not going to be accepting any more orders for 1998 Six Speed transmissions in C5 Corvettes. - But, C5's equipped with the Six Speed option  that have been already been ALLOCATED, will most likely be preference and completed. Check with your Dealer or Chevrolet Customer Center @ 1-800-222-1020, to see where your order stands. (Have Your Order Number Handy).

February 20, 1998
Rumor: It is rumored Mag Wheels will return as an option on the 1999 C5 Corvette. RPO JL4 (Active Handling) will also remain an option in '99.

February 19, 1998
Total production for the 1998 Indy Pace Car replica is confirmed at 1163 including 5 Pilot C5's for factory
use only. There are 616 MX0 Automatics and 547 MN6 Six Speeds. The brake down is 1111 domestics, 37 Exports, and 15 to Canada. Unique Feature: Black Leather Steering Wheel and Shift Knob with Neon Yellow Stitching. The Sport seats and the leather "Boot" which covers the transmission shift linkage are also stitched in Neon Yellow.Click Here For More Information.

February 18, 1998 - News on the LS6 Packaged C5
The "LS6" will be sold as a package. Along with several other enhancements the package will include a Six-Speed Transmission and a beefed up LS1 (LS6) engine producing 400+HP. This car is being designed as Chevrolet's Flagship car, and a replacement for the ZR1, keeping with Corvette's tradition of being a technology and horse power leader. The package will add about $10,000 to the price of the C5.

February 17, 1998 - Snakes for Lunch!
Chevrolet's "Toy" division, to show what can be done with the new LS1 engine, has begun work on a "normally aspirated" LS1 powered Z-28 Camaro that will produce 540HP. This car will feature a six-speed Transmission. The wild paint scheme is being designed by PPg. That's right folks! 540HP from an LS1! Information on this car should be appearing in the August car magazines.

February 16, 1998
BBS has developed a special wheel for the C5 Corvette.To obtain information, or purchase these wheels at a special C5 Registry Member Price, call: Top Notch Auto Accessories at 1-800-841-5394 ask for Rob Buckalew. Use your member discount code that you received with your registration packet.. (Click here to view exclusive photo).

February 13, 1998
Track testing is complete. Drag strip times are in and official (timeslip available here). Mallett 435 #98-003, on its production 315/35/17 Goodyear ZR-S tires, and in full street trim, including catalytic converters and full exhaust, ran an uncorrected 11.996 @ 117.38 mph at the Silver Dollar Raceway in Georgia.

February 12, 1998
K&N has a new replacement filter for the C5 standard air box. The K&N Part number is 33-2111. This new filter was released late in December 1997. It is a "2nd stage " design, replacing the "1st stage" so called design using the old Corvette 85 to 87 filter - which had a very poor fit within the air box.

February 4, 1998
Corvette C5 sales (2,166 units) posted their best January in history, increasing 522 percent compared with January 1997.

January 27, 1998
Rumor: Its Rumored the LS6 will be given the model name "Super Sport" [SS] when it comes out late next year...   Also rumored that model Year "2000", base LS1, HP will go up 20HP. Fact: All Indy Pace C5's   are scheduled to be competed by the end of February 1998.  Currently the plant is building 140 C5's a day..with about   40 of that production being Indy Pace Cars.

January 25, 1998
Rumor: The 1999 Corvette C5 Hardtop model will have 17" tires all around and they will be an EMT tires of a non- F-1 design. Because these tires MAY BE a lower speed rating the factory is considering putting a speed limiter similar to the one on the Camaro. ( We hope they don't...this would be a Mistake! ) The base price could be about $4000.00 lower than the Targa Coupe for 1999. They will achieve this saving through a number of small changes in addition to the tire change, such as cloth interior and limited color selection.

January 24, 1998
Rumor: The six speed transmission has become a "hard to get" option. Rumor is that after meeting the GM allotment, the supplier has halted production.

January 23, 1998
Rumor: The new 1999 C5 Corvette model - The Hardtop - will have a production run of approximately 5,000 units,  and will only be available in 4 colors. The rear wheels, while smaller than the regular coupe, will probably be better looking!   The profile of the roof line is similar to the convertible with the top up.

January 19, 1998
GM increased the base price on the 1998 Corvette C5 Coupe January 19, 1998 by $500: From $37,495 to $37,995

January 12, 1998
What many people don't know is that the Indy decals that go all over the C5 Pace car are put on at another off-site, non-GM location. The Neon-Yellow Windshield "CORVETTE" Decal (at the top of the windshield) is not installed at the factory off site location because some states prohibit them on the windshields so they have been placed in a box in the back of Indy Convertible for the New Indy C5 Owner (or) Dealer to install.(My BET is Half of them never make it to the New C5 Owner and the other half are Ruined at Installation!!!) The Indy Corvettes then have to be shipped back to the plant in Bowling Green for a Quality Control Inspection. This whole process could take up to an additional three weeks after the C5 is actually built and before it is shipped to the dealer.

Regarding production, beginning the week of January 12th,1998 the C5 Indy Pace Car is scheduled for a production run of up to 30 per day until the assigned 1158 Indy Pace Car Replicas are produced.

Rumor has it that GM will be bring down a 1998 Pace Car to Cypress Gardens for the NCRS Show January 22-25,1998.    

January 5, 1998
Contrary to popular belief the Active Handling (JL4) is available with ALL suspension types including Z51 & F45. It is still a $500 option above the cost of these packages.

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