Bit by the bug

[Hotdogand6pack]

When I bought my Z from Charley, I swore to myself that I would never abuse her. I swore I would only cruise her. I swore that I'd only enjoy her beauty and elegance on the street. I swore to myself I would only adorn her with beauty and show her to the world. I would be a gentle proprietor, Dress her up nice and let her be what she is, eye candy. Little did I know that she was a dirty little woman and that I had entered into a deal with the Devil...

It was three days after pulling her out of the trailer that I waited. Three days of bated breath before I took her out. Three days until I experienced her climactic screams above 6000. It was on that third day that I knew I was unequivocally in love.

She was my secret. One which that I musn't share. Sure everyone had inklings about her, but she was mine. I hid her talents away lest I was the only one to fully experience her to her full. She taught me much, but she was mine and her lessons were for me alone. I would find myself quivering at the thought of her touch, quivering at the adrenaline which coursed through my veins when I gave myself to her.

We bonded as I thoroughly massaged into her skin the lotions which made her glisten, over, and over, and over again. I could hear her cooing to my gentle touch all the while my mind spun progressively deeper into thoughts of her exalted screams.

I had for months considered her a treasure, one to be kept locked in a chest for safe keeping. But the mere thought of her kept hidden irked me in a manner which beckoned me to call he forth and present her. That thought persisted through the winter as I could hear her calling, but to no avail. She was in my dreams, my thoughts, my being as a whole. Her calling I could endure no more. She was my Mistress and it was my duty to satisfy her desires as much as it was hers to satisfy mine.

She cooed and rumbled every time I started her over the winter but not so much as the day she knew she was leaving her confinement. She purred. she sang the most eloquent song the entire way home. She knew she was loved, and she showed it. She received her full lavish treatment of new fluids and filters and pomp and circumstance and she reveled in it. But all the wile she had her leg out with the luring finger pointing at the throttle.

I persisted in my reluctance, but to no avail. Her claws were too deeply set into my skin and I was too eager to experience the thousand natural shocks which flesh is heir to. Her call was resounding and my resilience too weak. I had no choice but to sign up for Watkins Glen.

[EWest]

Ummm...yeah - Glad you enjoy your Z.

[Paul Workman]

I'm always looking for members that write well and can inspire to write articles for the News Letter. Well, I'm not sure I'm reading a ZR-1 forum or a "crotch novel", but you definitely can write!:mrgreen:

Well, the next step is a "make-over", FBI style!

[WB9MCW]

Very nice -- you did a great job on the inner thoughts we all (well most of us) have with the Z and the LT-5. She does make a good "Mistress" indeed.

Definition of MISTRESS
1: a woman who has power, authority, or ownership: as
a : the female head of a household
b : a woman who employs or supervises servants
c : a woman who is in charge of a school or other establishment
d : a woman of the Scottish nobility having a status comparable to that of a master

2: a chiefly British : a female teacher or tutor
b : a woman who has achieved mastery in some field

3: something personified as female that rules, directs, or dominates <when Rome was mistress of the world>

4a : a woman other than his wife with whom a married man has a continuing sexual relationship
b archaic : sweetheart

5a —used archaically as a title prefixed to the name of a married or unmarried woman
b chiefly Southern & Midland : mrs. 1a

[Hotdogand6pack]

For some, the Z is just a piece of hardware much like a wrench or a door hinge. For those like me, born in 84, it was a dream. I was't interested in Testarossa's, or Countaches or Diablo's. It was the ZR-1. Screw the Eurotrash, the Z was home grown and bred and made the rest look at their own folly. Sure the engine was British and built by a boat manufacturer. But at that time it was proudly accepted to utilise the talents and expertise of multicultural and multinational engineers to design superior products versus the xenophobic attitudes of the modern world. And for those who merely look at a Z as an assemblage of fiberglass, metal, and plastic, sell it to someone who truly appreciates it. I saved every penny I had for 10 years to buy and bring to fruition, my dream. Sure the c6 z06 and zr1 put it to shame performance wise. But that's not the point. Nobody has those posters on the wall, nobody growing up is telling themselves that 'someday, it will be mine.' They are but a fleeting fancy. But the C4 ZR-1, well that's the real deal. That's the dream that I am living that I spent so long to enjoy. 'Some day it will be mine.' Some dreams come true.

[EWest]

Help me, Jeebus!

[EWest]

Couldn't agree with you more about the dream of owning a Zr1. I was born in '76, so my early years of high school coincided with the Z's birth. While others were drooling over the high 14s a Mustang 5.0 could run, I had other ideas. I can remember flipping to the back of Motor Trend where they listed performance numbers of reviewed cars, and being blown away at the low 4s and 13s they had recorded for the Zr1. Someday it would be mine. 20 years later, my dream came true. Every time I think about it, I can't help but smile. Now if I could just get a damn 5.0 to roll up next to me...

[rhipsher]

When I bought my Z from Charley, I swore to myself that I would never abuse her. I swore I would only cruise her. I swore that I'd only enjoy her beauty and elegance on the street. I swore to myself I would only adorn her with beauty and show her to the world. I would be a gentle proprietor, Dress her up nice and let her be what she is, eye candy. Little did I know that she was a dirty little woman and that I had entered into a deal with the Devil...

It was three days after pulling her out of the trailer that I waited. Three days of bated breath before I took her out. Three days until I experienced her climactic screams above 6000. It was on that third day that I knew I was unequivocally in love.

She was my secret. One which that I musn't share. Sure everyone had inklings about her, but she was mine. I hid her talents away lest I was the only one to fully experience her to her full. She taught me much, but she was mine and her lessons were for me alone. I would find myself quivering at the thought of her touch, quivering at the adrenaline which coursed through my veins when I gave myself to her.

We bonded as I thoroughly massaged into her skin the lotions which made her glisten, over, and over, and over again. I could hear her cooing to my gentle touch all the while my mind spun progressively deeper into thoughts of her exalted screams.

I had for months considered her a treasure, one to be kept locked in a chest for safe keeping. But the mere thought of her kept hidden irked me in a manner which beckoned me to call he forth and present her. That thought persisted through the winter as I could hear her calling, but to no avail. She was in my dreams, my thoughts, my being as a whole. Her calling I could endure no more. She was my Mistress and it was my duty to satisfy her desires as much as it was hers to satisfy mine.

She cooed and rumbled every time I started her over the winter but not so much as the day she knew she was leaving her confinement. She purred. she sang the most eloquent song the entire way home. She knew she was loved, and she showed it. She received her full lavish treatment of new fluids and filters and pomp and circumstance and she reveled in it. But all the wile she had her leg out with the luring finger pointing at the throttle.

I persisted in my reluctance, but to no avail. Her claws were too deeply set into my skin and I was too eager to experience the thousand natural shocks which flesh is heir to. Her call was resounding and my resilience too weak. I had no choice but to sign up for Watkins Glen. Its OK to love a car but if you catch yourself driving it naked then its gone to far.:)

[Fully Vetted]

...I can remember flipping to the back of Motor Trend where they listed performance numbers of reviewed cars, and being blown away at the low 4s and 13s they had recorded for the Zr1.

I was thinking about that the other day. I wish they would bring that back. I could spend an hour bench racing with that list. I remember, like you, looking at the number the ZR-1, Viper, and Callaways would put up thinking, "How much faster can we go?" And now look at the numbers. Sub 3 sec 0-60 times from a Nissan for crying out loud.

And here I am again 20 years later asking, "How much faster can we go?"

[LancePearson]

David,
Like it or not, boost, boost, boost....whine, whistle and huge horsepower. Will they last, be trouble free relatively? I have my concerns and wonder about the merits in general of over 600 hp in anything of a car nature but it is what it is. In my view the GM folks at Corvette are getting bypassed sticking with the two valve pushrod and thinking 455 hp is just reason to buy a new C7 Vette. Heck, our tuned Z's beat a non tuned modern supercharged zr1 already at 638 hp. Kids just don't buy our cars anymore. a ricer, add a turbo or two and a big exhaust and tune it. Cheaper and they like it just fine.

Me, I love my 1991 Z but the 1/2 mile in Chicago really opened my eyes. We aren't that fast anymore relatively as we are naturally aspirated. However, my car is way more than fast enough for me so it does not matter but facts being what they are, we simply aren't anywhere near the top of the heap with this technology.

The question is: is the heap worth fighting for to go faster? Depends on your views, not worth it for me. Besides, I'd rather hear a rumble than either a whine or a whistle. Not a fighter jet pilot, a car owner who likes sound, wind and speed. Old fart is the other way to say it but I is what I is and I likes it.

[Bob Eyres]

I've had my ZR-1 for a very long time, it'll be twenty years next year. From the time when it was one of the hottest things on the street, to now, when it will have a hard time keeping up with a base engine Corvette this year.

My wife's grocery getter is a little four door 335, and all she needs is a tuner "plug and play" unit to blow the doors off my supercar from the last century.

So what, there's always someone quicker. And now a lot of cars are waaay quicker.

But, you know what? if you're into Corvettes, you've got to realize that the C4 ZR-1 is not only one of the best looking corvettes ever made, it's got the finest, strongest, most beautiful, sweetest sounding engine ever put in a Corvette.
Whenever I think i'm getting bored with this car, I take it out and run it up to 7K.........YYYyyessssSSS.. I think I'll keep it :-D

[Hotdogand6pack]

Not only does the the c4 ZR1 still rock, it's the power curve that puts the c5 405HP z06 to shame. Let alone the 444HP ford Boss 302, 550HP gt500, 470HP charger SRT8, etc. Being able to hit peak torque and maintaining it from 3500 to 7500 is beyond amazing. When everyone else is cycling gears, the c4 ZR1 doesn't need to. it is that virtue why the C4 ZR1 and LT5 are still pertinent.

[XfireZ51]

Lance,

I think that as a perfectly streetable and reliable vehicle, our Zs are still very competitive w modern stuff out there with relatively simple modifications. It just points to the potential with power adders. But frankly I like the KISS principle.

[LancePearson]

xfire, I agree that our Z's are amazing.

I don't know what I'd do with 800 hp since I can break every single speeding law in the US with my current Z in Second gear. However, for those situations where extreme speed and power are wanted it is very hard to deny the availability of twin turbos and what they can do. I'm headed for Colorado in a few hours to Denver to attend a Friend from college and their 50th wedding anniversary party Sunday and some other things Sat but during the day Sat I am going to probably drive down to Pikes Peak and look up some of the cars that are going to race up the mountain in the 91st running of the Hill Climb race there Sunday. Sebastian Loeb is running a Peugot 218 with a twin turbo v6 <4 litre and Rhys Millen is running a Hyundai Genesis 4.0 liter twin turbo V6. Both admit to about 900 hp but most think they run closer to 1,000 hp. Flat track times for Loeb who is the nine times world rally champion....0-62 mph 1.8 seconds; 0-124 mph 7.0 seconds; 0-149 mph 10 seconds and up from there. Small cars built as race cars but this is a dangerous race for 12.4 miles up the mountain now on all paved roads with NO guard rails and big drops off the mountain. These cars can really fly as some did at the Wannagofast Chicago 1/2's June 2,3.

If I wanted more power today I'd investigate adding boost rather than bigger cid nowadays after you've done porting and relieving, exhaust and cams. Have to do something about the radiator and water pump on the z as well at those power levels.

Let me repeat: I love my 1991 Z which is lightly tuned to somewhere around 450 hp as it is all I can personally handle.

Lance