Australian Corvettes Association

XR_Strider_GuY

Hi Guys,

Well I promised a write up so here it is. Writeup is primarily focused on the drive up and the drive in NSW. I am only half way through, so its a to be continued...

Excitement, the day has arrived. To begin the usual Red Arrow power-up, I took the car cover off, connected the battery through a new quick release connector I fitted. One twist of the key and the small block L98 fires into life with no drama. I set the car to metric, select face level with fan on three. Next with the stereo on and the equalizer set just so I let the car idle for 1 minute then slowly reverse out of the hanger.

My journey could not be simpler. Down the Princes Freeway, left onto the Western Ring road then Left again on the Hume hwy with a slight detour half way to Canberra then all the way to rendezvous point in Alexandria Sydney.
I drove for about an hour before the first stop and I already came to my first observation. Whilst on the freeway the standard globes are fine but out on the 110km/h highway where there is little road lighting I felt the lights could be a little brighter. Perhaps a set of Narva +50’s would do the job.
The first stop was a refuel at the BP in Wallan as well as some breakfast for the driver. I decided to fill the car with BP Ultimate to ensure zero chance of detonation or pinging should I encounter a petrol station with substandard fuel. At around 6:30am I was on the road again with the tunes of Tom Petty.

Even at the crack of sunlight there were already other cars noticing the Red Arrow. I had a Subaru Liberty driving near (occasionally passing and dropping back) me for a good 40km. On this stint, I noted the air conditioning did not allow selecting re-circulate mode if the ambient temperature is below 4 degrees. The thought of a malfunction did cross my mind but I can happily say the air conditioning performed perfectly without a hitch.

The next brief stop was to be in Glenrowan. Whilst taking a pic I noticed one of the light bulbs was out. However, I decided to look at it in Holbrook and see if the service station stocks the replacement globe. By now, I am seeing 10.5/L/100km on my average fuel consumption reading. My thinking of 8L/100km was going to be ambitious.
By now it has to be said, my left leg and hip was starting to ache. The seats are close to perfect but its the way the transmission tunnel gives absolutely no room for your left leg that you sit sort of cross legged is the issue. The saving grace here is cruise control which allowed me to stretch and move my legs along the journey.

The Hume Hwy has been vastly improved since the last time I went which I was testing the back then brand new FG XR6. The car was relatively clean with minimal bug spatters. The rear of the car was dirty due to a wet road start in Melbourne. I would advise for anyone who loves road trips to do it in the middle of winter.

At around 9:30 I arrived in Holbrook where I stopped to take some pics of the Red Arrow on the street with some shots of the submarine. I pulled over briefly in a petrol station to sort out the illusive globe. With no stock of the right globe, I bent the terminals and temporarily got it working.

Quite an amusing shot here. You can see a blue XR8 just like mine in the window. It was actually an XR8 on the other side of the street parked up. Talk about a lingering spirit...

The next refuel was where the dog sits on the Tucker Box 9 miles from Gundagai. Does anyone remember that country song famously sang by the late Slim Dusty?
530km already driven since Melbourne and the Red Arrow is doing just fine. Despite a slight oil leak, the Red Arrow did not seem to eat up any noticeable oil amount. No top up was necessary throughout the entire trip.

The next stop was half way to Canberra to meet up with Smithy007. This was a good opportunity to put a face to a name and talk Corvettes. A park up and some pics, then some bangers and mash for lunch washed down with coke. After the feed, we went shot gun in each other’s cars. It was my first ride ever in a Stingray and now I really know what Corvettes are all about after discovering the feel of the earlier models.

There is a fun factor in Corvettes that I feel no other car can offer. Despite their human like temperamental nature at times, their rough crude persona and the minimalist frame to fiberglass body approach with leaf springs. Experiencing a ride in Smithy’s stingray puts me in the mind of some of the designers and product developers of the early Corvettes, Zora Arkus Duntov, Dick Guldstrand and Larry Shinoda. I thought the Red Arrow had a nice engine and exhaust note, the Stingray re wrote my books on this. The noise of a carburetor 350 small block under wide-open throttle sends goose bumps down my spin.

We headed back to the parking where Smithy the driver of the Stingray would jump into my 1990. Blame the Canberra air or the exhilarating ride of the Stingray but I felt mine was a little sluggish. I can see why many owners’ change the exhaust on the C4 Corvettes to bring back some of the raw sound that is missing.

Once the joy riding was over, it was time for me to continue the trip to Sydney. At the freeway merge, it dawned on me that the kick down was not aggressive enough. As I flattened the accelerator at 30km/h, it seems to be revving in second and not first gear as I would of liked. Perhaps an adjustment of the kick down cable would do the trick.

The trip to Sydney before the start of the M5 motorway was for the most part, drama free with only a stop at Pheasant’s Nest for a quick drink.

With Thursday peak evening traffic fast approaching, I reached my best average fuel consumption from the computer reading of 9.8L/100km. Knowing what I know now, I am confident that I will get better figures than this if the IAC (Idle Air Control) was connected.

As I came onto the M5 motorway the traffic was really starting to thicken and speeds would drop down to 40km/h with occasional complete stops. My intent was to take the airport exit but with so many lanes, I inadvertently took the King Georges Rd exit.
Never mind, this would give me (for the first time on the journey) a chance to drive in suburbia amongst stop and go traffic and some lane changes. Amazingly, the Corvette was entertaining driving around the city streets. Even at dusk on a workday, I am amazed how many second looks the Corvette got as it drove by.

As I headed to journeys end, I passed my old factory where I use to work in Alexandria and then onto the outskirts of Erskinville. It was here that it really dawned on me what Corvettes are all about. Despite the comical looks, the roller coaster ride and entertainment value, the secret of its success is the way it wants to be driven and also driven long for long distances.

Here is the Corvette at the rendezvous point in Redfern Sydney.

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1990 C4 Auto "Corvette, its not just buying a car but also a way of life".