If you have not signed up for our e-newsletter then you don’t know about our 10% off all Corvette cooling parts sale running 8/12 through 8/14 at midnight EST. The sale covers radiators, thermostats, water pumps, expansion tanks, hoses hardware and a whole lot more. Visit zip-corvette.com or shop for Corvette Cooling Parts here and save big this weekend.
Damage to 1997-2004 C5 Corvette Front Skid Plate & Radiator Support Cradles is very common. They are very susceptible to dents, cracks, and scrapes from running into parking lot stops and curbs. If the damage is serious enough your Corvette’s radiator could be dislodged, creating havoc with cooling issues. If you have had a front end collision then you certainly must replace this item when rebuilding your Corvette’s front end.
We see many C5 Corvettes in our shop that have cracked cradles and many times the owner doesn’t even know it. These cradles crack easily when hitting speed bumps or other road obstacles. While a cracked cradle may not be something to be overly worried about, many owners choose to replace the cradle anyway. Installation is not simple, many of your Corvette’s front end pieces will need to be removed and it will take some time to replace the cradle. When you go to GM to try to buy this piece, do not be surprised if they charge you twice the price of ours.
Our new reproduction C5 Corvette Front Skid Plate & Radiator Support Cradle bolts to the front frame extensions allowing you to return your Corvette to its factory condition. Each skid plate & cradle includes the correct small and large hex head rivet nuts for installing to your Corvette’s frame assembly. These hex head nuts are typically only available through GM where you will pay approximately $7 a nut. Without these nuts you would have to install a generic round head nut that requires a special tool to install. The correct nuts are included with a new support cradle or separately if needed.
One way that you can help prevent your Corvette skid plate/radiator support cradle from being damaged is to install some of our C5 Corvette Skid Plate Stiffeners and/or our C5 Corvette Front Bumper Skid Rollers. Our skid plate stiffeners install easily in 15 minutes and will save your Corvette from damage often cause by parking stops and curbs. Our front bumper skid rollers take about an hour to install. They feature an active skid plate design with proprietary integrated urethane wheels that will eliminate costly front-end damage caused by lowering, steep driveways or other obstacles. Each set includes a pair of bumper savers and all necessary hardware. Welding is not required to complete installation but is recommended.
Until now, Corvette Parts vendors have been selling 2004-2008 style Corvette thermostats to 2009-2010 Corvette owners. With the appearances of the two 160 degree thermostats being so similar it is easy to understand why. We want all 2009-2010 Corvette owners to know that the 2004-2008 style thermostat, even though it does fit, will not work properly on your Corvette and will cause a leak.
What is different on the new C6 Corvette 160 Degree Thermostat is the size. GM changed the size of the thermostat on all 2009-2010 Corvettes, which causes sealing issues when installing a 2004-2008 style thermostat. We offer and stock Motorad 160 degree thermostats for all 2009-2010 Corvettes. Motorad is an OEM supplier and has designed a direct replacement 160 degree thermostat that literally drops in place. With this addition to your 2009-2010 Corvette you can now improve your Corvette’s overall performance by allowing the engine to run cooler than the factory thermostat’s setting. Cooler running engines produce greater horsepower and operate more efficiently. If you are looking for a more efficient C6 Corvette Engine consider this direct replacement 160 degree thermostat that uses the stock housing and installs in about 10 minutes.
If you have been looking for a way to manually cool your C6 Corvette by controlling the speed of the fan then the new C6 Corvette Hi/Low Speed Fan Controller from Zip Corvette is for you. The function of the fan controller is very simple and it can be installed in less then one hour.
The manual C6 Corvette Hi/Low Speed Fan Controller installs easily to the PWM-controlled coolant fan found on the C6 Corvette because the factory coolant fan incorporates a solid-state controller instead of relays (as in previous years and models). This fan control module interfaces with the factory controller and permits manual coolant fan control. The fan control module simply plugs into the fan connector and includes a round rocker switch that matches similar designed control switches found in the Corvettes console. Using this switch allows the Corvette operator to manually override the ECU control of the coolant fan, to force-cool the engine, even when the car is unattended and not running.
This C6 Corvette Hi/Low Speed Fan Controller is ideal for off-road racing and competition use. The fan control module is designed to plug in-between the sealed fan connector and its mate. The included wiring harness can be run through the driver side door jamb, under the weatherstrip and into the passenger compartment without the need to drill through the firewall. This C6 Corvette Hi/Low Speed Fan Controller fits all C6 Corvettes including the Z06 and ZR1.
Upgrade your 1955-1968 Corvette cooling system with a Direct Fit Aluminum Radiator:
1955-1982 Factory Corvette Radiators do not age well; GM did not design them to last longer then 10 years so if the coolant is not flushed out regularly, dissimilar metals in the cooling system and inefficient anti-corrosion inhibitors lead to internal structural failure. This will ultimately lead to a loss of heat transfer from the built-up deposits inside the radiator tubes leaving you with a hot running Corvette. If your 1955-1982 Corvette is running hotter than you think it should and you have a factory style radiator installed, then a direct-fit aluminum radiator may be in your future to solve your Corvette’s Cooling System problems.
Aluminum radiators have become the standard for Corvettes because of their lightweight and durable structure. Some factory Corvette radiators are made of aluminum (Original 55-82 radiators were copper/brass EXCEPT for 61-62, 63-67 327 & 68-72 350 4sspd w/o AC. They were originally aluminum.) and would work great if they had a larger core, were not sealed with simple crimp tabs and did not have plastic end-tanks, but they are all made this way. With that said, the ideal Corvette Radiator would have a larger aluminum core and be completely welded together to make a complete one-piece unit. Many aftermarket aluminum radiators do cool much more efficiently then the stock Corvette Radiator but will fall into one of two categories: Epoxy sealed and those that are not truly “Direct-Fit”
Epoxy: Some use epoxy to seal the coolant lines running to and from the end-tanks. Though it may seem like one complete unit, it can still be highly susceptible to leaks once this epoxy breaks down. When this happens, it is back to square one- shopping for another radiator all over again.
Not Truly Direct-Fit: There are other aluminum radiators manufactured without the use of epoxy and because of the excellent craftsmanship, they will keep your Corvette running cool for a long time. The problem is you will not be spending a nice Saturday afternoon installing them. Many will require multiple modifications some even to the extreme of manually bending the brand new radiator to make it fit your Corvette. Although they may be advertised as an “easy fit”, they are not truly “Direct-Fit” Radiators.
