Well, it took me a little longer to get back here to finish my story...
On Monday 16 Jan, I ordered my 2012 Z06 from Tom Henry Chevrolet.
Ordering a car is different from shopping for cars dealers have in stock, especially in my case–where I had a pretty good idea about what I want. With Tom Henry, because he and many of his salespersons are Corvette- and Camaro-savvy, ordering a car was pretty darn easy. Just in case, I had sent Henry Chevy a deposit check late last week, figuring the time it took the check to get to Pennsylvania would give me several more days to make up my mind and you CAC members helped bring me to a decision.
Tom Henry Chevrolet emailed me a list of options out of the "dealer order guide" from which I selected YF5 LS7 MM6 1LZ RUV XFH GLF Z07 B92 VK3 VEB and 843. I also asked Henry's body shop to give me a quote on painting the CF roof, (which for 2012 is left black) body color and adding the white "racing stripe" sold by Chevrolet Accessories and which on a Carlisle Blue car, looks positively stunning.
Once I gave Henry Chevy that list, they checked to make sure all the option codes were correct and were currently available. Within an hour or so, I had a reply email reminding me that F55 and CFZ are not part of Z07 but are required when one orders Z07, so I submitted a new list: YF5 LS7 MM6 1LZ RUV XFH GLF Z07 F55 B92 CFZ VK3 VEB and 843. The next day, Tom Henry, himself, confirmed that he'd received my deposit and emailed me an order number along with confirmation that his body shop could paint the top and add the stripe. Interestingly, the order confirmation document I received calls the color "Ice Blue Metallic" rather than "Carlisle Blue"....won't be the first time Corvette colors have more than one name inside GM.
But then, after thinking about the car overnight :confused...
I changed my mind.
I've always been an engine guy. I've been smitten with the mystique surrounding ;worship great engines like the Big-Block "Mark" engines, the LT5, the LS6 and now...the LS7. My personal opinion is that 2013 will be the last year for the LS7 427 and the last time GM ever has a gasoline, high-performance engine that big in any vehicle, Corvette, or otherwise. The mystique surrounding the LS7 comes, in part, because of its 7100 rpm rev limit, that it's naturally aspirated, that it has both titanium connecting rods and titanium intake valves and, when you buy it, you don't take a big fat guzzler tax hit.
I decided I want to "build" (or help build as the case may be) my own engine and I decided that, at this point in my life, because engines like the LS7 will soon be part of Chevrolet legend, there will never be an opportunity like this again so; I contacted Tom Henry Chevrolet this morning and asked them to add "PBC", the "Corvette Engine Build Experience" to the order. That option allows a Grand Sport six-speed, Z06 or ZR-1 buyer to visit GM Powertrain's Performance Build Center, where dry-sump LS3, LS7, LS9 and LSA engines are assembled, and "assist" the GMPT employee who assembles the engine which goes in the Corvette he or she orders. Admittedly this option is expensive, but for an engine guy like me, it is a once in a lifetime "bucket-list" chance to help assemble the LS7 which goes in the Z06 I buy.
I kinda figured that changing an order once it's placed would be difficult, if not impossible, but the people at Tom Henry Chevrolet surprised me, again, and came through. Mid-morning today (Tuesday) I got an email saying they were able to change the order to add PBC. I don't know much about the order process beyond telling the dealer what I want and sending the deposit check, but my belief is: it may not be easy to make a change like that to an order which has already been placed. If that's the case, hats off to the Tom Henry folks for meeting my needs.
So what's next?
Sometime next month or in early March, I fly back to Michigan and visit the PBC in Wixom, just outside of Detroit to help build my LS7. Then, in late April, my Wife, the Fairest Sandra the Red, Duchess of Goleta, and I will fly back to Pittsburgh, then get a ride 15-miles up Route 8 to Bakerstown.
We'll pick-up the car, then drive it down to Bowling Green for the C5/C6 Bash event. Not so much to do the Bash but to attend the 2014 Corvette Caravan Section Captain's meeting. As I'm the 2014 Caravan's Section Captain for Southern California and Southern Nevada, I must attend those meetings of which there are usually two a year. Over the Bash weekend, we'll have Jim Van Dorn's Automasters of Bowling Green, the best Corvette service shop in that part of the country, change all the car's fluids over to Red Line products: synthetic 10W30 Engine Oil, Synthetic Power Steering Fluid, Water Wetter in the coolant, MTL synthetic transmission lubricant and Heavy Shockproof synthetic rear axle lube.
After all that, Sandy and I will leave Bowling Green with our new "toy" headed home to Goleta, California.
Executive Summary of the buying/ordering experience at Tom Henry Chevrolet?
Two Thumbs up!
If you're looking to buy a new Vette or a new Camaro, you need to put Tom Henry Chevy on your list.
One thing I need to do is give the car a name. All my Vettes have them. My '71 Big-Block hot rod is "Yellow Thunder", but some old-time readers of "Vette Magazine" may know it as "The Big-Block from Hell." The '95, being that it's painted Dark Purple Metallic, is "Barney". Our '04 Z06, because the last five characters in its VIN are 00039, is "Three Balls Thirty-Nine"
The '12 Z06 is, as yet, unnamed.
Any suggestions?
I look forward to pictures and driving descriptions.
