The "Trixie" C5
Meet
“Trixie” she is a 2001 Corvette coupe that got her name from Speed
Racer's girlfriend in the old cartoon series. Trixie belongs
to
Frank and Gail Cahall from Delaware. She was bought as a completely
stock, low mileage car in 2012 mainly because Gail had wanted a
Corvette since she was 5 years old. Original plans were to leave the
car stock, but those intentions kind of got off course because Gail had
deep roots in the car show community and Frank had deep roots in the
drag racing community. First came “Let’s put some stripes on her.” Next
was “Let’s put a cam in her.” The “cam change” evolved into the engine
and drive train sitting on the shop floor and the body on a lift.
At
that point there was no turning back so Frank and Gail decided that
they would turn Trixie into a rolling advertisement for both of their
businesses. Gail owns American-Powerhouse which is an online store that
sells automotive accessories and Frank owns Cahall Performance
Transmissions which is a shop specializing in performance
transmissions.
A plan was put together and Gail ordered all
the parts through her business and Frank handled the transmission and
drive train work. Frank choose one of his “Pro Race” 4L60Es that was
backed up by a 9.5” 3200rpm Pro-torque stall
converter.
Gail
and Frank did the engine build themselves. Fank tells us that "there’s
nothing more sexy than watching your wife torque main bolts". This was
a “learn as you go” experience as it was their first attempt at an LS
based engine.
The C3 was envisioned primarily as a show
car. The Cahall's didn’t really want to go overboard with the build and
kept the mods rather conservative. The stock crank was used with forged
H-beam rods and forged pistons. A moderate COMP 232-234 grind and a set
of ported 241 castings were also installed. To up the ante a
250
horse ZEX wet nitrous kit topped off the engine. The nitrous kit was
Gail’s Valentines day present, kudos to Frank not many of us could get
away with that one. Frank say's that you "Gotta love a woman that sells
car parts, builds engines, and would rather have nitrous more than
flowers".
While
Trixie’s drivetrain was out, some other changes were also being made. A
custom designed interior with a purple suede theme was
installed.
The interior colors were tied into the custom stripes. Frank and Gail
also pulled the engine compartment apart and painted or wrapped many of
the parts. The fiberglass RK Sport fuel rail covers were painted in
House Of Kolor “Pavo Purple” and then sent out for the finishing touch.
The “Trixie” pin up from Speed Racer was painted her on one fuel rail
cover and her name was put on the other.
Aside from the
cosmetic changes other more serious mods included upgrades to
suspension, brakes and drivetrain. A set of OBX catted long tube
headers and an OBX axle back exhaust were also installed. A
new
set of chrome C5 wheels were also added during the reconstruction. The
fronts match the originals 17”x8.5” size but the rears are a deep dish
design that are an inch wider, resulting in an 18”x10.5” . A
set
of Hoosier drag radials are bolted on the rear for quarter mile trips.
The
last phase of the build included a dyno tune. The cars first pull
registered 386 hp at the rear wheels on motor, through a stalled auto.
The car has been tweaked and is now pulling 429 hp .
Frank and
Gail must have done something right as they took a “Best In Show”
trophy at the very first event that "Trixie" was entered in.
The
Cahills really enjoy hearing the positive comments and compliments they
get on the car. Frank tells us that
'it’s nice to know that others
appreciate the thought and creativity that went into her". The other
nice part about this experience is that the car gets driven. The car is
used on a regular basis as as an everyday grocery getter.
At
a recent trip to Cecil County Drag way the car returned a very
respectable 12.2 @ 113 MPH with a soft launch. Their goal is to dip
into the 11's after a 3:90 gear swap and into the 10's when the proper
amount of nitrous is dialed in.
The
Vette Nuts
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