1989 406

I came across an 89 with a 406 motor. I spoke with the current owner who bought the car already done up. He seems sincere from what I can tell. He does not have a lot of information on the specs or build of the engine.

My concerns are being that it is a 406 I am looking at the potential of considerable highly costs to maintain and or fix compared to the 350.

Is there any thing to look for specifically that could tell me anything about the car with that particular motor. He said it drives great and is pursuing other projects, that is why he is getting out of it. He sounds like an older gentleman which I like. He has owned it for about 5 years. At this point I am going under the assumption that I will not be able to get the specs on it.

I do know there is no catalytic on the car and it will most likely not go through inspection. If I purchased the car and I put a high flo cat on it, should that allow it to get through inspection or could there be more issues to it because of the engine that would not allow it to pass inspection?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

88espo

Is it still fuel injected? Auto or stick? How crazy is the engine?

Moon86

Be careful if you have to get it smogged, you could wind up spending more money than you want to. Could be a bargaining point to get the car cheaper.

Moon

H P Bushrod

I'd stay away from it. No guarantee the person that did the mods knew what they were doing. A clean, factory engined car might serve you better from a reliability standpoint (and meet NJ inspection standards). Good luck with your search.

Jims79

You could put high flow cats on it and re-tune it. I would look into a garage that will do the inspection for you. NJ sux as far as getting vette's and hot rods through inspection. I know I live here. The other concern I would have is the 406 is a bastard engine in the C4 and working on it or making mods changes in the future maybe a bitch.
I would re-think buying it unless the price is to good to pass up. G/L
Jim

Jimbo 89

Price?

1989 406

He has it up for 12,500.

I also know of another one that has some upgrades but still retains the 350 block.

Would that be a wiser decision?

The smog is my concern. This one has hi flo cats on it

Both cars have the 6 speed.

1989 406

I forgot the other one with the 350 block is an 88 and he is asking around 17,500.

dukeallen

I'd stay away from anything heavily modded, since you don't know the history, the specs, or the quality of the workmanship. And 17.5 is high for a more or less stock 88.
Find one cheaper, stock, and do your own, legal mods.

cv67

Prices are HIGH!!

I dont see where a 406 would be more maintenance than any other small block they look the same visually. Hes responsible for smog, beat him up on price or ask him if you can take it to a station and just see what would or wouldnt be up to par as far as it passing.

A 406 should annhilate the tires no matter what, unless it has the 400 balancer or looking for a few other things it may be hard to tell what it has in it. Sounds like fun to me just do some homework or take someone you trust with you that is in the know.

1989 406

[QUOTE=cuisinartvette;1576105485]Prices are HIGH!!

The 88 is way to hi. I did not think the 406 was too bad considering the motor, rear, has a nice paint job and a hard top. It is a rag top.

It is injected.

Assuming I liked the car and the smog issue is a problem, what would you offer the guy if it checks out okay.

My head was that 10K to pay would be fair, but I could always open him up around 8K. I know I can always go up. i do not want to insult him either but I have to do what is best for me.

cv67

Couldnt tell you what to offer without seeing it. If the car is super nice with a 406 its imo worth paying considerably more than the typical C4

Jims79

Man both those prices are high. You should check out the C4's & C5's
for sale on the forum. Many in the tri-state area. I've seen really nice vette's for a lot less and I would trust a long time member over a car on craigslist or fee-bay.

pologreen1

Prices are way too high.

The 406 does not add any value to the car. It's an 89' and been touched, so that's worth less to me and most.

If the car has new ball joints, u joints, bushings, exhaust, etc.. then it might be worth like 10 k.

The c4's no matter how cared for are all about due for suspension work , u joints and all the common 20+ year old car stuff.

If you have strict emissions I would not bother with a car like that anyway, your just looking for headaches.

kimmer