V8!

Hey guys,
looking at buying a 1996 LT4. I have looked at a few C4 and most seem to have overspray on the door lock. The piece on the door that actually holds the door shut and prevents it from opening. There are three bolts that are always painted, but id it normal to have paint on the lock part.

I'll see if I can go for a second look tomorrow to take a pic.

Joe C

the door latch mechanism that is held in place by three (3) torx screws normally is NOT painted. the screws, however, are painted. that's the case on the four C4's I've owned. not sure of the paint/assembly sequence at the factory. painted screws seem to go against reason - ??? even the torx recess in the head of the screw do not show any sign of tooling being used during the assembly process.

V8!

Thanks Joe,
I have been looking for a long time for a nice LT4. This one has about 40K miles and is a two owner car. Second owner bought the car in 97. Car is very clean, runs great, but the overspray on the door latches bothered me. The owner said the car has never been painted as far as he knows. Unless it was done in its 1st year? These cars are getting hard to find. He wants 15K, but i'm going to try for 13. I think at that price its reasonable for what I'm getting. Car shows no accidents so it it was touched up a claim was never put in.

V8!

Thanks for posting the pic. The door must have been repainted as there was silver paint (its a CE edition) on the plastic part of the latch that moves.

Joe C

the only thing I can figure is the latch mechanism was installed before paint, and some sort of mask was used to prevent overspray on the assembly - but, that doesn't make sense either.

I'm in the process of rebuilding the doors on my 85. the door latch mechanism was removed from the door, for cleaning and re- lube. there was NO sings of any paint on the assembly.

V8!

Thanks Joe,

I think it must have been touched up at some point, but nothing shows on the claims history, so it would have not been reported. I think for the price, I'm getting a pretty good deal. As its 96 I can't expect it to be perfect or it wouldn't be in the 13-15K price range, but its is very clean with low miles. So I minor touch up is ok, just don't want it to be anything major.

Thanks so much for your replies

HlhnEast

For that money you should get a perfect car. I would be concerned about it. It may not be anything but someone had a spray gun in there.

swampoodle-pat

Guys, here are photos of the painting of the C4's

The second photo shows the door opened and I would guess the locking equipment was not yet installed.

However, I have been wrong before.

V8!

Hey guys, thanks for all the info. I forgot to take a pic of the dam door!!!!!!!

I did take a picture of the door hinges, I'm just trying to find a way to upload them. I use an Apple so maybe thats it

B17Crew

I am all for due diligence.

Here is a 5 mile 1993 40th Anniversary vert currently at Rodgers in Orlando Florida. Both left and right doors show paint on the area and mechanism in question. Either this ’93 with five miles on it got t-boned on both left and right sides, or the mechanism were in place at the time of painting.

Both my Competition Yellow ’93 (that I bought new off of the showroom floor) and my ’96 have this same light coating of body color on the mechanisms. Neither have ever been wrecked.

I lean towards factory and not a respray, but would would like to see photos.

The link is to the car itself.
http://www.rogerscorvette.com/carNew...=inv/93r_05114

B17Crew


Driver Door:




Passenger Door:

V8!

Here are the pics of the door hinges

B17Crew

Went out to double-check, I have overspray in the exact same areas on my (never been wrecked) ’96. The Polo Green overspray is not as easy to detect as the CE silver is though.

B17 Crew

V8!

I will take pictures of the door hinges tomorrow and post.

The guy showed me his bill of sale, he bought the car one year old in 1997 and was adamant that the car has never been in an accident, unless it was its 1st year, but its highly unlikely as he had the car checked thoroughly. Everything seems to check out with it.

I'm in Canada so we pay a little more. To compare this one to US cost I would deduct 10% from the price as the US dollar is worth about 10% more than the Canadian dollar.

SO if I got it for 13,000 that would be the equivalent of about 11,700 US dollars. It got 67000kms or about 42000miles. The interior is in great shape, everything works and I can tell its been stored indoors as there is no UV fading. The seats work great and it drives great.

Do you think a 1996 Collectors LT4 coupe with about 42000miles is worth $11700?

These cars are starting to get rare.
I do plan on driving it, but no modding it, I want to enjoy it as is on nice days. Probably put about 3000 miles a year on it.

Until I saw your pics B17Crew I was really having doubts, but the overspray looks just like the one on your pics.

V8!

The only thing I wish it really had was a glass roof, but I can go looking for that. Also I ready many posts and threads about the ZF trans and this one shifts great and has almost no noise.

Its not my 1st vette and I have owned other sports cars as well so I'm not new to this, just new to the C4. I have always liked the C4

B17Crew

I would say that $11,700 is very fair for a well cared-for & documented LT4. Allow me to warn you, Corvette Forum is NOT the place to ask about realistic pricing, there are too many low-ballers that chime in with unrealistic perceptions of the finances it takes to acquire a no issues car. LT4s with 50-60K miles sell for 14 to 15 thousand in my area.

Best of luck on your purchase!

B17Crew

V8!

Thanks B17Crew

B17Crew

Located in Indiana, Taber Corvette is a reputable supplier of Corvette parts from donor cars. I have purchased parts from them in the past; they arrived well wrapped and protected. Could always check with them regarding a glass top and compare prices and availability of clear top selection.

https://www.tabercorvetteparts.com/

I’m calling it a night, good luck on your Corvette quest!

B17Crew

B17Crew

You are welcome!

B17Crew

V8!

Thanks

PSU69

There's a recent thread on the forum dealing with glass tops. Some people don't care for them. However, I just bought a re-man from Eckler's. It looks pretty good and was easy to install.