It's good to be home...
03-08-2015, 08:57 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
It's good to be home...
...and back in a Corvette again.
Over the last 8 years or so, I've had the pleasure- and the pain- of owning an '84, '93, and '86 Corvettes. While I enjoyed each of them, they were always fixer-uppers and not really what I wanted, which was an LT4 car. When a close friend bought a Polo Green LT4 a few years back, I set up scheming to buy it, as he is usually easily distracted. Unfortunately, I oversold him, and he has locked down on his LT4.
Fast forward to earlier this month. Having sold my last 'vette, the '86, a few months ago, I was in search of a nice daily driver. Having a budget of $8500ish meant that I could probably forget a c5 or a LT4 car, I thought. When a local C5 came up and the owner negotiated within my budget, it looked like I was gonna become a "Big Booty' vette owner. Then ALL of that cars problems became apparent.
I remembered seeing a sharp looking LT4 posted here sometime last summer- a search revealed it was still listed. And amazingly not sold....
Over the last 8 years or so, I've had the pleasure- and the pain- of owning an '84, '93, and '86 Corvettes. While I enjoyed each of them, they were always fixer-uppers and not really what I wanted, which was an LT4 car. When a close friend bought a Polo Green LT4 a few years back, I set up scheming to buy it, as he is usually easily distracted. Unfortunately, I oversold him, and he has locked down on his LT4.
Fast forward to earlier this month. Having sold my last 'vette, the '86, a few months ago, I was in search of a nice daily driver. Having a budget of $8500ish meant that I could probably forget a c5 or a LT4 car, I thought. When a local C5 came up and the owner negotiated within my budget, it looked like I was gonna become a "Big Booty' vette owner. Then ALL of that cars problems became apparent.
I remembered seeing a sharp looking LT4 posted here sometime last summer- a search revealed it was still listed. And amazingly not sold....
03-08-2015, 09:04 AM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
A call and a p.m. later, and I had the particulars. 93k on it, some suspension mods, and right at the upper end of my budget. And it was only 300 miles or so away..
The owner and I struck a deal, contingent to the car being all it was represented. I planned to leave that Thursday and run down, stay the night and pick it up..
Then winter struck. Freakin' ice and snow. For three weeks. The owner was great to work with, and was patient with the situation. Finally, we planned to go this last Thursday to pick it up.
Wednesday night, Old Man Winter discovered my plans and slammed us with 3 inches of sleet and 3 inches of snow. So much for that...but it began thawing quickly and my aforementioned friend with the LT4 broke out his Z71. We'd trailer it back if we have to...
We hit Dallas around 7 pm, ate and crashed before meeting Walt the next morning...And here is the Red Devil,:
The owner and I struck a deal, contingent to the car being all it was represented. I planned to leave that Thursday and run down, stay the night and pick it up..
Then winter struck. Freakin' ice and snow. For three weeks. The owner was great to work with, and was patient with the situation. Finally, we planned to go this last Thursday to pick it up.
Wednesday night, Old Man Winter discovered my plans and slammed us with 3 inches of sleet and 3 inches of snow. So much for that...but it began thawing quickly and my aforementioned friend with the LT4 broke out his Z71. We'd trailer it back if we have to...
We hit Dallas around 7 pm, ate and crashed before meeting Walt the next morning...And here is the Red Devil,:
03-08-2015, 09:10 AM
#4
Racer
Thread Starter
Within a matter of minutes, the car was test drove and discovered to be just exactly what Walt represented it to be. And he threw in the Service manuals...What a guy!
I couldn't get the long wheel based $10s out of my pocket fast enough.
And just like that- I owned one of my bucketlist cars, my very own LT4. It will see extensive daily driving in good weather.
The trip home, we went back through Oklahoma to avoid downtown Dallas, as the car was untested for me. No worries, she pulled down 28 mpg and had zero issues all the way home.
Here's a couple more pics of her and the LT4 my friend owns..
Lord, this LT4 was worth every minute of waiting for. I'm glad the C5 deal fell through.
I couldn't get the long wheel based $10s out of my pocket fast enough.
And just like that- I owned one of my bucketlist cars, my very own LT4. It will see extensive daily driving in good weather.
The trip home, we went back through Oklahoma to avoid downtown Dallas, as the car was untested for me. No worries, she pulled down 28 mpg and had zero issues all the way home.
Here's a couple more pics of her and the LT4 my friend owns..
Lord, this LT4 was worth every minute of waiting for. I'm glad the C5 deal fell through.
Last edited by five-oh; 03-08-2015 at 09:12 AM.
03-08-2015, 09:19 AM
#5
Race Director
It sure looks like you made the right call. Welcome back and enjoy the ride! 
looking ride..
03-08-2015, 02:50 PM
#14
Team Owner
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Nice ride.