Silver96ce

Any 25 year old car will only be suitable as a daily driver if you realize that it will need to be carefully inspected before starting to drive it; suspect parts replaced; and a complete tune-up and fluid replacement done. Then you'll need to do regular maintenance. Even with all that, on a 25 year old car, there will be things that go wrong. If you still want to buy it, you should be ready to get your hands dirty doing repairs and maintenance and, get a factory service manual - the manual is absolutely necessary. These can be money pits if you have someone else fix the problems.

Cool Runnings

Will ask about how recent it had a tune up?

Cool Runnings

Yeah, I wonder about that dreaded fuel pump, they are in the tank correct? Now, then again, my brother has a 1995 Suburban with something like 260,000 miles on it that is his winter beater. It's needed work, nothing major and the A/C doesn't work, otherwise it's been reliable. Hope the body can handle all but major work. Some day's I hurt (63 years old). Need to turn back time......

Silver96ce

Fuel pump is actually easy - comes out of the top of the tank through fuel filler door.

Cool Runnings

Thanks for the info. Is the opti-spark easy to mod for water drainage. Heard the later models had some drain holes installed in case of water. I'm looking at a 92. Also, the 92 has the older style fuel injection system, is the newer style more reliable or just better with emission's?

Silver96ce

You don't mod the opti for water drainage. You can put a nipple and hose on the weep hole of the water pump to route coolant around the opti in case the water pump fails. The holes in the early optis were for ventilation and on the later optis there was an active venting system installed.

Cool Runnings

Oh, thanks again for the info. Building up that database.

jay23ls

Common expensive stuff that almost always needs to be replaced:

Weatherstripping - full set for $800-1,100 - Wilcox

Suspension - various parts but usually shocks are one of the first - Bilsteins for FX3 are $800-1k for a set of 4. I think standard shocks are like 4-600

Tires - can get some nice Conti's w great reviews on tirerack.com for a little under $700 usually

Radio - I prefer listening to the car sounds and road so I dont know pricing haha might be cheap

Dont need to do it all right away except for the tires of course. And I wouldnt replace ALL the WS, just the few parts that are really beat or leaking. Those are like 80-100 each

End of the day, its all worth it. So fun to drive. Its an experience, not a car!

H P Bushrod

My '88 35th car had 47,000 miles on it when I bought it (Sept 2015). Since I've had it, I've had to replace the fuel pump, coolant temp sensor, fan relay and fuel pump relay. Low miles definitely doesn't mean maintenance free (She's still a 29 year old car). The worst thing I think for a car is for it to sit. The previous owner didn't drive it much. Rest assured, she's going to get a workout for me. I've put 5,000 miles on since I've had it and it's running a lot better. Good luck with your purchase.

Cool Runnings

Bose system was repaired.


Has FX3 (works), hopefully good for another 20,000 miles?


Tires and brakes have 6,000 miles on them.


Weather-stripping unknown at this point, it's a targa, so at least I'm not dealing with a vert.


"Its an experience, not a car!" Kind of like my Moto Guzzi, it's got soul.

ghoastrider1

The fuel pump on my 86 was the easiest I have ever done. You don't even have to drop the tank OR get under the car.

Cool Runnings

That's reassuring.

Cool Runnings

The following list of common issues is intended for individual reference only, and may not reflect the specific issues of every 1992 Corvette. This information comes from a variety of sources including the NHTSA Defects Reports pages. While the intent of this page is to identify the common issues pertaining to the 1992 Corvette, it is not an all-inclusive list and should be used for reference only.
MECHANICAL ISSUES

ENGINE
The engine may accelerate at anytime without warning, regardless of whether the car is gear or in reverse. The air control valve has been identified as a possible cause of this issue.
An occasional problem on this vehicle is failure of the Opti-Spark Ignition System. Failure of the Opti-Spark Ignition System applies to (PFI V8 engines) only. Failure of the Opti-Spark Ignition System may prevent the vehicle from starting.


BRAKING SYSTEM
The anti-lock braking system fails unexpectedly during normal driving conditions resulting in loss of vehicle control.


SHOCK ABSORBER/SUSPENSION
A periodic problem is the failure of the Shock Absorber Actuator. Failure of the Shock Absorber Actuator applies to vehicles equipped with Selective Ride Control only.


HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING
An occasional problem on this vehicle is failure of the Automatic Temperature Control. This vehicle was originally charged with R-12 refrigerant which is no longer being manufactured. The refrigerant is still available, but it is very expensive ($25.00-$50.00 per pound, 2-5 pounds per vehicle). Conversion to the new R-134A refrigerant is also a viable, and more cost effective, option.


ELECTRICAL ISSUES


ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT (ECU)
The electronic control unit (ECU) is prone to failure which cause low idle or stall conditions. Failure of the ECU can also prevent the Corvette from starting.


EXTERIOR ISSUES


WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM
The windshield wipers periodically skip across the windshield, which causes them to get out of sync with each other. Additionally, the wiper assembly is prone to lock up during normal usage and requires replacement of entire assembly.


INTERIOR ISSUES


PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEM
During activation in an impact situation, the airbags either failed to deploy completely, or they partially deployed without fully inflating.


SEAT BELTS/SAFETY RESTRAINTS
In some instances, the shoulder harness of the driver's seat belt has failed to restrain driver during crash condition, causing driver to sustain injury against steering wheel/dashboard.


DRIVER/PASSENGER SEATS
The power seats wiring is known to arc and cause the seats/floor carpeting to catch fire.


http://www.corvsport.com/Corvette/C4...monIssues.html

jsmcol

I just picked up a 93 40th anniversary model (coupe). It has 95k on it, was reasonably taken care of, and engine/tranny seems pretty decent. there are always little things that you will need to fix, mine was the door switches, finally got the lighting working again inside and the under the hood. Still need to fix the horn, and the radio seems to drift in and out with the treble. Mechanically, if it is solid, you should enjoy the car, it is fun to drive and actually pretty comfortable to take on a trip.


Ask for the previous repair receipts so you know what has been done in the past so you don't redo something just done. Other than that, be prepared to fix the little things as they crop up, but enjoy the car whenever you can drive it. That is pretty low mileage to me.

Renfield

It'll test your mechanical skills alright. Or empty your wallet.

It's a joy when it's running well, but mine has been a love-hate relationship.

I've added 12K miles in 18 months to my '96 and I've never done so much wrenching on a car in my life. And there's still a laundry list of non-mission critical stuff to do. HVAC head unit works when it feel like it. PKE is dead. CD/Cassette are dead. Rebuilt headlamp motors are dead again. I went to replace a backup lamp and found that the socket was dead, not the bulb.

The heart of the ignition system, the Mitsubishi Opti-spark is no longer available. Getting to it is a treat in and of itself. But it's all the "while you're in there" stuff that will test your patience and peel the skin off your arms.

Keep a backup vehicle. This isn't a car. It's a part time job.

drcook

There are always going to be cars that need work and cars that don't. Flip a coin, call it in the air and go from there. I chose the C4 platform because they are still easier to work on than the C5's and later.

I really wanted a '99 FRC, or other early C5 coupe, but the potential maintenance on the newer cars is even more expensive (in some areas) than the C4's. The ones that I would have been able to afford (C5's) would have been creeping close to 100K miles.

When I found out (via web searches) that folks were reporting average cost to replace a clutch was approaching 2000'ish, I changed my mind (when you add in labor and parts) . I don't have a lift to be able to completely take the rear end out. If I have to, I can do most anything on a C4 or older (and have).

Cool Runnings

I'm willing to tackle minor maintenance items. I need to come to grips that it's going to be a 25 year old car. Maybe I'll be lucky and it will be trouble free for a couple years (I've been told everything works). My budget is going to be real tight until 2019. I just can't wait until then to purchase a Vette.

RIC96

Sounds like you're a gambler!

avcwo

I have TWO 87's (B2K #9 with 4+3 and a baseline model with auto). My experience with my baseline is ROCK SOLID....AS LONG AS YOU TAKE CARE OF THEM AND STAY AHEAD OF THE MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING FLUID/BELTS TUNE UPS...ETC. As far as engine components, change the alt every 20k miles, change out the IAC and relays as needed. Engine/chassis grounds should be cleaned and sealed. The FSM shows where they are. AS FAR AS ELECTRONICS- Digital Dashes and ECM's tend to have "issues," but rebuilt ECM's (Rock Auto) and dashes (batee.com) have affordable solutions.

Cool Runnings

Well, the budget is only $10k right now, come 2019 I could stretch it to the lower 20's. I don't want to wait. I'm not getting any younger.