medblueC4

I've been looking for a C4 ZR1 and went to a local dealer today to look at one. It had 54k miles on it, but alot of the weatherstripping was cracked, the engine was stained/dirty, and the secondary vacuum pump ran all the time.

The weird thing is the 'Full Engine Power' light was on weather the key was on normal or full. Can anyone tell me why this is?

The car ran decent and chirped the tires on the 1-2 shift, but I thought it should be stronger.

They were asking $17,900.

ZR-71

There are other Z's for lower prices that may have no issues. The '90 model is the only year where the Power function comes on by default when you start the car. And if the secondary pump is running constantly, that usually means there is a secondary vacuum leak. And that means your secondary FI's are not on.
If the overall appearance is nice and are the colors you like negotiate a lower price due to the problem. Fairly easy to resolvee
Best of luck

Paul Workman

Stock 1990 ZR-1s power modes are controlled by a two-position switch, and is either manually rotated and left in NORMAL or FULL POWER mode. The 91+ cars default to NORMAL mode on start-up and the operator has to manually, momentarily rotate the switch to FULL POWER mode. A green LED under the FULL POWER position will be lit IF the mode is authorized. 90 cars will show FULL ENGINE POWER on the DIC panel.

If (on a 1990) the FULL ENGINE POWER on the DIC is illuminated regardless of the position of the secondary mode switch, OR if on start-up the green LED is lit on the 91-95 MY cars, chances are the LT5 is modified to operate with the secondaries open in FULL ENGINE POWER mode all the time. (Often efforts to do such mods results in the entire removal of the secondary network completely. But, some will strap the secondary port throttles open and leave the hardware in order to easily revert back to stock condition later.)

That said, cars modified so that the secondaries are always ON, don't usually still have the vacuum pump remaining installed, or at least they're not active if not removed. Usually.


A stock car in FULL POWER mode IMO pull smoothly and hard across the rpm band, and only fading around 6800 rpm. With top end porting (only) they pull even harder, and the torque extends to 7k before fading on the seat of the pants meter.

A stock ZR-1 (no mods) will typically run in the 113 ± mph area in the quarter mile (near sea level, 70ºF), at ≈ 6500 ish RPM (for comparison "bench mark"). If that isn't the case, a tune-up may be indicated.

The (near) $18k price would be for a clean car w/ no issues; and it sounds like it may have some minor ones. My suggestion would be to find a ZR-1 owner and have them look at the car too. (Where are you located??)

Good luck in your quest!!

zr1fred

Some of the aftermarket "chips" are programmed so as to be in FEP all the time. I believe Heibecks are. Its my understanding that it basically just tells the computer that the switch is always in FEP position. As far as the pump running all the time, that usually indicates a vacuum leak which probably explains why you weren't impressed (secondary's don't open). Even though its at a dealer, the price seems a bit high for a perfect 50k 90Z.

medblueC4

Thanks for the input guys. I think I'm gonna shy away from that car and look for one with a lower price with more mods and in better shape. For having 54K miles, this one just seemed neglected/ not taken care of well. My 85 is nicer.

I'm in Bloomington, MN- Minneapolis suburb.

Arctic91

Sounds like a good decision if you have concerns about that car... this really is a great time to be a buyer, and you should be able to easily find a solid car with some desired mods for less than $20k. Good luck with the search and keep us updated.

Scott

illenema

It might not even be going into the secondary's at all with a simple 'Chirp' from first to second. Should be more like sideways in the lane affair.
Pump running all the time means a leak in the actuator system. All this stuff are somewhat simple fixes 18K high price pry 13K

medblueC4

That's kinda what I was thinking.

I'll be looking for a car in the $13-15k range but gotta sell my '85 first- which is listed in the F/S section.

lb33knight

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322217963897?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Saw this one on eBay. It fits in your price range but still has some issues. You may/may not be interested, if not no biggie. Good luck in your search.

Z51JEFF

If your only willing to spend $13-$15 for a car it's going to have issues. A car with 0 miles is going to have issues.