I am going with a friend to look at an 87 tomorrow. It has the 4+3. Guy wants $6500 for it. That sounds like a good price to me. I need to know the advances that the Corvette made from 87 to 88, so I will know what to look for in comparison to mine. The guy said he has had some transmission work done and that it is running strong. The only thing that worries me is that it has a little under 130,000 miles. Does that sound okay, or would it be like buying problems? I just don't know how the high milage affects the Vettes. Mine only has around 80K. Is there anything in particular I should look for? Thanks.

 

Not too many changes, 17" wheels for suspension package cars, and carpeted door sills....other than that not too much I don't think. Sounds like a good price...wouldn't worry about the miles as long as it seems to have been well taken care off. You can try my test, unscrew the oil filler cap when it's idling and see how much blow by there is. You could expect a tiny amount at that mileage but use your discretion as to how much is too much. If you could borrow it for long enough do a compression test if it seems like a lot. Hope this helps, I am by far no mechanic! :)

 

• The L98 engine for the 1988 model year saw a 5 hp increase for coupes equipped with the 3.07:1 rear axle due to less restrictive mufflers. These mufflers were not used on coupes equipped with the 2.59:1 rear axle or convertibles due to noise restriction.

• New for 1988 and only for this model year were special six-slot 16 x 8.5 wheels which came standard with P255/50ZR16 tires.

• For 1988, further model refinements included dyed carpeting, carpeted door sills, relocated parking brake and improved ventilation for coupes, more efficient air conditioning via a new Nippondenso compressor, improved hood support, new Nippondenso gear reduction starter and new dual piston front brake calipers. The front suspension was also redesigned to reduce steering wheel resistance during brake torque by eliminating scrub radius.

• Both Z51 and Z52 performance handling packages came equiped with new 17 x 9.5 inch wheels mounted on P275/40ZR17 tires. The Z51 option was limited to coupes only where as the Z52 option was available on all models. Z51 improvements included finned power steering cooler, higher spring rates and larger front brake rotos and calipers than what previously appeared on the 1987 model year.

as for 130K... check and smell all fluids, I am a fan of "the blow-by" test, and I put it on ramps to check underneath.
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:




[Modified by Shark ssn591, 5:50 PM 2/19/2002]

 

I know in late 87 they upgraded the 700 tranny. There are a couple of websites that list all the changes year by year. I'm just too lazy to look one up and post ya the link. As far as the 130k on the car, I wouldnt sweat it. Test drive it is it strong, hows it sound, does everything work. I buy on condition not miles ive seen too many "low miles" cars that were pretty rough. Besides 14 years 130000 miles actually is better than average. I know theres quite a few C4s in here with some miles. :chevy

 

Oh wait you said it a manual. Duh. Well then on your test run check them overdrives. :cheers:

 

The 88 rides a WHOLE lot better than the 87.

 

The wheels are the biggest appearance difference in the two. Pretty much the same car besides that.