There's no particular message here, just relaying my purchase and experience. I picked mine up off of Ebay where I was watching prices to judge the economy. Saw one with a white interior and I thought "I have to have that!"

So I started listing what I wanted in the car as it appeared to be a buyer's market. I had '68 C3 427 T Top for years and always remembered the road noise and so Google'd how it ranked on a C4. '96 got the lowest year for rattles and wind so '96 went to the top of the list. Discovered the LT-4 was offered in '96 so put that on the list too. Decided on a coupe over a convertible (noise again and fear of vandalism to the soft top.). Next, it had to have a CD player. I can do my own maintenance but not repairs so settled on about 55,000 miles as being "not too many" and not "too few".

Four months and numerous Ebay crooks and scams later, I found one (Alas, the 96 CE's did not come in white interiors but the light gray did look nice with the Sebring Silver exterior.).

Bought it off a collecter with a full report. I'm the fourth owner but only the second to ever drive the car. I bought it off his climate controlled storage where he kept all his collectible cars (The records for it being professionally vacuumed once a week are still on the window.). He had given up on it ever being worth any money though and had finally put it up for sale. For whatever reason, when he added it to his collection he had the original dealer that sold it add new brakes, new clutch, and new waterpump. He explained the waterpump (Did not want the LT-4 to possibly run hot on his showroom floor through pump failure.) but not the clutch and brakes. He just shrugged and said he did it.

All that time and money he spent preserving it and I'm just going to drive it. But that's what he told me to do with it too.

He did not give it away. I paid a good price for it by Ebay standards but, in my State, that was only "trade in value" and for one with 160,000 miles on it (They go for money here.).

The shipping company freaked out when they saw the car even though they ship collectables. They had never seen one this nice. They spent two hours recording scratches and dings (coming up with 14) they didn't want to be liable for. When the car arrived, I removed 11 of the recorded marks with a hose and four paper towels. That's how nervous they were. The driver commented it was the most beautiful vette he'd ever shipped and that he had shipped a lot.

The car had been sitting for so long the owner couldn't find the remote key FOB so it came without that. I'm going to call him again to see if he's found it as they aren't cheap.

He had to have new keys cut and I got to learn about the "eraser" trick yesterday on the new key/chip. It works!

Took it down to my insurance agent today for them to take pictures. They agreed it was a pristine collectable and insured it for $ 31.10 a month, full coverage. If you have a perfect car you can get a perfect rate. The same company was insuring my beat up old '93 Subaru, liability only, for $ 65 a month.

The car has never been entered in any shows but is in showroom condition and 100% stock. My kitchen should be as clean as that engine.

The car is much quieter than I expected. You don't hear the engine at all, even under acceleration, but you do hear that deep, bass exhaust. When I let my kids drive it tonight, they thought that exhaust sound was really cool and, when the stereo turned up when they romped on it, they turned it off to be able to listen to "the Beast" as they called it.

Some things about vette's don't change. "The Beast" was also what I called my '68 C3 with a 500 HP 427.

To a certain extend they even drive the same (Although the C4 has the Z suspension). I found I drive/drove both cars with heightened awareness of my surroundings. You are alert to danger.

I don't like the clutch. You can let it out a foot and not move. Meanwhile, your right foot is giving the engine gas for no reason. I listened to the kids do the same thing. In the old days , you could adjust the clutch throw with a nut on the end of a threaded shaft. I imagine those days are gone now or maybe they're supposed to be like this?

I've already read the owner's manual once but expect I'll read it many, many more times. It's incomplete in several ways. For example, it tells you how to open the hood but not how to close it. I still haven't figured out how to bring up the odometer reading. And looking at the gas guage, is that all the way full or all the way empty? And why does SEEK stop searching after finding just one station? Hitting SEEK again does nothing.

I must have at least twenty dash indicators and yet I think the steering wheel blocks every single one of them. And "1 to 4"? Who thought of that? And why can't you shift down from 5th to 1st at a stoplight without "damaging the transmission"? I have to go to "3rd" first?

And yet I can shift down into 1st at 44 mph??? How'd they do that? And how did they get so much acceleration out of 4th gear? It feels like 1st!

I'll be reading the manual many times... Maybe if I read it enough, I'll figure out how to get the power seats to go up. Again, it reminds me of my C3. There could be a person lying on the street 10 feet in front of you and you could drive over them and not see them.

Other things I should ask about. The weatherstripping and black interior plastic are all like new - no cracking or fading. How do I maintain them that way?

Get a car and get questions....

 

get a get a lloyds dasmat keep the goop type products iff it

clutch oedal is normal. and non adjustable

 

Quite the detailed account of your buying experience. You'll get used to the clutch, but it could be that the system needs to be bled. Next you need to post pictures, though. We want to see this beautiful car!

 

Sounds like you got a real beauty - congrats! The weatherstripping should be dressed occasionally with Krytox (spendy), Leslie's Pool & Spa Lube (similar but much cheaper), or dielectric grease to keep it in good shape.

 

Just wanted to let you know I own quite a few of your guns.....WW

Congratulations on your new car...

 

Sam,
Thanks for your great post outlining your thought process and decision making.I went through the same thing in Feb-March, and came to similar conclusions. I also bought a '96 Collectors Edition LT4. And while I didn't steal it I'm happy with my purchase. The former owner is an absolute enthusiast. He was I think the 4th owner. I know that's high but that is the only potential negative I found. Well also the dealer had no paperwork.
This car was a show car and has several 1st place trophies to prove it. It was so clean I had to do some soul searching before I bought it since my intention is to drive it. It was cleaner than a new car. The paint is flawless and the interior spotless. It runs great as you would expect in a car of this quality.
I got the owners name off the mileage certification in the car before I bought the car and Googled him. I found this web site by the owner detailing all of his meticulously maintained cars.

http://www.angelfire.com/hi/nicecorvette/

I don't have the ability to post pictures but hopefully the link will satisfy the picture police.

It was reassuring to me to see the decision you reached since it paralleled mine. The only problem I am experiencing with the car is jaw pain after a drive. I believe it is related to the idiotic grin that comes over my face when I open the garage door and remains long after the ride is over. I now have a better appreciation for the scene from Roadhouse where Ben Gazzara is driving down the oblivious to everything while listening to Shaboom!

Best wishes to you and your recent purchase.

Dave

 

Welcome to the Corvette Forum !



Also, take a minute and fill out your user profile. It will help the guys here respond to your questions without having to guess what C4 MY you have.

 

Welcome to the club.

Definitely need pictures.

 

Sounds like one of Brandt's LT4s (96LT4). Too bad you didn't want a convertible cause he has a red one and a yellow one for sale.
I have told this story before but when I was babysitting his red vert I had the oil changed by a shop in Bowling Green that caters to folks at the National Corvette Museum. When the technician got into the pit and looked up at the undercarriage he remarked that it was a brand new car and that was impossible as this was 2007.
I also had Gordon Killebrew look the car over. When I opened the hood he remarked, "This is a garage-kept car!" He was impressed.
Congratulations on your new beast! You can use dialectric grease to keep the weatherstripping soft and pliable.

 

Great account. I am thinking about getting a similar car. Can you expound a little more about your experience with the C4 manual. I am still on the fence whether to choose a manual or automatic. I am hoping to narrow it down before I go on some test drives. I have been driving German manuals for about 20 years and I am a little concerned about the dynamics of the C4 clutch.

 

Congrats. Read rhe manual sections on the parking brake and remote entry closely to avoid frustration

 

How about posting a picture of your C4

 

 

I can definitely tell you're hinting something here...

Not exactly sure what.

So what makes the best camera shots on a nice C4? I don't want it to look like any other when it's not. For example, the carpet is still wrapped in the dealer plastic. No interior splits, scratches, stains, fade, wear, etc.

Of course, my pictures will be missing the remote key FOB!

Note to myself: Call seller now.

 

The parking brake is frustrating even after reading the manual. ("Hey! Look! It goes down! Great! Now how do you release it?")

It appears that, if you pull it up too tight, it's a bitch to release. Do I have it right?

I don't think you're supposed to park it in gear, are you? Can't remember. That manual is so long and my attention span is so short...

I don't have a FOB yet to experience the remote entry frustrations. But I recall you can disable it at the driver's door.

 

Here you go you will need this to get full use of your six speed


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1996-96-C4-C...0ae1a4&vxp=mtr

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CORVETTE-SKI...2260aa&vxp=mtr

 

My '68 C3 had an automatic and I always envied everybody else that had a four speed. So when I saw the LT-4 came with a 6 speed manual, I was pleased. I dunno, but there's something about buying a corvette with an automatic that is just "uncorvettish" to me. But most C4's were sold with auto's so most people must like them.

I know nothing about corvette clutches but it feels, from the long throw, that it's a "wet" clutch (bathed in oil) rather than the old American style dry, pressure plate clutches. The "wet" clutch is basically of Japanese origin (Think Toyota). If I'm wrong on the clutch someone can hit me on the head with a ball pean hammer. Keep in mind, I've only had the hood open on mine three times and all the space looks used under the hood but there should be a clutch oil tank on the drivers side if I'm right. I don't recall the manual mentioning clutch oil but I don't think I read that far.

My experience with the trani and the manual is that, in shifting down you can only skip one gear or risk damage to the transmisssion. So, in shifting down in coming to a light, you'd go 5th to 3rd to 1st and not 5th to 1st. Now I'm one these guys that wouldn't even think to try and shift into 1st at 44 mph (but the car will do it!). Most of my shifts to 1st in the past were done at about 2.5 mph. So there's a natural tendency for me to approach a stop sign in 5th and then, a few feet before stopping, shift to 1st. According to my understanding of the manual, you don't do that. You'd go 3rd and then 1st. Again, somebody hit me with a # 14 wrench if I'm wrong. If I'm right, this is not a good feature. It's too easy to forget and, sitting at a light, to just put it in 1st.

The clutch pedal has a ton of play in it. Other people with clutches driving your C4 will look like idiots driving yours. The engine will speed up for them but the car not move. You can release that clutch a foot and it won't move. But, it you ever get used to it, and you drive their car, now you'll look like the idiot as you kill their car by letting the clutch out too soon.

The "1 to 4" light is on the dash. If you get moving around 17-19 mph in 1st, the light will come on to tell you to shift to 4th (and skip 2nd and 3rd). This is a gas mileage feature and you have no choice in the shift (2nd and 3rd will be locked out.). This is another feature I don't like. The steering wheel can easily block your view of the "1-4" light and, to be honest, I'm not normally looking at my dash while driving and looking for a "1-4" light. It's no big deal though unless you like to run you car up to 17-19 mph in 1st before shifting (And I don't do that.). But these two features (the clutch throw and the "1-4") may be why the automatic is more popular.

The 6 speed manual gets about an extra 2 mpg higway over the auto.

With 6 speeds I'm not always sure what gear I'm in shifting down (Works fine going up) but I think that's something you just learn.

I imagine some people have comepensated for the clutch play by moving the driver seat farther back to where your foot can't fully depress the clutch pedal. Now it's a shorter throw on the way back up. I doubt that I'll try that though. Any car that can shift into 1st at 44 mph has a really finely made trani and I'm not going to do anything that might mess it up.

Do I regret the 6 speed over the auto? No.

 

This is the cheapest part I've seen yet!

Have you used it?

 

Hi Sam Ruger
No i have not used it but know this is what you need to bypass the cags ''nanny states emissions compliance device"
Kind of makes me think of Colonel Hofstetter in Hogans Heroes ve haf vays to make you skip 2nd 3rd verther you like it or not..... even though you are in USA land of the free ...
I would hate to have restrictions on what gear i want to select if i had a manual transmission. Maybe the 2nd and 3rd lock out is why there are so many automatic transmissions in corvettes.
Great find that 96

 

FYI, the clutch is not "bathed in oil". I can't think of any mainstream car that has a wet clutch, but most Japanese motorcycles have used them for 50 years. The clutch master reservoir for the hydraulic clutch is on the driver's side under the PCM. See pages 6-22 to 6-24 of your owners manual for information on checking and adding fluid. If the clutch starts engaging close to the firewall, then there's likely a problem with the clutch hydraulics.