Well I'm new here and I have a question for yall to answer. I have a guy that will sell me an 86 Corvette for $6500. It is in beautiful condition, save for a couple of small cracks in the paint (which is original) and interior plastics (the cracks are in small corners). The interior appears to be well taken care of and all it needs to look good is a decent detailing. It has 103,000 miles on it. The car appears to be 100% stock and unmolested, which my mechanic will confirm for me on Monday.

NOW, there is another guy with a 95 Corvette that is asking the same amount. The paint is good, there are a couple of small scratches but nothing major. The interior shows some wear, there is a section of the driver's seat where the stitches have become loose and the section (the lower side back area) has become loose. The plastics show wear (nothing major) and the the carpeting is in OK condition. The rear hatch works erratically. It has 163,000 miles on it. The car has dual flowmasters, a cold air intake, a shift kit, a beefed up rear end (I believe he put in 4.10 gears although I could be wrong), and a hypertech computer.

So, what would YOU pay for these cars and which one do you think is better? If it wasn't for the upgrades on the 95 Corvette I would've not considered it.

 

Thread sounds awful familiar for some reason

Id get the older well maintained one
Which one screams your name when you look at it?

 

Well, the 95 seems more like something I would get, but maybe it's because I aways buy cars that need work!

What I'm hung up on right now is the l98 vs the lt1. My Camaro has a l98 and every problem the car has came from the TPI system (although the TPI was poorly swapped from the original 305 to the 350 which is probably the source of problems).

 

The 95s obviously been raw hided.Nobody puts in that low of rear gears,and shift kit unless their gonna use them...On the other hand the 86 has most likely had an easier life...Which car to buy depends on your driving style....

 

i would personally go with the 86 which you know has been well cared for and maintained. the 95 has been used and abused. sure its faster but its been modded and ridden hard and put away wet. the 86 seems to have been well cared for and will be the better buy imo.

 

I agree with all the above too. Simply put I normally would say the LT1. BUT, why get a car that's had a hard life compared to the other.

 

Well, I think I know which car I'm going with now (the 86). I forgot to post the craigslist links. Here you go.

http://elpaso.en.craigslist.org/cto/3698060247.html (The 86)

http://elpaso.en.craigslist.org/cto/3664344226.html (The 95.)

There were a couple of other upgrades and repairs I forgot to list on the 95. Now that you guys brought it up I wonder why someone would rebuild a transmission in car with that few miles. It shows that it was abused somewhere down the line. My grandfather had a Ford Ranger that he drove to 500,000 miles and while the engine did fall out at the end of its life (he lived a quarter mile from the gulf of Texas), the truck never needed a transmission job.

 

transmissions are hit and miss. it all depends on how well the car was taken care of. automatic transmissions do fail earlier than manual transmissions in some cases. the 86 looks beautiful!! if you are hell bent on more power, there are other LT1 cars out there that are not abused and well cared for with some miles for around what you are looking to spend.

 

Well, I can always open up the intake with some new runners, ported and siamesed plenum, and more open manifold. Basically, I would be taking the cool stuff off my Camaro and throwing it on the Corvette.

 

Keep it original.

 

Oops. I meant to say "off my Camaro". I would keep all the old parts though if I did. And then I probably wouldn't anyways. Just a thought.

 

Get a stick shift Vette. Unless autos are your thing, in which case that 86' looks great. At this point, LTs are as antique as L98s in the performance department, so going after the better maintained sounds like a solid plan. I don't know too much about shift kits but I remember the one in my old 700R4 was erratic. You felt every shift, I guess that was the point to make it feel like you were going fast.... too bad the car was all done by 40 mph.

 

I think you could do better by continuing to look. I paid $5300 for my very clean 86 coupe with 58k. There is a gorgeous, gorgeous blue 96 coupe in the for sale section with 81k for $8000. These cars are plentiful. Take your time.

 

Uh, I spoke before I looked. The 86 is really a good looking car. It's too much money but perhaps worthy of negotiation.

 

you mean the venerable tpi torque monster?

 

Funny thing about that: there's just enough torque to make a lot of noise on take off, so everyone looks your way. So now you have them interested. Unfortunately, after that tire squealing, the wailing of the engine in the Lexus with four passengers squirting pass you takes over.

 

Actually, I've taken on and beaten Lexuses, Hondas, and even once a Grand Am with a stock '87 Camaro. The trick to handling torque is using the correct rear end gears. 3.27s IMO are the best for the stock l98s.

 

Something wrong here. Shift kit in a trans that was on it's last leg.

 

Would probobly go for the 84 as it sounds well taken care of also start of new version of model V3 to V4. Will be worth more if you take care of it. Had 1966 in 72 picked up for 1750.00 and worth 118,000 frame off resto with factory nock offs and factory side pipes. Sitting in collection with 2000 miles on her. Keep the nice one always.

 

The car is an 86, not 84.