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I am about to buy my first Corvette, and I found a 1990 L98 with a six speed and about a hundred k miles on it. Would it be a good first Corvette? Or should I try to find a LT1? I'm not familiar with the L98. Any and all comments are welcome!
The C4 was around from '84 to '96. being a new buyer means you have the upper hand. You can learn before you buy. There were many differences between the years between., suspension, body, engines, intakes, injectors, interior, trans options, gear options, interior size options, dash options, wheel options, hradtops for verts '89+, OBD1-OBD2 for emissions, , etc etc.
As a general rule to new buyers a '95-'96 is suggested. I prefer '90-'96, but now I appreciate the '95-'96 more.
if you just want a waxer any will do. A stick is better for resale, cheaper to build because the driveline is stronger, etc.
Last edited by pologreen1; Feb 27, 2019 at 01:08 PM.
I've had a couple caprices and Roadmaster s with the LT1 and loved them lol thank you for the information. Does the VIN provide build specs?
Originally Posted by pologreen1
Looks like you are in to LT1's.
Depends on what you are looking for.
The C4 was around from '84 to '96. being a new buyer means you have the upper hand. You can learn before you buy. There were many differences between the years between., suspension, body, engines, intakes, injectors, interior, trans options, gear options, interior size options, dash options, wheel options, hradtops for verts '89+, OBD1-OBD2 for emissions, , etc etc.
As a general rule to new buyers a '95-'96 is suggested. I prefer '90-'96, but now I appreciate the '95-'96 more.
if you just want a waxer any will do. A stick is better for resale, cheaper to build because the driveline is stronger, etc.
The L98 is rated at 250, the LT1 at 300hp. But at 250hp there’s plenty of power to spin the rear wheels. The Vettes have a lot of bottom torque. More then most cars today. The L98 is easier to work on then the LT1. I kinda like the 90 as it has the newer dash and still has the round tail lights in the rear. It’s kind of the best of both worlds.
Both the L98 and LT1 are reliable engines. Both are pretty simple to work on once you've done a few things and had some stuff apart. The L98 is an excellent engine, producing adequate power. With no Optispark to worry about, the engine is about as trouble free as it get. Little things like injectors can fail and throttle bodies have had minor issues over the years. My 86 has issues with the throttle body but I don't much mind because the car is so reliable. The most common failure point with the LT1 is of course the Optispark. Once you done it once, they're a breeze so don't let that scare you. If the price were right, I would not hesitate to buy the car. The ZF 6 speed trans is near bulletproof and feels great to row through the gears. I think you should go drive the car and if you fall in love with it, you should get it.
I’m selling my 88 35th for 2700.00. You would need to repair the head gasket and square the interior away to get into decent condition. 94,549 miles. I’m flexible as well if you’re seriously interested.
Nothing wrong with a 90 6 spd its a basic 350 easy/cheap to maintain.
As said go drive both youll definitely know afterwards what you want
I would beg to differ there is nothing cheap or easy about the 1990. It was a one off year, in transition. I have had mine for more than a decade, won SCCA autocross titles and been through virtually every system in the car. Well true the Opti-spark has it's issues, I recommend getting a later model C4 unless your like me and just absolutely loved the older C4 body with rounded tail lights, and the new CR interior.
The number of unavailable parts that will have you scrounging salvage yards is amazing.
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90 Vette
