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Hope everyone is doing well. I recently purchased my dream car. A 93 Corvette! This is maybe the coolest car I have ever owned. My dad has had GM cars all his life so we're not new to the family but I am new to the Corvette specifically. The car has 145,000 miles but is in very good shape. No dents paint is fantastic and everything looks to be complete. I had a few questions about preventative maintenance.
I am thinking of replacing the timing chain, optispark and water pump to start as well as plugs and wires. I don't have any maintenance history unfortunately.
If the car is running well on all 8 cylinders and starts right up ever time. Should I still replace these parts? " If it ain't broke don't fix it" my dad always said.
I owned a few bmw cars and those cars were very particular on the maintenance intervals and parts replacement to keep them on the road and I am wondering if it's the same for my Vette.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Welcome aboard and congratulations!!!!
Being a 93 there is a good chance the optispark has been replaced. Had an LT-1 in a Z-28 and the optispark was replaced along with the water pump. It ran flawless after that.
I think your father is a very wise man......If it's not broke...don't fix it....is damn good advice....
I think spending your $$, time, energy, and effort on regular maintenance items like fluids, fuel filter, air filter etc...... Since you don't have a documented maintenance history, I think this is a great investment..
Don't forget to check how old/new the tires are unless you have already done so...replace them if they're low on tread/dry rotted and/or are 8rs old or older ...
Take the rest of your cash and start a savings account to be able to repair and maintain as needed.....or should I say when needed,.....you will need that $$$ to keep your Vette healthy and on the road...
I would not replace parts just to replace them. I think the regular service items like fluids might be a good place to start as well. Start saving for the engine rebuild or replacement engine of your choice. Yours is due.
Saying that plugs and wires on our cars is a right pain is an understatement, so unless you pull one of the easy plugs and find the gap to be sub-par or pop the hood at night and see arcing from the wires, I'd say you'll be okay until / unless something starts to feel awry. What I will say though is that after that many miles, check your suspension bushings - ALL of them. Mine were original after 73k and hooo boy, it needed those plus shocks quite badly. Other than that, defer to your dad's advice. They're sports cars and demand a higher level of care and attention, yes, but they're American sports cars, which should say all it needs to about general durability next to those BMWs.
Welcome, to the Forum, your father's advice is good. The Chevy Corvette is not as fickled as the European cars of the past few decades. Other than the Opti-spark issue the small block is pretty stout...
I would not replace parts just to replace them. I think the regular service items like fluids might be a good place to start as well. Start saving for the engine rebuild or replacement engine of your choice. Yours is due.
Disagree on needing a new engine or rebuild because it has 145k miles! If it's healthy, running great, doesn't use oil, etc there's no reason "it's due" for replacement. Many LT1s make it well past 200k miles, my own father had a '95 Buick Road Master Wagon that was properly maintained and had 240k miles on it, when he finally sold it, ran great and still didn't use a drop of oil! Yes, 145k miles is getting up there and is closer to a rebuild than to being new, but getting at least another 60k miles out of it, is highly possible/probable. These are not washed cylinders from a carburetor, with EFI, it's commonplace to take this kind of engine apart with similar mileage and still see crosshatching in the bores! YMMV👍
Last edited by '78CorvetteS.A.; May 15, 2024 at 07:28 PM.
Hope everyone is doing well. I recently purchased my dream car. A 93 Corvette! This is maybe the coolest car I have ever owned. My dad has had GM cars all his life so we're not new to the family but I am new to the Corvette specifically. The car has 145,000 miles but is in very good shape. No dents paint is fantastic and everything looks to be complete. I had a few questions about preventative maintenance.
I am thinking of replacing the timing chain, optispark and water pump to start as well as plugs and wires. I don't have any maintenance history unfortunately.
If the car is running well on all 8 cylinders and starts right up ever time. Should I still replace these parts? " If it ain't broke don't fix it" my dad always said.
I owned a few bmw cars and those cars were very particular on the maintenance intervals and parts replacement to keep them on the road and I am wondering if it's the same for my Vette.
Thanks!
93 auto 145,000mi.
Thank you all for the warm welcome. Lots of good insight right of the bat, thank you for that.
I have ordered a new set of matching tires and are on the way.
Suspension will need to be gone through for sure il inspect and replace bushings as I go. So far I have bought the front shocks.
I will hold off on the optispark since it's not giving me issues ( I did see the cap is red) even tho I have already ordered it from Petri's. Il hold onto it for when it's needed.
Fluids are next on the list. I have the diff oil and brake fluid ready for this weekend. engine oil been changed and trans fluid has 10k on it should be fine. No slipping and shifts good.
I managed to get the Carfax. I know I should have got this before I bought the car however I know what a good car feels like and am confident in checking a vehicle out.
It was first a company fleet vehicle and has had 8 owners since. The transmission was serviced 10k miles ago along with the starter and a few other bits. Oil was changed 1k miles ago. No accidents reported and miles match all the way though.
Looks like she is a keeper.
Thanks for the prompt responses!
I Asked my mechanic once, "whats next" he replied. " Enjoy the car".
I tend to spend too much time thinking about what is about to go out next even on my daily driver Cadillac. I forget to enjoy the car.
In my past it was normal for me to replace parts that typically fail as good PM. I replaced a lot of perfectly good parts on an 01 E38 740i, but I was also able to get OEM parts. This isn't the case with our C4's, you may replace a perfectly fine old factory part with a crappy new part from the aftermarket that fails or doesn't work correctly. For us, replacement parts are sometimes a huge gamble and you may actually introduce a problem that wasn't there before.
In my past it was normal for me to replace parts that typically fail as good PM. I replaced a lot of perfectly good parts on an 01 E38 740i, but I was also able to get OEM parts. This isn't the case with our C4's, you may replace a perfectly fine old factory part with a crappy new part from the aftermarket that fails or doesn't work correctly. For us, replacement parts are sometimes a huge gamble and you may actually introduce a problem that wasn't there before.
Understood, thanks for the advice and that is very true. Are Ac Delco parts the same quality as they were back then? That seems to be the OEM recommendation at my local O'Reillys
My first Corvette
