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Hello everyone. Until recently I had a C5 Z06, but unfortunately I had an accident and the car was completely destroyed. I only had it for 8 months, so it hurt a little.
However, I am not giving up on owning a Corvette. I started looking for C4. This may be a step backwards, but I've always liked the 80s style of this car.
I am considering two options:
1. LT1 in manual
2. LT5 (ZR1)
The car is to be used only during the season, on weekends.
ZR1 seems to be a more attractive option, after all it is the King of the Hill, but I wonder what the problem is with parts availability:
1. Is this availability much worse than LT1?
2. Are there parts that are virtually non-existent or take many months to appear on eBay? I would also like to point out that I come from Europe (Poland) and I know that I would have to import most of the important parts from the USA. I also intend to import the car itself from the United States.
By the way, I recently received photos of the LT1 chassis from a US seller. How do you rate them? Is this white coating (scratches?) on some elements signs of normal wear?
Last edited by JW1985; Dec 8, 2024 at 07:16 AM.
Reason: Wrong language:-)
Could anyone rate these photos of the chassis? Is it in good condition or should I look for another car? I would appreciate any opinion - I am not able to see the car in person, and I haven't seen many C4 chassis for comparison.
Could anyone rate these photos of the chassis? Is it in good condition or should I look for another car? I would appreciate any opinion - I am not able to see the car in person, and I haven't seen many C4 chassis for comparison.
Car has sat outside in a moist environment. Nothing to alarming, but if you are wanting perfect, it is a pass.
all depends on price. ive bought C4’s for $2000 usd that looked better and some that looked worse than that.
This one is for $16000. The price after import, including all taxes, will be approximately $21000-22000.
I would like a well-maintained car (necessarily an LT1 with a manual). It will probably stay with me for quite a long time, so I would like to avoid a vehicle in poor condition.
Looks to me like that car has been on salted roads. Certainly not a deal breaker but maintenance will be a little more difficult with rusty bolts/nuts.
I live in the North West so there is no rust on my car at all, even after 38 years. My daily driver I bought from my brother in Ohio. That car is only 10 years old and I had to cut the rear calipers off when I changed the brake pads. That's what salted roads do to cars.
This one is for $16000. The price after import, including all taxes, will be approximately $21000-22000.
I would like a well-maintained car (necessarily an LT1 with a manual). It will probably stay with me for quite a long time, so I would like to avoid a vehicle in poor condition.
Where are you located? i think you can do better for that price quite easily.
Yes, I'm from Poland. I'm looking for a car all over the United States. It will be imported by a company that deals with it professionally. That's why I focus first on cars from dealers (this makes it easier to settle accounts and check the condition of the vehicle), although I also consider buying from a private person. Btw. What other sites with offers do you recommend apart from CarGurus, Autotrader and the Facebook group?
I found another car. I am attaching some photos. What do you think?
I think the car looks OK, but I have very serious doubts about it. I downloaded Autocheck and it shows that the car has been unused for 21 years (!). It's a 1992 LT1. Mileage is less than 30,000 miles. I realize that many elements, especially rubber ones, will need to be replaced. On the other hand, it's probably a nice collector's item. Would you buy such a car?
The dealer claims that the car was under a roof during this time. The engine starts.
I don't claim to know market dynamics very well, but I do know that I've seen several sales on Bring-A-Trailer that have made me jealous. If you're willing to wait for a good deal, it might be an option. They're well versed in sending cars to both sides of the Atlantic.
Thanks for letting me know about Bring-A-Trailer site, I'll be checking it out.
I downloaded the Carfax of the car in the photos (vehicle no. 2). There are no entries about servicing from 2000 to 2022. During this time, the car has traveled approximately 3,700 miles and only the title was renewed annually. The car looks very nice from the outside and inside. I'm wondering whether to take the risk or let it go. While I can handle the rubber suspension elements, I wouldn't want to end up with a disaster in the engine (however, I did get a short video of the engine running).
If you are interested in a ZR-1 suggest you visit and join the ZR-1 Net Registry. We have several cars available from our members and they are well sorted. https://www.zr1.net/forum/index.php
If you are interested in a ZR-1 suggest you visit and join the ZR-1 Net Registry. We have several cars available from our members and they are well sorted. https://www.zr1.net/forum/index.php
Seeing as you are overseas (in Poland) I would not recommend the LT1 due to the issues with the Optispark distributor. If you spent the money and upgraded to the solution from Torqhead you could get around this issue, but it is a little pricey
A 90 or 91 stick car can have the engine upgraded, parts are cheap and plentiful for a small block chevy. Much easier to deal with on the wallet and when importing the parts to Poland.
Here is a parts interchange list/table to see the differences in the platforms.
Seeing as you are overseas (in Poland) I would not recommend the LT1 due to the issues with the Optispark distributor. If you spent the money and upgraded to the solution from Torqhead you could get around this issue, but it is a little pricey
A 90 or 91 stick car can have the engine upgraded, parts are cheap and plentiful for a small block chevy. Much easier to deal with on the wallet and when importing the parts to Poland.
Here is a parts interchange list/table to see the differences in the platforms.
The Opti should absolutely not scare anyone off. They're very reliable as long as you don't soak them, and the rebuilt ones today seem to work fairly well. Torquehead is definitely a better solution, but it's certainly not a valid reason to go with an inferior L98 motor.
The Opti should absolutely not scare anyone off. They're very reliable as long as you don't soak them, and the rebuilt ones today seem to work fairly well. Torquehead is definitely a better solution, but it's certainly not a valid reason to go with an inferior L98 motor.
I agree for people on this side of the ocean. What do you do when an Opti goes bad overseas and Petris doesn't have any, the OptiDoc isn't fixing many and you have buy what you can get and, so like many folks here on the forum experience, the POS Opti goes bad in short order or is bad from the start ? Then you start shipping back and forth across the ocean. That can get real expensive and meanwhile, the car sits. We all know the weak point of the whole LT1/LT4 equipped cars, whether they be Corvettes, Firebirds, taxis, station wagons etc is the OptiSpark.
Is this chassis in good condition? Photos
