Hello Everyone,
Found this forum a few days ago and decided to join. Some may find this odd, but I don't own a C4 Corvette - yet. I think I wold like to buy one in the next several months and that's why I'm here. I don't know a lot about 'vettes except I had a chance to ride in a '61 convertible when I was in high school, and I think I would enjoy owning one for the wife and I to enjoy together.
On to the questions:
Which year C4 should I buy? I own a few hand tools and have done most of my own auto maintenance for the past 35 years. I have owned both small imports and full-size domestics. I am looking for a year which has a reputation for being trouble-free. I like the dashboard of the '90's, but could live with the digital dash.
If I went with a later C4 and got the LT1 engine, do I lose much in the way of durability? Frankly it sounds nice having 300HP on tap. But not if the engine self-destructs every 75,000 miles. And I've yet to hear or read about anyone complaining that their 250HP vette was a "dog." Do either or both these engines (L98 & LT1) use 87 octane gas?
There are a lot of C4's available from throughout the entire production spectrum. Sellers often list things they have replaced such as water pumps, belts, etc. What specific items actually enhance the value of the car? For example, I consider a belt replacement to be just routine maintenance and not something that increases a cars resale value. But if the water pump is a $500.00 part that requires 10 hours of labor to install, then that would increase the cars' value if it was just professionally replaced.
I'm not a big fan of aftermarket performance parts. But I know some are probably worthwhile considering if the previous owner added them. I think most people agree that K&N air filters are worth a few extra dollars. But "black boxes" that change an automatic transmission's shift points are questionable to me. What add-ons or performance parts do the rest of you think are good to have? If it was your money, what would you buy?
Do vettes benefit from synthetic oil in the engine? The transmission? the rear end? If so, which oils do you all prefer? If not, which oils do you prefer?
In your opinion, does your local Chevy dealer gouge you when you bring your vette in for work? Or do you feel that you are getting good value for your money at the dealer? (In my town, the GMC mechanic actually owns a vette and is part of the local vette club.)
Well, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there will be other questions as I get closer to narrowing down my search. Thank you in advance for responding to my questions.
Glen

 

Hi Glen and welcome to the forum. I'll take a stab at some of these.

Which C4? The latest you can afford. This from the owner of an 87:D. But, I am the opposite, I enjoy tearing my car apart. Do various things almost every weekend. Many times when nothing was wrong, just to see whats in there :crazy:

If I was after a reliable easily maintained car, I'd get as late an LT1 coupe as I could. The only nightmare that can be counted on is either driving through LARGE puddles or the water pump leaking will kill the distributor, called an opti-spark. So, if you could find one that has a new water pump and opti, you are all set(if you dont go stream hopping).

How are the dealers. Depends. One of our local dealers does a great job and is reasonable for things like 4-wheel alignment. But, I wouldn't have them do a rebuild for me. And, I wouldn't have anyone but me do that sort of thing anyway. So, I'm not much of a source on thisone.

Vettes can run on "regular" gas. But, due to computer monitoring "pinging" in the engine, you will get a better ride with premium gas.

Synthetic oil became standard in the 90s for vettes, not sure what year. If a car has been running with synthetic, keep it synthetic. It is better in that case. If you have been running normal oil, don't change due to possibly opening up some leaks when the sludge is cleaned up by the synthetic oil.

I don't think you have to worry about the L98, LT1, LT4 or even the LT5 self destructing after 75K miles. As long as they are well maintained and you have an ear out for creaping wear or problems, many go 150K miles without major problems. My L98 has 98K miles and runs like new and I've tested compression and leakdown and the engine is still very tight. All depends on how the previous owners cared for it. Have a garage do some testing prior to buying if possible.

Hope this helps. :cheers:

 

Always always always get the newest you can afford.
many minor things were corrected throughout the C4 line

Better have every tool imaginable, because vettes use torx, metric, and standard measured bolts in the oddest of places.

Durability is good for LT1 and L98. If well taken care of, we're talking 150K at least, and over 200K at most. The LT1 can run on regular, but it needs premium because of the higher compression ratio. L98 probably likes medium-grade better from my experience.

LT1s eventually need the Optispark AND water pump replaced, always ask if this was done before. Otherwise you will end up doing it, and paying to have it done isnt cheap. Z51/Z07 is a desirable option (depending on year), as are 6speeds and 3.07 rear gearing in automatics (G44 RPO Code, listed in the console or in one of the rear compartments).

I use Mobil 1, it became standard in 92. Its better overall for the engine. Try to use synthetics where possible.

Exhaust mods never really hurt value IMO, others maybe/maybe not, depending on the owner.

Dealers rape you, try to do as much yourself as possible.

 

Welcome to the Forum and congrats on your choice of sports cars.

The first thing to do is get a copy of "The Corvette Black Book". It has data on each year of Corvette with features and differences from year to year.

Once you decide on budget and roughly the year of interest try on a few, as there are differences along the years in "fit" and "feel" of the C4s as well as changes in available power plants and drive trains. Find the one that best "fits" you.

You will find some repairs are expensive and need some expertise and others are rather cheap and simple. A copy of the GM Shop Manual for your Corvette will be an invaluable aid here.

Don't worry too much about initial HP ratings as you can rather easily coax well over 300chp out of these SBs and have a killer street machine that's right at home on a long highway cruize.

For my $$ I would (and did) buy a bone stock '88 Corvette 3 1/2 years ago and it has been real fun moding, showing, driving and racing it.

As you can tell from my sig and site I've done a few mods to my L98 and it's drive train and made a "few" passes down the 1/4mile to date. And she is still running strong with nearly 130k miles on the clock.

Look closely at overall condition, like paint, weather stripping, seats, carpet and such as these items are expensive to replace/repair. Of course do the usual inspection of all possible fluids and functions.

Good luck with the search, enjoy the adventure.

 

The "smartest" response would be to tell you to hang out on the forum for a year and read as much as possible.

The "emotional" response is to tell you to buy the latest, best condition model you can find.

I recommend '94-96 for LT1's. And the latest year for the L-98 (I believe '91?).

Basically you should find a well loved example from a private owner who can explain the entire history of the car (warts and all). You can't go wrong there.

 

vader......you put medium grade in your L98? :nono: LoL But na man.....to the Newbie: You're supposed to use PREMIUM in ALL VETTES to my knowledge especially in L98s and LT1s. Owner's Manual calls for atleast 91 or 92 octane in both LT1s and L98s. L98's will usually knock and knock bad if the octane isn't kept up. And to answer your question...no vette is really "problem free". They're high maintenance and high performance vehicles(each factor being dependant on the other). As long as you maintain them well though, you shouldn't have too many problems. They're actually very reliable vehicles contrary to what others who don't own em may say. Be good to your vette and your vette will be good to you. As far as my recommendation goes though, if you have the cash and basically money to wipe yer azz with...go with a 95 ZR-1. If that's not an option...go with a 96 LT4 or a base model 96. Of course this being if you still have enough cash to use as toilet paper. If you're looking for a very reliable and still fairly high powered vette though with not quite as high repair bills, go with a 90 or a 91 L98 engine unless of course the star wars dash is what you're looking for.(89 and older). The LT1s carry about the same torque as an L98 but about 50 more horses stock which isn't really that big a difference unless you're travelling at speeds over 100 mph at which its barely noticeable even then. Downside to an LT1 is that when things have to be repaired, it can get pretty damn expensive(IE Optic Spark and water pump...cuz Opti goes when pump goes in an LT1)(Optic Spark is the fancy name for the Distributor in an LT1 and it craps out when wet....Both Opti and Pump(water) together are about an $1800 repair replacement when it needs to be done which could be at ANY time). Nice thing about L98s is they didn't have em. I can't down LT1s cuz they're definitely nice(uncle owns a 92), but honestly an L98 could be modded to be just as powerful if not more very easily and very cheaply. Its not that expensive to get an extra 50 horses if you want it. Even mild mods will do more than that. Also L98's typically are faster than LT1s stock off the line. While a stock LT1 would take out a stock L98 in the long run at top speed, an L98 is an ideal engine to gear for the quarter. Also, most parts for LT1s are more expensive even in the aftermarket than they are for L98s. Power Brake Booster for example is about $100 more for an LT1 because it involves a little more than it does on the L98s PBB. Little things like that. If you plan on a nice stock car and keeping it original, go with an LT1 cuz 300 horses on tap is something most people can remain comfortable with. If you plan on modding or doing anything extra to your vette, go with an L98. If you want the newer dash and the older C4 body look go with the 90. If you want the new dash and the newer C4 body look, go with the 91. Either way......the 90 or 91 L98 is the perfect vette out of all the years to do mods on in my opinion. It has everything you need(still very powerful. My vette feels a hell of a lot more torquey than my uncles 92 even though his is still a powerhouse), and it's expandable for mods(aftermarket) without extremely high costs. Hope that helps and welcome to the forum. :thumbs:

 

congrats on wanting a GREAT sports car. :cheers: if u find the right one, you and your wife will love every minute of it...even when you are working on it in the garage. i did about 3 months of research (BEFORE i knew about the forum). this site really gives some good buying tips http://c4vettes.com/ there are buying tips somewhere.....2 final things...#1 get it inspected at a vette shop before you buy it (mine cost $40) and #2 in case you didn't know, vette owners wave at each other as they pass on the road :seeya

 

Owners manual in 86 dont call for it, my compression is only 9:1. I could only speak from my own experience in that regard. I agree that the later ones with higher compression will need at least medium and probably premium. But you have to check for knock to really determine what octane your car needs.

 

My sincerest thanks to all for their response. Every bit of information willhelp in the buying process. :)
Glen

 

welcome to the forum. I agree with what everyone else has already covered, but just wanted to say hello & good luck in your hunt for "your" vette. Be sure to post some pics when you get it. :)

 

Hi Glen,
Welcome to the Corvette Forum. I am also new to the Forum and I just bought my 85 Corvette his June. As it turns out, we are the same age (53) and have that yearning for the old car days. I had 3 muscle cars in my early 20's. All Mopars. Although I loved the power of the Mopars I still wanted to own a Corvette some day. Well it took about 30 years before I got one and it was worth the wait. I spent 2 years looking on eBay every night, studying the text write-ups and such. After 2 years I finally bought an 85, standard in the color, condition and price that I could afford. I didn't even consider getting into the bid battle with anyone, so I clicked the "Buy it Now" button for $7249.00. I called the owner and talked with him before I did, just to make sure it was the car that I expected, and it was. I have only had to do very minor work to it. It's been a hobby of mine. My wife and I take trips up the New England sea coast with the top off(car) and pack a picnic lunch. Go for it!! You'll both love it. :auto:

 

olefam, I was very partial to the 95 and 96 models. Mostly because I like the way they look and the fact that they are the end result of all the C4 improvements over the years. I'll email you a list of things to look out for when you are checking out a car on the lot. Maybe that will help. Good luck with your shopping and have patience. :cheers:

 

welcome and enjoy

 

As yet another newbie and first time Corvette owner,

Unfortunately I found the "forum" AFTER purchasing an 86. Using an old issue of Corvette Fever Mag that had a nice break down on the features of each C4, I settled on the 86 due to L98-TPI, a bit softer ride, (hey! still gotta haul the wife around) ABS and improved Digi-dash. Found mine from a local that bought it from the original owner. Always serviced at the Chevy house, "never rode hard and put up wet". With 100K on the speedo, there are a few things to fix here and there. Figure it'll cost about an additional 1500 to bring the running gear up to spec.

Had I found the forum first, I could have found answers to the new buyer questions and would have probably looked at a later model year with the LT1 engine. (More power = more fun)

The forum is a wealth of information and the guys here are always willing to give their two cents worth, 'heh' sometimes more (Mojo takes care of those).

Enjoy, read and learn! :thumbs:

 

I just bought my first one also and it's a Black 86 Convert! :chevy
Love every minute driving it, and everytime I walk into the garage it puts a smile on my face! :thumbs:

 

IMHO buy a convertible. You lose some storage space with the top down but you can't buy that feeling of snaking down a twisty road on a pretty day topless! :steering: :auto: :hurray:

 

buy a vert. owned a coupe for 10 years before getting my 91 vert. you will never be disappointed with a vert. :auto:

 

If you can find one, get either ZR-1 or 96' Grand Sport. Or maybe both. :troll

Happy Corvette hunting!

:seeya :auto: :steering: :cool: :thumbs: