Hey All,

Just wanted to introduce myself. This seems like an excellent forum for info on vettes.

I just picked up a 1989 c4 vette with only 56,000 original miles on it! My grandfather had a 1986 c4 that i loved as a kid, he recently passed away so i decided i wanted to get one in memory of him and try something new!

This is a whole new ball game for me as i come from the other side of the world with 4 cylinders. I have always and only built Subaru's. Just sold my previous wrx that i managed to crank out 380hp at the wheels.

The only experience i have with this kind of stuff is that my dad and i fully restored a 1949 Ford F-3 flat head v8.

My plans for this vette are to do a fully built 383 stroker. I already purchased a 4 bolt main 350 short block to get started on this winter! My wife and i have a second car(09 mazdaspeed3) so this will be my project car! I plan on going to a local 1/8th mile strip pretty often as I've gotten into drag racing recently. Sold the wrx because it just can't handle that type of abuse.

Just had a question though of something that i want to do to the corvette right away which is a full exhaust system from the headers back. A mechanic friend of mine who also previously built a vette recommended me to a local in town exhaust shop he used. Said they can make a custom exhaust 3 inch all the way back. His was a dual exhaust from what i gather. But from poking around on here a bit it seems that an X-pipe setup will offer better performance. Should i not use that shop?

Here's a few pics of the new car:

 

Welcome!

Looks good - congrats! From the pic it looks like someone stole your targa top and put '90 wheels on there. It would be a good idea to take a closer look all around to see what you got there exactly.

2.5 dual exaust will work great for what your currently running.

 

Welcome, and congrats!!

 

added 2 more pics!

Lol it's got the top, the clear one i believe

I was wonderin bout the wheels, they look like most of the 89's i looked up online. The only difference i saw was that the face of the wheel doesn't have that silver cover on it.

will the 2.5" be good enough for my long term goals though(hope to be done by late spring early summer)?

 

Nice car and good luck with it!!

 

Thanks!

 

I would go with 3" if you are going to be running a 383 in the near future. Make sure you run aftermarket headers too, the stock exhaust manifolds would absolutely choke that engine

 

Welcome to the madness !

 

Thats what i was thinking. Excellent thread you have on your build btw. Read the entire thing. Might need to pick your brain later Looking forward to your results!

it never ends

 

Looks nice.

 

You might also find a search thru my threads useful. Your car looks like mine WOULD have looked -- if I hadn't customized it. I also put a 383 in my '89 this summer and it only had 57k miles on it.

Those are 1990 wheels. '89 had the bolt covers as you noticed.

I think a 2.5" or 3" exhaust will work on a 383. If you're going to race it, the larger size makes more sense. If you're going to street it, I like the smaller choice better.

Tell us more about your plans. Also, how you picked your username! LOL

Welcome to the forum!

gp

 

Thanks gp!

My primary purpose for the car will be using it at the drag strip. After going a few times with the subaru i was hooked! But i soon realized that i would need to invest thousands more to beef up the drive train. So i decided to go a different route! i would like to stay away from things like a roll cage etc. I would like to get a set of slicks though.

Really and truely i would like to build a great street car that can be taken to the track on the weekends. One that i can drive to and back home from it. Not concerned about it being loud, last car was crazy loud

My ultimate goal would be to get the car into the low low 7 second range if not 7 seconds flat at around 95ish mph in the 8th mile. My subaru was able to attain a 7.9 at 90mph with a sissy launch and a 2.03 60ft. Couldn't risk the transmission giving out.

No need to take this car on long trips since we have a second car. I will daily drive it but i work from home so i put barely any miles on my cars!

Thanks for telling me bout your threads i'll be up all night looking through them prob And my username just came by chance! My last name is Huxster so friends of mine started calling my Dr.Huxtable a Long time ago and it just stuck!

 

Welcome You picked a GREAT year....Good Luck with your project. There are some Very knowledge people here to help you out, unfortunately, I'm not one of them but I Do voice my opinion now and then.

 

Welcome aboard..

Nice looking Vette, you'll have a-lot of fun with it..

 

Dood, you're gonna love it! The bang for the buck factor with C4's is off the scale. They respond so well to mods also. And yes, it will be an addiction.

 

Don't look TOO hard. There's more knowledgable people here than me! LOL

Just for fun, here's something I've never done. Seeing your pics made me think of it.....

My car when I bought it in 1999...



And, what it looks like now....

 

My vote....

383 Stroker with AFR 195 heads. Pick between a FIRST, SuperRam, or MiniRam intake. (increasing order of HP/decreasing in torque). The MR is probably your best choice unless you don't have performance gears. (e.g. 2.59's)

With AFR heads, you don't need alot of cam. You'll see when you read about other's builds.

EM or TPIS 1 3/4" headers.

2.5" or 3" exhaust (3" if you don't need/want cats or quiet)

 

Nice car! I love black!

 

Wow man your car is gorgeous Did you just polish your stock wheels yourself?

Yeah AFR was actually the exact ones i was looking at. Question, on your exhaust what headers did you use? Also is yours a dual exhaust or do you have a y pipe or x pipe or both?

Just want to set my baseline mods right for the future. And as far as the intake mod go, from what i gather like you mentioned i will loose that low end torque punch that the stock runners deliver but will gain more power up top.

 

They are chromed sawblades from an LT1 car.

Don't ask about my headers unless you've got 3 days to kill! My sidepipe setup is unique as well. Just do a dual setup with x-pipe using TPIS or EM headers. (Or whatever you find for sale in the forum that's 1.75" and nice condition). They're all pretty good.

With a 383 (or larger), you don't have to worry about torque. With a 383 and an automatic, you don't want THAT much torque anyway. Torque is something a 383 will take care of itself. I predict you'll be as happy as a pig in mud -- whatever you do.