Hello all,
I purchased a 1993 40th Anniversary convertible that was traded in at my dealership. I was new to Corvettes, but always wanted one. I got it at a really good price. It needed work and I put a few thousand into it. Well the engine blew and I had it rebuilt. My question is my buddy who does the work for me told me to move it and get something else. I was originally told they only made my engine, which was troublesome in 93 and 94. I found a really nice 95 with 69k that I was going to go possibly trade for tomorrow. But he told me its the same engine. Is this true? What years are better. Should I go with an 82 that I also saw? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Brian

 

The LT1 engine went from '92 to '96. Whoever gave you that advice probably didn't know as much about C4's as he thought. The LT1 engine is not troublesome. It has some quirks, but far from troublesome. The '95 has the vented optispark, which is a significant reliability improvement. With that said, you are looking at a 21 y.o. car, so even with only 69k on the odometer, be prepared to put a bit of effort in it. If you don't do your own wrenching, you might want to look at a later model car (C5's are reasonably priced). As for the '82, that is a C3. Not a bad car if you don't mind driving a corvette with a speedometer that max's out at a whopping 80 mph.

 

Tell us more about your 93, how many miles, condition of interior and exterior, there is not much difference between the years other than the vented opti spark. why spend the money if you dont have tool. and yes you most likley will need to spend money to bring it up to speed but if you have the passion and the dough enjoy it.

 

If there's no issues currently and you've done the mentioned rebuild/repair with no "short-cuts" I see no reason to move it - IF YOU LIKE IT.

Your "buddy" must have reasons to have suggested moving it other than the engine which he likely is using the "opti" as a "reason" to feel it's troublesome. Maybe he just didn't do well "personally" with opti diagnostics if he was a tech during the era!Some certainly struggled.

Are there other issues? Cosmetic or mechanical?

 

He said when we put new tires on it that the brake lines are in really bad shape. I do like the car a lot. I just dont want to spend a ton of money on it. I am not in bad shape right now, I got into it right. My intentions before the motor blew was to redo the interior and change the soft top. The reason I was thinking about it was it being a coupe my wife and I can fit more luggage for trips. She doesnt like the convertible because of the lack of space.

 

The mechanically LT1 did not change much during it's time span of 1992-97. 1997 was the Camaro/Firebird. The redesigned opti for 94 big cars which went in the Corvette, Camaro, and Firebird in 1995. Another minor change for OBD2 in 1996. The electronics related to fuel system continued to improve through the end of the run. 1992-93 have MPFI or "batch fire" fuel injection. 1994-97 have SFI sequential fuel injection along with electric automatic transmissions. There are lots of 93's still on the road it, seems it maybe the most popular of the LT1 survivors, which I guess means they are pretty good cars. Myself I don't care for a non chrome bumper C3.

 

This explains a lot of the differences

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/1999...-lt1-engine-2/

 

As the other posters have stated - the LT1 motors in the later C4's were pretty darn similar from 1992 (when they were first introduced) thru 1996. There were some running changes - the opti-spark design being one of them, and moving from a speed density based EFI system in the 1992's and 1993's to a MAF system in the later years. While the later year motors are probably slightly preferable - you can certainly upgrade the older style opti for the newer style one (a few other parts are required - but it isn't horrible).

The real question is the condition of the car in general. Rusty brake lines can be replaced - but it isn't a super easy or cheap thing. BUT - the cost to repair a bad tranny can make brake lines look cheap. Personally - I'd rather deal with brake lines than dealing with the electrical problems that one mouse can cause in one winter. if the car is in fundamentally good condition and if it was maintained - at least to me - that's the important thing.

Remember - the last C4 is 20 years old - expect that 20 year old cars will have some problems - that's just part of the real estate when you deal with older cars. (Which is why many people constantly lese new cars - so they don't have to deal with those time related repair issues).