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ok accord to what i want to do... how would this corvette do?
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...=910811&page=1
its a 85 and some of you said its best to get a 88+ but it has a lot of
things done to it already.... what else would i need to do to this 85 in order to get my goals i want to it? the price is awesome too i think any help guys?
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Hey guys, as you all know im in the market for a C4 right now. One thing i see is there is a lot of older 89 and under C4's for around 4-7k with low miles and such. But they are 230HP stock right? my questions are...

1. Is it better to buy a older C4 (L98) and do upgrades
2. what upgrades are available and how much?
3. Is it better to buy a LT1 300 hp C4 and then do upgrades?
4. Is it better to buy a LT4 330 hp then do upgrades?
5. Which upgrades are available for LT1-4 and how much are they?

I figure the LT1-4 would end up costing me in the higher end of 7-12

so figure on a 10-13k budgete which car would get me better overall performance, gas mileage, and reliability. THanks ahead of time

 

The new the car you can afford the better. GM worked out the kinks as they went and they get progressively better up to 1996. The newer style interior also started in 1990. But they are all good, just some squeek and rattle less than others.

 

What are your ultimate goals? For my personal goals I got a 1985 that was in great shape then I rebuilt the rear end, trans, built up an engine, suspension, etc. now I have the vette that I want. It is all up to your preferences and budget. Just to warn you though when you start getting mod-crazy it will cost you a lot of money but you will go fast!

 

hehe, well my ultimate goal was to be faster than most cars on the street that are legally driveable. I dont race on the streets but i feel its nice to have. Say 400-450 hp (not to the wheels) but something compareable to maybe a viper. How much hp could i get for the 10-12k? (Including price for a car) and which year would it be?

 

oh yea, i wouldnt want to use NOS or anything like it, a supercharger would be cool, but im pretty sure those are a grip, what about turbo? heh

 

i don't think your gonna find an LT1/4 car for less than 12k and thats even in the high milage range. 80k or so. 4k-7k like you said for L98 cars is high milage also. 80k+. C4's have bottomed out on prices and are holding firm from what i see. a good low milage L98 with less than 50k in milage are 12k+ LT1's 14-15k and LT4's 15k-18k depending on miles of course. higher milage cars will be about 2k less and your talking 50k-100k in miles. seems like the prices aren't too negotiable and are either 50k or below in milage or 50k and higher. now 100k+ cars will be about 4-6k cheaper but then again you get what you pay for although the body and interior might look pretty good it still has 100k+ in miles so this is something to speak about.

i'm very happy with my L98 car and would do it all over again but with an 89 M6 car instead of my 87 A4 car but then again i'm very happy and the car has treated me VERY good considering i have put 40k VERY hard miles on my car and it still performs just as good as the day i bought it at 32k in miles. (actually it performs ALOT better. bone stock it averaged 14.4 in the 1/4 miles and now it's averaging 13.2 and on the verge of high 12's with minor mods done see my cardomain page below in my sig for times and mods done.)

with about 3k worth of bolt on's a L98 car *could* perform in the Viper/Z06 range very easily. once i get my fuel problem sorted out my car *should* run 12.8's at over 107+ mph with about 700 bucks in mods. most expensive mod i got is brand new BFG DR's. all other mods i bought used from forum members with the exeption of K&N, Accel Supercoil, Air Elim pulley, and Crank pulley.

good luck on your search

 

also most L98 parts are cheaper than LT1 parts. intake upgrade on the L98 is a bit pricey but well worth it. BBK is coming out with one should be in the 400-500 range. LT1 head upgrade is expensive so i guess it works out to be almost the same on that end. easier to work on L98 IMO than the LT1's.

 

How far you Vette $$ goes will in part depend on what you want.

Do you prefer a coupe or vert, a stick or an A4, the digi-dash or the hybred, air bag or tele wheel, early or later body style, early or later seats and interior?

Within your price range you will likely be looking at a late L98 or early LT1 engine.

If you want over 400chp I suggest you get an '89 Vette and stroke the L98. You can pretty easily build up a L98 TPI to close to 400chp but will need a stroker to go over that number. Though the LT1 starts with 300chp, I believe a stroker is still necessary to go over 400chp. The L98 will respond better to simple bolt ons than the LT1 so it's pretty easy to get a late L98 to run with a bone stock LT1.

BTW, a worked late L98 will run low 12s, which is in older Viper range and will beat a bone stock Z06 Vette.

You should try on a late '80 Vette and an early '90 one to see which style you prefer.

Also consider getting one with Z52 or Z51 options as both bring quick ratio steering and other benefits.

The bottom line is get the Vette with features and style that you like best and then build the performance you want.

 

To answer some of your questions, we have to know the size of your bank account. The reason is if you can afford it, a 1996 LT4 is rated at 330 hp but it is said it had 350 to 360 hp. Since you speak of horse power first, the best way to go would be a stock 1996 LT4 (if you can afford it).

 

Go for an L98. You can get a decent on for 5-7k, and build up from there. They have a roller motor with aluminum heads (87-91)A good platform to build on-much cheaper than an Lt1 buildup. You get what you pay for though. A clean LT4 is gonna run around 15k+. Of course you're only a set of long tubes and a gear change away from 12's. How fast can you afford is the question? Good Luck! Let us know whatcha got!

 

Yep, I'd say definetly an 87 or newer-you get the aluminum heads-which is a start. If you're planning on modifying-don't worry if the mileage is around 100k-especially if you stroke it. Because you'll be doing the bottom end anyway. Just make sure the rest of the vette is in good condition. Some forum members have 200k+ on there vettes-and say there still running strong.Auto or stick-lets not go there-I'm perfectly happy with my auto-but that's a whole new topic. Good luck.

 

Well I love my 92. It is the cheapest Lt-1 if you want to go that route. Honestly there are advantages to both. I would agree with most of what Mad Mic said also. The L98 will be slightly cheaper to mod than a LT-1 but prices are getting good for both right now. Its all in what you can afford. I wouldn't get anything with over 75K on it. L98's are excellent platforms. Do not be sway by that Hp number. They got a bunch of torque!

 

Finding an earlier C4 would be the best and easiest on the pocketbook. There are lots of say 86-88 cars that can be had for $5-8K. I would avoid the 84-85 cars; the 84 Cross-Fire is prpbably best in handling as the factory made it that way but the motor has its limitations with the stock intake and fuel delivery system. The 84-85 cars do not have ABS and that is a welcome addition in a fast car.

I would want to budget at least $5-7K on the motor. Regardless of the year yo wind up getting, your HP goal may require a fresh motor. So figure a rebuild or just about everything so it will handle the power.

IMHO, an automatic would be the best way to go in pre-89 C4's. The 4+3 manual tranny may not be up to handling HP above 400-450HP (the 4-speed portion is fine but the OD unit is expenisve to rebuild. An 89 or later car uses a ZF 6-speed tranny that is a much stouter box. There are aftermarket trannies available but they will take a serious bit out of the budget. The preference would be a manual tranny car as those got a Dana 44 differential and that would be better in terms of handling high output.

One other thing you didn't metion is what you wnt the car to look like in terms of appearance. You could score a C4 for cheap, but if the interior and paint is in bad shape, it will cost a ton to make it looke nice inside. As an example, new seats (leather covers and foam) can run $1200. A pair of door panels can be up to $500. And then there are trim parts....and paint.

I would get the best car you can find in terms of overall condition. An extra $1000 in the price of the car based on its overall condition would save thousands in paint and interior work.

 

skipping though LT-X motors for a minute,my old 87 L98 A4 was almost stock and could ALMOST beat my friends 99'LS1trans-am convertable.he did 14.05@100 to my 14.24@97.his LS1 has a claimed 310hp and most likely underated also.i think L98's are the cheaper of the C4's to get to go fast cheap.

 

L98's are fine motors. I like em a lot... and they can be made into monsters, reliable monsters.

 

Honestly If I were to do this all over I would get a 91. It has the looks of the Lt1 cars but with a L98. An L98 is just a basic 350 with LONG intake runners. The long intake runners promote torque but kill horsepower.(at 4700RPM the engine is done unless you change the intake).

The LT1 has one big pain in the butt. The optispark distributor. the other nuances is the unique block and heads due to the revers cooling.
The reverse cooling is great for running super high compression on pump gas (as much as 12.5:1) but performance cylnder heads are costly and there are not many options. No 18* heads no 15* heads and no SB2.2.

( YES, I like BIG power)

Sorry I thought my signature was on I have a 94 M6 car

 

i c, well exterior appearance isnt really important since i have plenty of extra money on the side for that. My main thing was getting a relibable and decent gas mileage C4. What about engine swaps and such? My grandpa owns a mechanic shop (not a speed shop) so getting parts i can get them for 30-60% off depending on the part. Engine being rebuilt all that I get for a discount.... hearing that, what would be the best way to go? I notice that a 96 would need very little to go fast, but base price would be higher, a 88-89 would be cheaper but cost more to mod, thanks for all your help guys.

 

My stock LT1 six speed is enough for the street. Only at extreme highway speeds will an LS1 overpower me.

 

another idea, whats the cheapest zr-1 i can get? I've heard they arent too reliable.... i would more than likely have to rebuild the engine since it will be high mileage, but how much would a stock zr-1 cost me?

 

the ZR1 is the godfather of all vettes! it is the most reliable! it didn't average 172+ mph in 24 hours straight with fuel stops for no reason. with that being said alot of these cars run in the 200k mile range with NO problems at all with the motor. these cars are esentially bullet proof. *if* something does go wrong expect to pay thru the nose so a simple rebuild isn't so simple. ever worked on a dual overhead cam with 32 valves?

better do your homework on what exactly your looking for. simplicity and easy to work on? L98. fast out of the box LT4 fast out of the box and a nightmare to work on for the average guy? LT5 ZR1.

on that note ZR1's are going for less than 20k. i think i seen a bone stock one in the C4 vette sale section bone stock with 30k in miles for around 20k and is still for sale i think.

good luck on your quest