C4Fanatic

Yep, he got Skunk Bit...

Was great hanging out with you fine folks this weekend as well Paul. Learned a lot of things about the Z I did not know. Nothing like a line of LT5's going down the road together to attract a little attention. I'll have to make it back up this way. Talking to the wife about FunFest...so we shall see.

mike100

to the orig poster:

so you drove a regular 6 spd car and a 94 ZR-1...what was your take on the comparison? did the owner let you wring it out?

WydGlydJim

Not everyone has a 415 Dwight!

Mabe the difference between early morning, and very late afternoon.

zr-1 guy

had this happen to me too

gmonsen

OP... If you don't really understand the motor and swoon over it, buy a base C4 and be happy. While the ZR1 will beat the Toyota, in some ways, that's not the point. Its all about the engine. Its the jewel of all the vette engines ever made. (Only wish it had a flat plane crank to rev to maybe 8000 or so.) If you don't really love engines and how they sound and how the pull high revs and its just about having a fast car, go for something other than a ZR1.

Gordon

Paul Workman

Nuttin' like a 5-2 downshift at 50 to take the smug outta many a would-be schmart azz. They get treated to hear an LT5 in it's prime zone! And, to add insult to injury, you're blipping the throttle at the point he would have to be grabbing the next gear - the point where the LT5 is just starting to have fun!!

P.

twiggelf

I have now test driven three C4s, a 96 CE auto, a 92 6 speed convertible, and a 94 ZR-1.
The auto didn't feel as fun to drive, though the wife in the passenger seat didn't really let me open it up. She is too paranoid when it comes to driving someone elses car. (Ex. I am car sitting my buddy's 73 L48 coupe, and she didn't even want to ride in it to go test drive the 92 vette). I think I would rather take the trade off of harder stop and go driving for the ability to make the transmition do what I want. It is a sports car after all.

The 92 was fun to drive, but it just didn't give me the kick in the pants that I expected from a sports car. More fun than my wife's 210hp toyota, but not what I expected. I will admit, that I have never really driven a sports car, but I have had a 30hp and 66hp motorcycle, so that is probably scewing my opinions.

The ZR-1 was more what I expected. It was fast, and it sounded very loud.
It has been discused in this post http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-z...94-zr-1-a.html
The more I drive the other cars, the more I suspect that there is more done to this ZR-1 than a custom paint job and C5 Z06 wheels. This makes me worry about whether the 7 mpg was closer to acurate than I thought, and about how well the modifications have been done. This has deffinently been my favorite to drive yet (including my buddy's 73) yet I am worried that it has been tweeked into unreliability.

mike100

That local ZR-1 might be ok if you can get the price down. Change the wheels, emblems, and get the radio work fixed...probably about $2000 worth of odd repairs on any given medium mileage car...just so long as the transmission isn't in need of hard parts, the car could probably be back to 95% within 6 months in your spare time.

I could live with the two-tone for a fair price.

Coupe89

When I visit the rock in the next few weeks. I'll check it out

DRM500RUBYZR-1

1 no way is 7mpg realistic; double that even if all city
2 bet it is not tweeked much at all, let alone into "unreliability"
3 a stock ZR-1 will feel significantly faster than a 92 or 96 LT-1, and do not even mention an L-48 in the same sentence as a ZR-1, that is why we love them as we do, no surprise there/
4 these questions have all been asked an answered

Sorry to say if the big dogs scare you, get a cat and stay on the porch.
And then buy a newer V6 mustang.
It will suck the doors off of the L48 and those lt-1's won't catch it either.
Good luck

Marty
1FUNZR1

bb62

For what it's worth, My 95 ZR-1 feels very similar (in acceleration) to my 1967 435HP coupe.

zr-1 guy

the butt dyno can be misleading...

twiggelf

Seems to me that the butt dyno and the ear dyno are the only two that really mater unless you are racing on a track.
What might you consider a fair price for the two tone car?
I will definitely take you up on that offer, PM on the way. Thank You.

bb62

When you consider that both cars run high 12s when stock (as both of mine are), then the butt dyno can be pretty accurate. Still I agree that feel can be misleading at times.

mike100

Fair price depends on how much play money you have to spend. I got a $20k early 375 hp car (I would have liked to have spent less). I have seen a lot of cars asking for $15k prices now (early 375 hp ones-which are for more common since like 80 percent of them were made in 90&91).

I wish I had waited a few more months as a couple of local deals have popped up since then, but on the other hand, I have been through my car fairly thoroughly and know what I have...plus it's in nicer condition that I was shopping for- so that's a bonus.

another thing is that you are in Hawaii and you are looking at a 405 hp late car so recent pricing is still a guideline at best.

Actually, the biggest worry on that car from your descriptions seems to be the lack of a functioning traction control- the radio is a given, the bose was bad design that is bad on most cars, but the traction control should be working. You might want to test it again if you are serious and find a wet spot to lock up the brakes in to at least work the abs. if the engine pulls and the trans worked smoothly, that's probably a green light, but the ancillary parts can really ad up on C4's. like I said, probably just about any C4 that isn't absolutely tip-top will eat $2000 in odd repairs right away, depending on if you are a perfectionist or trying to achieve a restoration level beyond basic functionality.

BlackbirdZ07

Where did he say the traction control didn't work? I've kept current on that thread and I don't remember seeing anything about the traction control. If it's not working, that could be considered a safety issue that the dealer would be a lot more willing to fix than, say, cosmetic issues. I'd make an offer contingent on the traction control being fixed by a Chevy dealer. Or maybe the dealership selling the car could fix it if you trust them.

I agree that there doesn't seem to be a lot of big things wrong with the car. You could try to find a shop that knows these cars do a pre purchase inspection to put your mind at ease. Worst case is you can't find anyone who knows ZR-1's, so take it to a Chevy dealer and they should at least be able to do an inspection of the rest of the car. When it comes to the engine, if it runs well, sounds good, has oil pressure, and doesn't overheat or smoke, then it's probably fine.

WydGlydJim

600 H.P. 415 CI guys are getting more than 7 MPG.

FU

Heck the 441 get's 13.8 actual around town.Now lean on the go pedal and that figure go's to hell.

mike100

i think there is a parallel thread link in post 27

Paul Workman

For comparison, my fully ported 508 hp 350 gave up nothing to gas mileage - still gets 25-26 on cruise at 70 mph, 13-16 mixed driving.

Another thing...Forget everything you ever learned about failure rates and reliability of GM push-rod motors. They just don't apply to the LT5...period. The LT5 is a totally different animal & continues to demonstrated reliability to the point of rediculous, in direct comparision to push-rod motors in like driving conditions. They were built to win races!

FWIW,

Paul.