Many of you probably saw my thread about what I could afford for $25k. Well I ended up finding a 2002 Z06 for what I thought was a fair price. She has all of 10k miles. I don't have pictures of my own yet as I was lucky to get it straight into the garage before the rain came after it arrived. I will get some when the weather permits. But the link to the dealer's ad is below. As far as plans for the car go it is going in Wednesday to have PAC 1218 valve springs put on it. It has had brand new factory spec Goodyears put on it so that is good! I plan on keeping the car stock other than ordering the LMC5 kit, a cover and a skip shift eliminator.

http://www.johnbrothersauto.com/2002...-19428/5928519
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...5k-budget.html

 

Looking real good, and it sounds like you did your homework!!!

 

Congrats on your purchase. That's a very low mileage Z06 you now own.

 

Congrats MY is the fastest color . Don't forget to change out all the fluids.

 

Congrats, you bought the right color.....


Shakey

 

Very sharp! Congrats!

 

What a beautiful Z and kudos to your restraint to not jump right into modding the heck out of her!

Here's to many happy and trouble free miles ahead for you.

 

This is where the beloved forum gets scary - for me anyway. I have an 02 Z. Read all the posts and I guess I'm in the low/mid "danger" zone based on the data and an 01 mfg date.
I go to a local dealer and they look at me like I'm nuts when I ask to just arbitrarily replace the springs. So I go to the Vette "experts" at Purifoy where the service mgr. has been there 25+ years and he thinks I'm over reacting. He has seen valve spring failures of course but in all sorts of cars trucks etc and is unaware of any specific threat to Z's. It can happen to any car. (maintenance and usage profile being major contributors as well of course) Both of these dealers would love my money I'm sure. So I'm sure there are a plethora of Z's out there that run just fine but like any public forum or "news" channel, the negative gets great coverage. You don't see many "I have a Z with no problems and I've had it forever" threads. If you love your Vette as I do, your not a DIY guy but you want to do the right thing- it's problematic when you have opinions that seem at polar opposites. Replacment is not cheap- and to your point- neither is a new motor. So here is an OP who's first mod is to run get new springs. Hmmm. Do I need to re-think this again?
Now in all fairness, there is one shop in town who tells me ALL Z's will lose a spring and destroy the engine. That seems a bit hyper reactive too. Crap!

 

ONE DAY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,, You will be driving down the road and BLAMO,,,,,

You will have the little bubble over your head that says,,,,,

"SONOFABITCH!!!!! ,,,, I should have )(&^$%# changed out those springs! *%&^$^ "

BC

 

Congrats!!! Fastest color for sure!

 

You are not alone in that opinion and you . 8Vette a host of you know what you are talking about I'm sure. It's a crap shoot and I stink at gambling.. The OP mentioned PAC 1218. Is there an OEM or standard/recommended replacement? Or use the above?

 

OP- You'll love the Z. I snagged one as well at 6340 miles.. They are a blast. Sorry for any Hijack..

 

Thanks..... I will research again... I'm under the 02 serial string (see below) and at 7200 miles I'm not even broke in yet per dealer. I'll at least get an estimate so I know both sides... Thanks again.. (I'll leave this post alone-lol)

People, LISTEN - 75% of all 02-03 valve spring failures have occurred in the following range of VINs:

2002: 20000 - 36000
2003: 00001 - 09000

These are the last 5 digits of the VIN. If you own a Z06 in this range, and it still has the stock springs, please replace them! A solid budget-minded choice is the oem LS2 springs, and a good higher-end aftermarket spring is the nitrided PAC 1518.

 

Well, looks like members above covered everything, so I'm left with nothing but to wish you CONGRATS!! Colors are such a personal deal, but I just love seeing a yellow vette coming down the road on a sunny day! Just a stunning sight. Good luck with your new toy and best wishes!

 

I would just change them out if you have late 01 to 03 for peace of mind, I've come across two guys who broke a valve spring in their C5Z.
One an 02 in the 13k vin range his springs were a grey color, he was bone stock.
Another an 03 in the 15k vin range his springs were yellow, he had mild bolt ons zero internal work.
I for one fell in the 14k vin range for my 03, I changed them out for peace of mind back in 2013, glad I did.
The PAC 1218s are great they have the same specs as my 1518s. 130installed load and 318 open load.
I believe stock was 90 and 290.

 

Good Luck and follow the valve spring advice.

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. I had been doing my research on these cars and knew I was going to get one. I actually had the springs before I even found a car. Got a good deal on ebay I couldn't pass up! I had planned on doing them even if I got an 04' just for piece of mind Now lets just pray that one doesn't break on the drive to the shop

 

Beautiful Z06
Congrats

 

RoninC5,
Do the valve spring replacement yourself. There is much info on the forums on this. You would save a lot of money and it shouldn't be that difficult.

 

Congratulations on your recent purchase. Beautiful car! Welcome to the C5 world. You may want to check out Dayton Cars and Coffee which is every other Sat. at the Green.