Hello!
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Clinton Wisconsin
Hello!
Hello Corvette Forum. My name is Zach and I come here searching mainly for advice. My experience with Corvettes is limited to just reading about them, but I would like to buy a C4 as a graduation gift to myself when I graduate high school (I always thought the style was great looking, and I like fuel injection). However, my experience with other automobiles has been something I am extremely grateful for and many other teens do not get to experience, as my step-dad owns a very large shop with every tool I could possibly dream of. It started with my first car close to 3 years ago. It was a 92 Grand Prix SE Coupe. It was rusting underneath the plastic trim, it had an exhaust leak, and it had plenty of dents. However, I loved this car more than anything up until the day the transmission went and I tore the motor out of it and sent it to the scrap yard. It gave me 2 years of unquestionable service, and for that I am grateful and all I had to do was change the oil and put gas in it.
It wasn't until right before the transmission went in my 92 that I acquired my first "project car". I had always loved the body style of my car, and one day on craigslist I saw it. A 95 Grand Prix GTP with the 3.4 DOHC. Perfect body, no rust, a spectacular red color, but a blown motor. I picked it up for 400 dollars and spent the next month tearing into that car every waking moment I had. All I did at school was read about the LQ1 (3.4) and the car itself. I stripped the interior to the floor boards to clean it, and I converted a 93 LQ1 mated to a manual trans to work with OBD 1.5 and an automatic transmission. I even got cocky and played with the timing a bit, being a dual over head cam it was quite easy to do. In the end I had a shiny red car with a motor so clean you could eat off of it, an interior that smelled mountain fresh, and had plenty of power for a FWD vehicle while getting me 22 city/29 highway.
After my success it occurred to me I could make some good money buying cars and fixing them up and selling them. I started making, in my mind, easy money that was fun to earn and was a lot of cash for a high schooler. My most recent project was a 4 door 97 GTP with the L67 that was missing a front end and had a blown motor that I bought for 350 dollars. I always wanted to tinker with forced induction, so it was more for learning than it was for making money.
Now, by the time graduation comes around, I should have close to 9 grand saved up to buy myself something nice, and I figured a C4 Corvette would be a kick *** ride to spend my summer (and many more after that) cruising around in.
So again, hello Corvette Forum! I do not own a Corvette yet, but I will soon.
It wasn't until right before the transmission went in my 92 that I acquired my first "project car". I had always loved the body style of my car, and one day on craigslist I saw it. A 95 Grand Prix GTP with the 3.4 DOHC. Perfect body, no rust, a spectacular red color, but a blown motor. I picked it up for 400 dollars and spent the next month tearing into that car every waking moment I had. All I did at school was read about the LQ1 (3.4) and the car itself. I stripped the interior to the floor boards to clean it, and I converted a 93 LQ1 mated to a manual trans to work with OBD 1.5 and an automatic transmission. I even got cocky and played with the timing a bit, being a dual over head cam it was quite easy to do. In the end I had a shiny red car with a motor so clean you could eat off of it, an interior that smelled mountain fresh, and had plenty of power for a FWD vehicle while getting me 22 city/29 highway.
After my success it occurred to me I could make some good money buying cars and fixing them up and selling them. I started making, in my mind, easy money that was fun to earn and was a lot of cash for a high schooler. My most recent project was a 4 door 97 GTP with the L67 that was missing a front end and had a blown motor that I bought for 350 dollars. I always wanted to tinker with forced induction, so it was more for learning than it was for making money.
Now, by the time graduation comes around, I should have close to 9 grand saved up to buy myself something nice, and I figured a C4 Corvette would be a kick *** ride to spend my summer (and many more after that) cruising around in.
So again, hello Corvette Forum! I do not own a Corvette yet, but I will soon.
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Instructor
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 190
Likes: 1
From: Marina del Rey CA
i bought a 1986 C4 right out of college (back in 1997). The only advice I can give is to have the car checked out thoroughly by someone who really knows corvettes. They are wonderful cars, but especially for a corvette that old, you will need to be careful that you are getting a car that hasn't been abused or confused (worked on by people who didn't know vettes).
All that said, i would think for 9k, you should be able to get a pretty good C4 (i only pain 9500 for mine almost 13 years ago), so good luck!
All that said, i would think for 9k, you should be able to get a pretty good C4 (i only pain 9500 for mine almost 13 years ago), so good luck!
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Clinton Wisconsin
i bought a 1986 C4 right out of college (back in 1997). The only advice I can give is to have the car checked out thoroughly by someone who really knows corvettes. They are wonderful cars, but especially for a corvette that old, you will need to be careful that you are getting a car that hasn't been abused or confused (worked on by people who didn't know vettes).
All that said, i would think for 9k, you should be able to get a pretty good C4 (i only pain 9500 for mine almost 13 years ago), so good luck!
All that said, i would think for 9k, you should be able to get a pretty good C4 (i only pain 9500 for mine almost 13 years ago), so good luck!
Pro
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 505
Likes: 1
From: Guntersville Alabama
Hello Corvette Forum. My name is Zach and I come here searching mainly for advice. My experience with Corvettes is limited to just reading about them, but I would like to buy a C4 as a graduation gift to myself when I graduate high school (I always thought the style was great looking, and I like fuel injection). However, my experience with other automobiles has been something I am extremely grateful for and many other teens do not get to experience, as my step-dad owns a very large shop with every tool I could possibly dream of. It started with my first car close to 3 years ago. It was a 92 Grand Prix SE Coupe. It was rusting underneath the plastic trim, it had an exhaust leak, and it had plenty of dents. However, I loved this car more than anything up until the day the transmission went and I tore the motor out of it and sent it to the scrap yard. It gave me 2 years of unquestionable service, and for that I am grateful and all I had to do was change the oil and put gas in it.
It wasn't until right before the transmission went in my 92 that I acquired my first "project car". I had always loved the body style of my car, and one day on craigslist I saw it. A 95 Grand Prix GTP with the 3.4 DOHC. Perfect body, no rust, a spectacular red color, but a blown motor. I picked it up for 400 dollars and spent the next month tearing into that car every waking moment I had. All I did at school was read about the LQ1 (3.4) and the car itself. I stripped the interior to the floor boards to clean it, and I converted a 93 LQ1 mated to a manual trans to work with OBD 1.5 and an automatic transmission. I even got cocky and played with the timing a bit, being a dual over head cam it was quite easy to do. In the end I had a shiny red car with a motor so clean you could eat off of it, an interior that smelled mountain fresh, and had plenty of power for a FWD vehicle while getting me 22 city/29 highway.
After my success it occurred to me I could make some good money buying cars and fixing them up and selling them. I started making, in my mind, easy money that was fun to earn and was a lot of cash for a high schooler. My most recent project was a 4 door 97 GTP with the L67 that was missing a front end and had a blown motor that I bought for 350 dollars. I always wanted to tinker with forced induction, so it was more for learning than it was for making money.
Now, by the time graduation comes around, I should have close to 9 grand saved up to buy myself something nice, and I figured a C4 Corvette would be a kick *** ride to spend my summer (and many more after that) cruising around in.
So again, hello Corvette Forum! I do not own a Corvette yet, but I will soon.
It wasn't until right before the transmission went in my 92 that I acquired my first "project car". I had always loved the body style of my car, and one day on craigslist I saw it. A 95 Grand Prix GTP with the 3.4 DOHC. Perfect body, no rust, a spectacular red color, but a blown motor. I picked it up for 400 dollars and spent the next month tearing into that car every waking moment I had. All I did at school was read about the LQ1 (3.4) and the car itself. I stripped the interior to the floor boards to clean it, and I converted a 93 LQ1 mated to a manual trans to work with OBD 1.5 and an automatic transmission. I even got cocky and played with the timing a bit, being a dual over head cam it was quite easy to do. In the end I had a shiny red car with a motor so clean you could eat off of it, an interior that smelled mountain fresh, and had plenty of power for a FWD vehicle while getting me 22 city/29 highway.
After my success it occurred to me I could make some good money buying cars and fixing them up and selling them. I started making, in my mind, easy money that was fun to earn and was a lot of cash for a high schooler. My most recent project was a 4 door 97 GTP with the L67 that was missing a front end and had a blown motor that I bought for 350 dollars. I always wanted to tinker with forced induction, so it was more for learning than it was for making money.
Now, by the time graduation comes around, I should have close to 9 grand saved up to buy myself something nice, and I figured a C4 Corvette would be a kick *** ride to spend my summer (and many more after that) cruising around in.
So again, hello Corvette Forum! I do not own a Corvette yet, but I will soon.
