1992-1993 years

[Wannacorvette]

Questions on the 1992 -1993 years of C4
Anything to be aware of on these 2 modem years ?

On the bird cages can this be checked easily to see if a rust/rot issue ?

 

[Rruuff Day]

Questions on the 1992 -1993 years of C4
Anything to be aware of on these 2 modem years ?

On the bird cages can this be checked easily to see if a rust/rot issue ?

Not aware of any c4 birdcage rust issues on the C4's. The C4 was/is a totally different chassis/birdcage/ body system than the C3 was

 

[Wannacorvette]

Not aware of any c4 birdcage rust issues on the C4's. The C4 was/is a totally different chassis/birdcage/ body system than the C3 was

Any other issues on 92-93 model years to be aware of ? Is there not a ignition distributor issue on some of these ?

 

[Rruuff Day]

Unfortunately I will have to let someone with first hand C4 experience answer this. Perhaps @Dave91TM may be able to answer this.

 

[Rruuff Day]

@Vette1993 or @VikingTrad3r may also have some insight.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

“issues” are minor.

the LT1 engine uses an optispark “distributor” which does not lolk like a normal dizzy that hets “stabbed” into the intake. Rather the optispark mounts to the fromt of the engine under the waterpump.

The early optispark is sensative to moisture, but its by no means a serious issue. It may happen to yours or your candidate, but personally if i were to buy an lt1 i wouldnt be losing sleep over it.

due to the sensativity to moisture, the position under the water pump meant that when the water pump fails, it dribbles water right onto the optispark.
a drain tube from the water pumps weep hole should be installed.

furthermore the later optisparks had vents installed in them. there is a fantastic video on youtube on installing your own factory appearing venting setup.

LT1’s are really good, like all c4’s they are in the constant preventative maintenance stage of thier life.

which car are you considering? link?

 

[Wannacorvette]

“issues” are minor.

the LT1 engine uses an optispark “distributor” which does not lolk like a normal dizzy that hets “stabbed” into the intake. Rather the optispark mounts to the fromt of the engine under the waterpump.

The early optispark is sensative to moisture, but its by no means a serious issue. It may happen to yours or your candidate, but personally if i were to buy an lt1 i wouldnt be losing sleep over it.

due to the sensativity to moisture, the position under the water pump meant that when the water pump fails, it dribbles water right onto the optispark.
a drain tube from the water pumps weep hole should be installed.

furthermore the later optisparks had vents installed in them. there is a fantastic video on youtube on installing your own factory appearing venting setup.

LT1’s are really good, like all c4’s they are in the constant preventative maintenance stage of thier life.

which car are you considering? link?

Just in the thinking process of wanting to get a corvette & trying to figure out the best series of one to buy in the $15,000 range

 

[VikingTrad3r]

Just in the thinking process of wanting to get a corvette & trying to figure out the best series of one to buy in the $15,000 range

can u advise me of the kind of things you want to do with the car?

road trips? track days/hpde? show and shines? buy/hold/collect?

cheers

 

[Wannacorvette]

can u advise me of the kind of things you want to do with the car?

road trips? track days/hpde? show and shines? buy/hold/collect?

cheers

Daily summer driver /car shows

 

[VikingTrad3r]

So in that instance the absolute best thing would be an automatic, base car. No need for z07 package or manual gearbox which does boost the prices quite a bit.

Im not usually the guy who says “buy the best one u can afford”. I enjoy the hobby of refurbishing so i kind of look for diamonds in the rough.

In your case i would look at for a 94-96, for the less cockpit style seats (read, a chilling daily vette rather than a high bolstered cockpit style seat).

For 15k you can absolutely get a great example. If you are up for a flyn drive roadtrip dont be afraid to include calgary in your search. i can have a look at the car and give you very good assessement of the condition. i think you can get a very nice car for that money.

Early c4’s can also be had at these prices too.

 

[Wannacorvette]

Daily summer driver /car

So in that instance the absolute best thing would be an automatic, base car. No need for z07 package or manual gearbox which does boost the prices quite a bit.

Im not usually the guy who says “buy the best one u can afford”. I enjoy the hobby of refurbishing so i kind of look for diamonds in the rough.

In your case i would look at for a 94-96, for the less cockpit style seats (read, a chilling daily vette rather than a high bolstered cockpit style seat).

For 15k you can absolutely get a great example. If you are up for a flyn drive roadtrip dont be afraid to include calgary in your search. i can have a look at the car and give you very good assessement of the condition. i think you can get a very nice car for that money.

Early c4’s can also be had at these prices too.

Thanks for your input
Are the C4’s not as apt to have the rusty frame & bird cage issues that a lot of C3’s have ?

 

[VikingTrad3r]

Thanks for your input
Are the C4’s not as apt to have the rusty frame & bird cage issues that a lot of C3’s have ?

not even close. its not a concern at all.

i have owned 9 and i did have a rusty undercarriage (not bird cage) on one of them. It was a car that spent the first 3/4 of life in halifax and im sure it was also driven in the winters as it was high mileage as well. no issues on any other ones.

im a serious c4 addict and in 10’s of thousands i have read about and looked at, only 2 have ever had “frame rot”.

if you have any questions about the c4’s feel free to ask.

 

[Wannacorvette]

not even close. its not a concern at all.

i have owned 9 and i did have a rusty undercarriage (not bird cage) on one of them. It was a car that spent the first 3/4 of life in halifax and im sure it was also driven in the winters as it was high mileage as well. no issues on any other ones.

im a serious c4 addict and in 10’s of thousands i have read about and looked at, only 2 have ever had “frame rot”.

if you have any questions about the c4’s feel free to ask.

So what $$ range do I have to spend to get a really good C4 to C5 then

 

[Dave91TM]

Just to add to Vikings comments.
The Bolstered seats in the earlier years are very comfortable.
1990 thru 1996 the dash was revised to be mostly analog with a digital speedo. IMO this is the better dash.
1991 was the last year of the L98 motor. It had less HP than the LT1(250 vs 300) but it still packs a good punch and is a little simpler
as far as ignition system.
Tires for older vettes with 16 inch rims are getting hard to find.
My vette has the ZF6 speed Standard tranny. IMO it adds more driver involvement than a automatic, but if it needs a clutch or flywheel, (or both) it will be expensive. (experience talking).
Watch the coolant temps while driving. They tend to run warm which could be anything from debris blocking the rad to blown headgaskets. (experience here was head gaskets and machined warped heads (expensive), which mostly corrected it and then a new rad , which settled it down)
In anything you look at try to get as much history as you can on maintenance and repairs.
Good luck.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

atop tier

So what $$ range do I have to spend to get a really good C4 to C5 then

a “driver” is 10-15k these days and up from there.

wrt to the mention of hot running. the analog needle is deceptive and non linear in its movement.

the true digital readout can be found by pressing the up and down fan together on the hvac unit until 00 can be seen. then press the up arrow and scroll to 16.

press the center button between the fan speed arrows. this is coolant temp.

 

[Rruuff Day]

So what $$ range do I have to spend to get a really good C4 to C5 then

For a C5 you will be in the $21K and up range depending on mileage. Nothing against the C4 because I like them as well for different reasons but there were a ton of upgrades (in my opinion) with the C5. There's lots for sale in your neck of the woods too. Try and stay with the lowest mileage in whatever you buy. C5 Corvette 1997 | Cars & Trucks | Kitchener / Waterloo | Kijiji

 

[Dave91TM]

atop tier

a “driver” is 10-15k these days and up from there.

wrt to the mention of hot running. the analog needle is deceptive and non linear in its movement.

the true digital readout can be found by pressing the up and down fan together on the hvac unit until 00 can be seen. then press the up arrow and scroll to 16.

press the center button between the fan speed arrows. this is coolant temp.

This I did not know. I'll have to try it out. There is probably a whole bunch of info via the stereo, where do you find out how to access it? I have run some diagnostics and chased some codes by jumping a wire across the diagnostics plug, but, did not see anything like you have described.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

in the factory shop manual.

its the hvac manual too btw not the stereo.

cheers

 

[Dave91TM]

in the factory shop manual.

its the hvac manual too btw not the stereo.

cheers

Thanks. I had it in my head the stereo was where it would display. Silly me. The stereo in my car has been deceased since before I got it. (LOL)

 

[VikingTrad3r]

if thats your car in the thumbnail, love the colour!