R
robdunn1
Guest
I am buying a 1985 C4 from a friend that has been in storage for 8 or 9 years and need some advice before driving it 1500 miles cross-country to my home in Tehachapi, CA. The car has been garaged continuously, started at least monthly, has 112,000 miles on it, has Gatorback tires with good tread. He loves the car, is the original owner, ran nothing but synthetics it it, but somehow lost interest in it and stopped driving it. His beloved wants it out of the garage before he buys a C6. He has two copies of the shop manual, knows the car inside and out and all work was done by the dealer. About 4 or 5 years ago he took it to the dealer and had all fluids replaced and all rubber hoses, belts, etc replaced. Has been parked on its tires in his garage since. Car starts and sounds great, short drive around the neighborhood has me drooling (my first car with solid handling) and that combined with that great hood that completely opens up the engine compartment has me convinced this is my dream car.
The car is completely OEM and has the engine oil cooler, heavy duty cooling, and what I think is duplicatively listed as the "Z51 Performance Handling Package" and "High Performance Suspension" and "Preloaded Gas Shock Absorbers". The paint needs washing/waxing but is original Lt Bronze upper/lower without a scratch except the clearcoat on the soft plastic front and rear trim is peeling on the top. The A/C and Bose stereo work except the power antenna needs repair (easy fix as I have learned from this group). It is an Automatic but oddly has a 3.07 rear end (RPO G44) which the 1985 specs page on this site lists as a manual transmission rear end.
I am reasonably competent, do all my own car work (mostly on engine but have rebuilt a couple of 4-bangers and a manual transmission), am unafraid to trace through a schematic, and have read the GM shop manual well enough to be very familiar with the ECM (looks like a great, straightforward system to work on), have even found the software to read the serial data. So my questions are:
1. Other than loading a tool box and the shop manual in the back and changing the oil, what should I do to prepare for a cross-country trip of 1500 miles down I-40? Shold I run injector cleaner during the trip, if so, what brand. What about seals? Any experience here.
2. My friend is insisting that I buy new tires since the car has been undriven for so long. The current Gatorbacks are in good shape but have been low (not flat) on occassion and not. Do you think this is necessary? If so I would like to buy the tires from Costco (best tire service center I have ever experienced) and their choices are Michelin Pilot Sport, Michelin Pilot XGT V4, and the Goodrich Comp T/A. My friend wants me to by the Pilot Sports but I drive 50 mi each way to work from a mountain pass California railroad town where we get some winter weather (and it gets cold) to the Mojave high desert where we get summer rains/winds that can be very heavy and it looks like for that kind driving the Michelin XGT V4's might be a better choice. Looking for advice.
3. Is there anything that can be done to clean up the peeling clearcoat on the soft plastic bumper covers front and rear? The paint is great otherwise and I want to keep it original if possible since it looks so good.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for all advice. This looks like a very knowledgeble group of serious corvette enthusiasts.
Rob
The car is completely OEM and has the engine oil cooler, heavy duty cooling, and what I think is duplicatively listed as the "Z51 Performance Handling Package" and "High Performance Suspension" and "Preloaded Gas Shock Absorbers". The paint needs washing/waxing but is original Lt Bronze upper/lower without a scratch except the clearcoat on the soft plastic front and rear trim is peeling on the top. The A/C and Bose stereo work except the power antenna needs repair (easy fix as I have learned from this group). It is an Automatic but oddly has a 3.07 rear end (RPO G44) which the 1985 specs page on this site lists as a manual transmission rear end.
I am reasonably competent, do all my own car work (mostly on engine but have rebuilt a couple of 4-bangers and a manual transmission), am unafraid to trace through a schematic, and have read the GM shop manual well enough to be very familiar with the ECM (looks like a great, straightforward system to work on), have even found the software to read the serial data. So my questions are:
1. Other than loading a tool box and the shop manual in the back and changing the oil, what should I do to prepare for a cross-country trip of 1500 miles down I-40? Shold I run injector cleaner during the trip, if so, what brand. What about seals? Any experience here.
2. My friend is insisting that I buy new tires since the car has been undriven for so long. The current Gatorbacks are in good shape but have been low (not flat) on occassion and not. Do you think this is necessary? If so I would like to buy the tires from Costco (best tire service center I have ever experienced) and their choices are Michelin Pilot Sport, Michelin Pilot XGT V4, and the Goodrich Comp T/A. My friend wants me to by the Pilot Sports but I drive 50 mi each way to work from a mountain pass California railroad town where we get some winter weather (and it gets cold) to the Mojave high desert where we get summer rains/winds that can be very heavy and it looks like for that kind driving the Michelin XGT V4's might be a better choice. Looking for advice.
3. Is there anything that can be done to clean up the peeling clearcoat on the soft plastic bumper covers front and rear? The paint is great otherwise and I want to keep it original if possible since it looks so good.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for all advice. This looks like a very knowledgeble group of serious corvette enthusiasts.
Rob