Hello ! New Member From Mid Hudson Valley NY

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

Also a first time Corvette owner on 1/1/20 - 1988 Black/Saddle Coupe, 17k miles, Auto, Z52, Glass Roof, 2.59 Gears (I just leave it in 3rd gear around town and use 4th on highways)

Sofar I've replaced the emblems, new black floormats & air filter
Also have spent at least 30+ hours detailing exterior and engine bay to get ready for 2020 cruise season.

Thanks ! :cool

 

[Rob]

Nice! Welcome to the Corvette Action Center!

 

[jrose7004]

Congrats! Welcome to the CAC!

 

[Wayback]

Congrats & Welcome,thats some low milage.

 

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

Congrats & Welcome,thats some low milage.

Thanks ! I had some doubts about the mileage at first but the CarFax listed a shop that did some maintenance work on it and so I called the guy to ask if he remembered the car and he did and first thing he said was "that car has less than 20k miles on it!" then he asked me how I got it because he wanted it. He told me a woman from upstate NY bought it new and hardly drove it - according to CarFax she ended up trading it in to a dealership who auctioned it - it was bought by another dealer in NY who's intent was to flip it for a profit and he says he ended up taking a bit of loss on it (thanks to me) because he didn't really do a good job cleaning it up as it was exposed a bit to the elements and needed a good going over.

The engine bay was dusty and not detailed and the clearcoat on the mirrors and engine hood needed to be worked over with a rotary buffer and 3D One Hybrid Polish to get back to a really good shine. The saddle seat bottoms have dry cracking from sun exposure that will need replacing when I get the extra $$. It still has the original spark plugs (the passenger side looks fun) and it may still be original cap and wires so the uber low miles means I need to do some things to get it right but she runs good as/is. The non Bose stock radio needs to be yanked out and either repaired or replaced. I'm retired now so it's a great platform for me to work on. It has the 2.59 gears which are high but I just leave it in third around town and use 4th on open roads and highway cruising. The L98 has good low end torque and pulls strong from a dead stop. I don't plan on any hard driving so for me, it does good.

 

[Wayback]

If you remove that seal from the firewall the distributor cap etc will be more accessible.Its held on by a bunch of torx screws.
1984-1996 CORVETTE FACTORY C4 HOOD TO COWL FIREWALL SEAL GREAT CONDITI
– Carroll Corvette
i used this type socket for the plug under the ac comp on my old 85,use the 5/8 head not the 3/8 drive
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

 

[gmjunkie]

Welcome to Corvette Action Center !

 

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

If you remove that seal from the firewall the distributor cap etc will be more accessible.Its held on by a bunch of torx screws.
1984-1996 CORVETTE FACTORY C4 HOOD TO COWL FIREWALL SEAL GREAT CONDITI
– Carroll Corvette
i used this type socket for the plug under the ac comp on my old 85,use the 5/8 head not the 3/8 drive
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Funny you should suggest this as I just ordered up all the AC Delco Cap, Rotor, Plugs and Wires from Advanced (got 25% off coupon) I will be having some fun this weekend ! Thanks !!

 

[bill81vette]

Welcome to CAC from Troy!
Enjoy!!!!

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

If you remove that seal from the firewall the distributor cap etc will be more accessible.Its held on by a bunch of torx screws.
1984-1996 CORVETTE FACTORY C4 HOOD TO COWL FIREWALL SEAL GREAT CONDITI
– Carroll Corvette
i used this type socket for the plug under the ac comp on my old 85,use the 5/8 head not the 3/8 drive
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Well, I just finished changing out all the plugs in my `88 and what a $%#% the passenger side was to do !!! It took me almost three hours for four plugs - I used all kinds of ratchets, extensions, swivels and a box wrench to get the job done. The plug closest to the firewall required the box wrench on the outside hex of the plug socket and the two plugs in the front were fun to get at - removed the access plate to get to them (cracked one in half taking it out - the #8 was a bear to get the new one thread started but all in finally. I replaced the delcos with NGK's because advanced auto sent me the plugs for the cast iron heads and my local advanced store didn't have the right delcos so I opted for the "V" power NGK's. Cap and rotor tomorrow

Did the Cap and rotor today but not without another Advanced Auto screw-up - The Delco Distributor cap box was missing the rubber washer contact so I had to make another trip back to the AA store to return/exchange. Of course they didn't have the cap in stock so I got my money back and ended up at my mom and pop parts store and picked up a Blue Streak cap instead. Never do business again with Advanced. Their on line ordering/store pick up service stinks regardless of their 25% discount coupons. Live and Learn. Anyway the parts fit perfect and my vette started right up on the first crank unlike beforehand when three cranks were needed to get it fired up. Took her out of the driveway and spun up the tires a bit just to check the power out and no disappointments. Shut her off and hit the key again and she fired right up.

Thanks for the cowl idea but all I need to get at the cap was a 1/4 socket and swivel attachment. I already had a 3/8 plug socket with the outer hex which definitely came in handy. What a difference a good tune-up makes! Just about ready for cruising 2020 !!!

The stock radio is the next target

Frankio

 

[Wayback]

Good to hear ya got it done Frankio & were happy with the results. I use Advance for brake pads sorry ya had problems with your parts order.. Just did my 93 & both Pontiacs this past fall. I haven't had any problems with my Bose so far so I'm leaving it alone.No garage here so Im limited to working in the Driveway.

 

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

Good to hear ya got it done Frankio & were happy with the results. I use Advance for brake pads sorry ya had problems with your parts order.. Just did my 93 & both Pontiacs this past fall. I haven't had any problems with my Bose so far so I'm leaving it alone.No garage here so Im limited to working in the Driveway.

thanks ! She was running a bit rough and hard starting was making me nuts. Changing the passenger side plugs was a three hour profanity filled - two beer affair but this car is so cool I kept the tunes going and took many mini breaks just to stay positive. The cap and rotor was an easy job that I was able to take my time and do right without any aggravation. My wife even commented the car sounded like it was running smoother afterward. Saved myself $400 doing it myself so that made me very happy too.

Driveway work is always fun ! I did a few driveway jobs over the years myself. Mostly exhaust weld repairs for friends too cheap to buy new stuff !! I swapped out a CV axle on an old FWD Nissan, did a head gasket on an old 83 22RE Toyota motor with a tarp over my head during a cold november rainy weekend back in the day. Too old for that now !! I need heat ! get yourself one of those driveway tents and a propane heat blaster - LOL

 

[Tom Bryant]

Welcome to the CAC. It looks like you scored a nice one.

Tom

 

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

Welcome to the CAC. It looks like you scored a nice one.

Tom

Thanks Tom!
Definitely not perfect, but a perfectly nice driver !! Of all the used cars I've bought for commuting over all my 40+ years of working 50 miles away from home, none had less miles than this weekend cruiser !! I'd like to keep it at least a few years and then maybe get into a nice C6 after I turn 65 in four years. My son and daughter already have their eyes on the C4 so it may stay in the "fam"

Frank

 

[Bill781]

Beautiful 'Vette! Welcome from TN!

 

[Frankio `88 Coupe]

Beautiful 'Vette! Welcome from TN!

Thanks Bill ! She's going in for new tires this week. The ones on her now are Riken Raptors from 2007 and they're dry cracking at the threads. Getting new Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's this Tuesday. Also sending out the stock non Bose radio to Ecklers for refurbishing as I want to keep the dash original and still have some of my cassettes from back in the day ! Put new black floor mats and cargo mat in recently along with tune up so she's coming along nicely.

 

[jonathan havlik]

Congrats! I'm a new member myself and can't seem to figure out how to post a new post, any ideas, i read the FAQ & says to click on the + Post new thread but cant find it, thanks to all!

 

[Rob]

Congrats! I'm a new member myself and can't seem to figure out how to post a new post, any ideas, i read the FAQ & says to click on the + Post new thread but cant find it, thanks to all!

When you go into a forum, in the upper left hand corner, you'll see the button: