Purchasing a '92 - Advice please!

[Gman]

Advice please!

Although I've owned several 'Vettes in the past, I've been out of the loop for a while and I would really appreciate your thoughts here.

I am looking at a '92 'vert auto with 84k well maintained miles. The car runs perfectly and all features are functional. The paint is virtually flawless and it has a new soft top. The interior has very slight wear and the engine compartment is clean. The car does have high end aftermarket wheels and upgraded Baer brakes. The drivetrain is stock. The stereo system is also upgraded, but to the untrained eye looks stock. All speakers are in stock locations. It also has dual sport seats. The owner is asking 15,500.00.

I am not that familiar with the LT1 and the positves and/or negatives of this C-4. Any comments, advice or direction to more info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[robert kirk]

I own a 92, like it a lot. No more problems than any other 10 year old car. I have owned it for about a year and half now. It had 88 thou when I bought it, there have been a few problems but nothing that would cause me to regret having purchased this car. Its a lt1 auto coupe, some electrical problems that almost drove me nuts, but after I figured them out the fixes were pretty simple. The hard part was trying to figure out what was wrong using 1960's brain power. robert

 

[JTB]

You may want to check this out also: Mainstreet Chevy did have 2 green 92-96 green verts. I test drove one (in the rain) and it was a 95 I believe with about 60K miles asking around 16K. The car was in pretty good shape. I drove by yesterday and I only saw one out there left out of the two verts. Go and ask for "RJ" (the spelling is "Are J" I think). Tell him Tim sent you with the white 84 "Non-crossfire"-maybe that will help some.?(doubtful). I have driven some LT1s and could tell the optispark needed to be replaced b/c it just did not perform like it should. Maybe some of the people that really know more about the distributor could give you a better idea if/when it needs to be replaced? Good luck. Are you looking only for a vert?auto?etc.

 

[Gman]

Hey JTB! I haven't shopped the dealerships at all, but if I stop by, I'll look up AreJ and mention you. I'm looking for a vert, and I would prefer an auto '92 or later. I'm glad you mentioned the optispark, I'll have to do a little homework. Question for you. What did you replace the crossfire with?

Robert, thanks for the reply. It's always nice to hear things straight from the horses mouth, so to speak...:cool Have you had or heard of anyone having distibuter problems?

BTW, thanks to the mod who edited my topic...

 

[resto75]

Gman
I have a 94 convt with a bunch of extras that I am going to sell. I will take 15,000 for it but no less. It has a new top, chrome sawblades, new opti and waterpump, rebuilt auto trans and new 3.73 rear, flowmaster catback system, sport buckets etc.

Live in Odessa Fl just a little south of you. 813 920 1663 if your interested. Its going in the paper this weekend if your not.

 

[Gman]

Sounds like a nice car, Resto. I appreciate the offer, but I'm not a fan of black. Love the look, just don't like the work keeping it up. I'm basically lazy. Thanks anyway!

 

[JTB]

Gman: You may want to look at a couple of these for comparison.

1. http://usedcorvettesforsale.com/out.php?id=5201

2. http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/6/4/52737664.htm

3. http://www.collectorcartraderonline.com/caddetail.html?/ad-cache/10/1/4/52726214.htm

Also, it sounds like "resto75" has a VERY nice offer. I drove a 93 coupe 3 weeks ago and he also had replaced the optispark and waterpump, which makes for very attractive bonuses to the deal. Also, the chrome sawblades look sharp! Out of my father's past corvettes, guess which ones he missed the most: you bet, 95 and 96 auto verts! We love the way they ride/feel on the road. On my '84 we replaced the x-fire with 4 barrel Holley carb, edelbrock heads and cam, Weiand intake manifold, new electric fuel pump etc. On a good day I may get high 13's in the quarter. I was even with a 95 six speed up into his third gear shift. I am hoping one of the LT-1 guys/ladies can tell me about what speed that would equate to? Let us know what you end up getting....:cool

 

[robert kirk]

Yes the opti and the water pump were two of the things I had to replace. The motor had no top end, and would not pull like i thought it ought to. The old opti was crap. Full of rust and warn out. The water pump was leaking and that was most of the problem. It took about 4 hour to replace both, I also replaced the drive and all seals. Put wires and plugs in at this time also. I payed 10,300 for the car. I put new weatherstripping, and had to fix an intake oil leak. Over the last year and a half I have changed the fuel pump, filter, injectors, regulator, and timingchain and gears. Replaced the brakes including rotors, shocks, and the Bose system. The driver door light switch went bad, and had to replace the pass side power seat track. One head light motor quit working, so I replaced it with a new one and rebuilt the otherside. The ac compressor quit, replaced it and the dryer and orific. Egr valve tripped a code so I replaced it. o2 sensors, Iac valve, and ecm replaced. IN all about 5 grand to get everything working like new. I feel this is about right for a 10 year old corvette that was treated like a daily driver from the beginning. The man I bought the car from was a nice guy but knew nothing about cars, he just liked the look of a vette. It got oil changes, and new tires thats it for 80+ thousand miles. All considered I think it was a fair deal. Now everything on the car works, It will run a high 13 or low 14 quarter and is a blast to drive. The paint has some rock chips down low but shines up like a new nickle. So thats the story, and yea I would do it again. I went with the 92 to get the lt1 motor. Its a vette, its payed for , and its mine. robert

 

[Tuna]

92 LT1 trivia for you:

1. The valve covers are metal rather than composite like the 93-96. They allow more valve train noise out - some people find this annoying. You can update to the composite valve covers if you want. Ask and I'll tell you what you need.

2. The serpentine belt is double grooved and twice as expensive as the single sided belts used on later LT1 (93 1/2 - 96).

3. The 92 is more likely to exhibit fuel line hammer than later C4's. This is noticable on cold days (<40F outside). It is annoying but not a problem. It goes away in a minute or two as the cars warms up. There is a fuel line mount kit available that changes one of the under hood mounts that helps some but not enough.

4. The OptiSpark is probably the most *****ed about part. If you live in a humid area, they need to be rebuild/replaced too often. Don't wash the motor and if the water pump leaks, the OptiSpark is probably toast also.

That's all I can think of at the moment.
Good luck with your Vette search.

 

[Gman]

Thanks for all the info. I'm learning things in a hurry here and I appreciate it.

JTB, the red '95 looks good in the pics and I e-mailed the owner for more info. I'll let you know what I end up with.

Tuna and Robert, thanks for your insight...

 

[92ghost]

To add my two cents worth. I bought my 92, 2.5 years ago with 52K. Now have 58K and I need to drive it more but thats a topic for another thread. Sofar I have replaced the water pump and Starter motor. I have had no problems with the optispark or anything else electrical (knock on wood). I also had to replace the fuel filter which caused a stall problem. All in All it has been fairly cheap for repairs and a blast to drive. Everything works and I cannot see anything else going wrong in the near future, but time will tell. I think total miles has a lot to do with longevity. 80K appears to be the magic number for a lot of LT1's, not for major failure but for major maintenance and replacement of parts. I figure I have another 20K or more to go before other major items start to fail. At the rate I'm going that will be about 10 years. I drive my LT1 vette spiritedly but NOT all out racing and it is a blast to drive. Some times scares me with it's capabilities (speed, cornering etc.) compared to all other cars I have owned.