PeterStark
New member
Greetings:
Long time lurker/member, first time poster...in need of some input.
As the thread title suggests, a week or so ago, as part of another deal, a '94 6-speed 'Vette literally fell into my lap. I didn't mean for it to happen, didn't expect it to happen, and while I've had a serious soft spot for C4's since their introduction (when yours truly was the ripe ol' age of 6 and already terminally-ill w/ the car disease, courtesy of my diseased father, the '63 327/365 he had at the time, the Matchbox cars I knew before I knew anything else, and the then-new PowerWheels C4 I longed for...), as a guy who's been daily-driving late-'70s/early-'80s Porsche 930's (old, raw, occasionally evil 911 Turbo's) for the past 4-5 years, I really didn't expect to instantly enjoy this unwanted-in-the-deal Corvette in a serious way...but I did...so much so that I took it AND decided to make it my daily play-slash-thrash toy for the foreseeable future.
And since I've never been able to understand the concept of good enough - let alone respect it enough to, as they say, "leave it [this mythical 'good enough'] alone" - in the few days I've had my new friend I've lowered it (cut all but 1/8" of rubber off the top of OE spring in the front, 12" bolts in the rear), replaced the OE "trash can" mufflers w/ 3" Dynomax Ultra Flow's, lost the cats and resonator in lieu of 3" pipe (I went w/ an h-pipe behind where the cats used to live, rather than an x-pipe...for sound...and 'cuz I can change it in <30min in my shop if it proves to be the wrong move), 160 thermostat, and a K&N panel w/ butchered lid. And I might also have put a 5151 wet kit on it, too, I'm not prepared to speak to that on record.
All of that said and taking the aforementioned and alleged bottle all the way out of the proverbial equation, where I seek all y'all's help revolves around the fact that as much as I love the LT1's low-down/off-idle torque, I loathe its please-shift-me-or-I'll-only-get-less-harmonic behavior north of, say, 4800rpm. Ironically, the last C4 I drove (12-ish yrs ago) was an LT4 Grand Sport, and to this day my overriding memory of it is of how much better it revved vs. the LT1s and L98s to which I was accustomed.
This naturally - and yes, belatedly - fully arrives us at my first official inquiry: 1.6 full roller rockers (w/ LT4 springs, retainers, etc), or 1.7's (which I know clear the pistons as well as the valve covers w/ trimming and thicker gaskets)? And assuming that most of the experience and advise will lean towards 1.6's, what brand(s) - part #'s and/or sources appreciated - do y'all use/prefer, and what tips, tricks, advice, words-of-warning, etcetera, should I know?
And finally, this being neither my first dance nor my first rodeo in these here forum parts, I know better than to post a first post w/o a picture, so here it is...
Long time lurker/member, first time poster...in need of some input.
As the thread title suggests, a week or so ago, as part of another deal, a '94 6-speed 'Vette literally fell into my lap. I didn't mean for it to happen, didn't expect it to happen, and while I've had a serious soft spot for C4's since their introduction (when yours truly was the ripe ol' age of 6 and already terminally-ill w/ the car disease, courtesy of my diseased father, the '63 327/365 he had at the time, the Matchbox cars I knew before I knew anything else, and the then-new PowerWheels C4 I longed for...), as a guy who's been daily-driving late-'70s/early-'80s Porsche 930's (old, raw, occasionally evil 911 Turbo's) for the past 4-5 years, I really didn't expect to instantly enjoy this unwanted-in-the-deal Corvette in a serious way...but I did...so much so that I took it AND decided to make it my daily play-slash-thrash toy for the foreseeable future.
And since I've never been able to understand the concept of good enough - let alone respect it enough to, as they say, "leave it [this mythical 'good enough'] alone" - in the few days I've had my new friend I've lowered it (cut all but 1/8" of rubber off the top of OE spring in the front, 12" bolts in the rear), replaced the OE "trash can" mufflers w/ 3" Dynomax Ultra Flow's, lost the cats and resonator in lieu of 3" pipe (I went w/ an h-pipe behind where the cats used to live, rather than an x-pipe...for sound...and 'cuz I can change it in <30min in my shop if it proves to be the wrong move), 160 thermostat, and a K&N panel w/ butchered lid. And I might also have put a 5151 wet kit on it, too, I'm not prepared to speak to that on record.
All of that said and taking the aforementioned and alleged bottle all the way out of the proverbial equation, where I seek all y'all's help revolves around the fact that as much as I love the LT1's low-down/off-idle torque, I loathe its please-shift-me-or-I'll-only-get-less-harmonic behavior north of, say, 4800rpm. Ironically, the last C4 I drove (12-ish yrs ago) was an LT4 Grand Sport, and to this day my overriding memory of it is of how much better it revved vs. the LT1s and L98s to which I was accustomed.
This naturally - and yes, belatedly - fully arrives us at my first official inquiry: 1.6 full roller rockers (w/ LT4 springs, retainers, etc), or 1.7's (which I know clear the pistons as well as the valve covers w/ trimming and thicker gaskets)? And assuming that most of the experience and advise will lean towards 1.6's, what brand(s) - part #'s and/or sources appreciated - do y'all use/prefer, and what tips, tricks, advice, words-of-warning, etcetera, should I know?
And finally, this being neither my first dance nor my first rodeo in these here forum parts, I know better than to post a first post w/o a picture, so here it is...
) why don't you just turn the engine in to an LT4-and-then-some, with the LT4 cylinder heads, intake and cam? Goes without saying, you'll need some good tuning work, too.
