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So I just got a '94 6-speed (for free) in a multi-car trade, and already the mod game is ON...

PeterStark

New member
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
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1
Location
Milwaukee, WI
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...
 

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The best mods I did to my 92 LT1 were a Borla Exhaust and Bosch injectors.
 
Welcome to CAC!!!
enjoy!!!!
nice story!!!:thumb:thumb
 
Peter, welcome to CAC. You've got quite a nice "free" car. It won't stay "free" though as you have already found out. Modding these cars is addicting. I had a 94 Z07 a few years back and one of the mods I did was 1.6 RRs. It was a straight forward swap.
 
A good choice for rockers is the stock LT4 units which are made by Crane and have a 1.6:1 ratio.

You didn't say how much you want to spend but...figuring money is no object (yeah right:chuckle) 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.

With the existing mods to exhaust, you'll be at 360-hp or so.
 
The LT4 horsepower specs are at 5800 RPM, and the LS1 at 5,000. You shouldn't be thrashing too bad at 4,800. I think Comp Cams is king of the LT1 and LT4 grinders, but someone in California might not agree. I had them grind cams for my C4s, and so did a lot of other successful grassroots racers back in the day. They still get a lot of that business. Give them a call, and tell them what you have and where you want to go. You tell them how fast you want to go - they'll ask how much money you have, and you go from there. ;LOL
 
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