Help! Unusual engine sounds

[37fiat]

Hi.... new to the forum, and hopefully someone here might be able help me out with my first Corvette purchase.

I'm looking at buying a 91 or a 92 Corvette, but there is an unusal sound from the driver's side of the engine on the 91 that I can't figure out.
Here's a video of the walkaround of the car. It's very apparent at 47 - 50seconds into the video, but can be heard faintly through other parts of the video as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRM8v_Gt4Ek

I'm debating between this one (red '91 w/65000KM, although the dealer lists it as a "92), or a black '92 (104,000KM) he has as well. They're both nearly the same price.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usbvFAzJ6Lo

This isn't a great video, as it's very dark, but the car sounds good.
He has mentioned that the black '92 was slipping a bit between 3rd gear and OD, but that he changed the fluid and all is well now. Sounds fishy.

These cars are 1700 miles away from me, and I've already bought a plane ticket to go get one or the other. I wasn't aware of the trans issue until after I had the ticket bought, that's why I'm looking at the red '91 a little more closely now, as originally I wanted the '92 with the LT1, but that sound has me concerned.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jmccloud]

Welcome

Welcome to a great forum and good luck buying your first real car.
Are these cars in Canada? The black one appears to have DTRL or 'day time running lights' but the red one not. Aren't they required in Canada for these years?
And how much is the asking price? If it's $12-$14,000 eat your plane ticket.
Both look pretty nice in the video but both have a 'puckered' console lid. A first hand inspection may reveal more.
If you do go to look, pull the dipstick and smell the oil. If you're experienced you'll know right away if the engine has been cared for. Also, look into the oil fill and check for sludge. Either a burnt odor or sludge is a 'don't buy' even for dirt cheap.
Both cars seem to have good rubber and the red one has been upgraded with body panels and ground effects. Both have attractive but non-stock wheels. Neither is an obvious beater. I don't hear anything strange in either video.
Use the 'search' tab above to look for 'buying' etc. There are some really complete lists of what to look for. Also, check out the 'for sale' under the 'forums' heading above to compare prices.
When I bought mine, I did a walk around with the hood up, doors open and hatch up. All the weather seals were good, the tires were somewhat worn but very evenly, the CARFAX report was clean, and most importantly the oil smelled 'right' with no sludge in the fill hole. It banged the tach red line in first and second. The seller couldn't believe it when I paid him cash on the spot. I'm still tickled pink after 5 years, a blown heater flow control valve, a self-repaired A/C control head, a starter, a transmission rebuild, 8 tires, several sets of brake pads and >40,000 miles added to the clock.
Good luck looking and buying then come back often for advice.

 

[37fiat]

Thanks for the advice!

Yes, the cars are in Canada, and supposedly they both have DRL.

The black one also has a body kit, but no wing. The hood, front and rear bumper covers as well as the odd looking side skirts are all aftermarket.

The front bumper on the black one has been whacked since the video was shot, according to recent pictures, and will need repair, but I can do that myself.

LT1 w/104K km & traction control in the black one vs. L98 w/65K km in the red one with the odd sound. Tough decision, but I'm leaning towards the black one, even with it's faults, since it has the stronger engine and more subdued styling. The body kit and color of the red car would have the police watching very carefully!

The price on either car is well below what you had mentioned.

These cars were brought back over from Japan by the dealer. Used cars can be pretty cheap over there.

Still would like to figure out what that sound may be. I think it's coming from the engine, not the accessories, as it seems to be oscillating versus the steady drone or whine that an accessory drive may sound like.

 

[G Winter]

A slapping belt tensioner can make a pretty strange sound.
Rough spot on the belt or bearing going bad or even a weak spring can cause this.

Glenn

 

[Newfydad]

About 3 weeks ago I went to have a look at those 2 Corvettes in Campbell River. My original thought was to buy both, then fix and sell the '91 for a profit to offset some of the cost of the '92 which I intended to keep. Cost me about $500 and 3 days of driving there and back, but I'm glad I went and had a good look. I took the red one for a spin. It rattled over every crack in the road . The tach didnt work. The car felt 'used'. The suspension felt collapsed or dead or something - hard to describe. The dealer told me to ignore the 'low coolant' light if it comes on. He also said they swapped wheels and tires from black to red as he thought the red one ('91) was a better car. I took it back and looked at the black one with the bashed-in nose. Not a big deal to fix that, but I thought both cars were in pretty rough shape. Nothing specific, but I got the overall impression they were abused in Japan and probably not maintained well. Rich kids disposable toys - ya know? To cut a story short, I left them there and bought a nice '92 locally. More money but well worth it. If it helps your bargaining position, I could have had both cars for a total of $17,000. Your decision, of course, but my opinion is: dont touch 'em.

 

[37fiat]

About 3 weeks ago I went to have a look at those 2 Corvettes in Campbell River. My original thought was to buy both, then fix and sell the '91 for a profit to offset some of the cost of the '92 which I intended to keep. Cost me about $500 and 3 days of driving there and back, but I'm glad I went and had a good look. I took the red one for a spin. It rattled over every crack in the road . The tach didnt work. The car felt 'used'. The suspension felt collapsed or dead or something - hard to describe. The dealer told me to ignore the 'low coolant' light if it comes on. He also said they swapped wheels and tires from black to red as he thought the red one ('91) was a better car. I took it back and looked at the black one with the bashed-in nose. Not a big deal to fix that, but I thought both cars were in pretty rough shape. Nothing specific, but I got the overall impression they were abused in Japan and probably not maintained well. Rich kids disposable toys - ya know? To cut a story short, I left them there and bought a nice '92 locally. More money but well worth it. If it helps your bargaining position, I could have had both cars for a total of $17,000. Your decision, of course, but my opinion is: dont touch 'em.

Well, I sure wish your post would have come a few days earlier, as I bought the black '92 on Saturday, the 28th.
The red '91 had just been sold, so it was the black one or lose much of the airfare.

When I first saw the black one up close, I wanted to turn and walk away since there were a lot of issues with the body/paint that the dealer (Grant) didn't disclose, but I thought about it and took it out for a drive.
It ran well, didn't appear to have any driveline problems, and the suspension was fairly tight.
Unfortunately I had to catch the ferry over to Vancouver 2 hours later, so I had very limited time to test everything on the car.
The AC and CD player do not work, and all the weather stripping has to be changed. The bumper and the hood will need to be repaired and it will need a complete paint job.
A ton of work, but I can do it all myself, except maybe the AC.

I made it home to Whitehorse from Vancouver in a total of 23 hours and averaged 9.6 litres/100km for the 2800 km trip. This was averaging around 125 -130 kph (75 -80mph), with many instances of passing at speeds up to 208kph (130mph). I didn't want to go any faster than that, since I didn't have the time to check the car out more thoroughly. It did feel rock solid at that speed, and it seemed ready to go a hell of a lot faster.
On Sunday I drove for 15 1/2 hours straight, and 7 1/2 hours on Monday.
I'm very, very impressed with the mileage it got!

It didn't use a drop of oil, coolant or had any problems.

Not sure if you noticed, but this car has after market body panels and ground effects everywhere except the doors and the top. The rear quarters have a much wider flare than the stock Corvette, which should help stuff some bigger rubber back there.

It's a bigger project than I had hoped for, but in the long run, with a good bit of work, it will be a really nice car.
It's actually not even mine. My daughter is the owner. It's her first car.
She just turned 15, so by the time she gets her full driver's license, it should be looking pretty good. She paid for half of it, and will be involved in the "restoration" efforts.

Overall, an ok deal on a unique car. (I paid just over $8000 including taxes)
It's not the usual Greenwood style ground effects, and that was a factor in the decision to buy it.

It's a nice car, from 20 feet away!

 

[Newfydad]

Ah, so you bought the black '92. I'm glad you're pleased with it and that it ran well for you all the way home.
Different situations - it was more of a project than I was prepared to take on, although I did like the overall look of the black one. My logical half (my wife) said....instead of taking the time and spending the money to fix it, why not just buy a car that doesnt need fixing in the first place even if it costs more initially. At my age, it kinda makes sense. When I had my '67 Corvette I was much younger and more able to get into those upside-down double-jointed positions necessary for working on the car.

I spent 9 years in Yellowknife with the NWT Govt and once managed to get to Whitehorse during Sourdough Rendezvous. It was quite a few beers (uh, years) ago and I dont remember much about the town, but I imagine it has grown and changed a lot. Several times I drove the 1000 miles from YK to Edmonton in 20 hours straight, so I can appreciate your drive home. The dumb things we do when we're young....EH?

All the best.