oifcombatvet

I was wondering if somebody could take a look at this Craigslist ad and give some advice on the issues this C4 has?

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/2707813363.html

I emailed the seller on it, and they replied with the following response:
We put a coolant temp sensor and knock sensor in it, those were the only two codes. Now I think it only needs a new cpu because the light still comes on. The dash lights up but the needles are very inaccurate, and the speedo portion does not appear. The air blows but does not blow cold, could just need a charge. The headlights go up and down properly, it has a few more small issues nothing serious. We had it on the lift, its pretty damn clean underneath, fires right up every time, i put 40 miles on it the other day. Great looking car, great compression, interior is in decent shape. It would be a great driver, and i really don't think it needs much to get it right. If you are interested give me a call.

Let me know what you think and I'd gratefully appreciate it.

Road Agent

Run Forest!

popo8

I guess the bigger questions are:

-how much of a project do you want?

-how handy are you?

and

-would you be satisfied with it the way it is, if it continues to "run and drive good."


Im the type of person that understands that anything can be fixed.... and with a garage (performance shop) at my fingertips, and access to everything, it does not bother me.

To me, Id negotiate from 4g to 5g and jump on it... but that's me, I love cars, I love c4s and I love projects.... lets just say they are my mental enema from the BS of Police work.

stag15m4

Hmm..

I think there is more to it than he is letting on. I think he is probably compensating for a poor-running motor or power train by showing lots of pretty pictures. He specifically states "This car starts and idles fine with no knocks or ticks in the engine". People will usually simply say that it "runs good" if it does, in fact run good.

I think it would be a fairly involved project if you did get it. However, like my popo brother said, if you like projects this could be a fantastic deal. If you don't like projects, keep moving... Spend a little extra and get a lower-mile car with less ailments.

I also think that you noticed something was odd which is why you wrote a post getting second and third opinions.. Trust your gut. Run Forest!

1993C4LT1

That's a fair deal.

PLRX

So the engine light its on and suddenly it is for sale. I know you are smart guy.

popo8

Thanks Man...

And to the OP, goodluck whatever you decide....

CRUZN C4

Could be a nice project, but I'm kina partial to the 90 model year.

Gear Jammer

Definitely a project.
cons I see are 1: interior looking a bit ratty. Restoring interior bits can be very pricy. 2. Base seats, not sport seats (if that type of thing matters to you)
3. Aftermarket stereo can be either a good or bad thing , depending on how much they hacked up the dash wiring harness. I can see the drivers dash bolster is missing
The good:
1. Exhaust tips are aftermarket, so it may have a cat back system. Stock exhaust systems on the L98s leave much to be desired.
2. The c6 rims look good on that car.

oifcombatvet

Thanks for the advice. I posted for some second opinions because of the wording the seller used, along with the "priced way below blue book, then adding the blue book prices in it" which was hit on the posts above mine. I check every week for C4's w/ a 6 speed and haven't found too much around me.

Z51JEFF

I think the seller is a cheap Bastard for not selling the top with the car.If you do decide to buy this car and pay extra for the top the VIN of the car is stamped into the top,its a matching pair.

ZR-71

If you're not able to check for yourself, take it in to a shop for an estimate on the Check Engine light issue. For the price, if it runs and drives well, go for it.
Another positive, that Quasar Blue color is the 2nd most rare color for '90 and is a very cool color
Also the '90 MY is the only one with the early body style and the newer interior style and it's a 6 spd

stag15m4

I have seen quite a few good C4s on the Raleigh CL.. It's only a few hours away from Charlotte. It may be worth a trip..

doc_cj

I guess my first comment is that it sounds like the guy is maybe at least moderately honest. But before passing that judgment I'd want to know a couple things. First, how much real experience does the seller have in diagnosing a Corvette? Sounds like he may not have much, so I'd definitely want to ask more questions. I'd especially want to know why he thinks it is the "CPU" and not something else. As you have no doubt seen on this forum, there are lots of reasons the service engine light can come on.

Of course, it also comes down to how much experience you have. If you are an experienced Corvette mechanic then a dash light won't likely spook you away. And if you don't have a lot of experience, then the question is how much time, effort & money are you willing to invest to get the experience?

The price itself doesn't seem too far off for a car with that much mileage. I say that because I've bought and sold several C4s in the '87 to '91 range in the last few years. For that mileage and with those options I'd say the price may be within reason.

The proof will be in how it actually runs. A good shake down drive/ride (more than 5 miles in varying traffic conditions) will tell you much more than the light being on. If he wont' let you drive it then have him give you a ride in it. Watch the way he drives it. If he's real cautious then tell him thanks for the ride and keep looking. If he goes a good distance, gives you a chance to see how it accelerates, brakes and handles, then you may be able to trust his judgment a bit more.

RetiredSFC 97

Sure is a pretty thing from the pictures. It could be a nice project, but only for those who know a C4 and doesn't mind tinkering.

American Raven

That is the sorriest aftermarket radio installation I think I've ever seen in a C4. You can be sure that the dash and wires are FUBAR. Get use to getting a SYS error code. Also, a poor radio installation can mess with the climate control.

If you're really in love with this car, at least contact a member of a local Corvette Club and have them recommend a mechanic to give it a complete look over. You may have to pay 50-100 bucks, but it may save you a lot of money and headaches in the future.

Camelotian

Partial to the LT1/4

stormy69

if it runs and drives well, i think its a good deal. try to find the same performance for $5k elsewhere. Lame stereo installs are normal in cars priced this low, vette or no. My only concern looking at the picks is the nest of wires under the dash and protruding from the mfs.

oifcombatvet

I emailed him an additional set of questions. I haven't worked on Corvettes. I have done partial restorations to a 78' Camaro and 73' Mustang. I can hold my own with minor-medium levels of difficulty on a car.

What would be the reasons for the dash malfunctions?

Here is another email of what the seller said:

The only two codes it had were knock sensor and coolant temp sensor which I replaced both. The code is still there but not actually reading anything, this leads us to believe it is just a cpu. These can be picked up for 100 bucks. I havn't looked into the dash, it still lights up, but you cannot see the letters in the middle and the needles are inaccurate. I think it could just be a wiring issue. Other small issues are like loose steering column, few broken clips here and there. Nothing major, we had it on a lift and it is dry underneath, starts every time. I drove it around for nearly an hour the other day just fine. The engine itself is healthy, as well as the tranny and clutch which are smooth as silk. Let me know if you need anything else.

I still have a Jeep to sell, I am just trying to do some research.

I definitely appreciate the help.

doc_cj

LOL! Then you'll have plenty of busted knuckles from working in tight places. The Corvette will certainly add to those scars.

Could be a number of things, and here's what I've experienced. But remember, this is only my experience, so I'm sure others will add to this. One of the issues was the digital instrument cluster switch panel, which is looped to the digital instruments. In one case it ended up being just poor contact. Unfortunately, on the '87 the system is not necessarily serviceable, meaning you can't just crack it open and check. After some research I found the best advise was to simply whack it a couple times to see if it made a difference. It did, and I'm guessing it was just a stuck switch.

The big issue, I guess, is how to figure out which switches work and which don't. My recollection from the service manual is that one stuck switch can affect others, so I think the first step is to inspect and clean the DIC. But I sold the SM with the car, so I can't look that up again.

Here's a couple links for the instrument cluster repair:

http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/r...tor/repair.htm

http://www.corvettefever.com/techart...s/viewall.html

Not sure what that is supposed to mean. If he's referring to the volts (should be 5v) then it could lead you to the ECM. But it could also be the connection. Most of the manuals have a list of things to check before you conclude the ECM, though.

My worry would be how much the wiring in general is screwed up. Especially given a few of the other comments he made.

That would really make me wonder what type of work has been done on the car and why. A "loose" steering column with broken clips would suggest that someone was either really careless when they installed the after market radio or there is a bigger problem than this fellow is revealing.

I don't know, at this point I'd be a little more wary of the whole car. You definitely want to get it to someone who knows about Corvettes. As noted, if you got it for well under $5k then you're probably still looking at some expense to get it up to good condition. The DIC is not that hard to replace, and if you do some search on the web you'll find several sites. I think there's a couple Youtube videos on the topic as well. So check those out to see if it is something you're willing to tackle.

The good thing is that you can pickup a Corvette in this shape for well under $5k ... and some as low as the mid-$3k range. A friend just bought an '88 for $3200, and it had some instrument problems as well. We spent about 2 hours running down a few wiring problems, both of which were caused by someone carelessly installing an aftermarket radio. Some guys get into that really tight spot and they just can't help but knock wires lose. That may explain part of the issue with the steering column, but be careful.

Looking at the pictures again, the body looks in good shape, the paint ain't too bad, and the overall condition of the interior is a bit better than I originally thought. This may be an odd way to look at it, but given the condition of the house and truck in the background I'd say that this is not likely a car that has mistreated too badly, at least not by this owner. So I'd want to know how long he has owned it. If nothing else, the pictures are good enough that it is worth a drive to look the car over really well.

Of course, it depends on how bad you want a Corvette and what you're willing to pay. But if I drove the car, it ran out pretty well, and then I could get a price in the mid to high $4k range it looks (from the pictures) like a decent investment. Unless something more expensive went wrong, you won't have to put much more than another $500 to $1000 into it, even if you have to replace the ECM and repair some wiring under the dash. But I'd double check those clips he's talking about.

For what it's worth, one thing I typically do before buying a car is make sure I know what the underhood area is supposed to look like. I can't see much in the pictures, but what I do see doesn't look bad. I say this because a lot of folks just ignore this area. Corvette owners that maintain their cars, like a lot of car nuts, pay attention to the area, so the condition will tell you a lot about the owner. If it's clean, the covers are in place, wiring is not mussed up, and it looks like someone spent some time under the hood to make sure it was right, then I'd be less concerned about the potential ECM problem.

Anyway, good luck with the purchase, and I hope you get what you want.