michgill

Hi guys! I have owned my 1989 vette for almost a year now and have loved every minute of it. As the love for my corvette grows, as does my want to update a few things. This is were my problems rises from. I am 18, about to graduate from high school, and all though I have a job I am still on the lower end of budget because of college. Another problem is that I am very new and am a little lacking on knowledge of what to get for a greater performance out my engine/car. Any suggestions on what to get/do would be great, thanks guys!

cormorant71

Welcome! I have an '89 also... what is your budget? if you were like I was in college it is about $20 Maybe the most budget friendly thing you can do is air flow related. Help the L98 breath better with a less restrictive intake and exhaust.

Also, since you are 18 you better be have those mugs filled with Butter Beer!

michgill

Haha its root beer I promise, but I would say my budget is most likely around 1000-1500. Any suggestions on a brand for the intake/exhaust?

cormorant71

For the intake check out this link.


It is a VERY budget friendly upgrade.

As for the exhaust, there are people on the forum with much better knowldge of the products than I have. I am sure someone will chime in with some good info.

Joining a Corvette Club in your area is a great way to be involved in the hobby and a wealth of knowledge. If you are in eastern MA i know of one...

hcbph

I'm probably going to sound like your father (and that's intentional), you have more important priorities than making your Vette faster at this time. If it runs and it's dependable, keep it up and put your cash into your education - you'll get a bigger 'bang for your buck' there. Once you finish with your education and have a full time job, then worry about going faster. Right now with more education costs looking you in your face, you don't need anything drawing off funds like repairing or replacing broken parts.

Time is on your side, you have a lot of years ahead of you, so get yourself where you want to be then go for it.

My advice.

PS - look up if there's a local Corvette club - make some knowledgeable friends. Look into adult ed classes on car repair. Look for anything that can help your learn more about your car then use that to improve it over time. Keep it going for now and go faster later when you can better afford it. If your Vette is in good shape, it likely runs plenty fast for now and won't break the bank.

Bodageta1995

I second that (hcbph) post. Keep it dependable for now. And mods, well there fashionable today and out of style tomorrow anyway (well except performance).

Churchkey

If auto trans change the gear.

Next get headers.

aklim

Not nearly enough. You'd have to spend money on headers. A good set is maybe $1000. Easy fitting, easy to get around especially when doing plugs, good materials. Now what? Probably need to get an intake to maximize that and after that, get the system to acknowledge it in the form of a dyno tune. That is going to be mroe than $1500. Dyno time is about $600 and up since you need the technician and the dyno and whatever time needed to strap it down, test, re-write the program, repeat till it is done.

don hall

The best advice.........

billschroeder5842

Make sure you buy a shop manual as one of your first purchases. It will save you countless hours and money.


Combine shop manuals, with CF help and local car guys and you can't go wrong.

aklim

Scanner is a must too. Not code reader.

81 Sport Coupe

I would look at headers and Bosch 3 injectors, I noticed a difference with the headers not just in performance but the engine runs smoother. The Bosch 3 injectors made it run smoother as well. I got the cheap headman headers for my 87 their like $160, the only regret I have is you have to strip the painted coating off them and there not tuned headers. I painted mine with the spraypaint ceramic coating but its starting to wear off after a year. Maybe a new tune up if its original, like cap and rotor, spark plugs and wires.

After I got it running good I got an TPIS bigmouth base, ASAM runners and made my own adjustable fuel pressure regulator.
now i'm debating on getting my heads ported with a new cam or I might just get everything port matched, have the heads gone through with new seals and springs add 1.6roller rockers and a tune and call it a day
Bottom line is it just depends how much power you want to make, I enjoy the c4 for what it is and just would get it running good, some guys say put a lt1 or ls motor in it IMO you could also get something that makes more power the idea is building an l98 so I kind of ignore these people, but swaps are cool don't get me wrong.
with your budget you had in mind Id get it running good, but you could also do gears, or a torque converter it all depends, like said there are multiple ways to go around this.
oh btw I would get rid of the spare, not only do you lose 5lbs but I think it looks alot better with it gone, you could also do a throttle body coolant bypass which will come up with a simple search.

divotdug

Focus on your education and in just maintaining your '89. It's almost 30 years old. I'm sure you will find more than enough to keep you busy.

All of us were in your shoes at some point in our lives where we lacked in knowledge. You will find most car guys always willing to share their knowledge and time.

ghoastrider1

Quit school today, save your money to spend on the vette. There are lots of jobs out there at hamburger and taco stands. Don't get married or have kids cause that will take up go fast money. Just think, you can be the most educated guy at the stand making 8 bucks an hour.

aklim

Supposedly Starbucks pays about the 9 here BUT the health benefits are fantastic.

81 Sport Coupe

I know this is irrelevant to the OP's initial question but when I was in high school I got my vette, and slowly did a few mods, spent most of my money on it when in college and still worked hard and went to school. Looking back, the vette kept me out of trouble and at times it would get my mind away from school within reason, which is a good thing. I respect the car on the street because I cant afford tickets and theirs no need for speeding anyhow, once in awhile id take it to the drag strip on a Friday night which was fun. I just graduated from college with a 3.8 GPA. when in college full time I also worked as an auto tech. now i work for the county, security at a college campus making $20/hr with benefits which I don't think is bad. my point being the vette didn't hold me back at all from what I wanted and I think actually helped me a lot. I spent my spare time after studying and work on the vette and I didn't regret it. If I were you id recommend getting it running good liked mentioned in one of my previous post, there's a lot of hidden power in these motors but also some outdated and old/worn out components as well. btw I think its really cool to see someone else that's young with an old school true american muscle car.