jdog0411

Up for your consideration is a 1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Coupe. This is number 429 of 1000 total Grand Sport’s produced in 1996 (810 Coupes and 190 Convertibles).

Grand Sport Corvettes had a unique VIN number that was sequential to the 1000 produced. The last five digits of the VIN indicate the car’s number out of 1000.

This car was purchased last July and had 14,291 miles at time of purchase. The car now has 14,681 miles, so it has only been driven 390 miles in the last 8 months. The majority of those miles have been to local car shows, or short drives around the neighborhood to occasionally get it warmed up and keep it in good working order. The car has only been driven an average of 816 careful miles a year since new.

I have loved Corvettes, and the C-4 Corvette in particular since I was very young. I am a very particular, and almost obsessive about the condition of my cars, and I am fanatical about keeping them in as perfect condition as possible. This car is a two owner car (I’m the second owner), and the original owner bought the car new and owned it until I purchased it 8 months ago. It is in exceptional, almost perfect condition. The paint is superb, and has been lovingly cared for. The interior is in perfect, as-new condition. The seats don’t even have any wrinkles in the leather, let alone any creases, rips, tears, scuffs, etc. The seats in a C-4 are common wear items, so you can see by the incredible condition of the interior of this car how well kept it is. The dash and console parts, sun visors, steering wheel, carpet, etc. are all in perfect, as new condition. The rear hatch carpet has no fading or damage, and is also in as-new condition.

The exterior of the car is also fantastic, with the paint in superb condition, the weather stripping is all in as-new condition with no dry rot or cracking. All glass is excellent. Even the front spoiler, which is low to the ground and is commonly damaged on these cars, is in perfect condition.

The car is garage kept, and has never been wet since I have owned the car. The car has never been driven in rain or any inclement weather since I have owned the car.

The car is kept on a battery tender to maintain charge while the car is being stored, and the engine has been started regularly. The fuel system has had Stabil added to ensure that the fuel does not go bad.

This Corvette was taken to the Corvettes at Carlisle show in Carlisle, PA last August and was taken to the show in an enclosed trailer. I only owned the car for a couple of weeks prior to the show, and this car was selected by legendary Corvette expert and author Gordon Kilebrew as his celebrity choice award at the show. This is testament to the quality of this Grand Sport, and I have only improved the condition of the car since it won at Carlisle.

Quite simply, this Grand Sport is one of the finest examples you will find, at any mileage, and that is not an exaggeration.

If you are familiar with Corvettes and Corvette history, you know the rarity of the Grand Sport edition and are familiar with the options, engine, transmission, etc. For the benefit of potential buyers who may not be as familiar with these cars, I will go into detail on how this car is equipped.

OPTIONS:

This Grand Sport is equipped with the following options and equipment (I’ve also included a photo of the original window sticker that contains options codes and additional information):

Grand Sport limited edition (Option code Z16)

Exterior Color: Admiral Blue, with Arctic White Stripe

Interior Color: Black Leather Sport Seats with “Grand Sport” embroidery on head rests

Brakes: 13 inch rotors, with black painted calipers with “Corvette” on the calipers.

Wheel Color: Black with polished lip (unique to the Grand Sport edition)

Rear Wheels: 17”x11” 5 spoke GM “A Mold” (these are the same rear wheels as used on the 93-95 Corvette ZR-1, with a Grand Sport specific offset).

Front Wheels: 17” x 9.5” 5 spoke GM “A Mold”

Tire Size (Rear): 315/35-17
Tire Size (Front): 275/40-17

Electronic Auto Climate Control

Transmission: ZF 6 Speed Manual Transmission

Engine: LT-4 330HP 350 cubic inch 5.7 liter V-8

Removable, painted targa top

Delco Bose Gold Sound System, with CD and Cassette player

Power locks, mirrors, windows

Power rear hatch release

Passive Keyless Entry with Alarm (When carrying the key fob, the car automatically locks when you walk away from the car, and automatically unlocks when you approach the car)

UGRADES AND SERVICE ITEMS

This car is all original, with the exception of a couple of upgrades that are outlined below. The car has had no paint work. It has no damage history and has never been involved in an accident. The powertrain has not been modified. The following maintenance items have been addressed on this car:

• Upper and Lower radiator hoses have been replaced with GM hoses (replaced as a precaution due to age)

• Oil and Filter changed with Mobil 1 Synthetic

• Transmission Fluid changed with BMW synthetic fluid, as recommended by ZF Doc.

• Complete cooling system flush

• Intake manifold gaskets replaced (precautionary to prevent common oil leak from this area)

• Air Conditioning controller repaired, to fix common problem on 1996 Corvettes where the vacuum system fails and air only comes from certain vents and not others. The system now works correctly and will not fail again in the future.

• Tires: The original Goodyear GS-C tires were very old, and unsafe to drive on. I replaced the tires with brand new Nitto 555 Extreme tires so the car could be driven safely. The original tires are available and can go with the car to the new owner if desired.

• Brakes: I upgraded the brake rotors to drilled/slotted rotors, and the pads have been upgraded to Hawk HP ceramic pads. This was done mainly to reduce brake dust on the wheels.

• Stainless Steel braided brake lines on all four corners

• Exhaust: The exhaust was upgraded with the high quality Stainless Steel Corsa Performance exhaust system. This system bolts on at the Catalytic Converters, and adds horsepower and a performance tone from the exhaust. The stock exhaust is almost too quiet, and is a bit restrictive, so I opted to replace it. For originality, I have kept the original exhaust, and it is available to go with the car to the new owner if desired. The original exhaust can also be re-installed if the new owner prefers to bring the car back to stock.

• A ZF Doc short shifter has been installed, to improve the throw and feel of the shifts of the manual 6 speed. An aftermarket shift **** has also been installed. I have the original shifter and shift ****, and these can either be re-installed to return to stock, or they can go with the car to the new owner if desired.

Other than the exhaust, shifter, brake rotors/stainless brake lines and new tires, the car is completely stock, with no engine modifications or any other modifications to the car.

This Grand Sport also comes with the original window sticker, both sets of keys (one key fob and one spare set), original dealer paperwork, Grand Sport Polo Shirt, and other miscellaneous extras.

The complete VIN number of this car is: 1G1YY2253T5600429

More information about Grand Sport Corvettes can be found at www.grandsportregistry.com
Test drives can be arranged for SERIOUS buyers, and I welcome anyone to come take a look at the car. I also welcome independent inspections by a mechanic or other buyer representative, at buyer’s cost. This car is immaculate and has nothing to hide.

I am asking $25,000 for the car, and will entertain all reasonable offers. If buyer is not local, I can assist with arranging shipping of the car, but shipping will be at buyer’s expense.

Thank you for your interest!

Pictures are below and in subsequent posts.

jdog0411

More Pictures:

jdog0411

Here are some additional pictures:

jdog0411

And still more pictures:

jdog0411

There are a couple of specks of dust that appear on the white paint surrounding the nose emblem in the pic above. Those are not paint chips, just dust particles that landed on the car while the pictures were being taken. Like I said, I'm a bit OCD.

JimZRyd

Absolute beautiful example of a GS!!! If I was in the market I wouldn't hesitate a minute on this fine machine! GLWS!


Jim

jdog0411

Thank you Jim, I appreciate it!

jdog0411

Here is the window sticker:

54greg

Beautiful! Priced too low

wbaley

Wow what a car. Nice.

capevettes

This is a fine example of a meticulously maintained GS . I am equally impressed with the manner in which your ad was presented. It is realistically priced and will make a fine addition to someone's collection/garage. Best of luck with your sale

chevyc4man

I want this car! If it's still available this summer I will get back to you as I will be in the denver area, but I bet it sells fast.

jdog0411

Thank you...if it hasn't sold by summer, it will no longer be for sale. I don't want to sell the car as is, but a business opportunity is taking priority. Thanks for the interest!

Tinee

Very nice, and a good price GLWTS

H P Bushrod

Beautiful! That's the cleanest Grand Sport I've seen! Thanks for sharing the pics and GLWS.

DRM500RUBYZR-1

Agreed!
Also this should be the poster child of the right way to advertise a Corvette for sale!!!
This will sell quickly!
Best of luck!
Very nice car!

Marty
NCRSZR1
95PACER

jdog0411

Thank you, I appreciate the comments.

A couple of things to add:

The car has had the 1-4 "skip shift" feature (CAGS) disabled. If you have ever driven a C4 with CAGS enabled, you know how frustrating and annoying that can be. To disable this, the connector on the transmission is simply disconnected, and a cap is placed over the open ends of the connectors. This is not a permanent modification, and if the new owner would like CAGS re-enabled, it is easily reversed and only takes a few minutes.

Also, I neglected to specify that this car has the base suspension (not Z51 or F45).

The brake fluid was also completely flushed with synthetic brake fluid when the rotors and brake lines were upgraded.

jdog0411

Had a question about if the car is certified for sale in California. The car has never been in California, and was sold new from an Illinois Corvette dealer, but as far as I know it is certified for sale in California. The window sticker says it's 50 state emissions legal and the emissions sticker also states this. I've included a picture of the emissions sticker for reference. I don't see any other emissions stickers on the car.

Also included some other random pics of the car. I have a bunch of others, so if there is something particular you would like to see, let me know.

jdog0411

A few additional pictures

96LT4

Any clue how many owners she's had?