New Owner
 

Hello everyone,

Newbie here, and new to the Corvette world in general. As of two days ago, I'm a proud new onwer (eventhough I don't have her in my possesion yet) of a Red/Saddle '90 ZR-1 with 33k original miles, stock with the exception of SLP intake and Magnaflow Force exhaust. I purchased it from a dealer from Phoenix AZ and am having it shippied to Medford NJ in an enclosed tailer. Can't wait to lay eyes on this legendary beast for the first time. She should be here by next friday. This will be a week from hell. I hate waiting. She'll be my first american sports car. I'm not biased when it cars to cars, and I have a general respect to everything automotive that has any significance to it. I've owed anything from British to German to Japanese, and my current daily driver is a 2003 Audi RS6 4.2L v8 twinturbo 450hp stock (only about 830 ever exported to US, wtih worlwide production of only about 2400 units).

Needless to say, I'll be here often aksing questions since I'm not that familiar with Corvettes, and I do most of the work myself in my garage.

I do plan on keeping her stock for resale value, and I have an immidiate question. How can I find out which build # my car is, and how many were built in that color combination? Not sure if there's a way to tell by Vin #. The car is super clean, and the private inspection did not detect anything out of the ordinary wth the exception of the horn and a couple of buttons on the passanger seat not working. The only minus is that it does not come with any records outside of what's in the carfax, which was clean and extensive. Due to this fact I was able to negotiate a great price, and at $15k it was a steal for a car with such low documented original miles. Any help would be greatly appresicated.

Thanks Everyone!

-Gary

Re: New Owner
 

The last four numbers in the VIN is the build #, I believe. There were 333 red/saddle cars made in 1990.

And congrats on your purchase, you will soon have a bad case of the "perma-grins"! :mrgreen:

Re: New Owner
 

Welcome Gary.

Re: New Owner
 

Thanks bdw18_123! I can hardly wait. She was loaded on the trailer yesterday afternoon, and has to travel about 2500 miles to get here.

So if the last 4 digits of my vin are 1191, does that mean that it's #1191 of 3049 built in 1990? I called Chevy's HQ today, but the lady transfered me to GM Heritage Archives and it looks like they are closed today.

BTW, here are a few shots.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/81498dace7.jpg
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/54a0e5640c.jpg
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/974fb06bc8.jpg
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/feb5eddd39.jpg

Re: New Owner
 

Thanks FU2. I'm excited to be part of this community.

Re: New Owner
 

Gary,

Congrats on your new purchase!!!! Great get @ $15000!!!!!

"I do plan on keeping her stock for resale value" Don't worry about resale value, enjoy your car. If you do decide to modify her, you can put her back to stock with no problem....

One of the best upgrades are headers and that is probably the best bang for the buck. Also many upgrade the exhaust to either B & B or Corsa.

Count on a few things. Likely you will have to change out injectors, coil packs, fuel filters and maybe the tires. All are easy to do and if you ask the members, we know the "deals" on EVERYTHING!!! Be patient and look for deals.

Your interior looks GREAT!!!!!!! Must be garage kept. You have lots of Z members near you and many that can help with questions / issues with your car.

Do searches for "Wazoo" and you will see lots of activity (local guys in NY / NJ / MD / VA / PA and get together often!) Best event is the Corvettes of Carlisle and close to you (happends in August)


Lots of great info on www.zr1netregistry.com and becoming a member has it's privileges!

Look forward to seeing you at some local events

:cheers:

David

Re: New Owner
 

That's correct, your car is #1191.

If you join the ZR-1 Net Registry, in the members area they have very specific information regarding the number of cars broken down by option code. So you could see how many red/saddle, then how many of those had your roof combo, a/c option, etc. Or how many red/saddle there are in all years, etc. Very comprehensive information, IMO.

Also, from those pictures, it looks to be much lower miles than 33k. The engine finish and carpets look brand new. Also, that price you paid is disgusting, especially as it's from a dealer! Nice find.

Edit: Also, that steal of a price should tell you something about keeping it stock. It doesn't help the resale, at least not currently.

Re: New Owner
 

When you get it, remove that hose from the SLP intake to the AIR solenoid/check-valve thing. That is not necessary, nor is it how that's intended to be set up. The tube on the SLP intake is for LT1/4 cars. Their AIR pump pulls from the air filter housing. On our cars, the AIR pump has a little snorkel with a foam filter on it. So that just gets capped off.

The AIR solenoid thing just vents to atmosphere. I believe it's just for if the AIR pump is still running when the solenoid is commanded closed, it blows out there. You certainly don't want it blowing into the clean-air side of the air filter housing, since the air may or may not be very clean.

I also wouldn't be surprised if it interferes with the hood closing, as it closes quite close to the radiator shroud.

Re: New Owner
 

1990 ZR-1: 1G1YZ23J3L5801191

Select options:

Exterior color: Bright Red

Interior color: Saddle

Roof option: Dual Roof: Blue Acrylic Roof

All options:

UJ6 INDICATOR,LOW TIRE PRESS LOW TIRE PRESSURE IND(UJ6)
UX0 SPEAKER SYSTEM,SIX,DUAL FLOOR SILL,DUAL EXTENDED RANGE SAIL PANEL 6 SPKR SYS(UX0)
U1F RADIO,AM/FM STEREO,CASSETTE,C.D. PLAYER,ETR,BOSE,INCLUDES CLOCK CASSETTE/CD PLAYER(U1F)
U52 CLUSTER,INSTRUMENT(ELECTRONIC) ELEK GA CSTR(U52)
V73 VEHICLE STATEMENT - US/CANADA US/CANADA VEHICLE STATEMENT(V73)
XAU Unk.
YBE TIRE REAR-(USED WITH ZR1) TIRE(YBE)TIRE REAR-(USED WITH ZR1) TIRE(YBE)
ZR1 PACKAGE,SPECIAL PERFORMANCE COUPE(1YY07 + ZR1 == 1YZ07) SPECIAL PERFORMANCE PKG(ZR1)PACKAGE,SPECIAL PERFORMANCE COUPE(1YY07 + ZR1 == 1YZ07) SPECIAL PERFORMANCE PKG(ZR1)
Z51 PERFORMANCE HANDLING PACKAGE PERF HDLG PKG(Z51)PERFORMANCE HANDLING PACKAGE PERFORMANCE HANDLING PKG(Z51)
1AZ Unk.
1SA PACKAGE-OPTION 01 (1SA)
24S ROOF COLOR,REMOVEABLE PANEL(BLUE) (24S)
60I INTERIOR TRIM COLOR (60I)INTERIOR TRIM,LIGHT DRIFTWOOD (60I)
603 TRIM COMBINATION- LEATHER,COGNAC (603)
609 SEAT BELT COLOR- COGNAC (609)
81U EXTERIOR COLOR,PRIMARY (81U)EXTERIOR COLOR,PRIMARY,BRIGHT RED (81U)
AC1 ADJUSTER,SEAT,6-WAY POWER,BUCKET,PASSENGER 6-WAY PWR P/SEAT ADJR(AC1)
AC3 ADJUSTER,SEAT,6-WAY POWER,BUCKET,DRIVER 6-WAY PWR D/SEAT ADJR(AC3)
AJ3 RESTRAINT SYSTEM,FRONT SEAT INFLATABLE DRIVER SI INFL RST SYS(AJ3)
AQ9 SEAT,FRONT BUCKET,DRIVER,PASSENGER,RECLINING RECL FRT BKT ST,LUXURY(AQ9)SEAT,FRONT BUCKET,DRIVER,PASSENGER,RECLINING"ULTIMA"INCLUDES SEAT ADJ(USED WITH TRANS AN Y84) RECL FRT BKT ST(AQ9)SEAT,FRONT BUCKET,DRIVER,PASSENGER,RECLINING(USED WITH BIARRITZ YP3) RECL FRT BKT ST(AQ9)SEAT,FRONT BUCKET,DRIVER,PASSENGER,RECLINING(USED WITH SE Z7M) RECL FRT BKT ST(AQ9)
BGR Unk.
CC3 ROOF,SUN,REMOVEABLE PANELS(TRANSPARENT PLASTIC) CLEAR ROOF PANEL(CC3)
CF7 ROOF,SUN,REMOVABLE,NON-TRANSPARENT REMOVABLE SUNROOF(CF7)
C2L ROOF PACKAGE,DUAL REMOVEABLE DUAL REMOVEABLE ROOF(C2L)
C68 AIR CONDITIONER,FRONT,AUTOMATIC,ELECTRONIC CONTROLS A/C AUTO ELEC CONT(C68)
DL8 MIRROR,OUTSIDE,RH AND LH REMOTE CONTROL,ELECTRIC,DEFOG ELEC R/CON HTD O/S MIR(DL8)
D3X Unk.
D9B SENSOR (D9B)
E5Z Unk.
E9Z Unk.
FE7 SUSPENSION SYSTEM,FRONT AND REAR,HEAVY DUTY HVY DUTY SUSP(FE7)SUSPENSION SYSTEM,FRONT AND REAR,HEAVY DUTY(PERFORMANCE TUNED)(USED WITH INDY "GT" PKG B5I,GTZ Z04) HVY DUTY SUSP(FE7)SUSPENSION SYSTEM,FRONT AND REAR,HEAVY DUTY(USED WITH PERFORMANCE HANDLING PACKAGE Z51) HVY DUTY SUSP(FE7)
FX3 RIDE AND HANDLING,ELECTRONIC CONTROLLED ELEK RIDE & HANDLING(FX3)
GM3 AXLE,REAR,3.45 RATIO 3.45R(GM3)
G87 GEAR,RING 8.50 INCH 8.50 DIAMETER R/GR(G87)
J55 BRAKE SYSTEM,HEAVY DUTY POWER HVY DUTY PWR BRK(J55)
K09 GENERATOR,120 AMPERE 120 AMP(K09)
LT5 ENGINE,5.7L(5.7J),TPI 5.7J(LT5)
ML9 TRANSMISSION,MANUAL 6-SPEED 6-SPD M/TRANS(ML9)
MN6 TRANSMISSION,MANUAL 6-SPEED PROVISIONS(MERCHANDISING OPTION) 6-SPD M/TRANS PROVISIONS(MN6)
NA5 EMISSION SYSTEM,FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FEDERAL EMIS(NA5)EMISSION SYSTEM,FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS(USED WITH CALIF SEVILLE YP1) FEDERAL EMIS(NA5)
NK4 STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER SPORT WHL(NK4)STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER WRAPPED LEATHER WRAPPED SPORT STRG WHL(NK4)STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER WRAPPED(USED WITH INTERNATIONAL W19,SPORT APPEARANCE PKG W40) LEATHER WRAPPED SPORT STRG WHL(NK4)STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER WRAPPED(USED WITH SE Y92) LEATHER WRAPPED SPORT STRG WHL(NK4)STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER WRAPPED(USED WITH SL Z7R,CONV Z7S,SUPREME Z7P) LEATHER WRAPPED SPORT STRG WHL(NK4)STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER WRAPPED(USED WITH STE Y88) LEATHER WRAPPED SPORT STRG WHL(NK4)STEERING WHEEL,SPORT,LEATHER WRAPPED(USED WITH WJ7) LEATHER WRAPPED SPORT STRG WHL(NK4)
QA2 WHEEL,17X9.5 FRONT,17X11 REAR,STYLED(ALUMINUM) SPECIAL PERFORMANCE WHL(QA2)WHEEL,17X9.5 FRONT,17X11 REAR,STYLED(ALUMINUM)(USED WITH SPECIAL PERFORMANCE PACKAGE ZR1) SPECIAL PERFORMANCE WHL(QA2)
T93 LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(BLACK CHANNEL)(USED WITH SE Y92) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(BLACK CHANNEL)(USED WITH SE Y92) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(DELETES CHROME EDGING)(USED WITH INTERNATIONAL WJ9) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(DELETES CHROME EDGING)(USED WITH SPORT PACKAGE WN2) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH ELECTRA T-TYPE Y48) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH EUROSPORT ZV8) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH LESABRE T-TYPE WE2) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH RIBBON PKG B5Z,SPORT PKG Z13) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH SE Z7M) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH SPECIAL PERFORMANCE PACKAGE ZR1) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH TOURING YP6) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)LAMP,TAIL AND STOP(SPECIAL)(USED WITH Z28) SPECIAL TAIL & S/LP(T93)

Re: New Owner
 

Hi David, thanks for the info. I wouldn't mind putting some bolt on parts. I've always upgraded the exhaust on most of my cars. The dealer didn't know much about the car, so i'm only speculating that it at least has the Magnaflow Force mufflers judging from the pictures of the exhaust tips. I'll wait till she gets here later this week to thoroughly inspect her. Who knows, maybe to my surprise there will be a nice set of headers and a full catback exhasut!! Hopefully there are no bad surprises.

I also appreciate the tips on the injectors/coilpacks, filters. Is this something I should do right away, or as one goes, replace all?

I will definitely purchase a memebership to ZR1 registry later today/tomorrow.

I'm also excited to take to shows this year and go out on some cruise nights. I love my daily driver, but boy do I miss a proper manual gear box!! Again, I'm really new to the corvette world, and I had no idea that we had a local club here in Medford Lakes called Lakes Corvette Club. They get together at a local bar every 1 and 3 tuesdays. It's literally 2 mins from my house. I'd have to check them out soon.

Re: New Owner
 

Good Tip Bob. In a close up of that smae pic, the hose does look like it's being pintched. I'll remove it and will cap it off. Do I need to cap off both ends? At the filter tube, and air solinoid?

One more questions:

The delaer said that the front shocks were replaced with nonadjustable stiff shocks (they are black in color vs. yellow bilsteins), so the Service Ride Control light is on. I want to buy a set of original adjustible shocks and bring it back to stock. Do I go with Bilstein Front Shocks for FX3 or Z51?

Re: New Owner
 

Guys, the car comes with these black tail light covers that I will be removing. If anyone is interested, they are yours for free if you're willing to pick them up from Jersey.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/f0f4a6e5c7.jpg

Re: New Owner
 

Thanks Aurora. The car was listed at $19k about a month ago which is still low for that miliage. It was brought down to $16k, and I negotiated it down to $15k even. It did cost me $1300 for the closed trailer transport. I could have paid $500-$600 for an open trailer, but the thought of her going 2500 mi through winter weather was killing me.

Re: New Owner
 

Welcome Gary! You came to the right place here. Great score on a beautiful car. :cheers:

Re: New Owner
 

Thanks ZR1Mom!

Re: New Owner
 

Welcome......

Re: New Owner
 

You want FX3 Bilstein shocks. Ecklers sells them.

Mom

Re: New Owner
 

Welcome to the Brotherhood of the Beast!

Congratulations on the purchase, you got a smoking hot deal and she's a beauty!
Not that I'm biased or anything:
Here's "Girlfriend" #792:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i159/tccrab/ZR1.jpg
Everybody knows that Red '90's are the fastest.

As that your car has 30k miles on her, she's probably already had new fuel injectors put in.
There's a lot of info on this particular issue, but the long and short of it is that the original injectors weren't designed to withstand today's fuel with ethanol in it.
Otherwise, drive it like you stole it!!! ('cuz you did!!!)

TomC
'Crabs
#792

Re: New Owner
 

Hey Gary....welcome to the crew!
I think I might be one of the closest members to you...I'm just off of 476 above Allentown, PA. 1991 #384 is in my stable as of August of last year, and as a fellow ZR-1 newbie you could not have picked a better car or club! We'll have to have a greater phily area club meeting some time.

dave

Re: New Owner
 

Tom,
Be careful! Remember what happen to Pinochio when he fibbed [-X


You know the BLACK ones rule ;)

Re: New Owner
 

Carter, you and Tom are BOTH right

the Black 90s are the fastest :)

Re: New Owner
 

Congratulations! Looks like you got a great deal.

BTW, from the looks of the exhaust tips, that appears to be a Flowmaster exhaust, not Magnaflow.

Re: New Owner
 

Nice car and good luck I live in Toms River.

Re: New Owner
 

Nice Job of stealing that car for 15k and not getting caught :dancing
I wouldn't worry about resale value. Do some nice performance mods and she will really give you pleasure every time you take her out. I can't remember a single guy who regretted increasing the performance of their Z.
I bought my car with 3k on it and was all about keeping her original. I started hanging out with this WAZOO crew and I think they slipped something in my drink. They coruppted me & my car, they took advantage of us[-X They turned my Z into a 500HP creature and me into one HAPPY Z owner (with less $ in my pocket) :-({|=

I'm in Jersey also, good to see another ZR-1 for the Garden State

Welcome! :cheers:

Re: New Owner
 

:hello: Gary, and welcome to our asylum! :handshak:

She's a beaut! That price is just killer! You will have a good time with her, trust us you will have a case of PERMAGRIN shortly! :mrgreen:

:cheers:
Tom

Re: New Owner
 

Only cap the SLP intake. The solenoid thing should be open to the atmosphere.

On shocks, you want FX3 shocks. I believe you can get them for around $175 a piece if you shop around. Hopefully the shock actuators and such are all still present, and serviceable. If you need shocks and actuators, it might be cheaper to buy someone's take-off parts instead.

Also, your exhaust is a Flowmaster, judging by the tips.

Edit: Here's a picture of my SLP claw, fwiw.

Re: New Owner
 

The claw looks pretty good. Have you had any fitment/function issues with it Bob?

Re: New Owner
 

Nope, it fits and works great. I doubt it makes much power improvement, but it looks good. And also the piece is metal, so it won't warp or split like the stock airbox assembly can.

My only minor complaint is the AIR tube you have to cap off (no cap included), and the fact that the included hardware (bolt spacers) is plain metal/silver. It was no problem to paint it black, though.

Edit: I should say, I had a tough time getting the original accordian duct over the SLP mouth. It's thick. I used a hair dryer to soften it up and stretch it. I ended up buying a new accordian duct (back when they were available and cheap) later, along with Marc H. duct hoops. The new duct fit over much more easily, though it did require some stretching. I don't think I needed the hair dryer, though, if I recall.

Oh, and the claw did have a weld on the bottom of the mouth that I had to grind down. Otherwise the duct didn't seal up properly, there was a small gap around the weld where unfiltered air could have come in.

Re: New Owner
 

Thanks Tom! Your GF is Hot!! ;)

Re: New Owner
 

I wanted to thank everyone for the positive feedback, helpfull tips and quick answers, and the warm welcomes! I will let everyone know once she's here and once I go thorugh everything. I'm sure I'll have tons of quesions.

One question that comes to mind. Is the FX3 suspension any good as far as handling? Is there a real difference between the three settings? I'm not sure if i should leave the front fixed shocks and convert the back to stiff fixed as well.

Re: New Owner
 

Yes, there is a significant different between "Tour" and the others. "Sport" to "Perf" is not a big difference, but you can feel it. Considering how these cars crash a bit over rough road, the option to kick it into "Tour" is a nice one.

You can also have the shocks revalved to make the difference more dramatic, or to have shocks that are really race-car stiff on "Perf", but still livable on the street in the other settings (search for "Moracca" valving). In fact, going that route it would make more sense in terms of cost to buy some used shocks and send them to Bilstein for rebuild/revalving.

Re: New Owner
 

Hi Dave,

That's not far at all from where I am. We should organize a get together at Dr. Simeone's museum in philly, and go cruising afterwards. I've been dying to see that lost Daytona Coupe he has in his collection in person.

Re: New Owner
 

That sounds like a great idea. I'll have to research this more. Thanks Bob!

Re: New Owner
 

Heheh, yeah you should certainly at least wait until you get the car and see how it rides! And there are plenty of us in the area with stock FX3 setups if you want to see how those ride. :cheers:

Re: New Owner
 

I would only add one thing to what Bob ( Aurora40 ) posted with respect to FX3 shocks.

I bought a new set and the standard valving is different from what came as OEM in my 90. I noticed the difference right away in the Sport & Performance settings. It seems that they are just a bit softer than the OE stuff in the initial stages. The FX3 shocks have six settings within each selector switch setting and the ride control module adjusts up or down using the VSS signal.

Anyway, I just figured you would need this bit of info as I don't know if it matters all that much if you mix valving front to rear. I'll say this much for the new valving, it makes performance a usable ( to me anyway ) option on the road vs just a track use setting. The OE performance settings was all but unusable unless the road was glass smooth, IMHO.

I bought mine at this place:
http://eshocks.com/bil_veh.asp?Model...&Manf=Bilstein

:cheers:
Tom

Oh, forgot this. I kept my OE shocks as someday I may send them to Bilstein for the rebuild. I know a guy that did this and it was north of $450.00 plus shipping and they didn't even put the new decals on or repaint them. Oh, he also went for the groove for coil over spring cup while they were at Bilstein. The OE configuration does not have the groove for a coil over set up.

Re: New Owner
 

Tom, I always wonder about that, if maybe your OEM shocks were abnormally stiff. I run mine on "Perf" all the time, otherwise it feels really soft.

"Sport" to me feels like the FE1 suspension of my friend's '96 vette (they had a softer front spring). Which rides nice, but always felt a bit soft to me. And "Tour" reminds me of our recently departed Buick Regal. :)

Re: New Owner
 

Thanks Tom, this was very helpful, and at that price of $179 is the lowest I've seen for new front fx3 shocks. Really appreciate it.

So it wouldn't matter, as far as handling goes, that fronts will be new fx3's while the rears are original? I'm just speculating that the rears are stock since the dealer didn't say anything. Or should I replace all 4 corners?

Re: New Owner
 

Good Q Bob. I never thought of that, maybe my car got the wrong valving. I know for sure the O.O. didn't do any changing of parts, and the GM data base on my car didn't list any warranty work for shocks.

It also could be that the few times I tried the perf setting on the roads around here it just reacted badly due to bad road surfaces? I know that now that setting is much more user friendly on the roads where I travel frequently. I also know that my observation is subjective....:) the only C-4 I've ever rode in was mine so my observation is suspect at best? I have observed that before the car starts hopping around over irregularities I have to be going faster now than with the OE shocks on performance. It is soaking up the energy better and not upsetting the chassis as much as the OE stuff. The only other thing I can think that could be amiss is that maybe my springs are shot? :dontknow:

Re: New Owner
 

Gary, I'm going to be honest and tell you I do not know the right answer to your question.

The reason I replaced mine with only 22k on them was they were floating more than I thought that they should. Did I do the right thing? I don't know for sure except to say no more floating over undulating roadways at speed. Another Z brother advised me to do all 4 even thou my mileage was low, the shocks were 15 + yrs old & he said just do it!

If it were my car, yes I'd do all four. Yea, the $800 was a big swallow! However, I notice the improvement in the damping ability of the new vs the old stuff.

Something to keep in mind if you do the r&r yourself. Mind the instructions in the FSM. Pay attention to the shock gear installed height specification!

:cheers:
Tom

Re: New Owner
 

Fair enough Tom. I'll just wait and see what condition the rears are in, and will take it from there. Thanks!