1990 ZR1 Questions

[BLACK90ZR1]

My son and I recently bought a 1990 ZR1 with only 708 miles on it, and I would like some advice on what we should do to it. It has been stored in the previous owner's temperature controlled garage since it was new. The oil and filter have been changed several times, the battery has been replaced, the air conditioner was recharged, and new Bose amplifier/speakers were installed in 2004. That is about all that has been done to it. It has the original tires, and they appear to be in good condition with no signs of dry rotting. The gas tank is almost full, so there shouldn't be any rust in the tank. It starts and drives good, but it has never really been run, and the previous owner said thet she never turned the power key on. The car looks like it's new, with no visible defects. The previous owner had the car inspected and serviced prior to selling it. I know that I will probably get a lot of suggestions to drive it, but we are members of the NCRS, and we want to keep it original with low mileage. Thanks Fenwick Binder

[Aurora40]

and the previous owner said thet she never turned the power key on.
That's a real shame!

I'd say drive and enjoy it. I would replace those tires if it were me, you can always keep the originals just in case. Or toss on a second set of rims with new tires if you want.

I'd think there's a reasonable chance all the injectors are shot, especially the secondaries if they never got used in the last 17 years. Only one way to find out though... :D

[Kevin]

if the power key hasn't been on in 17 years and you don't intend to drive it, you won't pass PV without putting a few thousand bucks into the car. Also, the tires, while they maybe looking good, are shot. If you want to drive it at all get new wheels and tires.

[Jeffvette]

the previous owner said thet she never turned the power key on.

The car has never lived.

Congrats you bought a high mileage museum piece. There are more sitting out there that have lower miles.

[tccrab]

The car has never lived.

Congrats you bought a high mileage museum piece. There are more sitting out there that have lower miles.

Agreed:

Saw a '90 with 63 miles on it on eBay recently.

Too bad it's not a special color like Steel Blue Metallic or Quasar Blue.
Then it might worth letting it sit.
Since it's black and the second most common color, I say...

DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!

TomC
'90ZR1 #792

[BLACK90ZR1]

Thanks for the comments. I realize that I will probably have to replace the secondary injectors and probably a lot more, but I want to make sure that I don't do any damage to it by driving it before I do some maintenance. I am going to remove all the old gas first, but I was wondering about things like the brake fluid, transmission fluid, and differential fluid. I have a new set of tires ordered from the Tire Rack, and I am going to get a set of wheels also. I do plan to drive it enough to keep it in good running condition.

[Kevin]

you'll probably need new secondaries, new primaries, new actuators and the secondary intake ports are going to be caked in burnt carbon.

[tomcat]

All,

Welcome to the Club. Warm weather is coming soon. Enjoy the excitement of owning & Driving a ZR1. If there are any issues that may come up with your ZR1 their are people that will be glad to help you, just ask.
Manfred E.... :wave:
91 #906

[Artic93]

Sounds like a VERY nice car !!!!! some of the responses sound a little on the side of its not that special. ANY ZR1 in my mind is VERY special and a non abused, non modd'ed one ,in my mind is awsome, but I'm sure I'm in the minority here on that LOL, Please post a pic or two.

jason
93 Artic/Black #189 14K miles

[GrayZ]

Welcome to the Zoo..you are now an official "Brother of the Beast"
(and you got the best year and color) :mrgreen:
...the last 4 numbers of your
vin# ....is also..your production number...what's yours?
mine is 0074..or 74th zr1 built. a must read is "heart of the beast"
it tells you who what when and where...you should also plan to attend
the "gathering" may 2nd through the 6th. Bowling Green, Ky
Information you can acquire in only a couple of days..will equal
months of study on your own..plus...ya get to meet alot of real
nice people, like me..:cheers: :sign10:
anyway..hang around here...and ya might be driving that beauty,
a little more..than ya planned...mine has 24,xxx on the clock.. but by
this time next year..more like 34,xxx....:thumbsup:

[tomtom72]

Hi :hello: and welcome to the BOB:handshak: Congrats on the car!:thumbsup:

I bought a car similar to yours, < 8K on it from the orig owner in 12/04. I was gonna try to go the NCRS route but things started to go south quick and I also couldn't keep from driving the car....it is too much fun & tooooo addicting.:o

The tires are unsafe, they're dried out & hard = no grip. Plenty o tread but trust me they will make you wish you had traction control. Save'em & get new shoes if you're gonna drive to the NCRS meets. Mine came from a climate controlled garage too.

My primaries went at about 10K miles, whole set of RC's was my answer, no faith in the OEM stuff. 2* vac leak = control solenoid n/g....so I redid the entire system and the CCV box gasket & hoses & saved the good stuff. Also r & r'ed the wires & coils while I was under there. Plugs were OEM along with the PCV's & fuel filter & a/filter! At least the coolant & oil was kept up with! Brakes & clutch hydraulics started to act out next. Fluids resembled coffee complete with grinds! The guy did book maintenance.

I'm not saying that you will have all these issues. Mine wasn't used much & when I became addicted I used the car so I believe that caused all the extra issues for me. The thing is hydraulic equipment don't like to be disturbed if it was on vacation....I disturbed mine so it answered back. Oh yea I forgot the CD had to go to Dr.Don for the fix.

I decided to just fix all the issues & enjoy the car without the NCRS dream. Too much non-OEM stuff on mine now. Be gentle & you will proly be able to keep most of the original stuff on the car. Oh, keep the coolant fresh & only use 1825M coolant (ya can still order it from the local chevy store. Do Not use any un-silicated coolant in the LT5!) and the OEM hoses should be okay as long as it's not gonna see b to b traffic. I just couldn't leave all that stuff on mine....I've no faith in 15 yr old parts like that.

Enjoy you're new toy!
:cheers:
Tom

Oh, forgot this. You may want to do some reading over at the netreg site in the maintenance & common issues sections. I also urge you to visit zfdoc.com & read up on the trans and clutch hydraulic system. Bill B has care & maintenance info along with a great diagnostic's Q & A. JMHO.

[BLACK90ZR1]

:thumbsup: Thanks for the great information Tom Tom. I may start driving it, but before I have to replace a lot of the items, I am going the NCRS route first. I'm a member of the local NCRS chapter and I am in the process of completing the restoration of a 1955 roadster, so I know how hard it is to get NCRS correct parts for our cars. I just feel that it is the route that I want to go, before I have to start replacing a lot of the parts. I am buying a new set of tires and rims, and will keep the old set also. Do you have any recommendations for the new rims? I'm also going to replace the brake fluid, because I also had the same problem with my 86. What is the difference between the coolants? I saw on the dealer service records that they replaced the coolant. I'll keep a copy of your post so that I'll remember the rest of the items that you suggested that I might have to change. Thanks again

[tccrab]

:thumbsup: Thanks for the great information Tom Tom. I may start driving it, but before I have to replace a lot of the items, I am going the NCRS route first. I'm a member of the local NCRS chapter and I am in the process of completing the restoration of a 1955 roadster, so I know how hard it is to get NCRS correct parts for our cars. I just feel that it is the route that I want to go, before I have to start replacing a lot of the parts. I am buying a new set of tires and rims, and will keep the old set also. Do you have any recommendations for the new rims? I'm also going to replace the brake fluid, because I also had the same problem with my 86. What is the difference between the coolants? I saw on the dealer service records that they replaced the coolant. I'll keep a copy of your post so that I'll remember the rest of the items that you suggested that I might have to change. Thanks again

In my humble opinion, the '90 wheels (a.k.a "Salad Shooters") are the prettiest of all the years, hands down.
They show up occasionally here in the For Sale area, and also over at the Corvette Forum. They sometimes show up on eBay too. If you're patient you can find a set. The fronts are fairly easy to come by, the rears are the hard ones to find.
I'm not a huge fan of the "A Molds" (94 & 95 model year), but they seem to be quite popular. There are some aftermarket rims that are available in our size, but they are not cheap.
As that you're going the NCRS route, you're going to want to keep it as original as possible, including the replacement tires/wheels.
I personally still feel that the car deserves to be driven, not that I have a lot of room to talk. I bought my '90 with 9400 miles on it two years ago and it just broke 11,000 a couple of weeks ago. I don't like driving mine in commute traffic, there's too many idiots out there shaving, sipping coffee & talking on their cell phone on their way to work. I do like taking it on weekend drives on sunny warm days.

About the difference between the coolants, it's really quite simple.
The "GREEN" stuff is Good,
Anything else causes Head Gasket Failure.

TomC
'90ZR1 #792

[Aurora40]

Actually, Prestone's "All Makes/Models" coolant is green, or a greenish/yellowish color anyway. It's a OAT coolant just like DexCool and probably is not a good idea in the LT5.

[Z Factor]

My son and I recently bought a 1990 ZR1 with only 708 miles on it, and I would like some advice on what we should do to it. It has been stored in the previous owner's temperature controlled garage since it was new. The oil and filter have been changed several times, the battery has been replaced, the air conditioner was recharged, and new Bose amplifier/speakers were installed in 2004. That is about all that has been done to it. It has the original tires, and they appear to be in good condition with no signs of dry rotting. The gas tank is almost full, so there shouldn't be any rust in the tank. It starts and drives good, but it has never really been run, and the previous owner said thet she never turned the power key on. The car looks like it's new, with no visible defects. The previous owner had the car inspected and serviced prior to selling it. I know that I will probably get a lot of suggestions to drive it, but we are members of the NCRS, and we want to keep it original with low mileage. Thanks Fenwick Binder

Hello Fenwick and welcome to the forum.:handshak:

People buy and enjoy ZR-1's for many different reasons. Some like to keep the miles low and everything stock, while others have them as daily drivers and do every mod known to man. Regardless of what some would suggest , you need to enjoy your KOTH for the reasons you bought it, so if you want to keep it as a garage queen and take it to shows, by all means do so. With proper storage/maintenance you should be able to enjoy it any way you see fit. Post a few pictures when you get a chance and by all means ask any questions you may have as everyone will be happy to help out.

:cheers:

[Peaven]

My son and I recently bought a 1990 ZR1 with only 708 miles on it, and I would like some advice on what we should do to it. It has been stored in the previous owner's temperature controlled garage since it was new. The oil and filter have been changed several times, the battery has been replaced, the air conditioner was recharged, and new Bose amplifier/speakers were installed in 2004. That is about all that has been done to it. It has the original tires, and they appear to be in good condition with no signs of dry rotting. The gas tank is almost full, so there shouldn't be any rust in the tank. It starts and drives good, but it has never really been run, and the previous owner said thet she never turned the power key on. The car looks like it's new, with no visible defects. The previous owner had the car inspected and serviced prior to selling it. I know that I will probably get a lot of suggestions to drive it, but we are members of the NCRS, and we want to keep it original with low mileage. Thanks Fenwick Binder

Congrats and welcome to the KOTH family.:cheers:

[BLACK90ZR1]

Thanks for the comments. I haven't posted here before this post but I have been checking out a lot of the old posts, and have learned a lot already. I have just finished installing my radio CDM, and I am very happy to say that I now have volume control on the radio. I sent the CDM unit to FCSR, after reading about them on this site. I was very pleased with the work, price, and the speed of the repair. Here are a few pictures of the ZR1, # 843, and of my 55 that I'm working on. I hope that they are ok, because this is my first attempt at posting pictures.

[tomtom72]

Hi Fenwick,

First Ya have some nice toys there guy!:thumbsup: I remember when my Z had no road nicks on it.....that car looks sweet!

Second....If I came off as gruff & lecturing....I offer my apologies. What I wrote was colored by the clutch hydraulic nightmare I've gone thru so I get a bit "out there". Again my apologies. I'm still convinced though that most of my parts failures were from me driving the car too much too soon....first thing I did after changing all the fluids & tuning her up & new shoes was drive to BG from NYC for a cruisefest!

As TomC says about the coolant...watch it, don't trust a dealer to put the right stuff in there...my local chevy store put dex-cool II ?? orange/red stuff in mine. The big deal as I understand is the head gaskets don't like the newer organic acid bassed coolants. Our cars came with silicated coolant. I can't remember the whole chemical name but the GM 1825-M spec coolant is a silicated coolant. The silica compound is the active corrosion fighter. The chevy store can order the stuff for you, or they may have it in stock for the old cars if they work on enough of'em. Don't trust the color by any means! Ya either know ya got the right stuff or ya don't. If ya don't I'd assume (I know about assumptions:wink: ) the wrong stuff is in there & act accordingly. I think head gaskets are not too much fun even if I get an excuse to P & P and degree my cams I don't want it to be because I used the wrong coolant.

Hey man, good luck & I hope you're the first Z to win a Davey Mac award after top flight & PV.....at least that was my dream before I went over to the dark side!:thumbsup:

:cheers:
Tom

old age stinks! Just watch the back spacing, offset, ours are specific. I bought a cheap set of fake A molds for my D3's. I saved the shooters & the OEM tires intact complete w/ the BG air! Oh I even bought a set of LTPWS stickers to use at judging...LOL! What a waste of $. I'm gonna get new shoes & put'em on the shooters 'cause I like the car with those wheels....when dislike the chrome A-molds because chrome is a pia! If I only knew then what I know now! ROLF

[Jim Jones]

Congrats on the "new" Z!!! Black and 1990 are the best, IMHO! :mrgreen: Anyway, driving the Z is very, very addicting. I hope you get the chance to run through the first two gears at WOT with the secondaries kicked in! NCRS may wait after that!! Seriously though, she is beauty! Enjoy her!!

Jim

[Z Factor]

Congrats on the "new" Z!!! Black and 1990 are the best, IMHO! :mrgreen:

Indeed they are very nice and as everyone knows they are the 2nd fastest right behind the Red 1990's. :wink:

:cheers:

[Dave 90ZR-1]

Congratulations and good luck with the car. I think going the NCRS route first is a great idea, then you can enjoy driving it. If you have any questions about having a ZR-1 NCRS judged let me know.

Dave
1990 Red/Red
NCRS McLellan Mark Of Excellence 2006 (one of the first two)