Service in Portland, OR

[mpvuk]

At some point in near future will buy first ZR-1. Recommendations for a service shop, if any, in the area?

[Locobob]

I can help you out myself with quite a few things.
Good Corvette shops in the area with some ZR-1 experience:
Wongs Performance in Vancouver - Tom Wong
Modern Classics in Lake O - Steve Heino
One more I can think of but the name escapes me right now, shop owner has or had a Z

[mpvuk]

Thanks Robert. I live in LO so glad to know there is a shop in athe area. I'll let you know when I'm a proud owner. I bid on three ZR-1's at an auction a few weeks ago in Portland that Bonhams conducted to sell off a deceased individuals private collection. All three showroom condition...red 91 with 7k miles sold for $23k, yellow 93 with 15k also sold for $23k, and white 93 with 7k miles went for $27k (plus 15% buyers fee on all). My budget tops out at $20k. Likely going to have to go out of state. The for sale area of this site is excellent. I've already contacted a few sellers.

[4DSZR1]

Wow... Fair price for all three IMO

Good luck with your hunt

[mpvuk]

Slight correction, the last ZR-1 sold at auction was a 95 (not 93). Knowing what I know now, I was a fool to not keep bidding on it.

[Locobob]

Are you looking for a low mile stocker or more of a driver with fun mods?

[Kevin]

with the amount of these cars that were mothballed when they first came out, if you've got over 1000 miles on it then it's a low mile car but not ultra low. these cars aren't good investments and there are very few that are. even when you're dealing with a 1 of 1 or 1 of 6 you still may not get what you want for it. I'm thinking of the autounion that went up for auction a few years ago and the shelby daytona cobra. if you want an investment, put your money in the bank or if you want to have a full size model in the garage get a ferrari daytona. those cars seem to be exploding in cost. as it sits now, the zr-1 isn't a good car to bank on making money with, and it may never be....it is however a good car to bank on making you smile.

I have 64,000 miles on an 21 year old car, is that low mileage to you?

[Locobob]

There are no guarantees regarding future value. The ZR-1 may be the next big block mid year or it may simply stay a budget semi collectible niche car.

The 405hp cars generally sell for a substantial premium over early models, I don't think you will find a solid, low mile late model in your price range. Personally I think the whole Dunn head thing is overblown. The factory used the head castings interchangeably and its not a visible bragging point like say a tri-power set-up.

I wouldn't worry too much about mileage either, it tends to become less important as cars age. Look at the mid years, a nicely restored 67 big block is big bucks whether it has 30K or 90K on it. I think condition is way more important once a car hits real collectible status.

If you are going to stay around the 20K ballpark then I'd look for a clean, close to stock car in a color you like and not worry too much about model year and mileage. I'd probably shoot for less than 50K miles for your expressed use and purpose. That way you'll have some room to put on miles without getting into replacing a lot of worn out parts.

[mike100]

Of course I'd like to have more than one so I could keep one in perfect condition with no accumulation of wear and tear and have another to drive, but what is the worst case?

You run the hell out of a $20k car for a few years and sell it for $10k less? When I'm not feeling like keeping my mileage low, I sometimes like to think that all these original owners and collectors were just keeping these cars nice for those of us too young or broke to own one new.

last comment: A dormant car can cost a lot if the previous owners didn't handle issues that came up. I put several grand into mine and I did a LOT of the work myself, only farming out the ZF6 work to the ZFDoc (Bill B). One of the previous owners thought he was John force and used up all 6 u-joints and 2nd gear. The rest of the car had sitting-around-too-long-problems, but were more expected and easily solved with more modest doses of cash.