Serious Concerns Over Parts Availability

[Ccmano]

Originally Posted by DRM500RUBYZR-1

"Would you purchase a ZR-1 now giving what you know about parts availability and probably a myriad of other things I am not aware of. I appreciate any input."

David, this is not directed at you.

I have heard these same words for over 25 years now.
Yet I know of very few, if any, sidelined cars over a lack of parts.
Perhaps a lack of proper diagnosis at the moment, but not lack of parts.
Reminds me of a movie......................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUBFCaWiQ28



Marty

I agree Marty, finding qualified somewhat local service and maintenance is probably the bigger issue. Look at LA, in that large car oriented market there is literally no one of any standing. In my opinion this, more that anything, is what keeps prices relatively low.
H

[davidijaxson]

Thanks for the replies. I am taking a friend with me to look at the car and he is a pretty good mechanic, has a previous career doing Corvette bodywork and has owned several Corvettes although no C4s. Assuming it is as advertised and we strike a deal I will pull the trigger.

Thanks again. I will share picks if it happens.

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by davidijaxson

Would you purchase a ZR-1 now giving what you know about parts availability and probably a myriad of other things I am not aware of. I appreciate any input.

Having owned and pretty much driven as daily driver since 91, answer is a resounding “yes”!
So far, knock on fiberglass, my 94 was never sidelined due to lack of parts.
Fact that I live in the Wazooland made it possible since 2009. Even before, only headache I had turned out to be injector failure.

[EvanZR1]

Originally Posted by davidijaxson

I have been shopping for a ZR-1 and am getting ready to head out of state to look at one and pull the trigger if all is as expected. The car is in great shape, a 1990 with 28k. However being 30 years old I realize that things can break at any time. Given this thread I am having concerns that maybe making the purchase is not the best decision to make. I am sure most of you have had your car for some time. Would you purchase a ZR-1 now giving what you know about parts availability and probably a myriad of other things I am not aware of. I appreciate any input.

I'd absolutely buy another ZR-1 in a heartbeat. Between the last owner and myself, my entire car has basically been fully restored/rebuilt (full paint job, interior replacement, engine rebuild/upgrade, suspension rebuild/upgrade, AC system rebuild/service, etc). Through all of that there was never any point where the work was delayed waiting on parts.

Get the ZR-1, drive the ZR-1, and enjoy the heck out of the car!

[KJL]

David-
I started this thread and am surprised at how many responses it has gotten. My first question to you is why a ZR1? Knowing this I will be able to formulate a better response to you. I currently own 2 low mileage ZR1's. I love them both but probably would not have purchased the 92 knowing what I know now about expertise and parts availability. There are precious few individuals who really know these cars. Every year that goes by less and less parts become available. There are people who endlessly search the web to purchase as many of the theses soon to be extinct parts to either keep for their own cars or resell at crazy prices. I recently have had to deal with faulty tire pressure sensors (Which are no longer available) and a bad knock sensor circuit on the my 95's memcal chip which was replace by Marc Haibeck but not after considerable trouble shooting by me using a data logger and preforming many system tests and replacing the knock sensor. Anyway....as I have seen in some responses to your post, how willing are you to learn about the car yourself and work on it yourself and are there trusted service entities in your area that are willing to work on the car when needed? I just got turned away from a Chevy dealership when I brought my 96 Corvette LT4 to have the AC looked at, probably a bad compressor (I replaced the compressor clutch) and got turned away. They said because of parts unavailability they no longer work of C4s. There is another place here that just works on corvettes but it will be a month before they can schedule me an appointment. Also, if anything happens to your AC system, it will need to be converted to the new refrigerant. There are opinions regarding this and the parts to do the conversion correctly may not be available. When you check out the car, make sure everything works especially the secondary throttle system. Learn how to pull codes from the dash and AC unit to check for problems. Many codes can be turned off and take some time to re-appear. Make sure you take the car on an extended test drive. The headlights and Bose speaker amps are prone to problems. I replaced all the gears in my head lights myself and all the dried out capacitors on the Bose speak circuit boards myself. Make sure all the seat adjustments work and give the engine bay a good look over, make sure you know what a stock engine bay should look like to spot any modifications. I could go on but I think you get the picture.

To elaborate on why I asked why a ZR1.... if you are looking at buying a corvette just because you want an affordable second fun car and have no interests in the mechanics of the car or working on cars or learning everything about the car, searching for parts (which can be challenging at times but its not like you are looking for parts for a model T) etc.... I would recommend looking at a Z06 C5 which gets you a lot of bang for the buck or maybe a 1996 C4 Collectors Edition or Grand Sport which are OBD II cars and also have new refrigerant so AC system can serviced. If you really want a ZR1, I would look for 93-95 model years for a variety of reasons.

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by KJL

Are the ECMs, DIS and CDMs interchangeable between model years? That would be helpful info to have. What would happen if I plugged my 95 ECM into my 92? Or are they split between 90-93 and 93-95?

Short answer.......all interchangeable

ECM Interchangeability

DIS Interchangeability

CDM Interchangeability

Oh.....and guys and gals.....I suggested "get yourself a NEW Hood Support Gas Cylinder as the Stock Hood Support looses gas pressure in its old age. A New Hood Support Gas Cylinder will actually lift the hood back to the top if you lower the hood 6 inches.
Ecklers Corvette Hood Support with New Outer Sleeve"

This also applies to the rear Hatchback Lift Gas Cylinders.......except different but available Gas Cylinders ........With the new Gas Cylinders..... you pop the Hatchback Open Button and up it goes by itself.

[XfireZ51]

Most of the work to be done on a ZR is pretty straightforward and can be done DIY. The only work I have someone like Pete do has to do w the cams/cylinder heads and block. Brakes, clutch, driveline, tuning, suspension etc is all stuff I can do on my own with good parts availability. Some of this I’ve also upgraded, like tires, wheels and brakes to newer generation components, ie C6Z.
My main concern is the DIS which so far has proven incredibly resilient.

[davidijaxson]

Thanks to all for responding to my question and an apology for taking the thread off topic. I should have started a new thread.

Left Dallas early Saturday morning and drove to check out the car I am interested in. To make a log story short we struck a deal and I will go pick the car up in two weeks. Car has been immaculately maintained so I am confident that it is in as good a mechanical condition as possible given the age of the vehicle.

I look forward to learning more about the ZR-1 and learning from you all.

Best,

[EvanZR1]

Congrats! Let me know once you have it back to DFW, we should meet up.

[tnova]

Always good to reread posts for those "ah-ha" moments. At 160k miles my LT5 was going through oil and it would usually not respond to the secondary's kicking in most of time. Passing smog (I lived in SoCal until end of 2017) was a bear. After disassembling the engine found the liner wear out of spec, unusual for an LT5.


When rereading this thread I saw Jerry's post about catalytic converter dust back flow wearing out the pistons, rings, and liners. The "ah-ha" moment was that I found the catalysts had structurally collapsed, sounding like a can of gravel when the exhaust manifold were handled. So there's the tie to my lack of performance when accelerating (blocked exhaust path at cats) and the wear on the liners (cat dust backflow).


I'm one of those that had to replace all liners and rings. Headers are now in place so exhaust flow not issue.


Thanks to the Net and people with experience and dedication to keeping the LT5 alive.


Tony (Tnova)