Bringing home ’90 #2180

[ghlkal]

My wife and I purchased our first Corvette, a 1985 A4 coupe, in 2005. I was excited to finally own a Vette. It took us 6 years to get our Medium Gray Metallic monster in shape. Now, it was decision time. Of course I wanted more power, but what to do? The L98 has impressive torque, but it ain’t going to crank out 400HP. Do I attempt an LS swap? Over time I’ve noticed prices of ZR-1’s falling (bad for owners, but good for buyers). I’ve been researching, searching, and test driving Z’s for a while now. I couldn’t afford a “nice” Z, but I had noticed some that were in decent shape that could be had in my price range. I love the 1990 body style. It helps that 90’s are the most plentiful, oldest, and most affordable. I really wanted either Steel Blue (11 made) or Charcoal Metallic (73 made). I saw one Steel Blue and zero Charcoal’s during my search. I finally decided that All Corvettes Are Red. A month ago I spied an interesting Red over Black Z in San Antonio, TX. I’m a mere 1300 miles away in Wisconsin. I’ve purchased cars from out-of-state before, but never at this distance. (Our ’85 Vette was from Ohio, while our ’87 was from Illinois.) After getting some info from the current owner and checking out the previous seller, I asked here if anyone would be willing to check it out for me. I got the great advice to have Corey Henderson look it over. He did and said the Z was basically sound, although needed some love.

On Friday the 13th, my wife and I flew to San Antonio to pick up our “new” car. (It really helps to have a supportive wife in this hobby =D>) It’s a little scary to drive an older car that far. Thankfully we made it home in spite of the dry-rotted tires and marginal brakes. We also had to “outrun” the severe weather.

If you’ve read this far , you deserve a reward … all I can do is post some pics.

1990 ZR-1 #2180, 47750 miles at purchase (49120 today).

Gary