My 80's Time Machine

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5chn3ll
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My 80's Time Machine

Post by 5chn3ll » Thu Jan 18, 2018 9:15 am

1996 LT-1 (4-speed auto) with D44 rear-end swap, including batwing and driveshafts. 3.73 gearing dropped top speed down to approx. 130 - but it gets there in a hurry. Mild under-hood mods, including stupid ones like the airfoil mod, the IAT relocation mod, gutted airbox mod. I also installed line locks on the front brakes for fun in the burnout box and/or out-smoking the coal rollers.
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C1.jpg
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Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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32wildbilly
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Re: My 80's Time Machine

Post by 32wildbilly » Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:28 am

I must admit that does look and sound like fun!
Never gonna make you cry...

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Flat6BlahBlah
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Location: In a van, down by the river.

Re: My 80's Time Machine

Post by Flat6BlahBlah » Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:57 pm

Sweeeeet! Arctic White C4 Corvettes rock! I thought only the LT-4 had the red intake? I'm pretty sure that 96' was the year they were available. Time to do a serial number check. You might get a pleasant surprise.

(Disclaimer: I've owned two Arctic White C4s, one of which was a convertible, so I might be partial.)

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5chn3ll
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Re: My 80's Time Machine

Post by 5chn3ll » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:08 am

The intake color was my doing during a fit of Fast and Furious fever.

We bought the car new in '96...Schnelly's mom had always wanted a Corvette, and '1996 was the year it finally happened. For a number of years, the car conveyed an intoxicated old lady around Huntington Beach at about 16 miles an hour, primarily between home and the liquor store (mom was a career alcoholic, and damn good at it). When she passed away and my dad remarried, it made the move down to my place in San Diego.

Fun facts: Mom piled on a massive 800 or so miles a year for the decade she was driving the car, and it was still rocking two OEM tires and the original brakes. Also, we've estimated that it hauled at least twice its own weight in cheap Scotch over that decade.

So, that's how I came to have a white 80's time machine...and why I'll probably never get rid of it.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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5chn3ll
Six shots...or only five?
Posts: 4640
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:35 pm

Re: My 80's Time Machine

Post by 5chn3ll » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:52 am

Flat6BlahBlah wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:57 pm Sweeeeet! Arctic White C4 Corvettes rock! I thought only the LT-4 had the red intake? I'm pretty sure that 96' was the year they were available. Time to do a serial number check. You might get a pleasant surprise.

(Disclaimer: I've owned two Arctic White C4s, one of which was a convertible, so I might be partial.)
The C4 is a mishmash of parts - half metric, half standard. It squeaks and rattles, and with the targa panels out, it's got more flex than a pair of yoga pants...but man is it fun to hit the ASR button and mash the skinny pedal. The aircooled 911 guys may think they own oversteer, but sliding that car around corners is so fun and easy...it's addicting.

It's like nothing I've ever driven before. From a fit-and-finish perspective, it's a turd - but it's also beautiful and an absolute blast to drive.

The C4 Corvette is probably the closest thing I've found to the 996 for bang-for-the-buck fun, and as long as you don't run out of any vital fluid (it leaks more oil in a month than my 911 uses in a year and spurts ATF like a Steve Irwin farewell special after every autocross run), you can't kill it.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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Black-Out
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Re: My 80's Time Machine

Post by Black-Out » Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:25 pm

I know I'm late to this thread and it's a few months old, but MAN THIS THING IS SEXY!!! Ok. Got that out of my system. I will now commit other offenses of thread necromancy........
William-
Current Ridez:
87' Dodge Conquest TSi
88' BMW 635CSi
89' Merkur XR4Ti
90' Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4
95' BMW M3
99' BMW 328i Sedan
00' BMW 528i Sedan
00' Pontiac Fire Hawk Trans-Am
01' Audi S4 Twin Turbo
02' Porsche 911 Carrera
08' BMW 335i Coupe
10' Mercedes Benz E350 4-Matic AMG Sport

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