[size=3]Boy am I still having a really tough decision. I posted on here before about coming in contact with my father's 1989 Convertible Supercharged Vette. The car was supercharged, roller rockers, 3:73, fuel pump etc, about $10,000 back in the early 90s. It ran in the high 12s on 6 psi and low 12s on 8 psi.

After seeing the car over I was told the injectors were all clogged and gas dripped and burnt a hole into one of the pistons which was replaced, due to not being driven enough over the years.(It has 59k on it now, we got out of it with about 28K around 92, Carfax says it is legit).

The guy also says the supercharger is bad because when you pull off the tube you will find oil. It got up to 6 psi and then dropped.

The problem is that I could probably swing the car, but not to keep putting thousands into it which I know Vettes are known for.

I think that I could find a a non supercharged Vette. , but I would not be able to build it to the specs of the 89 due to cost. The 89 was built solid when it was done.

I keep going back and forth about what to do. I know the obvious answer is to pass. But then again if the car only needs some work, I would have a solid 12 second street car.
It would kill me to know that if I passed on it, I would keep thinking I did the wrong thing, but if I buy it and it cost too much, I would kill myself. This is probably a psychological issue!


And of course the sentimental thing of it being my fathers originally, plays a big part.

Please help with any thoughts.

Thank you.

 

It is a difficult decision, but I would buy it. You will always regret not trying to keep your fathers car. There are few regrets I have about decisions I made in the past, and most of them are about not buying something that had artisit or family value.

Vettes do not eat thousands of dollars constantly, either, although I think this one will frustrate you and **** you off at times.

If it were me, and I was on a real budget, I would buy the car, REMOVE the SC etc. for now (packing it and every thing associated it away neatly: when you do this, take lots of "before" pictures: down the road if and when you put the SC back on, you will appreciate having these photos of where this bolt went, that bracket, this hose, etc., believe me).

Then, I would concentrate on getting the basic car back in good shape. Yes, it will be slower without the SC, but its still a good '89 vette, and it was your dads! Once you get it sorted out, clean it up to good condition throughout, then you can CONSIDER putting the SC back on. But I'd think about that and I'm not sure I'd do it. You end up with power but its not as durable and low hassle. I don't know your budget or your level of skill and inclination to take mechanical work on yourself. If it were me, I'd probably go some route of normally aspirated, slightly more powerful engine. A good point to recommend this is that you could do this within just about any budget, letting the budget define just how much HP you will be able to buy (e.g., a 290 HP GM 350 cubic inch crate engine, which would be more power than your car had stock, costs about $1700, a 425 Hp ZZ383 costs about $5000 and fits just as easily). By contrast, if you decide to follow the SC route you are committed to spending enough to "fix" everything, and I think that will be alot: a new short block at least, and lots of parts, time, labor, and hassle.
Another point, and I do not mean to be calling you baby ugly, but this car won't compete as a FAST car against todays street cars
without a lot of money, , more than you will spend, and some real loss of driveability. Sprcharging it to the low 12s would be pretty extreme of it, whereas there are recent model cars out there that can do that stock,, and many slightly modded cars that can, too. The value of an older vette is that it is an older, classic car, still pretty fast, good looking, etc. Put something like a 350 HP crate engine in it and it would do mid 13s, be stone reliable and be very satisfying.

And for the record: gas does not drip from clogged injectors (or anything else) and burn a hole in one of the pistons: pistons burn holes because the mixture is too lean (THAT could be due to clogged injectors) or because there is gross detonation. And both happen with SC'd cars that aren't tuned right. And it almost never happens just to one piston. You should anticipate there could be other internal problems. I believe this car probably has lots of small problems, all solveable in time and with a LITTLE money. It probably needs new injectors, or to have them checked, etc. (I'd start there). There may be internal damage/problems with other pistons/valves/valve seats, etc. But as you say they were basically sound cars and they are very sleek, and potentially fast.

 

Thanks for the advice. I went and drove the car today. It felt pretty good. Spotted some gas on the ground under car, hopefully it is just a loose line.

My other issue is going to be on what to do with the cars I have now. I have an 86 SVO 5 Speed and a 99 Galant. I owe about what the Galant has left on it, the Mustang I own out right. I really enjoy the SVO, it is a great car and has been good to me.

The obvious decision would be to unload the SVO and put some of that money towards the Vette, I reall enjoy having an automatic and a 5 Speed.

Any thouhgts?

Thanks.

 

buy it and park it. That motor will cost a good $10k to return to where it should be.

 

Depends on just where "where it should be is" As I said, I would not go with the original SC engine: it does not sound like it was a durable set up (it burned a piston) and low 12s for an '89 means it was pretty extreme: it will be a tuning and maintenace hassle.

A basic, $1700 crate engine would put this on the street with a reliable engine and more power than the car had originally, total cost with labor, etc., would be less than $3K. A 425 HP ZZ383 crate engine would probably give it more power than it had at 6 lbs of boost with the SC (but a little less than it had at 8 lbs) and better driveability, and cost about $5500 plus maybe $1000 labor to drop in. IAnd remember, crate engines have factory warrantees.

 

I have to agree with Lee, Buy the car and park it till you can rebuild with more reliable engine. But mostly becuase it was your dads. I have my vette becuase it was my dads. I'm sure my wife would like me to sell it now that its in the shop again, but I just can't, it reminds me of my dad. This vette is the only thing he and I ever agreed on...
Anyway thats my two cents worth.

 

I went to drive the 89 Vette again and it is still detonating under boost. The supercharger is only putting out about 4 PSI when it should be 6.5. I also saw a little oil on the top of the supercharger.

The supercharger is probably on it's way out. Any ideas how much to fix one? It cost about $1000 back in the early 90s to fix it right after running 8 PSI.

 

What type of Supercharger is it, exactly? If was put on 16 years ago you would probably have to get a new kit, etc.

Again, I'd remove the SC now, get the engine running and diagnose if and why its sick, etc. Then either rebuild this SC or install a new one.

 

Like Lee Willis said,

You will always regret not trying to keep your fathers car. My father owned a 78 Stingray. It was gold, the anniversary edition and it had t-tops(which now im glad i have the targa instead) and side pipes and was loud and proud. he died a few years back and the car went to auction because there were some family problems and stuff and he lived in arkansas and i live in virginia. but i would give anything to go back and get that car from him. hes the whole reason im into corvettes today. plus, a good car that only needs a bit of work, you cant pass it up.

 

what type of supercharger is it and who set it up? The hole in the piston is because of running lean. I have never ran a blower in a car but have had a few in boats. Is it a roots style or centerfical (sp) blower? Current motor for the boat last was a 454 with a ProCharger running 9# of boost.