Corvette Forums - Corvette Enthusiast Site - Need serious advice on this one.

Back in 1989 my father had bought a new Convertible Vette. We supercharged it, put roller rockers in it with a Dana rear (about $10,000 back then). My father hurts his back and decides to trade it in on a Town Car. I was pissed but nothing I could since it was his.

I said to my self if I ever came across that car again, I would have to buy it. We took it down the track at 12.19 at 109 or 111, need to find the slip.

Well, as you can imagine, we crossed paths again in a different state. I went to look at the car yesterday and had some concerns about the condition of it. Some of my thought were:

1. We noticed the head gasket was leaking, the oil pan had been off and new gaskets on it. The car was surging at idle, the mechanic said this was just because it was not warmed up. We felt that at least the top part of the motor was apart. After talking to the owner of the shop he called the mechanic who worked on it and we were told that a piston and rod were replaced possibly from the car sitting and that all of the injectors had been clogged, possible fuel dripped on to one of the pistons and burnt a hole in it. It did not look like good work was done. The mechanic swore the valve cover gasket was leaking but we feel pretty strong it is the head gasket. I am worried that the car may need a motor. I did not drive it due to the rain.

2. The car is showing 59,000 miles on the odometer. I checked Carfax and it looked legit. On the ride home it hit me that someone could have easily disconnected it. My father traded it in around 1992-1993 with about 28,000 on it.

Is this too risky of a buy or is it possible I am overreacting. I would hate to have passed up on it if it was nothing major. I could probably swing it with a loan but could not afford to fix anything major. Any thoughts or insights what else to check for would be appreciated. I want to get it up in the air.

Does anyone know of a reputable Corvette mechanic who lives in the Philadelphia, NJ that they recommend to look the car over?

Thank you.