Chevrolet
CCCUK Member
Shame to see such a great car for sale as a Barn Find? Opportunity for someone who knows what they are doing? Mot expired Feb 2007:
corvette zr1 | eBay
corvette zr1 | eBay
"Barn Find" '91 C4 ZR1 on Ebay
- Thread starter Chevrolet
- Start date
Chevrolet
CCCUK Member
Well spotted! It's just been listed on Ebay. How much is that worth in the US?
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
Search on internet shows for 1991 ZR-1 from low to high quality range $17,200 to $43,000
and that is the 375 HP model where later years was up to 405 HP and be worth even more
Being GM in last years only made less than 500 of them per year, they are rare finding for sale
and that is the 375 HP model where later years was up to 405 HP and be worth even more
Being GM in last years only made less than 500 of them per year, they are rare finding for sale
Roscobbc
Moderator
Question is.........would you really chance your luck unseen/unrun/unheard unless its for silly/breaking money?. Get it all wrong and that engine will potentially cost a fortune to rebuild. Is there anyone now in the UK qualified to do the work? - would you be prepared for the costs of shipping it it back to the 'States to Haibeck for a re-fresh/re-build? - being as no interior photos are shown and the car has been left out in the open (so not really a barn find) and showing white mould on the dash......what state is the unholstery and interior? - is the market really strong enough here in the UK to pay elevated figures for it. We have seen a few sold here over the last few years, even one with more or less delivery mileage......all seem to have taken for ever to sell at comparitively low prices. Having said all that it is a high performance C4 and good C4's certainly don't get the money they should........interesting sale!
CaptainK
CCCUK Member
I saw that on Ebay earlier. It does look tempting as a project, but I wouldn't have a clue. Still tempted though, right up to the point where I remembered that a) I don't really have money, and b) I don't get chance to drive my current two cars enough as it is, let alone time to learn and work on a ZR1.
CDC
Busy user
As a ZR1 owner who bought a car that needed almost everything overhauling, I would urge anyone to think twice about this. Even if that car sells for £5k, unless you have access to a good workshop space and can do the work yourself, you'll be into big bills paying someone else to do it. And there aren't any LT5 expert mechanics in the UK. You could easily put £20k into that car if the LT5 has a problem (it hasn't been MOTd since 2007, so may not have turned over since then). For £14k you can get a good 5.0 XKR which would be much quicker and nicer to live with. Just my opinion. But good luck to anyone bidding! Will make some good resto material for the forum.
CDC
Busy user
He'd certainly be capable. However I think he spends most of his time stateside now. And given he's rebuilt a ZR1 before I don't know how much appetite he'd have for doing it again. But stranger things have happenedI agree! Could be a job for Keith Beschi?
CDC
Busy user
Priorities change, illness, death etc. The normal hurdles that impact us, or a loved one, at some point sadly. But it's a crying shame that someone couldn't at least have put a cover on it.
Roscobbc
Moderator
GM's BK1 Callaway Twin Turbo option effectively doubled base price of C4 Vette. Guess ZR1 option did a similar thing......presumably owners of both would have needed to keep mileage low, condition high and be content to wait many years for used values to rise?
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
Looking at those photos, I see no rust, just surface dirt
The dash photo shows the gauges functional so that means at the least the IPC, ECM and CCM are functional
The LT5 is a well-designed and stout engine that handles sustained red line RPMS for many non-stop miles
so I doubt the engine is blown
The ZF 6 speed tranny is also a bullet and being it only has 43,000 miles it could be the owner died or other reasons and
the ZR-1 was just left parked
Seller may not even know what the ZR-1 is, and they should have at least say if the engine is functional
Latest bid as of today is now up to 5,100 in UK money and auction ends this coming Sunday
The dash photo shows the gauges functional so that means at the least the IPC, ECM and CCM are functional
The LT5 is a well-designed and stout engine that handles sustained red line RPMS for many non-stop miles
so I doubt the engine is blown
The ZF 6 speed tranny is also a bullet and being it only has 43,000 miles it could be the owner died or other reasons and
the ZR-1 was just left parked
Seller may not even know what the ZR-1 is, and they should have at least say if the engine is functional
Latest bid as of today is now up to 5,100 in UK money and auction ends this coming Sunday
Corvetteville
CCCUK Member
Last MOT was February 2006, which was a pass. Only covered 60 miles since. Last RFL expired 2007. Obviously being parked up for approximately 17 years , who knows what the engine is like.
Roscobbc
Moderator
Jon - with your experience how would you consider a potential purchase of the ZR1. Me? its perhaps significant the seller hasn't included interior images - so perhaps 'shot'. We don't know if the seller has tried rotating the engine manually - perhaps he has tried but hasn't said because its 'frozen'? - If it was 'frozen' will damage be created by even attempting to turn it over by 'hand'? - would normal methods of removing plugs, 'scopeing; the bores and part filling with lubricant of some descripton.......pr better to bite the bullet, accepting the cost etc of sending to a specialist for a strip down..........'can of worms' methinks!
Roscobbc
Moderator
For comparison over in the USA this was listed a few days ago 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 With 5,442 Original Miles!
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
It could be the seller has zero knowledge of the ZR-1
I have seen this happen as a woman got a ZR-1 that was her husband and then sold it as if a base Corvette for a lot less money
solely as her not knowing, some years GM only made like 448 of them a year
Other than the ass end of the body being a bit wider, and the LT-5 the rest of the car is just like a base C4
There should be no reason not to be able to hand crank the engine
Being this engine was designed by Lotus which GM owned that those in the UK could not find ex Lotus guys for info
or contact Mercury Marine’s Stillwater, OK as they built the engines for the ZR-1 and also for boats
Keep in mind he 1990–92 years flywheel HP was 385 and the ZF tranny supported more torque
where 93–95 years HP was upped to 405 HP and that ZF supported 50 ft/lbs less torque
All years using an ECM and I can tune the GM calibration to up the performance like 30 HP
which is stored in a E-prom
This came standard with the FX3 shocks that had a controller that the faster the ZR-1 was moving would change the rate of shocks
A good book to read by GM writers all about ZR-1 design stages read
LT-5 which is 4 overhead CAMs with 32 valves and 16 fuel injectors There is a secondary air mass system controlled by an electric pump that controls baffles under the intake and also there are 4 coils, each supports 2 cylinders
Here is when I had the intake manifold off
Very nice looking engine design, people would always ask me to raise the clamshell hood to take photos of the LT-5
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Steven Smith
CCCUK Member
There is only three things stopping me putting a bid in for this, money, space and the wife 
.
That said if I had the money and the space I would take my chances on the third as it could be such an interesting project.
.That said if I had the money and the space I would take my chances on the third as it could be such an interesting project.
Roscobbc
Moderator
You Steve......would quite possibly be the 'perfect fit' for taking on the potential oddities that this could throw up.There is only three things stopping me putting a bid in for this, money, space and the wife
That said if I had the money and the space I would take my chances on the third as it could be such an interesting project.