88 vs 92 corvette

[Theodore K.]

I have a friend that is still looking at Corvettes to buy. His latest questions concern an 88 with 90K miles that is good shape vs. a 92 with 135K miles that is also in good shape. Both look good but that tells little. They sound good, except the 92 is reported to have a new lower end (don't know why), alum heads and it has a valve tick that was said to be a roller cam. The 92 is $1000 more than the 88. Since my experience is more in the C1 vintage I ask a question to you C4 folks:

Did the 92 have a roller cam?
Were they noisy normally?
How about alum heads?
Opinions on better buy. (Hard to do without seeing either but want general opinions.
Thanks,
Ted von Kampen

[George C.]

Re: 88 vs 92 corvette

Hi Ted, Do your friend a favor and tell him to keep looking, Save the Wave.>George

[Joe L.]

Re: 88 vs 92 corvette

Ted-----

(1) The 1992 Corvette with LT1 did have a roller cam. However, so does the 1988 Corvette L-98;

(2) The 1992 LT1 camshaft was notoriously noisy and sounded almost like mechanical lifters. GM changed it for 1993 for this very reason and also added the composite valve covers to further reduce noise;

(3) Both the 88 and 92 have aluminum heads, although the heads are different. Aluminum heads have been used on all Corvettes since 1987 and have worked out pretty well;

(4) The main problem with LT1s (or LT4s, for that matter) is the Opti-Spark distributor. However, the vented version worked out pretty well. Whether the later 1992 to 94 "naturally vented" type or the 95-97 "vacuum vented" type, they both work pretty well. The police car fleet of the city that I worked for prior to my retirement included, at one time, a lot of Caprices with the Gen II small block engines. LOTS of miles were piled up on these cars since the police department liked them so much they didn't want to get rid of them on the normal schedule and no more were being built by GM. The fleet manager told me that they had very little problem with either type of Opti-Spark.

5) I like 1992s; I bought one new and I still have it. 1992 was a very low production year and you don't see a lot of 92s. In my opinion, the 1992 LT1 engine was the best looking small block engine ever installed in a Corvette. When I first saw the picture of a 1992 LT1 on the cover of Motor Trend Magazine (in early 1991, as I recall), I KNEW that I had to have one. In October, 1991 I ordered one.

[Joe L.]

Addendum

By the way, when I said "...I first saw the picture of an LT1 on the cover of Motor Trend Magazine...", I was talking about a picture of the engine, itself, and not the car. Externally, 1992 Corvettes look just like 1991s except for the exhaust tips.