My parents just gave me their old 1993 Corvette with almost 170,000 miles on it. The car runs great with only a few small problems that I'm trying to fix.

I'm 18 and don't make alot of money. What performance add ons can I get for pretty cheap? Thank you

You can get the B&B Tri-Flow exhaust for around a grand. Get a little more beefy sound to it.

hedmen long tube headers from summit for my 84 the cost $149.00 not bad price :cheers:

How about a hypertech power chip, $220.00

hedmen long tube headers from summit for my 84 the cost $149.00 not bad price :cheers:


Headers really aren't as expensive as I thought they would be. Any idea on how much HP I can get from these? Also will I need to retune the car?

How about a hypertech power chip, $220.00

Dumb question: That does seem really priced good. Do I just plug that into the car or does it need to be tuned after? Any idea on how much power adding this chip gives?

Thanks so much everyone. I'm new and just learning this car so I'm very happy and grateful for your help.

Headers really aren't as expensive as I thought they would be. Any idea on how much HP I can get from these? Also will I need to retune the car? your car will not have to be retuned after wards and i real cant say i have seen pepole clame 20hp increas but if i were telling some on i would say a max of about 10 hp also you car is an lt1 right if so i have a freind that had an lt1 camaro that used to take out ls1 vette i can ask hime some ?? for you just fyi he put an 402 lsx in it witch he built in his kitchen :thud: :cheers: thing shuold run 10's also look in to cam shafts and for handling dont over look a good set of tires

your car will not have to be retuned after wards and i real cant say i have seen pepole clame 20hp increas but if i were telling some on i would say a max of about 10 hp also you car is an lt1 right if so i have a freind that had an lt1 camaro that used to take out ls1 vette i can ask hime some ?? for you just fyi he put an 402 lsx in it witch he built in his kitchen :thud: :cheers: thing shuold run 10's also look in to cam shafts and for handling dont over look a good set of tires

Ok so don't expect alot of HP gains from the headers. I am looking for tires. I have another thread here asking about tires and which will last the longest?

well define major power boost keep in mind that the only things that will giver a 50 pluss boost in hp are nitrous turbo and superchargers all of witch need other stuff done to the motor to last also when you start building things like longtubes cam shaft intake heads all work together to build hp

it gose like this pick 2
fast reliable cheap

Hi,

My name is LEE and im a sales rep. for ZIP-PRODUCTS.We are a major suplier for corvette parts from your restoration to performance needs .my # toll free is 1-800-962-9632ext.258 .If you have any questions feel free to give me a call or check out our web site www.zip-products.com...thank you

A good book for budget Vetters is "101 Projects for your Corvette"...buy it off Amazon used.

Headers won't give you much of anything..LT1 stock exhaust manifolds very efficient & actually so was there exhaust system.

Besides spending $ making sure everything is in tip top running condition, spend the money on steeper rear gears & it will easily give you most bang for buck!

dont know about lt1 vette but my friends camaro got a 20 hp boost exhast and a beter air box wile gears will give you a good kick keep in mind that it will cut some top end speed

My parents just gave me their old 1993 Corvette with almost 170,000 miles on it. The car runs great with only a few small problems that I'm trying to fix.

I'm 18 and don't make alot of money. What performance add ons can I get for pretty cheap? Thank you
Geez! Life's rough! When I was 18 I got a '62 Buick... (back in '79).

I'm 47 next week and, up until this guy came along, I thought I was doing ok with a '92 Vette...

Just a few suggestions guy... (1.) don't do a damn thing to it until you've researched what you're about to do and what impact it will have on the whole car. Failing to do this will cause you to spend a bunch of money (that you may not have in the first place) without giving you the results that you're looking for. Learn about the car, learn how it works and why - and when you understand that - then you can begin to modify it. The car is no slouch as it is - even with 170K on the clock. (2.) Respect the car. Take care of it. Not only will it save you a bunch of money, it might just save your life. I remember how I drove that poor Buick when I was 18 and all I can say is - if it had been a Corvette, I wouldn't be writing this. (3.) Consider yourself very fortunate, drive responsibly and enjoy the car. If you do all this, you may find yourself at age 47 with that same car still in your garage. (I still have my Buick, but I drive it a whole lot easier these days. It means even more to me today than it did back then.)

:iagree: I have spent over 3 years just learning what i can do to my car and how to do it and like he said becarfull with it :cheers:

My parents just gave me their old 1993 Corvette with almost 170,000 miles on it. The car runs great with only a few small problems that I'm trying to fix.

I'm 18 and don't make alot of money. What performance add ons can I get for pretty cheap? Thank you


I seriously would save you money and skip the headers, chip & all that.
Save yourself for a good cam like a 224/224 or slightly bigger or consider converting the motor over too LT4.

Header, exhaust and intake will only really help if you are using a bigger cam.

A good book for budget Vetters is "101 Projects for your Corvette"...buy it off Amazon used.

Headers won't give you much of anything..LT1 stock exhaust manifolds very efficient & actually so was there exhaust system.

Besides spending $ making sure everything is in tip top running condition, spend the money on steeper rear gears & it will easily give you most bang for buck!

Thats a tip I will take! Appreciate you posting this! I'm trying to cut cost corners on my '85 that does have a motor thats on its last leg.

Nitrous is going to be your bigest bang for the buck. However you have alot of miles on the car. Before spraying it I would do a compression test and leak down test.

Dave

Geez! Life's rough! When I was 18 I got a '62 Buick... (back in '79).

I'm 47 next week and, up until this guy came along, I thought I was doing ok with a '92 Vette...

Just a few suggestions guy... (1.) don't do a damn thing to it until you've researched what you're about to do and what impact it will have on the whole car. Failing to do this will cause you to spend a bunch of money (that you may not have in the first place) without giving you the results that you're looking for. Learn about the car, learn how it works and why - and when you understand that - then you can begin to modify it. The car is no slouch as it is - even with 170K on the clock. (2.) Respect the car. Take care of it. Not only will it save you a bunch of money, it might just save your life. I remember how I drove that poor Buick when I was 18 and all I can say is - if it had been a Corvette, I wouldn't be writing this. (3.) Consider yourself very fortunate, drive responsibly and enjoy the car. If you do all this, you may find yourself at age 47 with that same car still in your garage. (I still have my Buick, but I drive it a whole lot easier these days. It means even more to me today than it did back then.)


WOW Great advice, thank you!

THere is alot of good information in this post and some so-so advice.
I have quite a bit of experience in building the LT1....feel free to ask any questions you might have.

The mods will depend on how you want to use the car, and the goals you have for it.

Make sure you get the book "101 Projects for your Corvette"... I'm also new to the corvette world (just bought my 1993 this year) and this book has taught me alot as well as saved me some money. There are so many companies selling mods that claim to do this and that and this book breaks down what works and what is a waste of time and hard earned money. It also gives advice on how to keep your vette well maintained. This book is one of the best investments i made.
Take car of your car and your car will take care of you.
BE SAFE AND KEEP THE WAVE GOING:thumbsup:

This isn't what you are wanting to hear but......
With 170,000 on the car, I'd forget about modifying it and just get it running as good as you can, fix the little issues like cosmetics and non-working items...upgrading tires and wheels are a good idea, maybe the brakes as well.
Adding things like nitrous or other mods that will give a big HP gain will likely be more than a 170,000 mile engine can handle. Save up some money, and in a year or two or three get a complete rebuild from one of the well known tuners or a crate motor.

How about a hypertech power chip, $220.00

:iagree: Great buy!

Do not put NOS in your car not only will you fry your motor but you might kill your self.... if your looking for power your car already has it pretty sure none of your friends will be able to race you so dont worry about speed you got enough. if you are really looking to get your car fast you might want to specify for what. different things are more aimed at different kids of speed ie Drag, and Circuit if you really are looking for stop light to stop light power like i was when i was 18 then i would go with a CAM it is a good start from there you can build around that cause without a good cam really your wasting your money..... start with cam then you can move to Exhaust, Intake, Throttle Body, Ignition System, and whatever else you want so theres my two cents have fun with your new car a congrads:party: :burnout: :thumbsup:

I would not change any thing I have a 88 on a nitrous diet low miles that is the best bang for the buck

Air Foils are great, K and N air filters are great as well, Hypertech chip. All pretty cheap and offer good power gains. After that work on the exhaust. :burnout:

The best advice I saw was from Corvette Mongo. At 170,000 miles any mod except for the exhaust is going to really stress the engine. Just get the car running as good as possible in stock form and concentrate on safety items. Tires,brakes, etc. Enjoy the car as is and start saving money. When rebuild time comes then you can modify the engine as you want. Most cruise night cars are not near as fast or put out as much horsepower as the owner would like you to believe. Enjoy a great car and be safe. You have plenty of time to add more power.

Find out what the rear gears are. If it is a six speed upgrade to 4.09 gears or if auto go for 3.73. Some auto vettes came with really high gears and they run like dogs.