Wouldn't you know it... my first day back from Vacation and one of my best/most irritating customers had their '94 C4 convertible towed in. Complaint was "died in flight". I've got good fuel pressure, good compression, no spark. We all know where this is headed... the dreaded Optispark. Last time I repaired one of these had to have been at least a decade ago... even GM can't get the part anymore. I refuse to install a Cardone, so we're going with an Accel which is supposedly brand new. Yea, sure.
The car in question has it's original plugs, wires, and I assume dizzy and water pump. This is a 100k mile C4, to be clear. Assuming my customer approves the work, I'll be replacing everything from the WP to the spark plugs. Part of me hopes the customer bails... he picked this thing up at an estate sale for a song about 6 years ago and barely drives the thing. It's just a Polo Green over Tan convertible, auto trans, about 100k on the dash but it's exceptionally clean. I figure I'll low-ball him to the point I'm borderline offensive... something like $4k as-is. Assuming it does need all the work I mentioned, I'd be looking at 4-5 hours labor and $3-400 in parts, wholesale.
I realize that C4 Vette's are generally scoffed at, however the way I see it there will always be a market for ANY Corvette, especially drop tops (unless one plans on track driving). The car in question has been personally serviced by me since my customer acquired the thing at an estate sale. It's sporting new tires, all new brakes, new rear wheel hubs, along with numerous little odds and ends. 100% stock, also, right down to the radio and air intake.
Anywho, should my customer go forward with the repair I'll be sure to document the process. I've only worked on one Optispark in my career, and I don't remember it being fun.
The car in question has it's original plugs, wires, and I assume dizzy and water pump. This is a 100k mile C4, to be clear. Assuming my customer approves the work, I'll be replacing everything from the WP to the spark plugs. Part of me hopes the customer bails... he picked this thing up at an estate sale for a song about 6 years ago and barely drives the thing. It's just a Polo Green over Tan convertible, auto trans, about 100k on the dash but it's exceptionally clean. I figure I'll low-ball him to the point I'm borderline offensive... something like $4k as-is. Assuming it does need all the work I mentioned, I'd be looking at 4-5 hours labor and $3-400 in parts, wholesale.
I realize that C4 Vette's are generally scoffed at, however the way I see it there will always be a market for ANY Corvette, especially drop tops (unless one plans on track driving). The car in question has been personally serviced by me since my customer acquired the thing at an estate sale. It's sporting new tires, all new brakes, new rear wheel hubs, along with numerous little odds and ends. 100% stock, also, right down to the radio and air intake.
Anywho, should my customer go forward with the repair I'll be sure to document the process. I've only worked on one Optispark in my career, and I don't remember it being fun.
