Mark's 1999 Corvette Website

Prior to owning my 1996 LT4 Collector Edition Corvette I had a 1972 Mille Miglia red coupe w/ LS5 (454 ci) and 4 speed. The '72 was a beautiful chrome bumpered C3, but I had the "itch" for a newer model Corvette that I could take to club cruises and weekend trips and not worry about adding on the miles or something happening mechanically to the Vette!! One evening while playing on the Forum, I found a post on the "C3 Vettes For Sale / Wanted" forum from a gentleman that was looking to trade his C3 for a C4. The only response that he got was from SILVRTOY, the owner of a 1996 LT4 CE. I decided to contact SILVRTOY to see what he was looking for. WELL...to make a long story short, after many e-mail and phone conversations (over about 1 1/2 months) we decided that we wanted each other's Corvette. I invited SILVRTOY to Charlotte for the 2003 Spring AutoFair to show the '96 with my club, The Race City Corvettes. This picture was taken at that show where we parked together. We actually worked out the trade and made the transaction at the show. The best part was that the '96 took the 2nd place trophy and the '72 took third. The trophies went with the cars!!

The interior on my Collector Edition was Light Gray with perfect leather sport seats. Very little signs of wear on the carpets or the seats. Shortly after purchasing my '96, I was convinced that I had to get rid of the stock shifter. After a little research I made the decision to go with the Hurst Billet Plus short throw shifter. Man what a difference. The shifts were very "crisp" and true. This is the shifter that should have come standard from the factory! In addition to the shifter I also added a round black Hurst shifter knob (good for at least 10 hp by itself!!).

My '96 Collector Edition came with the one year only LT4 engine option. In addition to the great power of this special Chevy small block, this option could only be coupled with a 6 speed transmission. It just didn't get much better than this!!

1996 LT4 Specifications:
Type .......................................... 5.7Liter V8
Bore/Stroke(in.) ......................... 4.0 x 3.480
Displacement (liters/ci) ................... 5.7 / 350
Horsepower ...................... 330 @ 5800 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) .................... 340 @ 4500 rpm
Redline (rpm) ....................................... 6300
Compression Ratio ............................. 10.8:1
Block / Heads ...............Cast Iron / Aluminum
Hydraulic Lifters ..........................Yes / Roller
Cam Drive .......................................... Chain
Fuel Induction ........................................ SFI

The LT4 Corvette in stock form is an incredible performance machine. However, I wanted something that was just a little "better" than stock, but still looked stock! As a result, my '96 was "tastefully" upgraded!! The list below shows some of the performance upgrades to my CE:

* TPiS ZZ-9 Hydraulic Roller Cam
* Open Air Box w/ K&N Filter
* Ceramic Coated Hooker Shorty Headers
* Borla Stainless Steel CatBack Exhaust
* Hurst Billet Plus Shifter w/ Black Hurst Knob
* R-D Racing's Camber-Brace
* 4.10 Rear Gears
* !CAGS (eliminated 1st to 4th skip shift)

THE END!!