Gm Service Parts For 80's & 90's

[Kenneth B.]

I have found that GM is no longer suppling parts for 80'S &90'S Corvettes. Are they just going to cut & run to save money & leave owners to search junk yards like in the old days. This sucks. a lot of the cars will not run without some of the sensors.
KEN

[Ken A.]

Re: Gm Service Parts For 80's & 90's

Most of the sensors are available thru Delphi, the OEM supplier. What specific parts did you want? To cut costs GM is disconning 1000's of parts. Haven't you heard of their new plan?

[Robert C.]

Re: Gm Service Parts For 80's & 90's

Ken,

Vintage Auto Parts (vpartsinc.com) often has quite a bit of parts for '80 & 90's GM vehicles.

Sometimes your GM dealer can order through them, or contact a specialty
Corvette shop........I don't believe they sell to the public.

Bob

[Joe L.]

Re: Gm Service Parts For 80's & 90's

I have found that GM is no longer suppling parts for 80'S &90'S Corvettes. Are they just going to cut & run to save money & leave owners to search junk yards like in the old days. This sucks. a lot of the cars will not run without some of the sensors.
KEN

Ken-----


GM has ALWAYS discontinued parts for older model cars, Corvettes included. 80's and 90's Corvettes are now "old cars". Even certain parts which GM must continue to service for a certain number of years are WAY past that requirement now for ANY 80's or 90's car.

GM has NOT discontinued ALL parts for 80's and 90's cars, though. Some parts are still available through GM and/or Delco. However, there are certain critical parts which are not available. Some of these are available through aftermarket suppliers; some are not. For those that are not, one has to go the "salvage" route. This is really not a lot different than it was for 60's and 70's Corvettes, say, 20 years ago.

There IS one big difference, though. C4 Corvettes are the most complex and content-rich Corvettes ever built or that likely will EVER be built. There are LOTS of parts to go wrong. While reproduction parts are available for most C2 and C3 Corvettes to fill just about every need, there are very few reproduction parts available for C4's. I really don't think there ever will be, either.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: Gm Service Parts For 80's & 90's

Ken-----


GM has ALWAYS discontinued parts for older model cars, Corvettes included. 80's and 90's Corvettes are now "old cars". Even certain parts which GM must continue to service for a certain number of years are WAY past that requirement now for ANY 80's or 90's car.

GM has NOT discontinued ALL parts for 80's and 90's cars, though. Some parts are still available through GM and/or Delco. However, there are certain critical parts which are not available. Some of these are available through aftermarket suppliers; some are not. For those that are not, one has to go the "salvage" route. This is really not a lot different than it was for 60's and 70's Corvettes, say, 20 years ago.

There IS one big difference, though. C4 Corvettes are the most complex and content-rich Corvettes ever built or that likely will EVER be built. There are LOTS of parts to go wrong. While reproduction parts are available for most C2 and C3 Corvettes to fill just about every need, there are very few reproduction parts available for C4's. I really don't think there ever will be, either.

JOE
My point was that back in the day you could get parts to make a 60'S Corvette to run even though it was not correct for the car. I am afraid now it will be hard to find parts to make the C-4'S run. Like you say they are very complex. Thats why I like the old cars. Compression,spark & fuel it would go,
KEN

[Joe L.]

Re: Gm Service Parts For 80's & 90's

JOE
My point was that back in the day you could get parts to make a 60'S Corvette to run even though it was not correct for the car. I am afraid now it will be hard to find parts to make the C-4'S run. Like you say they are very complex. Thats why I like the old cars. Compression,spark & fuel it would go,
KEN

Ken-----


Yes, there will come a time when it's going to be very difficult to keep a C4 on the road; I've been saying this for a long time now. The earlier C4's will be affected first. Until that time, used parts will fill the "gap" for parts no longer available from GM and not otherwise available in the aftermarket. Unfortunately, many of the used parts are going to have to be the sort of parts which are life-limited, and, generally, a poor investment since one doesn't know how much life they have left in them. But, as they say, "any port in a storm".

When the supply of used parts "dries up", many C4's will "fall by the wayside". But, in doing so, they'll contribute to the available supply of other parts, re-proving the old axiom "some must die so that others can live".

Fortunately, most engine and transmission parts are common with other Chevrolet models and will be available from GM or in the aftermarket for as long as it will matter to any of us. The "problem areas" for keeping a car on the road will be electronics and emissions controls.