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Interested in Purchasing a 99' Corvette Malibu Need Advice!


FLATOUT

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Hello everyone this is my first post here.

Just a little background on why I am interested in this boat. I am a freelance photographer for Corvette Enthusiast Magazine, as well as Vette Magazine. I currently own a C5 Z06 Corvette that is being featured in the mags this Winter.

Well I am moving home to Houston Texas to Lake Conroe. My initial thought was to pick up another Vette to go with the one that I have now, but then I got to thinking about the Malibu Vette Boats.

I can't afford the new ones, and frankly the 99's match my body style Vette to that is what I am interested in. My brother in law has a nice Nautique that the family wake boards with and my parents a nice Crownline that they cruise in.

I want a HOT ROD but don't want a large boat.

Do you guys have any experience with the boats and or any advice in terms of purchase or locating one. I have seen 1 or 2 online for a hair under 30K but with this economy and winter approaching I would think now would be a good time to pick one up.

Thanks for helping a hopefully soon to be Malibu owner.

Here's some pics of the Vette it will go with!

Thanks,

Andy Wheeler

FLATOUTFRONT.jpg

PhotoshopCloudsCarCool2.jpg

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Nice vette.

IMHO inboards do not make good "hot rod" boats. If you want a good tow boat with a more hot road theme then that boat might be good for you. If you want something to go fast in and just cruise the water then you may be disappointed.

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Nice vette.

IMHO inboards do not make good "hot rod" boats. If you want a good tow boat with a more hot road theme then that boat might be good for you. If you want something to go fast in and just cruise the water then you may be disappointed.

Thanks I appreciate the honest feedback. So how are these boats viewed in Malibu circles? I ASSume they are novelties marketed at a buyer like myself who just wants a toy to match his car. Is there anyone on the board here with actual time in one of these?

I think we would probably use it mostly for just cruising around or towing people around the cove on tubes and stuff.

I am guessing this is just a 400hp tow boat made to look like a Vette?

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback.

Andy Wheeler

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I am sending a link to this thread to a good friend of mine that has a GS Vette and matching Vette boat. He can give you as much info as you would need.

BTW...Welcome to this site. Welcome.gif

Thank you very much I know that Boat! I was either going to buy a Grand Sport Corvette to add to the stable or the Vette Boat and right now I am leaning towards the boat!

I appreciate you passing along the info and thanks for the welcome to the site!

Andy Wheeler

Corvette Enthusiast Magazine

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Welcome to the Crew! Ronnie passed along your interest in a Corvette boat. Mine is the No. 1 VIN built by Malibu in 1997, and the very first of approximately 125 Corvette boats built over a 3 year period. It is also the only Grand Sport version built as well and it matches my 1996 GS Corvette with the same red guts. The boat was kept out of the water until 2004 when it made its maiden voyage on Lake Granbury, Texas. The Callaway engineered 383 Stroker with 400 HP never ran quite right and constantly fouled plugs. Callaway sent the Dallas Malibu dealer new codes, but that did did not solve the issues. At around 50 hours, the motor grenaded and was replaced with a Hammerhead 383 (400 hp) Stroker motor and the boat has been running exceptionally ever since! Moral of the story is to look for a later version Vette boat as Callaway did not build all the motors for these boats. If all you want, however, is a show boat to match your car, then even the Callaway models would work for you. I have been showing both the '97 GS Malibu and my '96 GS Vette at car shows around the state for some time. This past week, I added a '63 GS Corvette race car to the line up that will add even more to the display. Send me an email and I'll upload some pics for you if you want them.

Again, welcome!

Robert

Edited by Robert
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We couldn't give a used one away a few years ago, people ask crazy prices for them but I don't think they ever get it. Personally I think $30k for a 9 year old Echelon hull with a crappy motor is not a good idea.

If you really want one though look for a 2000 (maybe an 01 too) with the LS1 and stay away from the 383.

-Chris

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We couldn't give a used one away a few years ago, people ask crazy prices for them but I don't think they ever get it. Personally I think $30k for a 9 year old Echelon hull with a crappy motor is not a good idea.

If you really want one though look for a 2000 (maybe an 01 too) with the LS1 and stay away from the 383.

-Chris

Or try to get it on the cheap & plan on rebuilding/replacing that 383. It seems like Galaxytoad rebuilt the Callaway that came in his Sporty with very good results. Could be a fun project. ;)

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We couldn't give a used one away a few years ago, people ask crazy prices for them but I don't think they ever get it. Personally I think $30k for a 9 year old Echelon hull with a crappy motor is not a good idea.

If you really want one though look for a 2000 (maybe an 01 too) with the LS1 and stay away from the 383.

-Chris

Or try to get it on the cheap & plan on rebuilding/replacing that 383. It seems like Galaxytoad rebuilt the Callaway that came in his Sporty with very good results. Could be a fun project. ;)

They offered that callaway motor in anything else but the corvette? I thought it was a corvette only deal.

I just think it is cooler (relatively speaking) to have a corvette boat with an actual corvette motor in it. Plus that LS1 is fun on those smaller DDs.

-Chris

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We couldn't give a used one away a few years ago, people ask crazy prices for them but I don't think they ever get it. Personally I think $30k for a 9 year old Echelon hull with a crappy motor is not a good idea.

If you really want one though look for a 2000 (maybe an 01 too) with the LS1 and stay away from the 383.

-Chris

Or try to get it on the cheap & plan on rebuilding/replacing that 383. It seems like Galaxytoad rebuilt the Callaway that came in his Sporty with very good results. Could be a fun project. ;)

They offered that callaway motor in anything else but the corvette? I thought it was a corvette only deal.

I just think it is cooler (relatively speaking) to have a corvette boat with an actual corvette motor in it. Plus that LS1 is fun on those smaller DDs.

-Chris

Totally agree, although Callaway for a time was a company that worked at customizing Vettes. Not sure if they still do.

I'll see if I can dig up GT's thread about it. I'm pretty sure that I remember him saying that it was a Callaway boat.

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Thats right they advertised those crappy Callaway "aluminum fast burn heads" on the older hammerheads.

Seems like Indmar and Callaway could never gets things to work right huh.

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Everyone thanks soooooo much for the feedback!

Very interesting reading here! I am interested in the red vette boat in Utah it is a 99 but has the callaway motor. I personally would love to swap an LS6 motor from the C5 Z06 into it which is what I currently have in my vette.

Does anyone know what these seem to sell for? I received a reply from the dealer selling the Utah boat and I am waiting on there offer.

I am EXTREMELY Excited about finding one of these and getting it ready for the lake and some Corvetteforum.com gatherings at my house. I am currently the Maryland Events Coordinator for that site and I would love to take a bunch of Vette guys out on the lake in one of these boats.

Anyways thank you all very much for your info.

This so far is the only real world knowledge I have been able to find on ownership experiences.

Thanks,

Andy Wheeler

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My dealer's personal boat is a Vette boat. He currently has it for sale. If you are interested I could get the details. (Oregon is a very long ways from TX though)

Joe

I would actually be interested!

Shoot me an email if you would.

[email protected]

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I just think it is cooler (relatively speaking) to have a corvette boat with an actual corvette motor in it. Plus that LS1 is fun on those smaller DDs.

-Chris

It seems like MC had the rights to sell that motor in the late 90s.

I remember thinking it seemed stupid for GM to license one boat manufacturer to sell the Vette boat, and another manufacturer to sell the Vette engine.

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We couldn't give a used one away a few years ago, people ask crazy prices for them but I don't think they ever get it. Personally I think $30k for a 9 year old Echelon hull with a crappy motor is not a good idea.

If you really want one though look for a 2000 (maybe an 01 too) with the LS1 and stay away from the 383.

-Chris

Or try to get it on the cheap & plan on rebuilding/replacing that 383. It seems like Galaxytoad rebuilt the Callaway that came in his Sporty with very good results. Could be a fun project. ;)

They offered that callaway motor in anything else but the corvette? I thought it was a corvette only deal.

I just think it is cooler (relatively speaking) to have a corvette boat with an actual corvette motor in it. Plus that LS1 is fun on those smaller DDs.

-Chris

Totally agree, although Callaway for a time was a company that worked at customizing Vettes. Not sure if they still do.

I'll see if I can dig up GT's thread about it. I'm pretty sure that I remember him saying that it was a Callaway boat.

Callaway was and still is one of the Premier vette builders and tuners in the country. Although they do seem to have lost some of there luster over the last 5 years or so. The Callaway motor to a Vette guy is a HUGE plus in terms of collectibility, but if your actually trying to use the boat which I plan on doing then it doesn't sound like the best option.

Callaway is still located in Connecticut and I still have a Connection or two in there facility. Who knows maybe they can shed some light on possible fixes for that motor.

Andy

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My dealer's personal boat is a Vette boat. He currently has it for sale. If you are interested I could get the details. (Oregon is a very long ways from TX though)

Joe

I would actually be interested!

Shoot me an email if you would.

[email protected]

Call Gary at 541-475-2476, they're open for another hour. Tell him that Joe & Tracie sent you. :)

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A couple of items from the line of threads. Skiers Pier in SE Michigan I think still has a red 99 Corvette boat for sale, you might try contacting them (skierspier.com to get contact info).

The tournament ski boat will not be a high speed type of boat, they tend to push the nose down depending on the amount of hook at the transom in an effort to minimize the wake. Thus, they carry a lot of wetted surface area when on plane, therefore a significant amount of drag. The first generation Corvette boat does have an adjustable hook at the back that allows the boat to run with less hull in the water, thus it will run a bit faster than it's sister hull boat (Echelon) on the S23 hull with it retracted.

A couple of notes were made referencing the fast burn heads. I have installed a set of the aluminum fast burn heads along with a ZZ4 cam and it made a fantastic combination, I have more than 650 hours on a set. Along with a free flowing exhaust system the boat will run about 55 mph and easily out accelerates pretty much any other tournament ski boat. No idle quality loss, no loss of low end power and a large increase in 2500-5000 acceleration. The boat pulls to 5600 rpm quite nicely. I think the key is to be very careful on picking the correct camshaft to go along with the rest of the system and to pick one for the correct duty cycle for a tournament type boat. You need to maintain a lot of low end torque and not get too greedy for top end power.

Also, the blue Vette boat is one of the best, if not the best looking boat I have ever seen, what a great combo with the blue GS. The white Malibu Vette I have seen needs to go with the other GS Vette in the photo of the two. The wheels on Mr. Wheelers C5 are awesome also. It is great to see some cool gearhead car shots.

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A couple of items from the line of threads. Skiers Pier in SE Michigan I think still has a red 99 Corvette boat for sale, you might try contacting them (skierspier.com to get contact info).

The tournament ski boat will not be a high speed type of boat, they tend to push the nose down depending on the amount of hook at the transom in an effort to minimize the wake. Thus, they carry a lot of wetted surface area when on plane, therefore a significant amount of drag. The first generation Corvette boat does have an adjustable hook at the back that allows the boat to run with less hull in the water, thus it will run a bit faster than it's sister hull boat (Echelon) on the S23 hull with it retracted.

A couple of notes were made referencing the fast burn heads. I have installed a set of the aluminum fast burn heads along with a ZZ4 cam and it made a fantastic combination, I have more than 650 hours on a set. Along with a free flowing exhaust system the boat will run about 55 mph and easily out accelerates pretty much any other tournament ski boat. No idle quality loss, no loss of low end power and a large increase in 2500-5000 acceleration. The boat pulls to 5600 rpm quite nicely. I think the key is to be very careful on picking the correct camshaft to go along with the rest of the system and to pick one for the correct duty cycle for a tournament type boat. You need to maintain a lot of low end torque and not get too greedy for top end power.

Also, the blue Vette boat is one of the best, if not the best looking boat I have ever seen, what a great combo with the blue GS. The white Malibu Vette I have seen needs to go with the other GS Vette in the photo of the two. The wheels on Mr. Wheelers C5 are awesome also. It is great to see some cool gearhead car shots.

I appreciate the help everyone

Before I call either of these individuals does anyone know if either of these two boats are 2000's if they did indeed make one with an LS1 I would be thrilled, I have been building and racing LS motored cars for the last 10 years so I am very familiar with the motors. I would actually love to find an LS6 from a Z06 like my car and install it into a Torch red Vette boat.

Anyways anymore info on the two boats previously spoken of?

I am in no rush and want to get the right boat for me, and at the right price. With the economy in the dumps and this being an older boat I don't want to pay way more then I should.

Thanks everyone!

Andy Wheeler

I would love to throw this in it! How about a blown LS6 making 700 HP now that would be fun LOL. For now I will keep it in my vette.

FLATOUTENGINE1-1.jpg

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Slider & I think that Gary's is a '99. Can't remember for sure though. I'd be happy to call & ask him tomorrow, since it's a local call for me & will just give me an excuse to call & harass them. :lol:

Thank you very much! I appreciate it! This board is super helpful you guys and girls obviously are very lucky to have a community this nice on the web.

Andy Wheeler

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