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1998 Malibu Corvette


DutchMalibu

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I stumbled upon a 1998 Malibu Corvette, here in Europe beige, not in the most perfect shape but still..... it's a real nice boat for (I think) a real good price.... I believe this has the Callaway engine, but I'm not sure if it has 380 or 400 hp....? Also, does anybody know the top speed and what kind of hull it is. Is it similar to the Response of those years and therefore a good barefoot wake?

Any thoughts in general about the 1st gen Malibu Corvette?

Thanks,

DutchMalibu

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Barefoot wake should be pretty good since its on the same hull as the Response LX. You might want to track down a Scarpa Supression Plate if the boat has the transom bracket installed (big black anodized plate between the exhaust outlets). It helps with barefoot wake performance by firming up the table. In general that hull is considered one of the best inboard wakes for barefoot.

My memory is fuzzy on top speed but 58 MPH is stuck in my head but that may have been the barefoot edition Response which had the 365 engine. The Corvettes might break 60 MPH but its been a long time since I was around one.

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Dear Dutch Malibu,

I had in my previous Response a 315 Black Scorpion (350) and was looking for the Corvette 400 (383).

It's a nice boat wake is good even better as the Response now for Barefoot special with the Ron Scarpa Plate.

I believe I still have a Ron Scarpa Plate in my warehouse.

Just placed a bid on the boat only we need to go look at this boat.

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The Vette boat of that era did have a slightly taller pitch prop, 13x15 if I recall. As noted, a trim plate at the transom. The one I had a chance to experience did exhibit a bit of porposing with the plate, but I would guess that fully retracted should not be a problem. Certainly a very unique package and they tend to keep some value due to exclusivity.

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The Callaways were used in the first 125 of the boats built in 1997 (see my avitar). I don't know if some of these were carried over into a '98 hull. After the first 125, they switched to the production Corvette motors, and reused the Corvette boat design (added additional colors) with some slight upholstery changes. The most notable difference is the square C-4 "tail lights" in '97, and the round ones in '98+...

Re; 99Response: (please clean out your in-box, I've been trying to PM you...) As far as the reliability of the Callaways, like anything, it's how you treat them. When I bought my Vette, the previous owner had blown a head gasket, and was patched together (pretty poorly) but ran ok (so I thought). I had a machine shop tear the motor down and inspect everything. He said it was a very well built motor (SRS pistons, Crower rods, 4-bolt mains, etc) but the heads had to be completely redone (wrong length valve on one intake (?!), spring tensions were messed up, and water passages were clogged). This has been problem free for ~300 hrs since the re-assembly. Running properly, yes these are a ~60 mph boat.

oh yes, the trim plate was added to these because the boat does porpoise at high speed with people in the back seat. Is more for attitude (lower the bow to stop bouncing) rather than for wake tuning. I'm not sure if you could also add a Scarpa plate...

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I had a machine shop tear the motor down and inspect everything. He said it was a very well built motor (SRS pistons, Crower rods, 4-bolt mains, etc) but the heads had to be completely redone (wrong length valve on one intake (?!), spring tensions were messed up, and water passages were clogged).

FYI, the LT1/LT4 Vette blocks had 4 bolt mains; the F-body and B-body cars had 2 bolt mains (though there has been rumors of certain cars getting 4-bolt mains randomly but I'm not sure if that's the case). I'm not sure if the rare LT4 SS and Firehawks had 4-bolt mains, but I am guessing they did.

Is the heads on your motor just a stock LT1 head or is any work done to them? Or is it LT4 based or even aftermarket (AFR was about the only aftermarket head available at that time if I recall correctly).

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The Callaways are not based on an LT1; they are the previous generation SB and heads are iron.

That's the first I read of that and 100% opposite of what you said about your motor in 2009:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/22634-97-corvette-ignition-timing/

"The '97 'Vette has the Callaway Supernatural 383. This engine started life as a GM LT1 which got "Callaway-ized" (stroked, electric water pump, lots of blue anodized goodies, Corvette fuel rails, etc), then got marine-ized by Indmar (marine starter/altenator, Johnson water pump, etc). They only made 125 of these engines. The follow-on Vettes used the LS-1 production Indmar motors..."

Obviously it isn't running an Optispark (or at least not the ignition side of it), but the Opti can be eliminated with a different intake, timing chain cover, and ECU setup.

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Yup, I was wrong and I have since been corrected. I had an '96 Impala SS so I am familiar with the LT-1. The marine engines typically lag the car/truck engines. I'll go fix my original post...

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