GT Avalanche - ´97 or ´98 ?

[oligali]

So I found this beauty in the local ads and brought it home for not a lot of money...

Now I wonder what to do with it, it was a classic impulse buy , just couldn´t resist.

Fisrt I´d like to identify the year, in the catalogues I found online, I couldn´t find this colour-scheme, there is a ´97 Avalanche LE in white with a Marz Z2, but no Ball-burnished one. Also on the decals it doesn´t say LE, so the Z2 might have been added later, or not?
The frame number is K010302028, any knowledge about that in the community?

Here are some pictures, it needs a good scrub and some TLC, but otherwise looks not ridden a lot. Seems like a lot of original parts are still there, even the Michelin Wildgripper rubber.

And then, of course, I would be thankful for ideas and input what to do with it...
It looks to good to split, but I´m not a fan of riding old, period-correct bikes, mainly due to bad positioning because of being old enough (me, not the bike). I do like a good dropbar conversion, but I do have a perfect and finished C´dale F600 for that. Also room in the garage is getting less and less, surprisingly Mrs. oligali had no objections so far .

Thanks and cheers,
og

 

[d8mok]

It’s a 99 I think

 

[sam_white]

The forks are 1999 model, the Shimano components are 1999 or 2000 era (check the date stamp for those), and the frame number isn't a GT format I recognise. Would start S7 or S8 for 1997 or 1998 though. @kingoffootball will be along soon...

 

[kingoffootball]

I'm not going to be a lot of help here, I am afraid. I don't have any K serials logged, so I would guess that's another factory they started using for production in the late 90s. For all the other factories I have logged, the year is identifiable from the serial. However, from this one that would suggest 2000 and from a quick search the details look earlier than that. 1999 seems pretty convincing.

 

[oligali]

That was quick, thanks a lot. I do not have any paperworks along with the bike, but it does look mostly complete and original to me.
It´s certainly not ridden.
A 1999 GT catalogue is so far impossible to find online...

That leaves one question open: what do I do with it

 

[Black_puma]

That was quick, thanks a lot. I do not have any paperworks along with the bike, but it does look mostly complete and original to me.
It´s certainly not ridden.
A 1999 GT catalogue is so far impossible to find online...

That leaves one question open: what do I do with it

Clean it up, polish the frame and enjoy riding it, it looks in decent condition!

 

[oligali]

So I changed the bars and tires, cleaned&greased it a bit and tomorrow I´ll try it on some gravel. Then I´ll see further.