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My daughter is going off to college this fall and she got a partial scholarship so we will have a few $$$ left over from what we saved. I am thinking of spending that on C4.
I think I want an 86-88 manual transmission car. It will be strictly a street car and more or less a daily driver, although I have 5 other cars and all of them are daily drivers which means each of them only gets driven about 3k a year. If I get it, I will have to keep it outside (only have a 3-car garage) and I will drive it all year long. I live in Alabama though so winter driving here is not like it is in much of the country. We only get snow on the ground once every 5 years or so and when we do most people usually don't drive at all until it melts.
I know a bit about C4s, but it has been a long, long time. The last time I drove a C4 Corvette was around 1988, and I was around them then because I had a high-school friend who detailed new cars for the local Chevy dealership. I find myself wondering if my memory about those cars is better than they actually were (not to mention they were brand new at the time).
As long as I can get parts I am not too worried about cost of ownership. I've been wrenching on cars all my life, I have a masters degree ion Engineering and I do all my own work on my cars except for body and paint work.
As far as plans go after I get it I am going to have to put a better stereo in it, I will probably put the softest springs I can find on it and I might swap out the differential gears for better acceleration. Other than that I plan to keep it pretty stock and want it to look mostly stock.
Most parts are cheap on rock auto and the C4 is pretty easy to work on. They are all old cars now so stuff breaks but I suspect you already know that.
If you like the older C4 body style I would recommend looking at an 89 because it has the newer ZF 6 speed transmission which is far superior than the older 4+3. You can look at a 90 car too which has the old exterior with the new interior.
don't know if I agree with simple, but I do know one thing, I've had mine for 6 years now and can confidently say that if you own a C4, at least in the 80's range, you'll love it but you WILL know all about it before its over.....Your FSM will look worn out....at least mine does and you'll be a regular viewer of this site...........
Do it. For me, C4 ownership has been very rewarding. They are cheap, easy to work on and mostly simple to fix. They have a bit of a bad rep. but as long as your ego can take it they are really fun cars.
Thanks for all the advice. I want the older interior. The dash is so 1980s and arguably hideous by todays standards (and therefore cool) but that is really what does it for me! Also a traditional SBC has appeal to me over the LT style, just more straightforward and old school with a lot more aftermarket support.
I am leaning towards 86-88. I guess an 89 is an option. However, I mostly drive on country and suburban roads. I don't do much interstate driving and as such I think 6th gear is going to be useless for me and 5th mostly unneeded. With that in mind, when you look at 1st/2nd the 4+3 looks to have better ratios than the ZF. I suppose the ZF would be the cat's meow if I could find some 4.56 gears for the rear. That would give me a really deep low and still only turn about 2500 RPM at 80MPH in 6th. I don't know if gearing that steep is available though.
The 4+3 may be less reliable, but I figure it is also a lot easier to fix. A ST-10 is a pretty simple transmission and although I have no personal experience with the OD unit, it looks pretty simple too, certainly less complex than a 4-speed auto transmission and I have rebuilt several of those.
Thanks for the heads up on the head gaskets. I am not too concerned about blowing them after I buy, that would be a convenient time for head swap, but I certainly don't want to buy a car with a bad head gasket …. unless the price and the rest of the car was really good.
I too recommend an '89 as the "best" of the L98s:
-first year for 6-speed manual
-first year w/o that damn 9th injector
-2nd year with the improved AC compressor
-last Star Wars dash
-last year with no air bags, so still has tele-steering wheel
Recently I was searching '89, 6-speed rag-tops and found a local triple-black with 40k miles for $10k asking.
The 6-speed comes with 245chp and beefier differential than does the A4.
You can pretty easily bump that to ~300chp with OEM heads & cam.
I suggest you drive a few before making the decision as you will find the stock L98, though it doesn't breath well above say 5k RPM, is pretty strong in 1st gear.
I have all stock 2.59 gears in my A4 '88 and will burn the hides off if I drop the hammer at even say 800-900rpm. My prior '88, making ~300chp and launching at 1,900rpm would blow 'em off even of a very sticky track unless I 2-stepped the launch.
The best thing to do is to test drive quite a few.
It will give you a much better feel for a good one versus an abused one.
If you try different years/options it will help you decide which features you like best too.
I had two 4+3's and liked them('85 &'87), but I prefer the four ZF6's I had ('94, '94, 95, 96). Not just because of the different ratios though. The ZF shifts better. The 4+3 has the old external shifter that is "clunky" if that is a word.
Your concern on ratios is not really accurate. When you consider the stock 4+3 uses a 3.07 rear ratio while the ZF uses a 3.45 ratio. So the effective ratio is a lower 1st gear with the ZF and a higher top gear with the ZF. So it gives you better off the line while still getting lower highway rpm (and mileage.) If you are changing rear gears I have listed the transmission ratios as part of the chart below and may be helpful to figure the ratio you want.
Also the 4+3 OD ratio has two options. Generally the Z51 gets a 0.68 (code MK2) while the some of the base gets a 0.60 (code MH5). You can find this code on the SPID label.
For a comparison of ratios see the spreadsheet below. (sorry a few numbers cut off )
In short try a few and see what you like. There really aren't any bad choices, just which ones you prefer.
they are all good. they are all slightly more improved every year. but....and ive refurbed three of these cars....it really doesnt matter at this point because 95% of c4's you will look at will have multiple small things wrong with them. it really doesnt matter that 88 and 89 have the different suspension. and it really doesnt matter that 85s computer is iseless when it comes to scanning vs an 86. or that 85 has a narrow grip steering wheel compared to the 86+ or that they all have different spring rates as they changed almost yearly!
None of that matters unless you are buying a car for a specific purpose (to build a road track car, you would want the ultra stiff springs for example).
for your intended application any tpi is great and i suppose the crossfire would be too i just have no experience with one.
i have the 4+3 and it is awesome!!! My personal preference is to use it as "5th" gear (might be 6th actually) and the way the od activates on the 86+ is a pushbutton with your thumb on top if the stick shift. so not hand off the shifter. 84 and 85 its a stand alone button in beside the window opening switches.
the iron head 85 and 86 vs the late 86 aluminum heads.....makes zero difference until all the rest of the fremilins are sorted out )that includes suspension and steering componentry because these cars are so old that the driving experience gets so much better every time you replace a wear item (i was blown away when took off the bottom basement shocks and put bilsteins back on new. omg. like a different car. so much faster and controllable. i really didnt need to "add40hp" because i had just bumped ip the performance of the car 5 fold. i suspect ill have the same when i put new bushings on this winter.
furthermore, on the engine, these cars are so hacked up by previous owners, cats are plugged, injectors are leaking, intake manifolds leak, head gaskets leaking at 8 and 7, or valve stem seals leaking, causing fouled plugs, or wires are melted shorting sparks to engine steel, ......there is SSOOOO MMUUUCH hp and torque lost in these L98 engines that simply refurbing the engine, which will easily get to 500k miles if all fluids are regularly changed, im starting to think there is less and less reason to do engine swaps or big upgrades.
only if you are a track user!
lots of guys here take improved c4's to the track and do well! a properly sorted c4 that has been refurbed and is tight will far exceed your expectations for any street riding. doesnt matter the year.
to be honest, im at the stage now where i dont care about which L98 i get, i want a certain colour scheme now! refurbishing the engine is wonderfully rewarding and theraputic if its a no stress situation. im looking for a factory two tone blue with factory blue interior!
Apologies for highjacking the thread, however my work came across this 88, I know that for the most part it is clean, but the interior needs just a bit of work, and fires up nicely.
Would it be something to look into getting? Plans are to have a bit of fun driving a blast from the past before selling it off, after a while.
I find myself wondering if my memory about those cars is better than they actually were (not to mention they were brand new at the time).
Any comments or suggestions?
Originally Posted by QCVette
The best thing to do is to test drive quite a few.
^THIS^.
You have to go drive a few. Are they as good as your recollection? Probably not....but they're pretty darn good. I love mine, and I discovered that 'by accident', when I drove the thing.
07-04-2018, 10:59 AM
Thinking of buying a C4
