Question want to get in a C4 for tihs spring.

[Nickbettschen]

Hey guys,

ive been thinking about getting myself into a C4 vette, but don't know much about them. im pretty good with cars/machinery atm i have a 2013 camaro conv. (summer car) and the a 1986 Fiero that im planning on doing something with someday.

question is.... what years should i be looking for or years to stay away from, how high of kms should i stay away from, any other options etc i sould look for or stay away from?

 

[vintageracer]

C4s tend to be pretty amazing performance bargains. Might want to avoid the first year '84 cars and the Doug Nash 4+2 manual transmissions.

 

[EJChevy]

The best years to get are after '89, as they upgraded the manual transmission to the 6-speed in '89. If you get anything '88 or earlier, get the automatic - it's actually faster.

After that, the car more or less just got power upgrades.

If you want to drive it regularly and never plan on doing performance driving, avoid the Z51 as it'll put you in the hospital from throwing out your back.

That's all I've really got to say.

 

[Nickbettschen]

The best years to get are after '89, as they upgraded the manual transmission to the 6-speed in '89. If you get anything '88 or earlier, get the automatic - it's actually faster.

After that, the car more or less just got power upgrades.

If you want to drive it regularly and never plan on doing performance driving, avoid the Z51 as it'll put you in the hospital from throwing out your back.

That's all I've really got to say.

Thanks yeah im planing on looking for an automatic. So stay away from the first year and ideally 89 or newer. Or if older go for an automatic.

 

[vintageracer]

I you are looking for a project, I have a scruffy looking '85 for sale for $2,200. It runs and drives really well. Has the dreaded "dead" electronic dash (about a $600 - $800 fix). For anywhere from about $4500 up, you might find a decent "driver" in the '85 to '88 cars. Really nice cars, including the later years can be had for about $10,000.

 

[JCWP]

Hey guys,

ive been thinking about getting myself into a C4 vette, but don't know much about them. im pretty good with cars/machinery atm i have a 2013 camaro conv. (summer car) and the a 1986 Fiero that im planning on doing something with someday.

question is.... what years should i be looking for or years to stay away from, how high of kms should i stay away from, any other options etc i sould look for or stay away from?

I had a 96 collectors edition convertible: looked great, lots of options with AT trany. Pewter exterior with black/pewter interior - a real eye catcher. had no problems with it at all.

 

[Tourmax]

88 or better. 88 had a metric “S-load” of suspension updates from the factory (ie: zero scrub radius, etc). 89 and up if you want standard trans.

The “new” interior started in 92 IIRC. Thats when they went from the “Atari dash” to the more “cockpit” style.

Convertible vs coupe is a personal choice. I bought a vert and love it! I never drive it in the winter (and hardly ever in the rain), so a vert made more sense to me, for summer fun that is...

Engines are another consideration. L98 is a great torquer and very satisfying on the street. Get the L98 with aluminum heads. Before 88, they only came on verts. After 88, all L98’s got the aluminum heads. Same heads gm put on the ZZ4 crate engines.

LT1 will STOMP an L98, if you give the LT1 room to swing. LT1 has much more performance potential, if that matters to you. An L98 isn’t going to give you much more than it’s rated 250hp, unless you spend stupid money on it. An LT1 is just over 300 ho as delivered, and another 50-100 hp is within affordable reach.

Theres other small differences depending on years and option codes.

For rpo’s, I’d look for z51 or z52 on the build sheet. Thats the performance suspension. Z52 was for verts, z51 was for coupes. 52 just had softer springs than the 51 cars, the rest was the same. My vert is a z52 car, corners like a rat in sneakers but doesn’t beat your guts out.

All c4’s are pretty good. They all rattle and squeak, nature of the beast becuase of sooo much plastic in the interior and “body on frame” construction. The only one I would probably pass up would the the crossfire models (ie:84).

If someone tries to sell tou an “83 Vette”, laugh at them and walk away. No production in the 84 model year except a few very rare prototypes.

More importantly though, is the overall condtion of the car. Better to find a clean, reasonable mileage, well cared for car than a junker with lots of options.

Unless that junker happens to be a zr1 that is...but then you’re talking “collector” with that one, not a “driver”...

 

[vintageracer]

Oops... Tourmax! '84s are the Crossfire cars. '83 is the year with no real production.

 

[Tourmax]

Oops... Tourmax! '84s are the Crossfire cars. '83 is the year with no real production.

D’oh! My mistake....lol!

I have corrected the orginal post.

 

[Fast.asleep]

Buy the best one you can afford. Don’t worry about anything else.

 

[Vette1993]

Got an '86 Automatic (87000klm, 55000mi.) if your interested. Only 3 hours east of you in Montreal.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Got an '86 Automatic (87000klm, 55000mi.) if your interested. Only 3 hours east of you in Montreal.

@Vette1993 Just a heads up. The OP hasn't been back since the day he posted that. You'd likely be further ahead either PM-ing him your offer or post a ad in our Classified section if you are looking to sell.

 

[rvguy79]

Hey guys,

ive been thinking about getting myself into a C4 vette, but don't know much about them. im pretty good with cars/machinery atm i have a 2013 camaro conv. (summer car) and the a 1986 Fiero that im planning on doing something with someday.

question is.... what years should i be looking for or years to stay away from, how high of kms should i stay away from, any other options etc i sould look for or stay away from?

 

[rvguy79]

I don't know if you have bought yet but if I had it to do again (and I do love my 93 Coupe) I would look very hard to find the best 96 I could find.
Why?
Because in 1996 there are model options not available in any other year like the 330 HP LT4 if you are looking for a stick, or the 330 HP LT4 Grand Sport or the highest HP ZR1.
Even for LT1 if you look at the continuous improvements that were made year over year like safety features about the only thing that remained the same throughout the model years was the windshield and door glass. There are even a different hood part number for some years.
These cars were sold in relatively large volumes for a specialty sports car but it is beyond me how GM could make so many changes year over year, every year and build this car profitably.

 

[Vette1993]

Personally, I would avoid the "Crossfire" engines, 84-85, troublesome systems, and the 4+3 speed Doug Nash transmissions. 1986 and up are pretty good, ZF 6 speed manual transmissions are fabulous and fun, deactivate the CAGS system (annoying) LT-1 engines are sweet, just check out the Petris Opti-spark distributors, prone to damage from water infiltration, look for lower mileage cars obviously, check out electric seat function, general condition of interior(can be expensive to redo) Shocks, bushings, bearings, u-joints, the usual stuff subject to punishment. 700R4 transmissions are quite good, check fluid for any discoloration. I personally own an '86, but really like the styling of the 93's and up. Understand that these cars can get expensive to own, so get the best one you can for the money you want to spend. Order up some catalogues, Zip Corvette, Corvette America, Eckler's, are some of the American suppliers of parts. In Canada, these same parts cost a fortune, and are sourced from the aforementioned companies.
This will give you some idea as to what certain parts cost, and a better idea of how to assess a particular vehicle's condition and value.

 

[JCWP]

I don't know if you have bought yet but if I had it to do again (and I do love my 93 Coupe) I would look very hard to find the best 96 I could find.
Why?
Because in 1996 there are model options not available in any other year like the 330 HP LT4 if you are looking for a stick, or the 330 HP LT4 Grand Sport or the highest HP ZR1.
Even for LT1 if you look at the continuous improvements that were made year over year like safety features about the only thing that remained the same throughout the model years was the windshield and door glass. There are even a different hood part number for some years.
These cars were sold in relatively large volumes for a specialty sports car but it is beyond me how GM could make so many changes year over year, every year and build this car profitably.

I owned the 96 collectors edition convertible in pewter grey metallic - loved the car!~!

 

[vintageracer]

Personally, I would avoid the "Crossfire" engines, 84-85, troublesome systems, and the 4+3 speed Doug Nash transmissions.

'85 is not Crossfire!

 

[Vette1993]

Sorry VintageRacer! I stand corrected.