[Bob Dillon]

This sounds reasonable to me.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4251166271.html

[Steve Hoog]

Bob

Interior on that one is probably a little rougher than you would like, I would also try to get it down 1 to 2 K.

I paid 6K for mine; brand new paint, perfect interior (and I mean perfect), fantastic running condition, suspension upgrades.

I put 2K in wheels and tires, and 1.5K in Borla and brakes.

[red1975pacer]

I remember back in the day some protypes{never sold to public } were actually branded{NOT TITLED} as 83's. If memory serves me right some were actualy black market titiled and therefore may still be around and possibley by driven on road qusi-legal

[zeebo]

yeah, i agree with staying away from the 80s vettes and getting an LT1 form the mid 90s--especially for someone on a budget. i have a couple caprices with that LT1 and they rock..120k on mine before an opti and a wp change, thats it..some minor mods and pcm remap wake these babies right up. great bang for the buck.

[A Schab]

I just learned today that there is such a thing as an 83 Corvette, it's in Bowling Green.

[Scarebird]

I was thinking of these a few years ago - this is what stopped me:



woof.

vs. this:



Out of the then budget. I personally do not think the 80's version interior has aged well style-wise... and you get more bang for the buck 93-96 with airbags, motor, etc.

[red1975pacer]

Personaly have no problem with the squared off dash in the earlier models. However the early electronic Technology scares the hell out of me

[Radman]

I do not know the exact year, but I am hearing a lot of horror stories about the ABS brake system. The early ABS brake modulator is failing and there are no replacements or parts. My understanding is that the system is a plumbing nightmare behind and under the seats.

[LordPancake]

We have had two 1987s in the family, one was fairly high miles for a Vette of that age (like 140k) and one with under 15k. Both were stellar cars, and I would still recommend them today. In fact, if I had to live with one, I'd buy another C4 over the C5 FRC I had.

I also had a 1977 C3, and I will warn everyone I ever speak to about owning a C3. That car was miserable. Nothing was engineered in a way that made sense (the alignment shop wouldn't even try to do a rear alignment on it), it rode like garbage, it had NO power whatsoever, I mean I know it was just an old 350 but it was miserable... needless to say, I was unimpressed.

I have had LT1 Camaros before, and I learned quickly that it was a good motor, just not in that car. There was no room to work on it, i.e. fix the opti constantly. But in the Corvette with the lift-off nose you can really get your hands on the LT1. The cars we had were TPI and we had no issues out of the fuel system, but the LT1 cars are definitely the powertrain winners.

In short, you will like a C4. They handle extremely well for a car of that vintage (apparently they would pull insane G's on glass for the 1980s, but were never designed to really knock it out over bumpy terrain so in practice they weren't world-changing). It is hard to get in and out of them gracefully, but something we did on the high-mile car that made a huge difference in bringing the interior into style and making it more comfortable were buy a pair of Corbeau A4s for it (fit great although you have to flip passenger and driver side seats so you can get at the recline).

[goatwgn]

1984-1996 Corvettes are of "unitized" design. everyone I have ever been in or worked on rode extremely rough. They are made with the ultimate in handling in mind,and as a result the ride can get miserable when you are just driving around. The cars also take an engine hoist just to get you in and out of the things. They sit very low and have a high sill. A friend of mine had a '79 Corvette that could not even catch my low compression '74 Cutlass, and after he lost to that and a few late model 4 banger jobs, he dropped in a 383 small block with vortec heads that changed the whole character of that car, and put all the '80s models on the trailer. The later model '75-'82 C3 (as they call them now) Corvettes can be had fairly reasonable and are good ones to customize and make hot rods out of (as they will never be "collectible" like the earlier ones. The '84-'96 Models will never be collector items either, but are much more complicated to work on and maintain, and there are a lot of redundant electronics on them. They can be had cheap, but to keep them going on the cheap may be another story.

[LordPancake]

Originally Posted by goatwgn

A friend of mine had a '79 Corvette that could not even catch my low compression '74 Cutlass, and after he lost to that and a few late model 4 banger jobs, he dropped in a 383 small block with vortec heads that changed the whole character of that car, and put all the '80s models on the trailer. The later model '75-'82 C3 (as they call them now) Corvettes can be had fairly reasonable and are good ones to customize and make hot rods out of (as they will never be "collectible" like the earlier ones. The '84-'96 Models will never be collector items either, but are much more complicated to work on and maintain, and there are a lot of redundant electronics on them. They can be had cheap, but to keep them going on the cheap may be another story.

Well the TPI cars we had were strong runners; I would definitely put them up against a low comp SBC, especially a 305. The LT4 cars put up sub-5 second 0-60 and quarters at 13.3 (Motor Trend test). But as I said, the LT1/4 cars are by far the best powertrain vehicles of the generation, and better than just about anything you can get in a C3. I think the C3s are equally as bad ergonomically, and while their engines and transmissions are simpler, the rest of the car is probably harder to live with (read about working on their brakes/suspensions) than C4s and they are so painfully gutless.

If you plan to build a hot rod with a big motor and don't really want to chase handling then a late C3 is probably a good choice since you are probably starting with a SBC car. If you want a strong all-rounder out of the box and don't mind sometimes chasing potential electrical niggles (that we never had, other than sending off the dash for a refresh which cost like 50 bucks and brightened it way up) then I would still recommend either of our C4s by miles over my old C3.

[PonchoV8]

Originally Posted by LordPancake

I think the C3s are equally as bad ergonomically, and while their engines and transmissions are simpler, the rest of the car is probably harder to live with (read about working on their brakes/suspensions) than C4s and they are so painfully gutless.

The fastest thing about a late C3 are the power windows.

[carcrazy]

Originally Posted by PonchoV8

The fastest thing about a late C3 are the power windows.

True but a problem easily rectified!

Given a choice I'd be looking at a later c4 compared to an older one-much imporved.

[LordPancake]

Originally Posted by carcrazy

Given a choice I'd be looking at a later c4 compared to an older one-much imporved.

Seconded, but if I found a good deal on a late 80s car I wouldn't turn it down; we have had great luck with ours!

[Selcouth]

I had a 89 Vette and it was a fun little car to go and cruise. Those TPI's were so slow though, I had the car Dyno'd and it put down 220whp. Don't expect much love from the Vette guys the c4's are pretty disliked. I personally loved the interior with the digital dash and there was something cool about taking the targa top off. With that being said I'd take a C5 over any other Vette today. They have drastically dropped in prices and can be had for 10-15k.

[geeteeohguy]

Serviced a lot of them back in the '80's. Go '86 and up, if you insist on one. Much better electronics and fuel delivery. The olds stuff was glitch-filled and trouble prone, even new. Can't imagine 30 years later!!! These cars were stiff, creaky, hard to get into, had a very intrusive parking brake, and were hard riding. They went and handled very well for what they were. They were not fast at all by muscle car or modern standards. Still, very fun to drive on short, spirited trips. I disagree with '80's interiors not aging well in terms of style: they are 1980's style. Like any decade, they had their own 'look'. In the era of teased hair and techno-beat digital rock, the grey boxy plastic designs fit right in with Devo and Grace Jones.

[Steve Hoog]

Originally Posted by PonchoV8

The fastest thing about a late C3 are the power windows.

I had a 73 BIG block a decade ago, I took many a C3 doubters with that car. VERY fast!

[zeebo]

Originally Posted by Steve Hoog

I had a 73 BIG block a decade ago, I took many a C3 doubters with that car. VERY fast!

exactly..id stop with the 74 big block vette, and not look at another one until the mid 90s with the LT1 engine.

[Steve Hoog]

Of course I tweaked my 454 with GM aluminum heads and other internals; but I left the stock carb and intake, really freaked many people out to hand them an 11.90 spanking with a Qjet and stock air cleaner.

[KS circutguy]

Bob,a little advise from an old C-4 GM tech.
Get a C-5, many can be had at a reasonable price.Light year's ahead of the 4th gen. C-4's.Trust me you'll thank me later.
The digital dashes were a BIG problem.