sb66

hey everyone
I am going to look at a 1985 2 tone blue with a 4 + 3 tranny in it today - if for no other reason than to see what it drives like - but it may work out to what I am looking for. 66,500 miles and they are asking $5500.

The images look pretty good (of course) the carpet has some stains or dirt of some kind with some fade and the seats have some wear. It did just pass the PA inspection - I do not know exactly what all that entails, but it sounds good.

The image of the shifter did have me a bit confused - I had thought that the 4+3 had a button on top to engage the overdrive feature - this does not - it has a standard ball shifter with markings for the 4 speed. Should I have reservations?

I guess what I am looking for are any opinions or experiences with this year that I should watch for in the drive and look for interior etc.

any thoughts or opinions from are greatly appreciated.

Sean

vettpapaw

I had a 88 with the 4+3. You are correct there should be a button on the shift ****. The owner may have moved the electric control button somewhere else and put a standard **** on the shifter. It just seems strange to me. What else has he done out of the norm??????

Dalesc4

I to have an 88
But I'm pretty sure the 85 has it on the console nor the ****

Dale

divotdug

Make sure the owner really knows what they have.

I have an '84 4+3. The switch is in the center of the console between the power window buttons.

Could be the overdrive stopped working somewhere along the way and a previous owner swapped the shifter **** or as already stated the switch has been relocated.

If you like it you should be able to do a little better on the price.

rfn026

I have an '85. The switch is on the console.

When you test drive the car make sure the OD works. It can be a real hassle finding a shop that knows how to repair the OD unit.



Here's my 1985

Here's an article I wrote about aligning my '85.

Richard Newton

sb66

thanks everyone - I was going to ask about the console mounted switch - I thought I read something about that - do you find that the od is used as a "5th" od gear or do you use it through out the gears? I wonder how difficult is it to use the switch on the console while driving - unless I am misunderstanding the proper way it works. (?) you have to engage the clutch for each change (like normal manual) - then again to engage each OD?

thanks

Sean

Weck86

The early production '85s with the 4+3 manual transmission had the OD switch in the console, as has been stated (I had one). Myself I liked the 'notch(y)' shifter and the traditional muncie 4speed. If you leave the OD on it will engage (when working properly) in gears 2,3&4. I just used it as a '5th gear' and engaged it only on the freeway. I would always clutch before engaging the OD rather than just flipping the switch.

If you like old muscle car, and for that matter old Corvette, feel you will love this car. Especially the torque! Good luck in your search.

KYC4

Keep us posted on this one! 4+3 cars are out there but not many left that are in nice shape. You should be able to work that price down a bit. As stated the early '85 models had the switch on the console plate. I too recommend clutching before engaging the OD switch.

Make sure to get a few pics to share with us too and don't forget to look at the RPO codes as well.

Later,

Lee

JWMorrisey

It's a Borg-Warner T-10/Super T-10 with the DN 4+3 grafted to the back of the trans.


1984-85 use the OD button on the console. 1986-88 use the button on the top of the shift ****.


It feels VERY old-school when the OD is locked out and you drive it as a traditional 4speed. U'll love the torque of the L98/TPI.




Jonathan.....

sb66

ok not to sound like a little kid but that was fun - that is what I thought a vette should feel like. yes the button was on the console the switch worked as expected and I did use the clutch. the torque was wonderful. gauges looked clear and worked fine as far as I could tell.

couple of additional questions

headlight motor on one side is not working, the window molding by the window (scraper) and the rear hatch seal will need replaced and I did notice a small amount of fluid (oil ) by the rear of the block. -

it is a one owner car

I am not sure about the braking - worked but did not bounce any heads off the dash.

paint is ok buffing will help some some repaint will be needed to make it perfect but not a requirement to drive it for a while first.

KYC4 you mentioned get the price down a little - $4,000 ? what do you think

I am trying not to allow the fun I just had get in the way of being smart.

thanks everyone

Sean

Weck86

You and JWMorrisey are correct. Borg-Warner T10. According to "Corvette from the Inside" pg 104 it appears that the 4-speed portion of the trans was also made by Doug Nash using Borg-Warner tooling.

My reading of the book is that GM got out of the manual transmission business in 1974 and contracted with Borg-Warner, but by the time the C4 came out GM wasn't ordering that many manuals and Borg-Warner didn't want to deal with the low production projections and let GM/Corvette Group transfer the tooling to Doug Nash.

To the OP. If you could post some pictures of this car it would allow others to give you a good idea of what the market would be for it's condition. As far as the brakes, the C4 has pretty good to very good brakes, so if this car has a soft pedal or other brake issues it is definitely a negotiating point. Most likely a change/flush of brake fluid and new pads and rotors will bring the brakes back up to standards.

sb66

hopefully these work - first time trying this

sb66

thanks

the car needs a good polish buff and clean - the carpets I knew would be covered for now and replaced in the near future as would the tires - I believe the tread still touched Lincolns head on the penny - if that is still the bench mark - ?

In looking at the title and the carfax it seems like it is a one owner that was traded in and has been passed around to 2 dealerships prior - I am guessing it was driven for 60+k and traded in ?? maybe ??

sb66

beautiful car -

sb66

I did have another question - why the giant pad on the dash on the passengers side?

sb66

sorry RPO codes? part of me being new - what are those?

sb66

I will check the rpo's - nice interior - I am not feeling that my 5k - ish entry budget is going to put me in a whole lot of vette - I guess my expectations are not that great. I know for the most part I will have work to do on whatever I find. I had hoped to offer less and be able to use a little of that for the weather stripping for now - save for the others and upgrade as I go. maybe not the best plan - but hopefully do-able. especially if the work is maintaining and cosmetics. I figure I can enjoy and drive - while cleaning it up?

divotdug

SB66- I responded to your PM before I saw the pictures you posted and realized you are looking at buying from a dealer.

My problem would be if the previous owner couldn't bother to care for the carpet what else didn't they bother to care for?

To be honest I probably would not consider buying a car like that from a dealer.

If you just can't help yourself, I would suggest paying no more than $4500.

sb66

thanks - that sounds good - It seems to have been passed around a couple of dealers before arriving here - the original owner according to carfax traded it in with 63/64K miles on it - we'll see what happens

thanks very much

hcbph

The breadbox. Pre-airbags, you go that to smack the passengers head or knees on in the even of an accident.