In 1978, I bought my first Vette, a 1970 LT1, Mid 80's bought a 73 and finally in the late 80's bought a 75, all coupes. With a family of 3 boys growing, and all that stuff, I sold my Vettes. I have always missed them. Now all alone, last fall I decided it was my time to buy another Vette. A friend who is a diesel mechanic had a nice 1987 coupe. He had done a complete rebuild on the engine, 700R4 and drive line. With the economy, he lost his job and had to sell his 87. I bought it.
Presently, I am putting in new carpet, seats and a few other things. The car is beautiful, it runs strong, handles great, its very plush. I love the Clam Shell when working in the engine compartment. But now my concerns, and the reason for this post.

Being retired, I take a lot of road trips. My favorites are Northern Maine, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I love the back roads, far from the inter states and cities. I am past my old days of high speed. I dont need to light up the tires when the light turns green. I dont need low end grunt. Just want a snappy car that I can depend on.

With my proper maintenance, my previous C3's never failed me or skipped a beat.
Nothing like a 350 with a Rochester for simplicity and reliability. I would take any of my previous Vettes off the beaten path and know they will bring me home.

Every time I drive my 1987, I see yellow flags flying. I worry about the Technicolor
Dash going west. I worry about a fuel injector quitting. I worry about the computer failing. Under the dash is enough wiring to wire a air craft carrier, hooking up all the plush trinkets.....that are not needed in a true sports car.
Ok, I am a older guy who likes and knows Carb'ed engines and diesels. I fear all this fancy stuff on the 87 will leave me high and dry some day off the beaten path with repair parts hard to find and get her going. I have even considered Carb'ing the 87, and installing analog gauges.........duh ?

My question. Are my concerns well founded, or is the 87 even more dependable than a bone stock 350/Rochester driving into a 4 speed manual. My 70,73,75 were very spartan, easy to service.......well a lot easier than the 87 LOL !

With what I shared above, should I keep my beautiful 87 or Trade or Sell it and get
back to a C3 1970 to 1974. I am going to post this in both the C4 and the C3 forums to get a good cross reference of opinions.

Thanks Guys
8Valve

 

You're likely to get more trouble-free miles from your C4 than you will from a C3 of unknown origin. Unless the C3 has seen a complete restoration or impeccable service, any C3 you buy is likely to need work to be a reliable car.

I have 352,000 miles on my daily-driver C4 - no major work other than brakes, wheel bearings, and a water pump...

Lars

 

I have a C3 and a C5, had a C4 before the C5, great car, just never liked the looks, to simple, like a door wedge,,,, but it was a better car in every other way to my C3.... well... about $25,000 later (not including the price of the car, and another $15,000 slated to finish her this year) I can now say my C3 is better in every way to my old C4.... go figure

 

A nice C4 is a far better touring car than any C3. They handle better, are more fuel efficient and are generally more reliable than a C3. The C4 is more complex. So if the C4 has alot of miles and poor maintenance it could be a nightmare. On balance the C4 is a better car for long trips. C5 is even better.

 

If you are going to buy a C3, you'll definitely either have to pay a pretty penny for one that's been completely worked over... or do a lot of work yourself on it plus $.

I had a '96 C4 and it was very reliable. It was my daily driver for 3 years. Fun, quick machine, too.

If you want reliability right now, then buy the most car you can get for the $. And probably the latest year possible. I've heard great things about the C5 and one can get a low mile car in the mid teens or so.

My 2 cents!

Enjoy the journey!

 

If you doubt the C4 is a better all around car, read some of the road test articles written when the C4 first came out. It was superior in every way to the previous C3. I bought a new '86 late in the model year - it was a GREAT car. I had the infamous 4+3 transmission and in 24,000 miles I didn't have any trouble with it. Other than the crappy brakes that would kick the pads back when driving on a twisty road, requiring a double pump when applying them, it was just as cool a car in it's day as a new C6 is today.

I say all this as a 40 year C3 owner. While I won't ever sell my C3, I know every generation just gets better. Think about it, GM's reputation is on the line when a new halo car like the Corvette is presented to the public. If they had ever produced a dog, there would probably not be a Corvette today.

Keep and enjoy the C4!


Pete

 

Why would anyone keep their C4?? I thought everyone who had one was just holding out until they could buy a Corvette...like a C1/2/3/5/6??

haha, just messin. I'd say the C4 is more what you're looking for these days, 8valve. However, if you've got the money...which obviously not since you aren't even considering a C5, then I'd try to get back into a C3. I think they look the best and give me a much bigger smile when driving 'em!

 

I love my LT-4 96,..it's perfect for long trips with the ZF double-overdrive, strong A/C, power everything, and far superior handling. The only gripe is getting in and out of it.

My 73's are my short-trippers and though reliable I'm clearly more at peace driving the less-dramatic C4.

 

I had an 84, which is probably the worst c4 to have, and it was still far "better" of a car in all practical categories than my present 71. I'm doing an LS swap (along with brake, steering, and suspension upgrades) in the 71 now with hopes of combining a lot of the good aspects of the later model cars, with the looks and respect that comes with the older car. This may not be a practical solution for your goals, and is definitely a project, but an LS swap would be a great retirement project .