OK guys and gals who here has driven both. I want to here the good and the bad of both!

 

C3s just look so :cool:

 

:iagree: My brother has an '84 - nice for creature comforts....but setting in my LOUD ars '80 he put it best and in one word

presents! the C3 look creates an untouched amount of it!

edit - BTW, I like all Vettes, just a little prejudice towards the C3's :cheers:


[Modified by Avette4me, 11:08 AM 4/7/2003]

 

OK, I"m age 59, and in '66 I bought used a '60 vette, just a 230 hp 283 pwr slide, pwr windows...rare option...lost in a wreck....

in ~92 or so I went shopping for a newer vette, bought an '87, at demand of a vette friend. who was into C4s......turned out to be a bad news POS....

sold it and bought this '72 I have now....and in typical hot rodder fashion, made it over into a newer tech car....now the thing is with ANY vette or old car of any kind for that matter....but especially a C3, you need watch for rust...birdcage then frame....really important, car is toast if too badly neglected....

I had a vette expert check mine before buying it....

MY C3 has been fine...really, course I rebuilt/replaced everything on the damn thing, except the brake booster....

GENE

 

I have both. Two C3' (both 73) and a C4 (90). They are two different worlds. The 73s are fun, generate all kinds of attention. Simple to work with (no computers), nut and bolt type of work. Have taken them both on major trips of ove 2K miles. Had a blast.

The C4 is a GREAT road car. Great for making long trips. Very reilable. But if it needs work it can be a pain. Lots of electronics. Hard to do nut and bolt types of work. I always thought the C3 was hard to work on due to tight quarters but the C4 is MUCH worse.

All come down to what you want. A great drive and long distance tourer, take the C4. An attention getting car that you can work on, go with the C3. But, just make sure that you get the best car, of either generation, that you can afford. It will pay off in the long run.

tom...

 

Tom, interesting in that my '87 had those narrow assed seats that made L distance travel a serious PIA......and the basically stock seats in my '72 are just fine....I"m not a lard butt either....those '87 seats plainly sucked....

GENE

 

I have a 72 and a 95. I'll ditto what Tom73 said.

 

I have a '74 350 4-speed that is heavily modified and a '96 Collector Edition LT4 6-speed that is stock.
The '96 is smooth revving, quiet, and comfortable to sit in. It has tons of power all over the power band and gets about 18-20 mpg in mixed driving and upper 20s on the highway (75+ mph with the AC on). Handling is excellent, ride can be a little rough at times with low profile tires and somewhat stiff springs. You can feel the front end shake a little over bumps, especially with the top removed. I think the shifter has too much travel, and the hydraulic clutch sometimes doesn't release as quickly as I can shift from 1-2. The brakes are absolutely confidence inspiring, and stability at high speed is excellent. It is kind of a pain to get in and out of, but once seated it's very comfortable, even for long trips, and everything is right within reach. This is my daily driver, and I love the car.
The '74 is loud, and has some vibration when running (urethane engine/trns mount and big chambered pipes with headers, high compression, cam, etc). Everthing has been replaced or rebuilt, including interior so it is also pretty comfortable. It has a much more upright seating position, and the seats don't have much in the way of side bolsters. It has a Hurst shifter with pretty good feel and very quick action. The manually actuated Centerforce clutch grips like crazy and has good feel without excessive pressure. The Vette Brakes suspension (550# coils up front, 330# monoleaf rear) and Bilstein shocks ride pretty well, and don't transmit as much of the little bumps in the road as the the '96 does, but tends to buckboard a little over bumpier roads. The brakes are so-so. It has manual brakes with Performance Friction Z-rated pads, everything is new. There is plenty of brake feel, but the car doesn't feel as stable and controlled under heavy braking as the '96 does. Manual steering as well, plenty of feel and I like that, but a little bit of slop is in the gearbox, everything else is new. I'm running 16X8 inch wheels with 50 series tires. Raises my pulse rate and gets tons of looks everytime out. This car is my toy, and I love it too.
Either car will smoke the tires at will (if traction control turned off in the '96). Either would probably swap ends in a heartbeat if poorly driven, but the '74 has more of a tendency to do this (ask me how I know :eek: ). I think a C3 would make a pretty good daily driver if you rebuilt everything and kept the power down to reasonable levels. The brakes and handling aren't as good as a C4, but technology improves. If you really wanted to upgrade to aftermarket stuff you could probably get pretty close.
Summary...the C4 definitely has the technology edge, but the C3 is a real experience to own and drive. I'm glad to have both.
Jeff

 

:iagree: with no_radio. 95 Convert and building a wild 71. The 95 (bone stock) is a sweet machine and a real head turner for the younger crowd. The 71 has yet to leave the garage but will be a real street fighter when it does. As for looks through my eyes, the C3 has it all over the C4.

 

Gene,
Interesting, I have not had any trouble with the 90 seats. In fact, last summer my wife and I drove from Bloomington Gold in Chicago directly home to Austin TX in 18 hours. My rear made it through without any problems :D

tom...

 

Getting into a C4 is no problem, but getting out reminds me of climbing out of a bathtub.

I hate the digital dashboards.

 

I'd ditto what most others have said. Comparing the 73 to the 86 is two different worlds. Hard to make a direct comparison between the two since one's strongpoint is really the others ones weakness. It's hard to recall the power the 73 had stock since that lasted about a week but it was always noticeably faster then the 86, now there's about a 100hp difference between the two and it's different worlds (mild big block vs stock L-98). The 86 had such a huge advantage in handling over the 73 stock it wasn't much of a comparison (the 86 being a Z-51 made it even more so). I've spent a lot of time and money on the 73's suspension to even make it comparable, granted the 86 is still better but it's at least in the ballpark now. Stock ride quality the 73 was better but the 86 is a Z-51 so it is very stiff, the 73 has been stiffened up quite a bit so the difference isn't as noticeable as when both were stock. As far as attention getting, it's no comparison. I've had them both at the same car shows and the 73 draws a far larger crowd and gets a lot more thumbs up while cruising. The 86 with the TPI and overdrive trans makes it much more pleasant on long trips and far easier on the gas money, If I had to take one on a long trip I'd take the 86 for that reason. Also teh 86 doesn't cook my feet like the 73 does, it's not uncommon for me to have to pull over after an hour of so of cruising on a hot day to cool off my right foot (one day I'll fix that). What's better? it really depends on the use of it, as a weekend toy I'd prefer a C3, for something that's driven more often I think a C4 is a better choice.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

I own both, a BB '68 and a '91 vert (modified)

 

Okay, I have a 68. My brother has a 90. I have to admit, there are some things about his Corvette that has me envious. The styling isn't bad, not as good as the C3, but not bad. The C4 has an incredible stance that is a real challenge to get on the C3. Basically, the C4, engineering-wise, is very much an evolution of the C3, you can see that in many ways. The seats in the C4 are by far and away better than the seats in my early C3. I could get C4 seats for my C3 but...naaaawwww.

The thing that struck me the most was the unbelievable handling. In 1984, the first C4's were capable of 1.02 g handling with the Z51 suspension. But it was also capable of causing kidney failure. Even in the more polished 1990 my brother owns, the handling is amazing. He took corners much harder than I have ever experienced in any car, EVER!

I also really like the clamshell hood, and the variations that came out on the C4, like the Twin-turbo Callaway TPI engines, and expecially the supercool ZR-1 engine that had the key in the dash to shut off the upper 100 horsepower at will.

Now, I still prefer a well-worked over C3 that has had the "right" mods. If you upgrade to the Gymkhana suspension and install urethane bushings, the handling is improved about 500%. If you improve the choice of rubber on the wheels, you get even better handling. And the POWERFUL engines that were possible on the C3's are hard to match on the C4's. They're simpler, with their carburetors and Muncie transmissions. If you have basic automotive skills, you can do anything on these cars. Probably a lot cheaper to work on too, within reason.

I know here in Denver, this Corvette shop was working on a custom, all aluminum framed C2 or C3 (I don't remember which...skin wasn't installed), that had a C4's suspension grafted on, obviously a very expensive project. Then he had a bone stock L98 installed. I asked why the owner stopped there, after having such a lightweight C3 built with such potential. They said he just simply ran out of money.

If you're gonna really modify a Vette like that, it helps if you can do it yourself. Labor rates could quickly exceed the resale value of a Corvette otherwise.

Anyway, I like them both. I'd get a C4 and modify it my way for a daily driver. Probably with a destroked twin turbo 377 and T56 6-speed. Yessir!
...And that digital dash would HAVE to go!!! I'd get all autometer gauges baby.

 

Uh-oh, now you jinxed it!

I've driven my dad's '84 and then their is my '77. The '77 rides pretty well, has decent power, looks great, is comfortable, and handles pretty well. My dad's '84 is a little faster, rides really rough, doesn't look as good, seats are comfortable, but again, ride is rough, handles really well though. Brakes are about the same on both. I've noticed that GM's build quality really went downhill (further than for my '77) on his '84. Atleast on mine most of the stuff is easy to access and it doesn't have all the extra electronics wiring.

 

Up to the '01 Z06 the '84 Corvette was the best handling Vette ever built pulling at or close to 1.0g. It felt so rough that the next year they softened the spring rates a good bit.

For traveling my C4 is the first choice. But fo cruise night and the occasional run at the red light it's the C3 all the way. :yesnod:

 

The C-3 just has the classic look and lines compared to the c-4. I'm just recently a C-3 owner coming over from the foriegn car's (Mitisu AWD turbo,Audi coupe,jetta, 3 preludes, not to mentions serveral motorcycles,,oh Ducati's rule) and yes work on my C-3 is a dream compaired to any prevoius car believe me. C-3's are my dream-car, I just remember seeing them when i was a kid and thinking there's know other like it...Good luck---Keep the Dream