FRSTR90

Hey guys.. I would eventually like to purchase a C4 for daily driving after I get settled down and get my BBC and T56 in my C3. Therefore, I figured I would ask you experts for some advice. I'm hoping you guys will fill me in on what I know and don't know about this gen. I am also hoping you guys could help me make a recommendation of the year to go after, like I said you guys are the experts after all.

Here is what I think I know:
The 1984 Corvette was still plagued by the production bugs of the '83 corvette (Yes, I know GM never released an '83). The 700R4's up to about '87 were not as reliable as the later years. The 4+3 tranny can be expensive to fix and might have some reliability issues? '87 was the first year for the newer suspension. '88 was the first year for the 6 speed. '90 was the first year for a redesigned interior. '91 was the first year for the newer body style and last year for the L98.

If I was wrong in anything that I said above please correct me! I seriously am a newbie to C4's! With in mind of what I said above, I am thinking I ought to look for a car from '87-'91. You might ask why if the '92-'96 look newer and have the LT1. Truth is, I am not very fond of the LT1's. I don't mean to insult those that do like them. I have been in many Z28 camaros that had the LT1 and they are respectable engine for stock performance. However, I know the opti-spark to cause problems. On top of that, I think $350+ for a tune up is a little too expensive. Besides the L98 being cheaper for maintenance, the GEN 1's are what I know.

Now out of the '87-91's which one is most reliable?

I actually prefer driving a 6 speed, but will consider an auto.. Which tends to be more reliable? Which one yields better MPG on the highway?

To be quite honest, I am in love with the '87-'89 dash. I just think that looks sooo futuristic and it is pretty neat! Do they tend to have more problems vs. '90-'91?

And, most importantly, what is you favorite year of the C4 and why? (maybe this might persuade me to look through other years)

I am a very open minded person who likes to make rational decisions, just because I listed '87-'91 doesn't mean I've already closed my mind and am looking for responses that consist of those years only. This is why I would like to know what year is your favorite. Maybe that year has something unique that I don't know about. Therefore, if your particular C4 has something you feel is unique, tell me so I can add that in when I weight out the pros and cons of each year.

I look foward to all of your feedback!

cv67

Sounds like an 89 6 speed is what you would want.
plenty out there just keep your eyes peeled.
ZF6 is about impossible to break but they are pricy to rebuild. 700rs are cheaper to fix but unless built up can be fine one day and go the next...they dont like to be heated up too much.
PeteK here buillds some nice ones.
Sounds like you want a stick though. They do come with a lower gear than the autos which is a plus.

Shop by condition/maintenance, not by price or youll regret it. Any aging car as you know will need something regardless of mileage.

FRSTR90

I definitely agree with ya on condition/maintenance. Unfortunately, I've come to learn the hard way with the C3's. Do you know what rear end ratio the 89 6 speed has? Because I think by the time the C4's came out, there were only like 2 or 3 gear ratio options, correct?

Z51JEFF

Sounds like you know exactly what your looking for.I couldnt stand the late model interiors until I bought my 91 and now I wouldnt own anything else.Most will tell you to buy the newest model year for the cheapest price.Im the exact opposite.Id narrow down the year and look for the cleanest car and pay the price.Example,Id would rather buy a 91 with 15,000 miles on the clock for the same price of a 96 TL4 with 135,000.

larry00

Yep C 4's are getting old now so even low mileage will have flaws mainly electrical as plastic ages and heat takes it's toll.
Whats really amazing is the late C 4's after 91 or so seem to have a really good track record for holding up.
Go look at the C 5 section at the things that are already going bad on them!

The Radios are crap and the cooling system if kept clean is good but is hard to keep clean [ as most vettes are ] but my two 95's just give me pleasure after pleasure.

I have replaced two radiators and one expansion tank and need to replace the Bose system in one .

Thats it ! one has 77,000 miles and is a highly modified car but the other is 98,000 and bone stock and has only service and the cooling system replaced.
I do recomend the Sport Interior leather for long lasting .

Just be careful washing the engine if LT but there are cures for that too ! Silicone . :o

c4cruiser

Each year of the C4 got better in terms of engineering and improvements. The base suspension got softer towards the end of the C4 run. The trick is to buy the latest C4 you can for the money you have to spend.

1988 was the first year of the newer suspension design and also the first year of 17" wheels and 275/40-17 tires. By '89 the performance suspension had improved to the point that the Z51 or Z07 equipped cars were excellent handling cars.

The LT1 motor came out in '92 with a 50HP increase in power. In 96, the LT4 appeared with 335HP and all LT4 cars had a 6-speed manual. Then there were the '90-'95 ZR-1's You can find very nice examples of ZR-1's for what you would pay for some C5's. This is a car worth considering for a C4 simply because of what it represents to the Corvette world.

As far a gas economy, the 6-speed car has a .50:1 6th gear and even with the lower gears in the later cars, you can expect MPG numbers above 25. Having said that, I had a '92 vert with 2.73 gears and I managed a 31 MPG figure on a long trip (calculated manually, not the display on the trip computer). That was on I-40 in OK and I had set the cruise control at 82. So good MPG numbers are possible assuming everything is in good condition and you are careful about how you drive.

I really liked the dash design in the later cars. It felt like you were the cockpit of a plane and everything you needed to see was right in front of you. The tach was the central focus with the digital speedometer underneath along with switchable gauge displays.

I have an 87 4+3 car and I use it primarily for autocross and track days. The tranny is still working flawlessly although I don't use the OD on the track. It does not like extreme abuse and the OD should be serviced every year or 12K miles (fluid and filter change, about $20). Brakes are smaller on the 84-87 cars but later C4's had a big brake option (RPO J55) with 13" front rotors. But you can easily adapt C5 front brakes to any C4.

89onlyZ51

There weren't really optional rears in the '89 like there were in earlier years. There were different rears for auto vs. manual and coupe vs. conv. Most '89 6 spds had a 3.33 rear while some of the early ones had a 3.54. The '89 6 spd is my favorite, too. I used to have one and that ZF6 is a lot nicer than the 4+3 in the '87 I have now (not that the 4+3 is bad at all, tho).

mcnulty95

Another thing to consider is that manuals came with the D44 rear and autos came with the D36.
Don't let the opti scare you. People tend to make it sound like you have to replace it every year. As long as your water pump doesn't drown it, it will be fine.

GatorGreg

This is why I narrowed my own search to 1988, I really liked the optional 17 inch "cuisinart" wheels with the fat 275 tires that came with the Z51 and Z52 packages. I also prefer the round taillights on pre '91 cars, to me they just look better, note that Chevy went back to the round taillights in '05 with the C6. I also prefer the original style Atari dash - to me the '90+ redesigned dash just doesn't do it for me like the futuristic dash of the original C4.

To the original poster, I think you had most of your facts right except the 6spd didn't come out until '89 I think, not '88. Corvettteaction center is a website which chronicles the year by year changes:

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/spec...88/88prod.html

92ZR1WANNABE

Thank you.

People really blow this out of proportion imo.

I replaced the original Opti on my car at well over 100k miles, along with the original water pump.

Granted I never took a damn garden hose to the thing but still , I replaced it simply because I was replacing the water pump anyway and heh , the MSD units are a nice upgrade.

In addition to my own car I work with several people that own LT1 Fbody cars and aside from routine maint. have never had issues either.

thebeerman

Personally, 95-6 vert, 6 sp.

mnstrlt1

The LT1 is a nice setup if you don't plan on any modifications to the car (as it has slightly more power). Tune up's are over priced. The opti isn't really a big deal. If you get an LT-x car, the 94' and newer had the "bugs" worked out (vented opti).

The 89-91 is the model year i would pick if i was in your shoes. the 89' was the first year for the 6-speed. the ZF transmissions are so mcuh more beefy than the t-56's. Bill at ZFdoc.com showed me the internals of the two for comparison and the ZF's are light years ahead of the t-56's... in fact, the new T-6060 in the c6's are just now starting to show the same technology as the Zf's in our c4's.

the older cars (although they have less initial HP) are a better platform for modifications. As they have MUCH more aftermarket support than the Gen II small blocks.

I would also go with the older c4, because the newer c4's (lt-x platform) has a lot more computer controlled items that make adding, removing, upgrading a bit of a hassle sometimes. (take a look at Mojave's profile, he couldn't get away from getting certain things done because of the computer control components ).

the 6-speed cars also come with one critical component the d44 rear-end. which is much beefier than the d36, but STILL the weak link in the c4.

conclusion: get an 89'-91 c4

FRSTR90

First of all I want to thank you all for the feedback! You guys a great!

Your comments along with everyone elses is reassuring me that I should pick an '89 coupe. A few mentioned about the power difference between the LT1 and the L98.. I later plan on modding the engine to have atleast 400 HP. I agree with you, I feel like the LT1 will be a little more of a hassle to upgrade stuff with. There doesn't seem to be so much aftermarket stuff for them that I could find. On the C3 board, a guy had a 360 (350 bored .060) with somewhat of a mild hyd roller cam and was producing in the neighborhood of 450 HP at about 5600 RPMs. I am thinking that I might go with a similar set up, if I do decide to take the plunge. Can a stock TPI be modified to accept 400-450 HP?

I guess now the search begins!

Mr. Peabody

This link contains some useful info on what year had what changes, etc

http://100megsfree4.com/corvette/1990/vet95.htm go to the bottom of the page and there is a link to each year of the C4


The most important thing is for you to get what you want.

I do however use my vette as my daily (50 miles a day) driver and have been putting 15K a year for the past 4 years

mnstrlt1

glad to see the comments are helping you make a decision. It seems as though the MAJOR restriction on the older l98's are the following...

exhaust sytem
heads
headers
intake

(not necessarily in that order)

the stock intake manifold is a ristriction. In fact, most will argue that the intake was the "only" reason why the Lt1's made more power than the l98's. I believe some have also mentioned that the l98's made more bottom end torque due to this same intake manifold design.

short answer: no the intake will not support that kind of power (stock).

some guys have gone to the extreme with the existing TPI setup, with porting of the upper and lower plenum, and simese runners, etc... in my experience, it's also best to find out what exactly you'd like to do with the car (top-end screamer or bottom-end brute). Once that decision is make you can go from mild (ported stock plenums and larger runners) to wild (TPIS mini-ram, single plane FI maniifold, etc).

pologreen1

the choice is yours, there each year has it's own +'s and -'s it is what you want the car for, and that is it.
you can find about any option, but you might like power seats, and soft suspension, plus after being in about 6 c4's or more, each is it's own, even with the same options.

FRSTR90

Well.. I wouldn't really be looking for alot of HP as my C3 is going to have plenty of that. I would just like something that is quick/torquey, isn't a pain in the butt to drive, and gets reasonable gas mileage. I definitely don't want some punk in his little 2L civic to think that his car would make a good race against a C4. I would like to bring the performance up to par with that of a base C6, but atleast that of a C5.

You brought up some good points about the L98. For which heads, headers, and a full 2.5 in dual exhaust would been in the works. If its on a vette, that is almost a minimum in my book. I have seen many over on the C3 board convert to the TPI, but I hear that these intakes were done at about 5-5.5K RPMs. I thought about going that route with my old L82 until I found out how much work some people were putting into them and were still expecting HP numbers below 350HP. I guess I was praying for a miracle that these guys were being too conservative on their numbers.

What type of intake set-up would one have to put on to expect around 400HP/400ft-lbs? And, how much money are you talking to get one to be able to do that?

Thanks for the tip.. Yes, I am looking for a DD that is more of a grand touring car. Smooth yet firm suspension and something that is blast to drive on the daily basis! Power seats is not really a deal breaker for me, but is definitely a plus! I need to find some local C4 owners and see if I can catch a ride..

steve40th

'91 six speed (bumpers look better IMHO). By a TPIS Mini ram and start the mods. Its more cost effective than a LT1.Opti isnt the issue per sey, heads, and other things do get a little more costly, and less available, ie crazy bad *** heads such as AFR235' .

Tulsa Vette Guy

I love my 1987,vert, But it has only 12,300 miles on it, garage keep, never seen rain or snow, and its show room condition, great Vette.

rocco16

Don't let that bother you; just about any LT-1 you buy in the future will either have never had/will have the Opti problem...or will have had the problematic Opti already replaced.
$350 for a tuneup? You need to learn to do it yourself and save the cost of labor. After all, you are putting a big block and trans in your C3, you should be able to change the plugs in your C4. Right??


Larry
___________
not easily impressed....