Calderone

Hi guys last night i was having a conversation with a couple of friends about modding your car with high performance parts, or not at all.

I would love to know what do the antimod crowd say about this , why not ?
do you think your car lost the value with all the mods ?
do you think it won't be reliable anymore ? (if its not broken why fix it approach ? )

I won't be racing my car much but i love to mod it , i don't want to hurt the antimod crowd's feelings
but for me its a boring car. I love to have the extra power i love to make my car grow, i love the experience
of learning and knowing it on every and each corner,its like "been there done there".
The learning experience its priceless and the remove replace test try time its amazing.
When you are done and see the results that you did and if it works its priceless as well.

I know its a matter of personal choice and i think it goes hand in hand if you know how to do your own wrenching but i would like to know your experiences and how did you start and if you have never modified your car ...are you willing to ????

cv67

Stock- probably most reliable cost efficient.

So is a girl who has never stayed up for 3 days, seen a shrink, had a bad experience with Uncle Bonzo in the toolshed or been on psych meds.





Seriously there IS no value to C4s they can be had for a few grand. If they are worried about what its worth they couldnt afford it in the first place, its not a collectible vintage Aston Martin, 67 435hp 67 or anything sheesh. Mod the chit out of it and dont look back.

socalman

I don't think anyone here would say the C4 is so valuable that modding it for more power is ever a bad thing- If..and a big If...you plan to keep the car until your 6 feet under or don't get your feelings hurt when you're car sells for exactly what it would have without sinking $6k into motor/trans etc. build ups, and it takes a lot longer to sell.

Most want a stock car when buying because mods make the FSM worthless and unless the motor is built by a known shop, resale is difficult.

I for one, cannot do much due to the Smog ****'s so I never will. Just make sure you research what you're doing. Seen too many people here build up the top end with heads/instakes and exhaust only to find the cam should've been changed. Know your bottom ends limitations, or plan a build the correct way, bottom up. Especially on your older truck motor.

Calderone

lOl mine ?

mike100

Many parts of the US have adopted strict emissions testing programs so we don't have a lot of choice. There are legal mods, but it is all tainted with gov't bureaucracy.

Loby 1

Calderone, I totally agree with your reasons for modding the C4.

You get to know your car and experience what your C4"s potential is.

I say mod it, drive it, race it and enjoy it for the reasons that are important to you.

Life is too short to not enjoy what you have while you are able to do so.

So hit the 'go fast pedal' and let her rip.

proracr

Modding one's car is a personal decision. I prefer bone stock or bolt-on mods that can be reversed easily. For those who think that the C4's will never increase in value, don't be so sure. The C3's have pretty much decreased in value about as much as they are going to and have begun an upward climb. The only thing holding back car values right now is the horrible economy and that isn't going to last forever. The time to buy is when everyone else is selling. Everyone was unloading their gas-hungry muscle cars in the mid-1970's due to the gasoline "crisis" (such an over-used word) and you could buy Hemi-powered cars for a song.

I paid about $3,500 for a factory-ordered 1970 Barracuda in the Fall of 1969 and never dreamed that it would be worth at least ten times more today! I've owned over 70 cars over the past 48 years and wish that I still owned most of them as I would be wealthy today just from their value.

Also, the collectible/desirable cars of today are the ones that haven't been extensively modded in most cases.

dukeallen

I prefer either no mods or bolt ons, I don't race them so the truck engine is more than strong enough, and I always loved the looks of the C4.
Not sure I understand why you own a C4 if it's boring. I wouldn't waste my time and money on a car that was boring. No offense, it's your car and do what you want with it.

Jimbo 89

Definetly a matter of personal choice. I purchased my car bone stock, and like most, have had to put a few bucks into it just to make it reliable. As much as I'd love to drop a 383 into it, I know it won't make it worth any more, and probably make it worth even less. Bottom line is that I don't plan keeping this car forever, and I already have more $ into it than I wanted to. I'm basically happy with my stock L98 with the 3.07 gears makes it pretty quick for street use. Just my $.02

anciano

That sounds like no increase in value at all to me. If that $3500 car purchased in 1969 could be sold for around $35,000 today you would have just enough to buy an upscale family sedan -- not even a Corvette. All it means is that you are breaking even, if that.

If in 1969 you had invested that $3500 in S&P 500 stocks, OTOH, you'd be driving away in a new Lamborghini on your way to your yacht docked in Malibu.

Everybody who does this "if only I had kept my..." calculation fails to take into account dollar devaluation due to general inflation. Ain't no way you can make money on anything but an EXTREMELY rare vehicle.

navy_vette

Any car, now matter what it is, runs the BEST AND MOST EFFICIENTLY when it is perfectly stock and taken care of. This goes up and down with mileage, yes, but the longest running cars out there are STOCK.

That being said, there is no reason not to mod your C4 corvette except price of the parts. C4's are not in high demand right now. You can get one for dirt cheap. And, due to the same issues that plagued every car manufacture in that day, they were fuel efficient and slow compared to many other years. There are many reasons to keep a vehicle numbers matching and perfectly stock. Has anyone ever cleaned out a carb from a 66 Mustang? If you have a collectible car, keep it as old school and stock as you can. Do the interior the EXACT same way that they used to do it. Pull part the engine, clean it up, and put the stock parts back in.

Our Corvettes on the other hand, will never pull the price of a 66 Mustang at an auction, or a standard sale. Mod away, and keep modding. The 4th generation Corvette is currently being used as a really fun car, and that's about it. Everyone one who has a C4 has one goal. Hit 500 HP. Then, you want to be able to hit that off ramp on your way to work at 100 MPH. Then you want to hit 600. It's a fun car, and that's what it should be.

Unless you have a Callaway twin-turbo (omfg rare i want one) mod, mod, and keep modding.

j-vette

I believe Corvette Mike has that trademarked

jnealg

its your car, do what you want but dont expect to ever get the money you put into the mods back out of it.

84vette96

I remember Just 10 to 15 years ago when a good driving and looking C3 from the mid 70s could be bought for $3500. Give it some time our cars will be worth something once more. I mod mine but in 15 years from now after more of thees get parted out and modded out a factory original C4 may be worth 15 to 20 grand. Who knows.

cv67

If I would have put those cars away that are bringing the money today they would have probably rotted and deteriorated by now. Factor in any repair regist. cost insurance storage ...probably not worth what the daydreams would have me think. Cost of a resto on top of it?

TJM

If you have a 2,000 bone stock anything and don't drive it any further ... and don't DIE ... for 30 years it will be worth more, if for no other reason that inflation and scarcity.

But a high mileage Corvette SHOULD be modified.
It should get a big Hp motor, the full bad boy treatment, and smoke the ricer's. [ pretty much have to in order to smoke them these days!!!].

Want a collector car? Fine.. good hobby. Touch base with the other forum section or NCRS. Fun there too, but you don't drive much [ or ever scare yourself, except when someone touches your car?].

Black84

There were 925,568 Mustangs sold to the public from its introduction in April 1964 through the 1966 model year... In my book, there is nothing collectible about any car produced in those quantities. When the C-4 reaches 45 years old it should be at least as "collectible" as anything that was based on the Falcon platform.

WW7

I for one could care less how much any car I buy will be worth in the future. Any person that buys a sports car strickly to make money in the future is either, not a car guy , or doesn't like driving sports cars much. My 89 was bought as a platform for a fast street car, and thats what I made it.. I have had my car for 4 years now and including the price of the car I have $21,000 into it. Almost everything is new on it, the trans will handle up to 500 hp and the 383 Pete K built motor now has around 400hp..After driving it for a few years and having a great time with it, I would have no problem selling it for book value, because I will have had an unforgettable time with the car and consider the money well spent...Im also old enough that any car I buy would never reach a high value before Im dead....So drive em if you got em....WW

mmracecars

havent ever had a problem getting money back out of any car i've modded,actually have done very good on most of them,but i also can do all of my own fab/paint and mechanical work.so yes if you had to pay for everything to get done,yes you will take a big loss.far as reliability we have a 10:50 pump gas lt1 camaro that is driven every day back and forth to work (50 mile round trip) from april to nov/dec,so reliability on modded cars isnt much of an issue if its built right.if you have the money,like the car and can do it right ,just do it.
mike

3D87C4

Like just about every newbie I got the car and thought it was awsome. Then I started lurking on the forum and learned a bit more about Corvette's and had that "what do you mean it's only 240HP?!?!?!" moment. Why do I care? I'm not sure, it's just a number and I'm not likely to race it (and the torque is awsome). It's just the principal, I guess, a Corvette should be no-apologies awsome.

If it were a collectible I wouldn't touch it, but it ain't, so I have no qualms...except:

CA emissions

Modern electronic engine control complicates the mod process dramatically. (I fear) I've rebuilt transmissions, swapped heads, field stripped carburators (at a wine & chees party once), etc. back when setting your points, valve clearance and timing was about all it took to keep going. Nowaday's you have to be an engineer to understand all the systems. I am an engineer and still hesitate.

A easy/lazy alternative hasn't presented itself yet. If I could find a shop that would take $5k to $10K & bump my C4 up into the smog legal 350 to 400hp range in a weeks time I'd be sorely tempted. C5/C6's have multiple turnkey options, we don't (that I know of).

DIY would be cheaper but I will have to do a lot of homework before diving in & am not sure, due to health reasons, I'm up for it.

My $0.02.