rusty76

I'm a newbie, both on this forum and to corvettes. I created a thread in the intro section that I've been adding to. I'm contemplating buying either a C3 or a C4 and have been looking for either.

Today I went to look at an '87 C4 with a 4+3. It has the options listed below. Some I found, some I didn't. I'm not sure why all the options weren't on the RPO list I found on the net, maybe someone can enlighten me?

The car is owned by a guy that has other collector cars as well. He told me he and his father bought and worked on this one together over the last 5 years. He said he decided to sell it because his father passed last year and he's getting rid of some of his (father's) things.

The car looked good. He had just pulled it out of the storage trailer he keeps it in and told me he had to charge the battery. It was obvious when he started it that the car doesn't get driven much. It took it a while to smooth out. Really nothing worse for a car than to leave it sit for long periods.

He said he might drive this car a thousand miles a year which sounded about right given the way the car looks. It's very clean. The guy has a lift in his home garage and he put the vette up on the lift. I was surprised at how clean it is underneath, not even any surface rust. I saw no obvious evidence of crash damage. The only flaw I saw was a couple small holes in the pipes in the rear. I'd have to do a cat back exhaust but probably not in the first couple years.

I test drove the car and in spite of sitting for so long it ran well. The trans shifted into and out of overdrive in all three gears. It's obvious the car has miles on it but it wasn't overly rickety, overall I was impressed.

One problem, the cooling fan didn't come on. When we got back from the test drive (short drive) the temp. was creeping up while it was idling while the guy was getting one of his cars out of the garage stall so we could get to the lift. If it weren't for that little tidbit I might have taken the car right then but I told him he'd have to deal with that first.

I'll add a couple pictures in another post.

AC3 = Power Driver Seat
AR9 = Base Leather Seats
AU3 = Power Door Locks
BGR =
B3W =
B4P = Radiator Boost Fan
CC3 =
C49 =
C60 =
DL8 = Twin Remote Heated Mirrors
D3X =
D9B =
E5Z =
E97 =
FE7 =
FG3 = Delco Bilstein Shocks
G44 =
G87 =
KC4 = Engine Oil Cooler
K34 Cruise Control
K68
L98 = 350 V-8
MK2 =
MM4 = 4 spd.
NA5 =
PW9 =
QZD = P255/50VR16
UQ4
UU8 = Delco Bose Stereo
V01 = Heavy Duty Radiator
V73 =
Z51 = Performance Handling Pkg. (coupe)
Z6A = Rear Window/Side Mirror Defoggers (coupe)
1AY
1BL
64S
73I
732 = Red Leather Interior
81U = Bright Red Exterior

rusty76

Here are some pictures of the car. You can see the wear more on the interior.

Oh, BTW, at 6'6" I'm hard pressed to fit in this thing. The C3 I sat in the other day had more room but I really think a C4 is a better place to put my money. If I buy a C4 I'll have to pull the visors off first thing. I'll also have to do the seat spring removal trick too. I suspect the best solution would be an after market seat but IF I get a C4 we'll see. My first car way back in 1971 was an Austin Healey Sprite which I drove for a couple years. If I could drive that on trips I guess I can manage to drive a vette even with 48 more years and 60 more pounds.

I didn't mention that the PO had installed a Jasper engine in the car. That was 5 years and about 15K miles ago so I'm not too worried about that. The car had good power and, besides obviously having sat for a long time, it ran well in all respects.

markKlein

You say the temp was creeping up; to what? And were you looking at the analog gauge or the digital one? These cars are designed to run a lot hotter than C3s.

rusty76

I'm sitting here reading about it now in a thread I found on this forum. Digital gauge on the dash. I'm not sure what the temp was at the end, somewhere just north of 200 I believe but I'm not sure. Based on what I've been reading on the C4 it doesn't come on till close to 230 degrees, is that correct? Guess my vette newbieness is showing. If 230 is right is that 230 at the dash gauge or at the sensor between plugs 1 & 3 or some other sensor somewhere else? There seem to be a plethora of temp sensors on the C4s.

The Snowman

Tell me more about this. I really could use some extra inches of headroom in the car.

hcbph

Here's some codes I found while research my car. Some are the same ones you're looking for:
Code Description
AG9 Power Driver Seat
AU3 Power Door Locks
A42 Standard Leather Seats
A51 Canceled, Seat Front Bucket Strato
BGR Plant Code - Bowling Green Kentucky Processing Option, (Color Coordinated Floormats?)
B3W Advance Price Sheet
B4P Radiator Boost Fan
C60 Air Conditioning, Manual Controls
DG7 Electric Sport Mirrors
D3X Gear Speedometer Driven 25513049
D9B Sensor Asm - Speedo 85007308
E5Z Adaption Speedo Delete
E9Z Key Speedo Delete
G44 3.07 Rear Axle Ratio
G87 8.5 Inch Ring Gear
K34 Cruise Control 34,197
K68 105 Amp Generator
L98 5.7L V8 w/Tuned Port Injection
MK2 0.68 OverDrive
MM4 4-speed Manual Transmission 6,83
NA5 Federal Emissions System
PW9 Cast aluminum wheels, 16 x 9.5
QZD P255/50VR16 Tires/16" Wheels
UQ4 Delco Bose 4 Speaker System
UU8 AM/FM Stereo System, Delco-Bose 32,478
V01 Heavy Duty Radiator
V73 Statement of Vehicle Certification US or Canada
1AZ Modification stock order or order sold
12I Graphite interior trim
122 Graphite leather interior
19T Black convertible top
81U Color Code - Bright Red

Churchkey

Car pic with the hood open shows different wheels than the side view pic.

rusty76

I found a number of posts by searching on this site. I can't remember for sure but I probably typed in "lower seat' of something like that. I may have done the same thing in Google and it pointed to this forum, I don't really remember. I've been researching a lot of things in the last week or two.

rusty76

Well I just accidentally discovered the thanks button.

Good pickup Churchkey, I didn't notice. The car has the stock wheels on it now. The owner did mention he had a second set of wheels for the car. I guess those in the picture of the engine are that second set.

rusty76

Thanks hcbph, I appreciate the information. Can I persuade you to tell me where you found the codes I couldn't find?

billschroeder5842

238 is pretty typical, but your fan should come on with the AC

Patsgarage

Google "C4 RPO codes", you will find plenty of info. How much is he asking for the car ? It looks pretty clean from the pictures, paint is the single most expensive thing to do correctly on a C4. For the same money you will get a nicer C4 than a C3, but it all comes down to personal preference.

rusty76

Thanks Pat, I'll try googling as you suggest.

The guy wants $5K for the car. It seems like a good deal though the car has 190K miles. I think I mentioned the engine is a rebuilt by Jasper. I've been reading about Jasper engines here on the forum and there are many opinions both ways. This guy's had it in the car for 5 years and he says he's got 15K miles on it. If that's true then I'd say the engine is probably going to be OK for as long as I'd be driving it.

The car does look pretty good on top and better underneath. The only place the wear shows is in the interior. There is virtually no rust anywhere that I could see with the car on a lift.

I've been thinking about what you said about the cost between a C3 and a C4 and I've been thinking that as well. I'll never find a C3 for $5K that would be anywhere near as nice as this car. To me the absence of rust is a big deal.

The only downside to this car is how tight it is for me inside. If I can't get the seat lowered by an inch or 2 I'd be in trouble. I suspect I could get that much but I might have to buy an after market seat to get it.

belairbrian

I think I'd keep looking. While the engine is rebuilt, are the trans and differential, if not both have 190k on them. Since it's a 4+3 the trans may be rebuilt as well. The 4+3 is not the easiest thing to get parts or service for.

My 92 with 76k cost $5500 when I bought it less than 2 months ago. But it did need a heater core.

rusty76

I've been sitting here this evening reading about the Doug Nash 4+3. So far I haven't found what I'm looking for, an actual diagram or description of the inner workings but it does appear to be what I've heard before, a 2 speed auto grafted onto the rear of a T10. I'm sure I'll talk to the owner again in the coming week or 2 and I'll ask him if he's ever serviced the trans. If what he told me about the car is true he's put 15K miles on it in the 5 years he's had it so he should have serviced the trans.

$5500 is a good price but keep in mind you're in Alabama and I'm in New Jersey, everything is more expensive up here, but . . . I am going to keep looking. Only thing is I want a standard, no auto. I am of the opinion that it ain't a muscle car if it has an auto. (Oh, that ought to get some responses )

RIC96

5K seems too much to me, wherever you are.

rusty76

Thanks, that's the kind of input I need. You're the second person that thought $5K was too much. Would you please give me your opinion as to what price you think that car should bring?

3JsVette

If you want a stick just keep in mind that they are tougher to find in this neck of the woods. Just be patient as the automatics probably out
number the standard shifts at least 10 to 1 and that might be generous.

Patsgarage

I did not know that you were local, so now I will add this. Over the last few years I have been toying off and on with adding another C4 as a driver. I looked at probably over 20 cars in all conditions and found that $6-8k is the "sweet spot" for a turn key car with no major issues. There are plenty of cars out there, but a stick is harder to find. The 4+3 is not really a bad trans (yes, it is a T-10/w an OD unit) but the 6MN (89&up) is much better.

rusty76

I note now that you have New Jersey showing up in your posts. I don't see that for mine even though I have New Jersey in my profile. Are you using a signature to have New Jersey show up in your posts? Anyhow, I'm near Sparta, NJ, where are you?

I guess what car someone buys comes down to what that person wants. If you want a car that needs nothing and all you have to do is drive it and do routine maintenance then spend a lot more $$$$ and get a low mileage car in good condition. I suspect I'd get bored with a car like that vette or not. On the other hand I'd prefer NOT to buy a car knowing I'd have to overhaul/replace the engine or tranny before I can drive it for the first time. What the hell to do? Getting all this input is great but it's making me second guess myself and may lead me to not bother.