I was at Carlisle over the weekend and saw some good deals on later high mileage C4s and I am thinking of doing a project with the kids. 20+ years ago I did frame off restorations of a 64' and 69' and I still have them. I am not looking for a project that big, hopefully find a decent car with a good frame and decent body/paint, perhaps with blown engine or weak engine. I would replace the engine and perhaps transmission, do some suspension/drivetrain work, replace some interior and then drive the heck out of it.

So one question I have is how tough is it to replace a C4 engine with a crate engine and get all of the auxiliaries to work? It would not have to pass emissions here in MD so that would give me a fair amount of flexibility.

If anybody has tried a project like this I would be interested in hearing how it went.

I have already started perusing Craigslist and this forum for potential cars, looking for something 4k or less.

Scott
Frederick, MD

 

Buy mine, it sounds like what you want and is almost finished.

To replicate will cost you 30+k if you do it all your self and a shop it will be about 80+k.

make me an offer. I'll start at 25,000. Now you...

 

I do not have one yet, in the market for one. Are there any years that I should avoid if I am looking to replace an engine?

 

OP, my C4 (The Ghost) started as a project

It became a little monster with a 383, Elliot Portworks heads & cam and many other goodies. It has DeWitt's radiator, 8-coil LTCC upgrade, Petris opti, Smart-Radio, 3.54 gears, and many.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1566645309

The Ghost has come a long-long way.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1566645309

please vote for him for the c4 of the month

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-->Vote GHOST for C4 of the Month<--


Ghost's History

 

Few teasing photos to get you started




































































No, It Never Ends

 

Engine replacement? tougher than youre used to but doable?
In general "saving an fixer C4" ?
Grab the biggest hammer you got, stick your pecker on the workbench and hammer away, its that gratifying

 

The frame is not usually a problem on C4s. The frame was treated with anti corrosion material.
The engines were pretty much bullet proof and usually last 200,000 miles and more if well maintained.
The problem areas are electrical components, plastic parts and weather stripping.
I have found a few trust worthy vendors out there: Used - www.vette2vette.com, New - www.corvettecentral.com, Interior - www.corvetteamerica.com
There is a young guy in Texas who has been making some good Corvette related videos. Search for The Corvette Ben. His C4 videos are pretty good.
I think this is an excellent time to buy one. There are a bunch of them so shop wisely and don't be afraid to travel for the right one.

 

 

Damn, It wasn't that bad and I did a full car fix.

OP, You will have knuckles of steel by the time you get done. The magical question "WHO THE F-K DESIGNED THIS_____? will come to mind every 90 minutes.
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-->Vote GHOST for C4 of the Month<--


Ghost's History

 

Ok I did all that and it was not that bad, so I guess I will proceed with the car project.

 

It'll be a little bit of work. This stuff is all 30 years old, but it doesn't sound like anything you can't handle. This forum is a great resource, btw.

And 4K should be fine. Watch the C4's and Parts for sale sections. I see these guys scrap cars nicer than the one I bought.

I watched a running 96CE languish there for 3K for what had to be several weeks.

Good luck! You came to the right place!

 

Two years ago I tried a project C4.

I bought a '96 CE LT4 that needed work. Overall it was a pretty nice car, but made big noises on every bump, the clutch chattered so bad that it felt like it was shaking the car apart when starting to move, the engine vibrated pretty bad at 3000 rpm and higher.

The suspension noises turned out to be simple and cheap. The top shock absorber mounting has nuts that tighten down. On mine they had about 1/2" gap. I tightened them down and noises were gone.

The clutch chatter and engine vibration were due to a bad clutch and a bad flywheel balance. I replace them and now it drives great.

I sold the C5 Z06 replica wheels and a few other parts that came on the car. I found some good deals on the parts I needed. The result is that I have less in the car than when I bought it.

I think it came out pretty well and now is a 40k mile CE LT4 car that drives great.

Project cars are a lot of fun. If you pick the car to match what you can do and search for some deals on parts you can bring back a nice car for not that much money. I got lucky with sourcing some parts, but the point is to evaluate the car for what needs fixing compared to what you can do and the costs.

Good luck.