Hi all.

I retired earlier this year after 29 years in the Airforce flying SAR and the missus and I are looking for a convertible to use for summer day trips to, well.....wherever we bloody well please.



We looked at an MGB and while it was a blast to drive, it was small and really pretty crude. You definitely are in touch with everything happening around you in that little rig. The owner wasn't willing to go as low as I thought the car was worth, considering how much work it actually needed to be a reliable rig. He wanted 6G, my absolute top was 4G. Too bad really, it was like driving a rabid hamster loaded up with 4 pounds of LSD. At 30 mph, it felt like we were doing more like 130 mph and on the verge of death at any second, or being flung out of the car on an unseen large bump.Talk about being in touch with your own mortality and the joys of living! We were having more fun at 30 mph that you could at 100! Just a general all around blast to rip around in and feel alive.

I am a Ford guy (I know, I know...please, no throwing heavy or sharp objects) and we looked at a couple 60's mustangs.

One was a 68 that was 7500 bucks, but it was so badly rotted you'd basically be buying a vin to build a new car around. After i said no thank you, He asked me how much I thought it was worth and I told him I'd probably pay 500-1G if I wanted the car's title. Nice guy (IE: old and eccentric) and he kept going on about how much stuff he had and how rare that 289 2bbl auto C code car was. Nice guy, didn't really know too much about mustangs.Nothing about that car (other than the vin plate) was ever going to see the road again.That's not an exaggeration, It really was rotted, neglected and abused that badly. When you see gas pipe welded to (what's left of) the rocker panels and up the middle of the car to keep it from turning into a taco, you know it's bad.....

The second was a 69 and while it was solid, it still needed work. 15g just seemed a little bit too much to me for a car that still needed a lot of work and at minimum, a new top for around 1G. Would likely take another 10G to get it up to good driver status. I'm fully capable of serious rust repair, bodywork, mechanical, upholstery, etc, but if I can't get something to the stage of at least a reliable runner by next summer we're not overly interested in it.

I was dropping off a car trailer today and drove by a local car lot. My wife was in the car and she said why not a corvette? They're everywhere and probably pretty cheap. By coincidence, the lot had a black C4 vette convertible sitting on the lot. I stopped in and we talked about it. It's on consignment so they only knew so much about it. It's black on black, with a saddle top and a "greenwood" body kit. They thought the body kit was a dealer option and it's actually got the greenwood name embossed on the spoiler. I'm not a big fan of the way the spoiler looks, but the lowers actually look kinda good on it. The lowers I'm not so sure are "greenwood", because the rear lowers are not a wrap around diffuser look, just side pieces. I think it's a Z52, as I noticed a few things like the directional wheels, Bilstein shocks, etc. I'll have to check the RPO code sheet when I go back.

They've got it listed at 13G (Canadian). After a test drive and quick look over, I tell them I'm not really interested in dropping more than 10G on it, tops. The salesman says he thinks the owner would probably go for that. They closed up a few minutes after that, so I'm heading back in the morning to look closer and maybe talk turkey. If it checks out, I'm panning to drop 10G in 100's on the table and see if that shakes something out of the tree.

Like I mentioned, I'm a Ford guy at heart and always will be (my 2016 f150 and 83 GT will have to hold me over, lol!). But I've always said I'd like to at least own a corvette once in my life, if for no other reason to say I've at least had one. I dunno, it's just a "man thing" I guess.

Thoughts are to pick it up for 10G, enjoy it for 5 or 10 years and then try and move it on for at least what I paid for it if we find it's not really for us.

Tomorrow should at least be interesting.....

 

Best of luck making the deal.

 

Going to move this over to the C4 General section - seems better suited for comments and a continuation of your story in that section.

 

You don't say what year it is but 13,000 is way out of range. In fact, so is 10,000. I sold my 92 coupe last year for 5500. Great shape and no issues. That took about 6 months. What market are you in? If you ask me, the sales lot is trying to gleam a raped price out of it. I would bet the owner does not want anything close to what the lot is trying to get.

 

Tourmax,
First off, thanks for your service! If you're not in a terrible hurry, I would suggest that you drive a few different C4s before dropping 10 large on the table. There are TONS of cars in that price range (less $$ actually). Not sure what your transmission preferences are. I had a 95 automatic, which I sold to get a 95 manual 6-speed. They are totally different animals, and I just LOVE the manual version! Also, I would lean towards a 95 or 96, as they figured out a lot of the gremlins, especially the Optispark distributor, by putting a venting system in it. You can read, ad nauseum, lots of posts here discussing the Optispark and it's associated issues. As far as 'bang for the buck', I don't think there is a car out there that can come close to the C4 in the fun/value category. Good luck with your search, and be sure to post pictures if you buy one.

Regards,
John

P.S. - Here's what $5750 can buy you. 130K miles, well sorted and reliable.

 

I would search in the for sale section on this forum. Ive bought and sold several nice Vettes through the site.... Skip car lots... Enthusiasts will have a good service record and generally be in better shape than just a Vette sitting on a lot someplace.

 

I just sold my 95 auto for $6500. Had 87k on the clock.

 

You don’t list the YEAR or MILES on the “C4 convertible” so I got nothin

 

Long story short, it's coming home today.

1988 C4, Triple black, L98, auto, vert. 120,000 kms (about 74,000 miles). Paid 9500 Canadian. For those south of 49, at current exchange rates that's about 7200 USD. For more perspective, I'm in Atlantic Canada. it's pretty much what you would call an economically "depressed" region. there's less than a million people in my whole province. So used supercars, exotic cars, even muscle cars are not very common. For about 98%of the population here, they buy trucks and/or family sedans/SUV/minivans. When they do come up for sale, people usually want a premium. Those that have enough money to buy them new, generally just keep them as they don't have any cares about the money being tied up doing nothing. There are other Vette's on the market here, some are a bit less. But the "cheaper" ones have more miles or worse issues. between 8-10 (CAD) is fairly normal for these around here. For the region, I didn't get a screaming deal, but I didn't get raped either. this is also actually a private sale. the dealer is just selling it for a friend who wanted to leave it on his lot for more exposure. I actually have no official dealings with the dealer, other than he's the one who has been talking to the owner. dealer is a "Fox Mustang guy" like me and went spent lots of time just talking about cars that had nothing to do with the Vette sale. Yes, I know, he's selling a car so he'll say whatever he has too and try to make that "personal" connection with a potential sale. I used to work at a couple dealerships when I was younger so I'm familiar with the sales techniques/tactics/tricks. I didn't get that feel from this guy.

I need to change out the master cylinder, but that's not a problem for me in any way. Could do it in my sleep. There's the usual small ****les that these cars (and 80's gm's) get like the droopy "eye" problem (IE; you can see the RH side doesn't seat in the pics), some of the plastic-y buttons inside are intermittent or don't work properly, that stupid gm wiper board problem (wiper motor), etc. It needs a muffler, but I was planing to drop a "cat back" system in stainless steel anyways. You also have to be sure you like the "80's kitch" style interiors. I'm ok with it as I spent my teen years growing up in the 80's. The wipers only work on low, but that's a common thing with GM's and the wiper board going bad inside the wiper motor. Usually fixable with a quick pass of the solder iron across cold solder joints. A/c also blows hot, but again, that's a common 80's GM problem. Usually a leaking compressor. I used to rebuild those and I've still got a couple seal kits and the special tools to do it. I'll probably rebuild the compressor, make the changes (if needed) to fill with R134 and call it a day. I'm not too worried about the A/C because it's a Vert. I do need to fix it, but it's not a priority for me.

For "only" 240-ish hp, this thing is a hell of a tire fryer! The tires are 275 Michelin pilot sports and they don't stand a chance in hell when you hit the throttle, even with posi. Instant smoke and the tail will go sideways with throttle whenever you feel like it! Luckily, the tires have a good 75-90% tread left on them and I'm going to be doing my best to wear them out driving, not making smoke. I've always liked GM TPI engines for a street car. Puts the torque right where you need it. I had actually converted a GMT400 to run the TPI setup on a modified 411 PCM "once upon a time". Was a hell of a stump puller and got the Oooo-ahhhh reaction every time I popped the hood. Too bad the TPI runs out of breath somewhere around 4-5 grand. Oh well, 80's technology. Low end or top end; pick your poison.....

It's an automatic (700r4). I wish it had been a standard (so does the wife), but I can live with it in a car that will spend 99% of it's time just cruising along. You never know, I may look at swapping a standard in to it in the future. Another task well within my wheelhouse, except for the prices.....LOL!

Someone has changed out the Bose radio for a CD player Alpine. Not a fan of that, looks ugly and over all ruins the 80's "feel" of the interior. I might see if the owner still has the Bose (even if ti doesn't work), but I doubt it. I may source an original radio to replace the ugly aftermarket unit. Or maybe find something modern that at least fits the look of the car better.Maybe I'll find a stock Bose to keep the proper interior "look" and install a hidden stereo soemwhere for modern sound and features. Dunno, I have lots of time to think about it.

It's a Z52 RPO, but it seems that someone has changed a few things in it's past. Only small things though.

It seems to be optioned up the hoop, even having the 500 way adjustable driver and passenger seats. It's neat stuff, but also more stuff to keep working and 80's electronics were never exactly.......ummmm, "robust".....to start with. Again, nothing I can't take care of myself.

I'll just throw up a pic of the RPO's and the car and let them speak for themselves. Overall, we're happy with the deal, even though I'm not a "chevy guy". I've never had good luck with GM products except for one old 89 GMT400 I dragged out of a farmers field. Rusted out old junker that never let me down. Turn the key and it went, every time. an then there were lots of shiny new GM's that have left me stranded many times over the years. I'm hoping the vette takes after the old junker, not the shiny new ones.






It looks like it's got 1991 rims and not the year correct 88 Z52 rims. That actually doesn't bug me. They still look nice and the more I think about it, they might look better than the year correct rims.

The RPO's spec a black top and it's got a saddle top. Not a big deal either, the saddle looks better on a black car anyways. At least it does to my eye.It's got me thinking that the car would look even sharper if I redid it in black and saddle two one. The interior is OK the way it is, but it's got the typical 31year old car issues. Leather seats are intact, but are cracked and could be redone, few little broken plastic bits or wrong fasteners, etc. That type of thing is just par for the course with an 80's car or one with this amount of age on it..

Overall, it was a decent deal and we like the car. Should be a great summer cruiser!

 

C4's are great bang for the buck cars, private owners are usually the best way to go. Dealers put premium prices on them hoping for someone with no knowledge of the car that will pay premium price because it's a Corvette. There is at least 5 C4's on Pittsburgh Craigslist below 10 grand right now, personally I prefer the coupe just for the fact of more room in the back, with the roof off you still get the open air feel.

 

Nice convertible. Even your headlight winks!

 

We have a '79 MGB LE and an1985 Corvette. Love them both. Nothing like 55 mph on the backroads in the B. Completely different animal than the C4. You feel like your back in the '60s in a very relaxed sort of way. The C4 is loud, kinda fast, comfortable....AC works great and also a blast. Love them both. Interestingly I paid the same amount for both. Definitely replace the brake hoses and the master cylinder. Bleed all the old fluid out. My master cylinder insides looked like ....not good. Bob

 

So now that we've bought the 88, I'm going to start a new thread. This was originally started in the "intro's" on the main forum and the format/title just doesn't fit with further updates to this thread.

 

Buy a stock one to many questions why you changed that and it could have been some ones hot rod! You want a stock one that no one has fooled with all these non stock items. Look for a 1993 and up there are plenty nice ones out there.

 

You bought a nice optioned Corvette. And for reasonable money. I bought a 96 POLO GREEN / BEIGE convertible with 31584 certified miles in November. Three collector owners. I paid $10000 US, and am very happy.