I just traded an OT car for this 1986 convertible. 129K Miles but in fairly decent condition and runs good. New top and tires. Automatic.

While I have two C3's (a '79 auto and a '73 stick), both are longer term project cars (actually, the '79 will be going up for sale soon) but are runners. I don't drive either one much though as I have a bunch of cars.

My most recent Corvette that I used regularly was a 30K mile '02 C5 Z06. That car was amazing, fast, great handling, and a joy to drive. I sold it though because it was in like new condition and I knew the more I drove it, the value would go down and the condition could only decrease. Also because when I did drive it I kind of drove it faster than I probably should have. I figured it was only a matter of time before I got in trouble with it.




I had no intention of getting another C4 but I had a car for sale and a guy asked if I'd be interested in trading for this C4. Being the Corvette junkie I am, I couldn't pass it up.

I've had two C4's in the past. One was a very clean '93 coupe with auto trans.



I sold it to get into a C5 coupe with manual trans.

Then a few years later I bought this super nice '96 CE LT4.



While I really liked that car a lot and thought the LT4 engine was under rated on power I sold it to get into a Porsche 911.

But that was about ten years ago so it had been a while since I was in a C4. Here are my thoughts. They're going to be a little biased as it is my first day with it so honeymoon phase, plus it's a beautiful 74 degree fall day so I had the top down the whole time. I love it! My last convertible was an '02 C5 manual and I loved that car too but I find that I like an automatic in a convertible over a stick. I just leave it in drive and cruise it around. I don't have to try to hear the engine or look at the tach to shift. Now I'm sure there is going to be a time when I'm on a fun twisty road and think I should have a stick but I did hit one windy road on the way home and just took it out of OD and it did just fine.

The handling surprised me a bit as I didn't think it would be so tight and grippy. I was remembering my previous two coupes and they were pretty shaky and rattily when the top was off. I think they added stiffeners to the convertible to make it more rigid. I'm very pleased with how tight it is though. Not as good as a C5 but good enough for me.

One of my concerns with another convertible is loosing my hat! I like wearing a ball cap with the top down because of the visor blocking the sun. I have a very round melon head though so ball caps can get blown off easily in the wind. I already ordered a hat strap from Amazon but with the top down and the two side windows up, my hat stayed in place just fine. There were no winds gusts or buffeting inside the car.

The stereo sucks though. I live kind of out there so not much for radio reception. I have a cassette adapter with an aux cable to plug into my phone so I can play my Pandora but it doesn't work in this car. When I insert the cassette, tries to play it but then kicks it back out. I guess I'm going to have to replace the head unit. Probably do that plus amp and speakers for a full sound upgrade. You need something decent in a convertible anyways to overcome the wind noise.

Power wise, I'm a little disappointed. Not terribly but she's a little sluggish. I'll be doing plugs, wires and whatever other basic tune up stuff but I'd like to get a little more grunt out if her. I'll have to do some research on power mods for the L98. My other two C4's were LT1 and LT4 so they were much better. This car will be mostly a cruiser, enjoying nice top down leisurely drives in the mountains but I would like it to go when I want it to. I passed a car going about 60 and it took way longer to get around it than I'd like. I don't know what rear end gear it has but I have the original window sticker as well as the RPO sheet so I'll look it up. maybe a gear upgrade to a 3.42 or something like that would be the easiest solution.

I haven't driven it at night yet but I'm sure the headlights are going to suck. My previous C4's were terrible. Not sure if there are any good upgrades (not LED conversion in stock housings so you get flashed) available now. there weren't any when I had my previous ones.

Overall, I really like this car. I like that it is a transition car that bridges between the more modern C5 but still has a lot of rough and tumble, analog feel of a C3. I'm not too crazy about the Star Wars dash, preferring the later C4 dash (what I call the C4.2) but I can live with it (I don't have a choice, do I? ). It all works except for the gas gauge. It reads full most of the time no matter how much gas is in it. It will occasionally read correctly but then go back to full. I'll have to do the research on that as I'd like it to work correctly. For now, I just reset the trip meter and will keep track of my miles since fill up. The right side of the gauges will sometimes fade but if you tap the screen, it comes back bright.

The seats need to be recovered and new foam. That will be an over the winter project. Initially, I wasn't too crazy about the pace car stickers but they are growing on me so I guess I'll leave them. Same with the wheels. I was thinking I'd swap them out for something five spoke but I'm just going to leave them on. Looks wise, I don't think it needs anything.

Anyway, here are the pictures you've all been waiting for:

 

Congratulations and I'm glad you're back in a C4. I like the looks of the early C4s along with their stock wheels.

A 1986 will be underpowered, but that's the way it is. The Verts should have had a cross member underneath to stiffen them. Some coupe owners will add that to stiffen the frame. There are LED headlights that work well. Most of the major vendors offer them as well as Amazon, etc. Here's one thread https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-solution.html

Enjoy the ride

 

Been running these since 2020. Sorta, in 22 they slightly changed them, tho visibly it was very minor and did a rename to say 2022, in '24 they updated them to a new looking style and the description says 2024, and they upped the price

Anyways, ask anyone on here that runs them, very bright, very crisp cutoff, and at $89 very affordable compared to any other upgrade options

 

I just ordered a set. Thanks!