I'm currently looking to buy my first vette. I've wanted one for years and finally some money to get one. I'm still in college so I'm looking for a used one. I have found a lot of 84's cheap in my area (st. louis). Starting around $3500. I've noticed that they are cheaper then the other years. What I'm wanting to know is if there's some reason why they are so cheap compared to the others. Is there something I should know about 'em, or should I jump on this chance?

 

The Guys/Girls in the C4 Corvette section (1984-1996) would be more suitable to answer questions like this . Click on this and go to the C4 Corvettes section.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/index.php?

 

I know this isn't the same section, but I figuered there I'd get someone with an 84 who would sweat talk it.

 

Yes, the C4 section would be better but I think the answer you'll get is that the 84's like the 68's were the first year of those generations and they had a lot of problems. Most of which were improved greatly in following years.

 

They are the first year of the C4 and the biggest production year of the Corvette also (over 51000 made). So there are lots of em, and they are old and not all that sought after either.

205 hp cars are not all that much fun either.

 

Biggest thing I know is the 84's came with the Crossfire injection. 85's and up came with tunres port injection.

 

I had an 84 Corvette back in 1991 and it was the worst car I ever owned! It had only 75k on it at the time but there were tons of things wrong with it! I was young and foolish, buying the car without test driving it or getting it inspected.

It had a leaking tranny, a washer fluid bottle which didn't hold fluid, one of the headlight motors didn't work, the dashboard would periodically go completely out (digital), the power seats didn't work, the suspension was completely shot, the radio didn't work, and the engine hesitated pretty badly at low rpms. You're better off getting an 85 or 86, the price difference isn't that much but they vastly improved the car with each year.

 

I believe that I'am IB4TL!

 

Thanks, your comment's have helped a lot

 

Did the 97's have many problems?

 

1984 had a unique digital dash that was updated in 1985. So it may be difficult to get parts/repairs on it.

I think it interesting that the 1984 CrossFire engine got such a bad rap. Those of us that owned 1982 Corvettes (that had the same exact engine) just loved it. But for some reason that same engine (in the next production year run of Corvette) was not very well received.

Also, the 1984 had a very teeth jarring ride. Those that were avid autocross competitors thought it was great... but everyne else hated it. Starting 1985 the suspension was softened a bit.

 

A lot has to do with the motor that was in them (crossfire injection) and the fact that they were the first year and had a few bugs that needed to be worked out. They also rode fairly stiff. I had an '84 4+3 transmission equipped car and kept it for a couple of years. I enjoyed the car, but compared to today's Vettes, it is way down on power, ergonomics, etc. If I were to get one, it would be the automatic equipped car, simply because the 4+3 transmission was kind of a pain.

The only real problem I had with mine was the overdrive unit went out - luckily I had an warranty on the car. If you get one, try to find a low mileage one if possible. For not much more though, you could probably find an 85 or newer and have the tuned port injected engine.

 

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with the 84-86. Lots of new technology thrown into the 84. It was a whole new model. In my opinion any 80's car is something to stay away from. In 92 the C4 got the LT1 which is a lot better engine. If I would by a C4, I would by a 92 and up.

 

If I were looking for a C4, I think I'd get a 6-speed version
Because the Doug Nash 4+3 are expensive to fix. Also,
The LT1s are nice with the 300hp. Personally, I
Like the 92's or newer.

 

In my '84, the crossfire engine was rock-solid, as was the Doug Nash 4+3 manual tranny. The real love killer was the digital dashboard. All my digital readouts worked great, but the three little halogen bulbs that lit it up kept going out. It was actually the solder trace on the circuit board that was cracked. I'd slam the top of the dash which usually turned them back on. Made quite a dent in the top of the dash, however. Only other problems I had were dead battery (normal wear) and a few teeth missing off the flywheel (made it tough to start. Fixed when the clutch was replaced).

 

Not nearly as many as the 84's had.

 

I liked my ’84. A lot! It was a Z51, which was the hardest riding suspension, but I still liked the way it drove. I changed the shocks (new Bilsteins) and put on Firestone SZ50s which made all difference in ride and handling. I never had a problem with the engine or trans (auto). The only real downside to the crossfire that I found is that is doesn’t take well to engine mods. There is not a cheap way to get it to breathe. The only other problems I had were with the paint quality and the window guides breaking. Overall, I thought it was a very good car that was a blast to drive.

 

Ok. I happened to be one of the few here that actually bought one brand new in 1984. I had that car from March 84 till I wrecked it in Sept. of 95 with 78k miles on it.

First, you have to remember that in 1984, 205hp was still a lot of power for the day. I kind of consider it the historic turning point for the return of the muscle car which had been completely absent at that point for more than 10 years. It was the first Corvette to excite me since the 69 that I sold 12 years earlier. I didn't have the Z51 suspension but it still rode quite rough on rough roads. That happens to be somewhat puzzling to me that every car magazine criticized it for, when on the other hand I felt like it drove like a dream compared to a Viper when they came out but got rave reviews for it. Go figure??? The turning response put the C5 to shame but the C4 chassis in general was flimsy. I must have been lucky because I NEVER took that car back to the dealer for ANYTHING!!!! I have heard people complain about it ever since I bought it but I had to replace the power window mechanisms on both sides after the warranty about 5 years later and that was it!

I had a buddy at the time with a 83 911 that could not keep up with me. I autocrossed the car for the last 5 years I owned it. I put tires and brakepads on it. Bone stock and was 1st or 2nd in class all 5 years. And I had a blast doing it. It would no longer race in the same class as newer Vettes but people have fun racing Miatas for crissake. So don't let anybody discourage you from a fun car for cheap.

Having said all that, I agree that 85 was much improved. In 88 they went from 16 to 17" wheels. In 91 they updated the style. The 92 LT1 was a giant leap in power, but now you're getting into a lot more money. If you want ANY car thats over 10 years old, be sure to thoroughly test drive it. Yes, I've seen many of these cars with screwed up digital instruments, be sure to get one that has no problems there. If a sub $5k car is in your budget, be prepared to do some repairs or find one that has problems that you can deal with.

Good luck and PM me if you need to know more.

 

I had an '84....I put a ton of work into it with a good amount of success. The cars have a bad rap, most of it undeserved, but some is indeed valid.

The worst part (and where the bad rap is deserved) is that it's hard to make them go fast. The intake/injection system is a MAJOR issue. However, there are a lot of guys with ALOT of experience with these things. Go to this forum http://www.crossfire.webhop.net (registration required) and you'll learn all you want about making these things perform (and the difficulties involved).

Also, I've got some pretty good info about the one I had here....
http://www.nelsonresidence.com/vehic...e/corvette.htm

As you will see I did make the car respectable, it would give most later model C4's a good run for their money. The bottom line, they can be had for cheap, and if you want to get into a C4 for cheap they are definitely the ticket. Just beware that it will take more work than on almost ANY other year vette to make it go fast.......

Other than that, it's basically the same car up until '90 when things started changing quite a bit (new dash, 17 inch wheels, 6 speed availabe).

As for the instrument cluster (nearly the same through 89), if it gives you a problem it can be easiy repaired. Mid America sells the replacement module for it that will make it good as new for about $300 (when I got one about 4 years ago at least....)

Good luck,
Steve

 

My first vette was an 84 with 90k miles on it. It was a great car, but had also been well maintained. The only problem I had with the crossfire was cured when I had the throttle bodies rebuilt. I doubt I'd buy that year again, but the price was right and it was a great way to join the corvette community!