- not true -not true! i have or had two L98's both were, or are, trouble free. my 85, and now my son's 85 runs like a champ. we've had it for about 13 years, and we've put over 100K on the clock (now 134K). i can honestly say, that my 85 was one of the best, trouble free cars that i have ever owned. of all the C4 years, the 1985 is one of my favorites. L98's have plenty of low end torque - my 85 would light the tires up at will, anytime, from a dead stop, and its an automatic (with the G92 axle). granted, LT1's have better performance, but (now that i've vented) DON'T RULE OUT L98's!

now as far as what to look for in a C4, i always go by condition - dollar for dollar, i would take a clean, higher mileage, 84 over a trashed, low mileage, 96 LT4 anyday - but that's just me. you'll see that C4 can be money pits, and if you have to start dropping in tons on money into it, that will sour your enthusiasm for the hobby real fast. if all you want is a nice driver, get the cleanest, best maintained C4, even if it's not the newest. mileage can be a secondary issue on a well maintained vehicle -

 

Good luck with your purchase, I envy you making a long road trip in your Corvette. After driving them for forty years, a road trip is still one of my favorite things. Taking a Corvette across this great Country of ours is part of the American Dream and I feel sorry for those who have missed that. In September I drove my latest purchase from Ohio to Texas (1,100 mi) in about twenty-two hours, enjoyed every inch of the drive, was sorry when it was over. Let us know how it goes.

I agree about high mileage well maintained cars, they are the best buy. Nice C4s are about as cheap now as they will ever be.

 

i maintain that a L98 should ONLY be avoided if your primary goal is to go "fast" ie 11.99sec or quicker on stock looks,other than that the L98 cars will provide as much fun as the ltx motors or even the cross fire.

 

I spent about 4 or 5 months looking at differenct C4s, reading books, following the forum, doing a lot of reseach, etc........definitely worth your time and energy....and when it came time to buying I felt like I had done my homework and knew what I wanted and why.

One thing that I highly recommend after you have selected your car is to pay a 'Corvette Specialist' to go over it 'bumper to bumper'. It may cost about $200. but could save you thousands and be good a 'negotiation factor'. They know what to look for and have the lift to put it in the air, etc. I bought mine from a mom and pop used car place 1000 miles from home and had a reputable Chevy dealership do this for me and then made my decision based on their recommendation. It has worked out well.

 

Be sure to try every possible accessory as silly as that sounds.. Audio , FX3 shocks, ABS and climate control can get pricey quick. It will not nickle dime to to death it is more like a couple hundred here a few more there.. I got some code reading plugs you put into the aldl while not a scantol for 50 bucks they cover all years of C4 and you can check that there are no errors and make note of all of them. You might also look at the various vendor sites listed here and elsewhere to get a feel for what it might cost to replace various things so you know realistic bargaining points. Sure wish i did. Hope this helps.. I am now on the upside of buying a 91 on what i thought was the cheap but have another 2k in and another 3 k to go to get it where I want...

 

One more thing - NEVER, repeat NEVER buy a Corvette (or anything else) with an aftermarket alarm system, remote start system, or any other electronics added to the factory wiring. I did once and learned my lesson. This is from a guy with an MSEE degree.

 

Good point most aftermarket installs end up being hack jobs and late C4s have enough electrical/electronics onboard to make troubleshooting a tedious process.

Wow lots of facts here with zero opinion added.
I bet my heavy, slow as hell 1995 automatic convertible is faster and handles better than the 1992 coupe mentioned above...however, there are some early GEN I equiped C4s that will spank my vert. A good thing often overlooked about the C4 vert is with the factory hardtop install it is stiffer than the coupe.

So the real answer is find the year and style you like and buy the one you want.... Every stock C4 even the Grand Sports and ZR1s are underpowered in todays performance world, so if you want speed you will be modding your car.


The good news is Engine/transmission are basically standard chevrolet and don't have the corvette tax.....weatherstrip, interior parts, paint, etc have a heavy corvette tax. so choose wisely

If you end up looking for a LT1 or LT4 car 1995 and up cars have a better noise abatement (less creaks and groans, better opti and J55 brakes standard.....

One thing to remember is there is no such thing as a cheap nice vette.....you either pay a little more at the beginning or a lot more over the life of your ownership. So set a budget, decide what your goals are ...and then start looking for (that vette) who knows that vette may be an 84 or a new LS3 equipped C6

 

I went 11.99 @ 112 with all the stock L98 stuff. Stock intake (no porting, nothing, never even off the car) stock cam, and stock heads.

_twisted_ went 11.75 or something on all the stock stuff. In an older L98 with iron heads.

If you want to go fast, the L98 is a superior platform once you begin to mod. Heads are cheaper, and there are 10 times the options out there. Go price some AFR 195's for both an LTX and an L98 set up. Price bottom end components. Distributors. Water pumps. Everything for the LTX car is more money. You have less options, and the parts are considerably more expensive.

The only reason to choose an LTX if your goal is to make serious HP is that you want it to remain stock looking. Even then, as long as you mod tastefully, most people can't tell anyway. 99 out of 100 people that look at my car don't know that the MR intake isn't stock.