new to the site and to C4s so this is more to get an idea of options available.

I'm interested in getting into auto-crossing and some road racing with my 84 C4 and am curious about performance upgrades for the car.

so my question is this: what would you raod racers recommend? suspension upgrades? brake upgrades? transmission upgrades? give me the lowdown on the works. new to this and don't know where to start so take it easy on me

info about my car: bone stock 1984 corvette base model with auto transmission. even has the old eagle gt4 tires on it.

I have a spare 700R4 that i got with the car, came from an older hot rod. I also got a set of Wilwood SL6R calipers laying about from a project that never took off.

anyhow looking forward to hearing from people that race their C4s

 

PM sent.

 

Sell it and get something newer. The auto trans has to go if you are even slightly serious. The crossfire engine is a terrible starting point (tpi isnt much better) with the power being in totally wrong place. 84 is ok suspension wise but getting the right springs is just as easy in other cars. Brakes are the immediate concern unless you have j55 already. C5 upgrade is relitively cheap and adequate. There are a ton of things that you will want to do but seat time is the most important. Get started. You will learn more in first event than snooping on the forums for a month.

Go drive the crap out of your current vette, then sell it and get an lt1. It will save you thousands of dollars in the first few years and thousands of hours of time upgrading. Engine is more than adequate to be fast and good powerband. And get the 6 speed trans.

I know you prob have sentimental value on your 84 but I did too on my 87. You will get over it and be better off.

 

I get the impression that I will get a few people recommending to sell the car. I'm not interested in selling the car. I'm not aware of any structural differences between the c4 years. You might be right about it being easier but I like working on cars. If I was hell bent on performance I would either get a c5 or c6. Working on any old car is a labor of love. So I mean no offense but for those who say sell it I'll ask you to kindly bow out.

 

What he is implying is that the RPM required for that type of racing is a high RPM range, the CFI and TPI engines do not offer that RPM range. The LT1 engines do. That is the point he is making. In other words, for road racing you would want to keep your RPMs above 4000. The CFI and TPI don't make power above there, and TPI will hardly go to 5000. So that is the point he is trying to make.

 

If I was seriously racing a C4 it wouldn't have an LT1 engine in it though. The gen 1 chevy with upgrades will do great work with either a carburetor or an custom EFI intake. Nothing wrong with the 84 chassis in my book, put a good set of adjustable shocks on it, good bushings, adequate brakes for the type of racing and however much hp I could afford and go. Just my .02

 

You can have a lot of fun autocrossing your 84. Put some Hawk HP Plus brake pads on and bleed the brakes, install a good set of shocks, and some soft compound tires and go at it. If you enjoy the sport, you can begin to make some serious changes to improve handling. Most likely, the car can already out perform the driver due to your inexperience as a driver in autocross events. You need seat time a lot more than car mods....just saying.

 

I would think low end torque would be a bit more practical for auto-crossing than high rpm, and i am appreciative of all the advice/ I plan to at least attend a driving school before I try getting track time, as I have virtually no experience in performance driving. Thanks for the great suggestions guys

 

...

 

I think the biggest question is how much do you want to spend?
If we have a budget, we can give better advice.

 

I' going to go against the stream of posters so far.

Don't sell it. Don't do anything to it except put some decent (but not great) tires on it. Maybe upgrade to some bigger brakes (J55s for example). Spend as little as possible on mods that aren't reliability or safety related, except maybe a manual valve body for the transmission, so you can tell it what gear to be in.

Take that money and spend it racing and doing race prep. New fluids, new tires, that sort of stuff. You will get way more speed per dollar out of track time than you will performance mods. And when you get to be a fast driver, then maybe think about selling it to get into something more potent.

FWIW, there's a surprisingly large number of guys who road race C4s. They're actually very effective, and can hold their own in their classes with ease. A lot of guys even win their classes.

 

If you are new to auto-x and track days, and it sounds like you are, then This is a good, low budget way to learn. The
84 can be extremely competitive in auto-x as that is not a race of HP. At the track though....you'll get passed by Camry's.

One note; You can't practically put the "J55" brakes on an '84 as the knuckle is different than all other years. Definitely upgrade pads and brake fluid, however!

 

Tom hit the brake issue right on the head. This can be changed by swapping in front knuckles from an 85-87 car, then you can look at the bigger brake setups. Even so, the stock brakes when in good condition are certainly not bad.


Seat time as has been mentioned already will be the most important mod.

 

Really tough to keep the auto cool on a road course. Good luck!

 

Keep the car. I have an '84 Z51 car with a Tremec TKO600 that I am setting up for autocrossing. I am almost done setting it up. The next item I will be looking to purchase are a set of front brakes from Baer and some softer tires.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260877808932?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I have been tracking mine for three years . Lots of work
Won my class last Saturday ,#2 overall out of 44 registered .A 240z with a LS2 beat me that's it .
I still have the original L98 stock cam /shortblock
http://vid25.photobucket.com/albums/...k/IMG_1012.mp4
I say buy a car that is done .building and learning to drive is a longer route .
Auto is fine for cones ,not that great on Road courses .

 

That is WAY overpriced to me considering they are selling you stock calipers for J55 brakes. You could just buy a set of 85-87 uprights, then get a set of C5 or C6 caliper adapters and run brakes as big as your wheels allow. When I had my 84 I got a set of correct uprights for under $100. The C5/C6 brackets are $150.

 

I built my car from the ground up, entirely by myself

First you are going to want to put in a cage and safety equipment. Autopower makes a nice bolt in, but I went with NASCAR style door bars. Definitely a 5 or 6 point harness and a racing seat.

Next up is reliability. This one is pretty easy, add an external oil cooler for the motor. Do a tune up, change gaskets, etc. You are going to want a Road Race oil pan as well. Install a high quality aluminum radiator. I went with a DeWitt's unit, very nice piece, bolts right in.

Suspension - I was very happy with the VB&P extreme touring setup. Everything ended up being perfect for my track car. I would add the DRM rear trailing arm brackets and toe bracket if they are available.

Brakes - Definitely go J55 setup, leave the rears alone. I put on DBA4000 rotors and Carbotech pads. Adam Adelstine (forum vendor) can help with pad selection. Get the pre-bed option. Get some stainless steel braided brake lines from DRM. Very high quality, and change over to a high temp fluid. Also run ducting for the front brakes and make sure it's directed to the center of the rotor.

Trans - You are going to want to run a stick eventually. The auto will be -ok- to begin with, but you're going to want to maybe add a bigger cooler for it.

Tires - Definitely change them to something soft and sticky. I am running Nitto NT01s. Wear like iron and stick like glue.

Also get a track alignment. VB&P has an alignment guide on their website.


I wouldn't worry much about power for right now. As you get better, you will need some more, but just keep it as is for now. Just work on making the car reliable and safe. Best mod you can do is track time and HPDE's.

Shoot me a PM if you have any questions or need pictures. I'll chime in again if I have anything else to add.

 

Thanks for all the helpful input. I actually prefer manual over auto, more fun and can be be more helpful in a panic situation. And I understand that for road racing a manual is necessary. as this is my first foray into corvettes and it might be best for the first year or two to stick to autocross, and leave the car mostly stock. That way i can get a fell for it in a rather safe environment.

hawk pads and high temp brake fluid are the best bang for the buck i can get it sounds like, coupled with seat time. After I gain a bit of experience for a couple of years the best option is to buy a car better suited to road racing. or heavily modify this car to meet track requirements. might just keep this car as a grand tourer. one car for track the other for nice long trips.

I'll probably have to change out the bushings and shocks soon, as they aren't in the best shape and have sat for over 14 years. maybe a set of adjustable shocks? (any preferred brands )what bushings are good?

 

I will be happy to help you with Carbotech pads, we have some great options. http://ctbrakes.com/brake-compounds.asp