First off, I don't want any anger on this,(aka "use the search button"... I'm new here). I'm 16 and just trying to find a good first car. I've been looking at 3rd gen 305/t5 combo camaros or firebirds, because I want a stick, but my favourite cars have always been corvettes. Looking at prices, I would be able to get a c4, but I know the Doug nash is not the best. My dad's car now has about the same amount of power as one of the l98 cars (it makes 235 ish But it's a sonata) I know a decent amount about cars, and my dad's familiar with the Chevy engines of the era, having owned an iroc convertible, but neither of us know much about transmissions, other than which are bad and which are good. From what I've read, the d/n is a slightly improved version of a Borg Warner 4spd, but with the overdrive unit being a crap box they tended to go bad. I was thinking about it, and would it be possible to disconnect the od unit, making the transmission better? Also, is the 86-88s really better for transmission reliability? In roadkill they had an 84 and they hacked it up and put a new motor in, but kept the 4+3, and it didn't completely blow up, just blew a clutch seal. With all the beating on cars they do would it be good for a daily driver with an autox here and there or should I stick with the f bodies because the 4th gen. T56 is almost a bolt on swap. Thanks everyone

 

The 4+3 in my '84 @ 60k is doing just fine, aside from being about ready for a clutch refresh. They're plenty reliable if you treat them right (drive sensibly on the street & respect the fact that these components can be close to 32 years old at this point), and replace the O/D filter & fluid every 12k miles as recommended. Just make sure the previous owner(s) didn't beat the tranny into the ground.

Clutch out to shift in/out of overdrive, just as you would with any other shift, at it will last--I know of people who auto-X with the 4+3 too, so it's not like it's made of paper. Not sure how often they actually engage the O/D--perhaps they will chime in--but the BW Super T10 (the manual "4" in 4+3) is a sturdy unit.

It will be a challenge as a first car, and maintenance may be expensive...but less so if you stay proactive. Anything you need help with, post on here--and I've learned a ton just from reading relevant topics when I can. Most importantly, don't believe everything you hear, especially if it's about a C4

 

That would be a cool first car. Just expect repairs. 4+3 shouldn't be an issue, you will know if it is when you test drive.

 

I just realized I probably put this in the wrong category... But thanks for the input! To answer some of the points you had, I plan on doing most of the maintenance myself, and for what I can't, my dad's friend most likely can help. On the Topic of autocross, I know that summit raceway isn't terribly far away and it's one of the tracks that motorweek has used. For that I would probably go with a wider tire, but would I need any suspension work to be competitive? I know some c4s had the adjustable ride settings but were they any good? I know I'm full of questions but hey, I just want to be sure😂

 

The C4 has a very well-engineered factory suspension compared to just about anything else available at a similar price point--fantastic bang/$. Handling is their true forte. While there are plenty of ways to improve the system (well-documented on these forums), the stock setup is more than enough to learn to race on, and be competitive IMO

 

Great. Thanks! I can't think of many other things I haven't already figured out but if I do I'll post

 

I have an '84 also with the Z51 suspension option. Previous owners did not take care of the 4+3 trans in the car and the overdrive unit began to fail. Remember to change the fluid and filter in the OD unit on a regular basis and it will run great.

I ended up having a Tremec TKO600 installed. A bit pricey, but the final gear is fantastic on the highway. I'm running at 1600 RPM at 65mph.

 

Can't speak to the 4+3 as mine was replaced with a Tremec before I purchased it 2 years ago. Parts can be expensive but you can do a little better if you watch places like Rockauto when they're closing out items. Some parts can be very hard to find except used so if you get the car, figure out what you will need now and what you might in the future and buy them when you can. It's important to remember that the newest C4 is 20 years old and the oldest over 30, so they will take parts and maintenance.

Now for the 2 biggies: friends and insurance. I'm over 60 and the first thing co-workers asked was how fast will it go and how much could I smoke the tires. I do neither, but your friends will try to pressure you to do it. The other is the cost of insurance. At your age, I suspect it will be a big piece of change, so find out what that will be and if you can afford it.

If I was going to make a recommendation/suggestion, I'd suggest that if you get one, get it to work on for now but have a daily driver that is dependable for day-to-day activities. At 16, I know I would have been tempted to exercise it to excess and that can cause accidents.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

 

In reply to hbcph, I shouldn't have much of an issue with friends, at least I hope. All of them have civics and jeeps and are not so much into cars as I am, and I would probably use my dad's car on occasion, once we fix his motorcycle, but for now I can always take the bus and work on it on weekends and over the summer. As for the other replies with the od fluid and filters, I'll take that into account, and for a first car I have ruled out trans swaps unless I get into the tech school near me, as they have lifts and all the stuff to do a swap, though you can only do so on your own time. Thanks again everyone

 

Sorry on the name butchery btw

 

I beat the **** out of my 85 4+3 with 344 rwhp and 343 rwtq... no problems with the overdrive yet. 107K miles.

 

I just remembered that one of my friends old neighbors was a mechanic who had a few c4s and a lot of other cars. Before my friend moved he was in the process of turning a high mileage c4 into a doner car for a remanufactured 32 roadster body. He was a nice guy, and let us go fishing and such on his property and offered to teach is to drive stick so I might be able to ask him for tips here and there. Thanks for all the help!

 

I hope you find a good example that is affordable and you can spend time with the wrenches and enjoying the drive. I'm starting to see a lot of young drivers getting into C3 and C4 corvettes as a first car. The maintenance on a vehicle with that many years old, and a lot of miles could mean a lot of work and cost a bit of money in parts. All I can say, is If you want it, go get it.

 

I would love a c3 as the 68 corvette is imo the best looking car ever, but prices are still up a little too much for me, and c4s are faster and look fairly good still, and worse case scenario I go with a trans am or an iroc/z28, still a very good car, better than the Honda s and junk I see in the school lot

 

Very well said. The older the C4, the stiffer the springs as well. When the 84' first came out it was one of the only production cars to hold a full G on the skid pad.

Sounds like you got a backup plan set in place, and have your act together. Pull the trigger.

 

Have you checked with your insurance agent what insurance would be for you as a Vette owner (whether in your name or in your fathers name)? Sometimes you can afford to buy a car but not able to drive it due to the insurance cost.

Case in point: in 1979 I was 30 yrs old with a clean driving record and made an offer on a 69 roadster, 350-350 4 speed. I offered $3400 for it but he sold it to someone else (I really wanted that car but such was life) for virtually the same money. I happened to mention it to my agent a few months later and just for grins he checked out what it would have cost me to insure. The insurance would have cost me more than $3400 a year for full coverage. I could have bought the car but wouldn't have been able to drive it because I couldn't also afford that much for insurance. Now $3400 doesn't sound like much today, but at that time it was a lot of money.

You need to figure in all the costs to insure you both afford to buy the car and be able to drive it legally.

 

I understand the concept of insurance. In fact, we just went over it in drivers ed, we just had the last class and are going back to gym now. I plan on registering my car as a classic as no matter corvette or f body, they are over 25 years, making insurance cheaper. I also am still working out what combination will be good, but that's more of a conversation with my parents lol. Thanks for the help

 

Just be careful with the registration. Here in MI, any vehicle plated as authentic/historic can technically only be driven to/from car shows, parades, the shop for work, and on the occasional cruise. These restrictions are lifted for the month of August, but that just wasn't enough for me...I like to drive the '84 pretty much anytime the weather permits, so I opted for standard registration and fewer glances over the shoulder.


Really depends how hard-assed the local LEOs want to be, but if you have similar laws in your state, and they see you using your classic-plated Vette as daily transportation for school/work, they can issue a citation.


Hopefully you don't have to deal with those regulations! But, even if you do end up with a standard plate, you may still be able to apply classic car insurance. I'm quite happy with Hagerty so far...no claims yet, but the cost for a year of coverage was about 2/3 of the 6 month premium on my '07 Dakota. There are definitely restrictions to these policies too, but may be an option worth checking out.


The title and insurance would likely have to be in your dad's name--you need a separate "regular use" auto policy in your name before they'll issue classic coverage. No idea what their practices or pricing are regarding young drivers, but there's a chance some research now will save you money later.

 

I don't believe that would be an issue as there are a lot of 80s and older c10s and f150s kids drive to school that are under classics. But that's probably something to look into more. 👍

 

Cant say much for the 4+3, but at 17 I bought a 1992 LT1. Its a fun car, just respect the power. Just try to get a clean one that was well maintained. Remember, its a pretty old car and can be expensive to maintain at times. Its the little stuff that gets you, sensors...ecm...digital dash..bose... etc