I would like to get your input on this decision. I have a 96' C4 with 109k on the ticker and it runs strong but even with new door seals the wind noise is very noticeable. I had considered changing the carpet and dynamat but it does not end there.
I do not take this on long road trips because should the waterpump go the optispark unit would probably fail too! I am looking if I keep this car to upgrade it with the items I discussed at a cost of about $1600 and then there are labor costs for the items I won't do by myself.
I have sat in and drove the older C5s and like that I can get in and out of the car much easier and the road noise is much less noticeable. I am not crazy about the transaxle assy.
My budjet is 16k to about 20k and I am leaning more towards the 2002 year and newer, and although my old car was an automatic I am also leaning towards the manual transmission although if the automatic has a paddle shift I might be happy with that because most of the driving is in the city. I have noticed that the C5s also come with a removeable sun roof I am not sure that is a good feature should I want to modify the car in the future. I do not want a convertible. I wonder what the differences in the transaxle and even the clutch strenth when you talk an automatic car and a manual trasmission non ZO6 verses a ZO6. I know automatics do not have a clutch!
I apoligize for the long post. I have seen a few ZO6s going for the 20k range. I want to keep the car streetable and when the motor is tired stroke it out somewhat but keep hp around 500 at the motor!
The car will probably have around 90K and what should I look for?

 

I would recommend a Z06 if you do not want a convertible or targa top. The FRCs were made before 2000 and you say you want to stay 2002 or newer. In December I bought a very nice 2002 Z06 with 22000 miles on it for $ 22,000. You should be able to get a nice 2002 Z06 with 50000 miles or less for $ 20000. I am very happy I sold my 1991 coupe, which was a great car, and bought the Z. It was already lowered, had a short throw shifter, long tube headers, high flow cats and a Borla exhaust. These were mods I wanted and would have been fairly expensive to do to the car. It has about 440 HP at the engine and 375 at the rear wheels.

 

There were never paddle shifters offered on any C5.

As far as the targa coupe - the C5 is MUCH stiffer than a C4 and even with the roof removed you will not feel any chassis flex or cowl shake.

The Fixed Roof Coupe (FRC) was intended by GM to be a lower cost model but sales were very poor and they discontinued it. Since the production tooling for it was already in place they used it in the Z06 to help distinguish the Z06 from the standard coupe. The Z06 (FRC) roofline is actually less aerodynamic than the standard coupe and slows the car down on the top end comparatively with all else equal.

Notice the C6 Z06 and ZR1 both use the standard roofline - GM didn't make the same mistake twice.

 

I agree, go with a low mileage Z06.

 

with that price range, you should be able to find a z06.

i went from a 90 coupe with 400rwhp (cost a fortune to get me there) to a 2002 z06.
there are some Z owners on here with 200k on the stock drivetrain... so with proper maintenance, it might be a long while until you have a 'tired motor' (then a cam, exhaust, intake will get you 500 at the crank)

I love the c4, but once you drive a Z.. you'll quickly see what you are missing out on.
go drive one...
you'll get tons of opinions here.. but you really should drive one. your opinion is the only one that really matters.

 

Thanks Guys! So I should avoid the FRC roof? I am thinking the same about going for the ZO6. There is a dealer in town and he has a black 2001 or 2002 ZO6 with 74k and asking 21k for it. I definitely would like a lower mileage car.
I will drive test drive it to get a feel for the clutch. In my younger days in the late 80s I drove IROC Zs with a hydraulic clutch and when you had a real hard day at work I would skip a few shifts and that was a 5 spd.
My concern is a big line at the stop light where it takes 2 or 3 lights to get through the intersection. This is rare, but if I were in a parade or car cruise it could get old fast??
I know it has to be a manual shift especially by the way I have been playing with the shifter on my old automatic starting in 1st and running it through the gears like it was a manual shift!!

 

Well, no, don't avoid the FRC. I was just giving you background on the FRC. Besides, the ZO6 has the FRC roof so to avoid it you'd have to avoid Z06s which is sillyness.

The C4 chassis is slop compared to the C5. If you remove the targa top from a C4 you can feel the difference in the chassis. Not so in the C5. The C5 was designed to be roofless from day 1. Removing the roof from a C5 does not require adding any extra bracing to the frame as it did in the C4. It is not necessary to purchase a Z06 with the fixed roof to obtain a nice sold chassis in a C5. Do not feel you cannot have and enjoy a targa and still enjoy a solid chassis... you can!

 

C4- I believe you don't have to worry about the opti on the 96 model C4. Yes, the water pump can go out (like any car) but the 96 Opti was either vented or waterproofed or? (someone will come in with more info). Regarding noise and comfort, the C5 is much more comfortable, plus more luggage space (my C4 is a vert = 0 luggage, therefore no long road trips).

That's why I bought a C5- the wife likes it much better for long cruises. More leg room, width, storage area etc.

But, the C5 is not without it's little issues. Look in the C5 tech area stickys at the top, there's lots of info on the fixes that everyone has or will face one time or another.

 

You will enjoy any C5. That being sad....you don't want a convertible and you will plan to modify it....so an FRC/Z platform may be better for that purpose. I wouldn't count out and FRC ('99 or '00) or '01 Z. These can all be had at great prices now. Are you trading/selling your C4?

 

Thanks for the clarification of the FRC roof. Now iffff I can convince the wife we can keep the C4 and we can have a C5 too!!!!
The thought at this point would be to trade or sell the C4 and it is the purple color like the one pictured on the upper left of this website depending upon how you have this site bookmarked.
I am off to go drive that ZO6 and will post my thoughts and impression of it after that.

 

I took a black 2001 ZO6 with 64k on the odometer for a test run. It is noticeably quieter as far as road noise is concerned. I was okay with the clutch and this shifting consantly in town suits me. It will never be a work car, only for pleasure cruising and then those quick grocery store runs!
Now a few things I did not like is the dealers price 22.950 and the nada is 21.200 so they are proud of it, yet it was dusty when I went to look at it! They gave it a quick hose rinse job and the paint looked okay in I seen no glaring defects, but some minor scratches were visible here and there. I can not expect perfection at this price! The interior was clean no noticeable wear. The AC would not blow cold, not good! Charge it up? My 96' never needed this! The good news it was a one owner Texas car and it was not modified.
I will continue looking.
It seemed to turn fairly sharp when I did a uturn. My color preference would be blue like Kmcoldcars, then Grey or Black.

 

Get the newest you can afford and a Coupe if you want to remove the top and a FRC/Z if that is no issue, oh in the Mile the Coupe is faster, mine did 190 MPH