I have had this 1984 Corvette for about a month now, and I figure it is time to chronicle some things I have done to it, and further document what I plan to do to it. Maybe the future generations will look back on this thread in awe... or perhaps in pity. We will see how this ends up.

My dream car, for as long as I could remember, has been a Corvette. My mom used to pick me up from fifth grade in a beautiful red 2006 C6 Z51, so of course my little brain had the gears spinning on how I could have one someday. Fast-forward to 2023, after I had done good work on a project Celica, I needed something that was a bit "more." I researched hard and determined the ideal generation; the C4. My research indicated three things: the digital dash was temperamental, the 4+3 with overdrive could be clunky and unreliable, and the "Crossfire" had a better run by "Ceasefiring." So what did I end up purchasing? A 4+3 Crossfire with a digital dash.

I ended up purchasing the car from an older gentleman who owned it for three years. It was his project before he determined he could not continue it. Before then, it likely sat for somewhere close to a decade. She (the Corvette) (AKA Ramona) has problems. But for the price, it was good. And for the experience? Priceless. Here are the things I have done so far:

Fuel Pump: She drove a bold fifteen miles before dying just before making it to my house. Me and my dad sprayed a flammable aerosol into the throttle openings and cranked the car. She started fiercely, then died again. So, we had a spark, but no gas. Ran tests, and concluded that the fuel pump was bad. After pulling the sending unit out, we saw this horror...



The fuel tank looked very very bad. It was green, cloudy, and even had sparkles? I legitimately have no idea how fuel can get like this. This is likely gas from when Obama was president. Regular probably ran about $1.90 back then. I pumped the old sludge (formerly known as gasoline) out, replaced the pump, and I wiped down the inside of the tank until it was spotless (perks of skinny arms...). Put it back together and gave her some gas, and she started up perfectly. Problem 1 of 9999 solved.

Coolant: Pretty standard procedure, I sadly took no photos of it. Let's just say that the coolant would not be too different from a bucket of mud. It was extremely rusted and it was a thermodynamics marvel that the Corvette even cooled within normal temperatures. Thanks, GM!
After some fresh Prestone coolant, she runs much cooler, so that should hopefully help things.
Problem 2 of 9999 solved.

Overdrive Unit: Have you ever needed to convince the NAPA Auto Parts guy that the NAPA 14717 filter kit for Ford automatic transmissions was the perfect match for your Chevrolet manual transmission? I never have either. Thanks to GM (less kindly this time), I had the pleasure of doing so!
Me and my dad jacked the car up and saw the shiny silver OD unit staring back at us. We crawled underneath and unbolted the system, making sure to keep a bucket close by to catch the old fluid.
The waterfall passed, the old fluid was captured, and (with some effort), the old filter was exchanged for a fresh new one. Oh, and the filters interchanged perfectly (see NAPA guy, told you!). The magnet was also cleaned off and looked ready to capture more metal particulates.
A quick test drive ensured that she worked smoothly and perfectly. Clutch in, pop it into overdrive, clutch out. Sit back and relax as the engine calms by 20 decibels and the MPG shoots through the roof.
Problem 3 of 9999 solved.

The future: This weekend, hoping to get some work done on the interior. Driver info center, radio functionality, maybe even repainting the trim? We shall see. The future looks bright. Here are some more photos for you!


Here is Ramona on the day I got her. She looks well at home on the very same pad that I fixed up my Celica on.




Ramona is pictured here giving a menacing (?) stare towards me. Maybe she wanted to be left to rot? Who knows.




Of course, the beautiful dash. This was the view that C4 test drivers had while schooling fancy Euro cars on the track.



I will keep this thread updated as new events happen. Any tips and tricks will be appreciated, and thank you for stopping by.

 

Tip #1, replace all the vacuum hoses. They are 40 years old if original and will give you a headache tracing leaks if you ever have to diagnose engine run ability.

Welcome to the Crossfire family

 

Love the pics and the story. Great to see another younger guy on here.

Digital dash for the win. Honestly a 4+3 1984 is a cool C4 in its own right. Handles like a go-kart.

Is yours a Z51? Post a picture of the RPO code sticker. Should be on the underside of the center console glove compartment lid door, or the underside of the rear storage compartment lid doors.

I have a 1985 Z51 that is currently a 4+3
Absolutely love the car. Eternal work in progress.

Don't hang on your steering wheel getting in and out!

 

LOL, nah man. Gas was about $4.50 a gallon in cheap places, it even hit over $5 a gallon a few times in cheap gas Florida. It didn't get closer to $3 till he was about out of office. Oh and when it was $4.50-$5 everyone was unemployed because the economy was utter crap. That was back when you could buy a good solid car for under a grand, so that $5 gas that was in your tank was very, very pricey, lol.

Looks like you've got yourself a fun project.aybe not a ton of fun at times, but if you keep a good attitude, and half another daily driver, you'll be all good. Good luck!

 

Very cool

Good for you in bringing a C4 back to life.

Keep us updated and good luck with this awesome project

 

What an awesome project and an awesome car! I'm also curious to know if you have a Z51. I'd also love to see pictures of the interior. Do you have the cloth sport seats? Great job on your progress thus far!!

Don't let people discourage you from having your 84. They really are great cars and there's nothing wrong or embarrassing about owning one. In its day, the 84 was a world class car with groundbreaking technology. The best handling in the world and one of the fastest. 40 years of technology have consumed the car and naysayers look down on the car. But get those same people behind the wheel of the car on a track and opinions will quickly change. The 84 Corvette is an absolute monster on the track. The car will carve through corners and grip the road harder than any other C4. They are incredible autocross cars and are amazing on a road course. If maintained properly and driven regularly, they are incredibly reliable. The first Corvette I bought was an 84 4+3 and I loved the car. So much that I still own it! I love driving it and it feels so tight compared to my 93 6spd car.

Can't wait to hear about more updates and see more pictures of the car! Whatever questions you might have, feel free to ask. We are here to help and will most definitely lend a hand!

 

What he said... Great car once you get them all sorted out.

 

Thank you all for the words of advice and inspiration. I am happy to have joined such a supportive group of people who all share a passion for this great machine.




For those who wanted to see, this is the RPO sticker. Pretty standard stuff, except for the Z51 and other small add-ons. Seems like the first owner really liked this car.. and really liked bronze. You know, I dig the bronze as well. A unique color for a unique automobile.


Interior Photos:


My car comes with the leather seats. Overall, not in bad condition for the age. I am unsure if they were replaced at some point. Regardless, I am happy with how they are at the moment. (Small note: it looks like I have the post-1984 digital dash. How strange is that? Still seems perfectly functional though).




The door panels are two completely different colors. One is gray and one is bronze. I am assuming the previous owner needed a panel and got the first one he saw on eBay? To be fair, it is better than no door panel at all. However, I am on the hunt for some bronze door panels that won't completely destroy me financially. If any of you have leads, please let me know!




The center console area also needs some work. I found out today that the Odometer doesn't work (frozen at 113K miles), so I need to test the motor on it and possibly buy another from Batee. The Driver Info Center bulbs don't light at all. Maybe it has no bulbs or dead bulbs. Also, the trim panel around the DIC seems like it isn't even aligned properly.
On top of that, the console is badly worn. Labels faded, and it just looks pretty bad. Next weekend I plan to take this interior apart and repaint the black pieces. While I'm back there I need to test the odometer functionality and likely order new bulbs for the DIC. Is Batee the only place to get these bulbs? I would hate to wait a week or so to get them instead of going to NAPA or O'Reillys for the bulbs. But I will do what I must.



(Please ignore the mess of all the parts I have been using) And finally, the "pièce de résistance," the trunk. I have no idea what happened back here. Maybe someone tried converting this car into a freighter and applied some sort of bed liner to the trunk? Whatever it is, its hard, black, and crispy. The carpet back here is beyond saving, and I will need to source either a donor bronze Corvette or outright buying the carpets online.

So that is her for now. My next plan of action is to gut the interior to test the electronics and use some sort of paint to touch the trim up. I hear SEM is good? The satin black kind at least. We shall see, I need to find a place to buy the stuff.

Thank you!

 

Good luck finding decent affordable door panels. For some reason every vendor wants $1k for a fully assembled pair of new panels that have 90 cents worth of plastic in them. $80 for window sweeps you have to staple to the panel and risk splitting out makes it hard to invest in as well

"Corvette tax" at it's finest.

There has been a pair of new bronze door panels in the for sale section for the past year or more

 

Believe me, “the market determines the value” and “Corvette tax” have been two phrases that have haunted me so far. But I remain determined that I can find door panels somewhere, at least in acceptable condition. I saw some on eBay a month ago and I regret not jumping on them.

I saw a bronze auto 84 a few cities away from me that was “not running” and it looked like it would have been a great donor car for interior pieces. Good price too. However, that Vette also deserves a fair shot at life, so I didn’t inquire about it (plus, two Corvettes in the driveway may have looked a little ridiculous).

 

Nice find! The condition of the interior isn't really that bad, I actually think it is good based off the condition I have seen on the cars I shopped before getting my 89. Yes, the center piece of the dash is not aligned correctly, I suspect you will find the radio install is what is not allowing it to set in there correctly and will need to be corrected. If the door panels are in decent condition you can refinish them to the correct color. I would consider doing that as opposed to finding different panels and paying the ransom for them.

 

Looking at your car originally, I thought the car had black paint. However, when looking at the SPID label, I see it was Dark Bronze originally, which explains the bronze interior. It's odd that someone mixed in some graphite parts. Almost seems as if someone was attempting to dye the rear carpet black and coated the back section with a black undercoating to match the black dyed carpet. Luckily new carpet sets are readily available! I was able to dye my carpet (also Bronze) to get a little more life out of it before replacement.

You do seem to have a later cluster or perhaps one that was pieced together from a later car. My 84 was the same way when I got it. I sent it out to Batee and had Bryan rebuild the cluster. He did a nice job. Here are a couple pictures after he rebuilt the cluster:







After I dyed the carpets, I took a couple of pictures to document how well they would hold up. This was 3 years ago and they dye has held up well:







Also, I see you do have the Z51 suspension! One option I wish my 84 had. You definitely have a great car to restore, as the bones are there. Its going to be a lot of fun and I'm excited to see what's next for the car!!

 

Maybe I got picky with the interior of this car. After looking at other examples on Craigslist and marketplace, this one isn't horrible. Needs work, but its not so bad to fix compared to the others I've seen.

The door panels themselves are not too horrible. A little bit flimsy but it may be an issue with how they are mounted, I would need to take them apart to see. Plus, the graphite door's carpet section is torn to shreds. That may have to be something that I buy while refinishing the whole door. Do you have any suggestions for how to refinish them? I know SEM may have a color that matches, or maybe a catalogue has the specific bronze color. I just want to gather all the insight before investing into the materials.


There are certainly some mysteries with this car, with the black trunk being among the largest of them. Weirdly enough, the back wall behind the passenger seat is still bronze while the hatch area exclusively is blackened. That makes purchasing a new carpet set much cheaper. Not cheap, but certainly less expensive! By the way, which carpet dye did you use to touch the bronze up in your car? I can probably get a lot more time out of the front section with a good vacuuming and dyeing. The back section may be a total loss though. I will have to see how that works out.

Your interior looks gorgeous, by the way. That is pretty much the vision I have for this car; as stock as possible, as GM intended, with everything feeling as close to how it did back in 1984. Someday I may try to get the period-correct dash. That is not high on the priority list since money isn't exactly flowing, but once I graduate and get a career going, this car will certainly be seeing the benefits of my time in school.

And yes, I have the fabled Z51 package that turns the C4 into a minecart on rails. The one downside is finding the tires for it, but maybe I can change to a different tire without losing too much functionality (plus it has to fit the wheel size). I was excited to see that "Z51" on the sticker because it makes this car just that much more special. She corners like a rollercoaster, definitely grips the road harder than my Celica (and I thought THAT car was a minecart on rails!).

 

They all need work, there is no way around that, for some of us that is part of the appeal. Mid America Motorworks https://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette has the SEM products in the "correct" color to refresh the interior color. I used them for a carpet refresh and while the color wasn't exact it was close enough. YouTube is full of videos of color refresh and color change and there is lots of conflicting information out there. The key to success always boils down to proper prep of the pieces before applying the color component. Keep in mind you are really just painting plastic and it is not a permanent fix but can last a long time if done properly. It is highly unlikely the SEM will be a perfect match to what is already there so if you paint one piece you may need to paint all of the pieces so the color is consistent.

 

You can check out all of the interior options that we have via this link and pay attention to the site because periodically, we do have sales on various items too: https://www.mamotorworks.com/corvett...interior-10755

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask... we are here to help! Good luck with your project...she's gonna be a real beauty!

 

For this reason I drill holes, and rivet. I use the appropriate washers to back up the plastic.

I have a question, I have restored the interior on 5 early C4 cars. One car I did had two "new" mid america stickered door panels that had been installed by a prior owner.
Can you comment on the thickness of the plastic used to create your aftermarket door panels compared to the factory? The ones I saw were paper thin plastic. They had a mid america sticker and part number on the inside. I always meant to ask MAM if these were an early run of the door panels or if they were still this thin. The "hook" over the top of the fiberglass door frame were ....too thin. Don't take my post as negative, other than the paper thin plastic, I thought the quality of the part was good.

To the OP, welcome! You are in great company already on your thread.

I have found that almost EVERY SINGLE C4 part can be FIXED rather than replaced. And for a cheap 84, with a very low budget (I believe you said you were in Uni) if you buy a cheap weller pistol grip soldering gun with a flat tip on craigslist, and then steal some lego or some plastic zip straps, EVERYthing can be repaired for almost nothing. Door panels and interior trim panels that are cracked, even the scew holes (place screw into the hole, then smear hot plastic around, let harden, and unthread screw, and fixed) are all 100% fixable. This all takes time. So depends you need to be willing to take the time. Non Functional switches can all be repaired, the sold exception is I cannot fix the side view mirror adjustment joystick. EVERY other switch I have successfully disassembled, cleaned, and put back into service. Keep one tip for actual soldering as you will need it. Or, I have started to use the solder shrink tubes we all see on facebook. work great.

Carpet. If the fuzz is coming out of the carpet, you need to replace. Sometimes you will see full factory kits on ebay, used, but good quality. Other than that, the ACC stuff is pretty good. VERY LITTLE trimming to the carpet is needed. It will seem like lots is needed, but it isnt. The ONLY place I trim the carpet is where the rear wheel fenders meet the radiused curve of the top of the waterfall behind the seats. I cut out a quarter moon shape to let it snug down and be less bunchy. Do not cut holes for the targa stowage mount. Just align, and press the studs through the carpet. The speaker holes, cut them out last, from the center of the speaker cavity outwards, leaving enough for the speaker grill to cover.

Sticking with your factory original interior color is a good idea. You actually have a valuable 84 insofar as 84's go. Z51 as you seem to be aware is a legit track car. I hope that you can take it to a track night in america once it is sorted. There are others on this thread who have successfully exploited max power out of the factory system. Also something that can be achieved diy, for very little money, over time, on your schedule.

SEM "color coat" "dye" / paints....
Landau Black is a factory black interior match. It has very poor coverage and is ultra thin. It acts a bit like a dye (they call it dye) because the carrier agent helps the pigment melt into the substrate. CLEAN your parts with soapy water first, then isopropyl and let dry prior to spraying. The dye will run like crazy. go easy. It works excellent. Give it days to cure. It does harden up over time.

SEM makes some colors that are dead nutz match to our C4 interior colors. Bronze is a color that I have not done yet so I don't have a color to share, but I absolutely bet that there is a match. SEM Graphite is a match to Graphite. SEM Titanium is a match to early C4 "Medium Grey", even with the silvery overtones. I have very successfully re-dyed carpet that was in great shape but really faded. I always completely remove the carpet and take it to the carwash and spray decades of crud out from the fibers first. If you do it careful you don't get the pressure waster too close or it will ruin the fiber.

Some interior "black" parts actually have a coating over the already black ABS material. Example is the door pull bezels. Those are coated with a black paint. It comes off with isopropyl alcohol. I learned this by accident. I have redyed a set of full interior trim pieces with SEM Landau Black. It looks factory when done if done right. You can then buy the water applied "screened" icons for the dash if you like.

The way I approach a c4 refurb like yours has evolved. I compartmentalize the job into Interior, Mechanical, and Exterior. And I typically go after it in that order. Mostly because I have to fully clean all the scuzz and rodent junk from the inside before I can even work on it. Then I want it to run right. Then I deal with the exterior.

Post up your issues as they arise and we can all help you out.

 

Not knowing when they were purchased, these could have been an early iteration of the door panels we used to manufacture. We ended manufacturing these panels several years ago and a third party has resumed that process and we have had very little quality issues that we are aware of at this time. We could research them to find out if the ones you have were from the early batch.
-Bobbie

 

Bobbie thank you for the reply.

Those panels have moved on with the car they were in. I think that the response is sufficient. Mostly I just wanted to find out if that was taken care of and it sounds like it has been. If you are not getting qc returns then it must have been taken care of. Good enough for me.

 

Alright gentlemen, time for another update. I have read the previous messages, and I appreciate you all for the kind words and encouragement. On the agenda today: beginning with the interior stuff.

I managed to get my hands on some SEM landau black interior paint, alongside some of the plastic preparation wash that they sell. I’m not usually an ACE Hardware kind of guy, but this time they really pulled through since my local Finishmaster closed recently. My mission today was to paint the rear plastic pieces in the hatch area. While I was back there, I managed to adjust the hatch latch and now the rear lights shut off on their own. Perfect, successes begin early!

Hatch Trim:




This is the “before.” As you can see, gray, dull, cracked, and tired. My fellow coupe fans will even noticed the lack of a targa latch! Yeah, I have no idea why that is gone. Looks like somebody physically tore it out of this plastic piece. I plan to restore that someday, but for now I don’t do much driving with the top off.
I unscrewed screws and took out the trim pieces, giving each piece a good light sanding, washing with dish soap, and wiping before applying some of the SEM prep spray. I wiped off the prep spray (after applying twice to each piece) and made sure that everything was nice and clean before spraying on the color coat. After two coats, it came out looking like this:





Much better! Even added some of the screws from the screw kit I bought recently. I think they were the right fit? They tightened nicely so seems like they worked well. Some screw holes were cracked in the plastic so I couldn’t even add any screws there. All in all, I am significantly happier with this than what I previously had. Tomorrow I should be moving on to the front interior trim.

Headlight Motor:
“But wait, I thought you said today was an interior day?”

I appreciate how you noticed that small detail. While on a short drive today (before doing any trim stuff), I popped my headlights up just to see them pop up (I am a simple creature, I think the headlights are awesome). Well, I paid the price for that. Drivers side headlight turns on, but does not flip open. Passengers side is fine though, nice strong flip and light works. By the way, they both worked last weekend.

As they say, when one door closes another opens. In the case of the 84 Corvette, she makes sure that you never run out of work. If you read all of this, thank you! I am going to dig through the forum about potential solutions for the headlight issue. Alongside this, I am digging through my fridge for a refreshing beverage…

 

These old C4s will provide plenty of projects. As for the headlights, Mirrock Corvette has a very detailed repair video. Before you buy any parts, check it out.