C4 DD

Ran across a '91 C4 base in a local ad... I'm intrigued, not that I was looking for it at all but damn it looks sweet. I know from past discussions some of you guys DD 'em.

L98, auto, 50K miles, black. Dealer website listed at over $12K, paper ad says reduced from 10K to 9K. Looks very clean, appears to have been somebody's toy, more than likely garage kept... no snow or rain type. It's a Pa. car so any concerns over corrosion. Brakes, electronics for a 22 y/o car... anything else to look out for? What about price?

I can deal w/ 245hp, TPI and prefer an auto these days w/ my gimpy left knee. Not really 'practical' at all but all I tote in my DD anymore is my lunch to work and fetching groceries.

Because of my bad knee my main concern w/ this car is ingress/ egress... which I heard was horrible. Kinda like you gotta throw yourself in it and crawl your way out, don't really need that anymore. Also comfort, I'm into comfort these days. Never aspired to a Vette, not on my bucket list but it's one vehicle I wouldn't mind owning in my life, all practicality aside.

Whatcha got GRM

I think comfort is OK (we have a C4 convertible). Ingress/egress is going to be an issue, the door sills are very high (higher than the seat) but you get used to that.

Location: weather. I dd when I had an 89 for a while, but the wide tires hydroplane in the rain, the wipers lift from the windshield over 80 mph,and it is over 20 years old now. I drove it in the snow, but white nuckled, snow tires are avalable in those sizes but pricey.

Low ground clearance: cracked my oil pan pulling into a parking lot at parking lot speeds.

I always felt like the fiberglass was getting beat up and would be tougher to repair cosmetics than steel (rock chips, parking lot whoopsies)

Keep looking if you want one,.I had a hard time selling my 89 for 4k, and all the quirks were sorted. I see it on a lot advertised for 8.5k now. That will be a reliable dd, but I spent years sorting it before I sold it.

I keep thinking a C4 might replace the (99) Miata, my only car. The thing that I keep coming back to is that I want my snow tires to be skinny, and I do kinda have a need for driving in snow--not a snowstorm, but with any sports car an inch can be insurmountable without them.

I wonder if you could set up a dually rear somehow, and run two tiny tires?

i have a buddy who dd's an 86 year round. the pre 88 cars can take your run of the mill RWD 15" steel wheel, so he runs 15x6 black steelies with snows on it for winter.

With regard to comfort, I've never hear anybody call one smooth riding.

I would think $9000 would be toward the top of the market for a non-LT1 car. There are tons of sub-50k mile corvettes out there since they're summer cars for so many people. Unless it's absolutely perfect, I think they're still high at $9k.

I would hold out for an LT1 car but that's just me. The extra kick of 300hp would be worth it to me and the re-sale value would be better.

But if that one speaks to you, go for it!

They are also difficult to keep weather-tight, I had a garage when I dd mine, but if it got parked outside in the rain the top or windows would leak.

The l98 has a lot of potential, but is rpm limited by the stock intake.

Ideally, a c4 is a perfect dd: fiberglass body, galvenized frame, high tech suspension, decent aero. The gm computers are hacked and easy to tune. Although a premium gm product, wiring doesn't hold up well, interior bits break.

If you have cash, keep looking, they are bottomed out. Prioritize well sorted and maintained over low miles.

I've had a bunch of C4s - 86, 88, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96 and I'm a fan, but because it's your LEFT knee I have to steer you away from one unless you try it on and it fits. To exit, you toss the left leg over the gunwhale, then stand up. Your right leg follows. The motion requires that you are able to stand up using only the strength of your left leg. Depending on the nature of your knee injury, this may or may not be possible for you.

I have a 4X4 truck w/ ATs for winter but still drive my car in lighter snow. C4 is sounding more like a summer/ dry weather car. It'd be parked outside and I'd worry about the glass leaking on a 22 y/o car too.

Doc says I'll need a new knee somewhere down the road so I'm tryin' to make this OE last for the duration, so no third pedal for now either. Dunno if the knee could tolerate that C4 egress exercise on a daily basis.

Maybe the C4 DD window has closed. Still like to own one tho but maybe only as a summer toy.

Prolly back to chasing Mustang GTs and Challengers.

Current (June) issue of Corvette Magazine has a buyers' guide for C4s with price guide - they rotate through the various series about once a year. Getting in is not too tough - insert right foot, drop in, swing the left foot in, pretty comfy once you're in there, but egress is as described above - a C5 may be better for you sometime down the line. The LTi in the later C4s is definitely nice, but the really good thing is the much improved interior and dashboard - mostly analog with only digital speedo, odo and computer readouts unless you want digital gauges. You can get digital gauge readouts with a button sequence.

the C5 is a better car, but the late C4s are pretty nice, and a bargain. there are some issues out there - optispark, etc - but most cars with similar performance have potential issues of some sort. Potential buyers should just look for the very best one you can find, unless you're looking for a project - then there are lots of really cheap ones, too.

I had a 1988 Vert 4+3. Liked the car. The L98 has more torque off the bottom, and may be better off the line than the LT1 with the same gearing.

An auto of that year most likely has a 2.59 gear and dana 36 diff. Find the diff from a manual car for a better choice of gears. 3.33 and 3.07 are most popular and bolt right in. They are also the stronger Dana 44.

Ingress / egress : Sit down on the gunwale next to the seat then lift both legs (or one at a time) into the foot well and slide down into the seat. For exit, slide onto the gunwale then lift feet up and out. You can now use both legs at once to stand.

Tons of C4s on CL, only a few C5s and those are 80K+ miles. I'll keep my options open and wait.