takes lots of imagination to think of a Lenco equippped drag car when this gimmick is connected to a TH 200 churned by a wheezy 307 Olds
The C4 with the Z51 and later Z07 packages were great handling cars for the time. With a set of serious sticky tires you could get the inside front wheel in the air on an autocross course.. I still have pictures of mine doing that.. And yes those seats were fantastic. They had air bladders in them and they had awesome lateral side body support that was adjustable via the buttons on the side, it could virtually clamp you into the seat, provided you fit. Mostly because the frame was so high, you didn't have to worry about sliding in, you dropped down into them and once you pushed the button to lock the belts you weren't going anywhere. No harness needed to lock you in.. The C5 was a step backwards relative to the C4 sport seats.... The difference between an 82 and an 84 was like night and day. Remember that the 82 was really just an extension of the 68, and that was a rebody of 63.. By the time they finally killed off the C3 it was long in the tooth...
I just sold my '87 Grand National after having a fling with it for over the last year. I had one when they were new and it was really something... But now after a year it was only "okay". I bought the car from one of the vendors here and found it was just so-so. But even after making it better than average with tweeking I just did not reconnect. And its not because I did not try. I have loads of older cars including eighties stuff, its just that you can't always go back & expect the same result. Don't get me wrong... The eighties American stuff does have a place (people stared at this Buick more than my Ferrari), just not with me ~ anymore. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Reading this thread got my appetite wet for an '84 Manual Corvette with Z51 suspension. I wanted one in the worst way when they came out. Now the '84 was 210 HP with the Crossfire Injection, the '85 had higher HP (230 I think) and was called Tuned Port Injection. But they softened the Z51 suspension on the '85 by 25%. So I think it would be really cool to find an original '84 Manual (4+3) with Z51, just to enjoy the rough ride. It was so hard they tuned in down the following year. Am I insane?
The one that did 0.896 G in 1983 magazine tests? That is still really good for today and positively science fiction for back then. C4 Vettes are very underrated performers. LSJ
Maybe because the Supra styling isn't aging very well and the Z is much more attractive? I recently drove an FD RX7 R1. What a great car and even looks better today. I swapped with a friend for his '87 GN and it was fun if a bit one dimensional. Still, very stylish and it got so much attention from onlookers. LSJ
I think they had 205 Hp to be specific but who really cares?? I'm looking to P/U a C4 ZR-1 soon as there quite the bargain.
Are any C4s still stock? $6k will get you a 450hp 6.3 liter crate motor for plenty of go. So much performance potential. C4 ZR1s are apparently awesome.
This monster is almost ready to go dancing ... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A 26,000 original mile Silver on Silver 1985 Z51 4+3 manual. Appears to never have been butchered and the factory seat covers aren't grenaded...yet. Coastal North Carolina about 30 minutes north of Myrtle Beach. Good luck with your search. https://wilmington.craigslist.org/cto/6124019051.html Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
i'd rather spring for an 89... doesnt that have the 6 speed and you still get the dash the doug nash is a pos
Thanks for the first-hand reminder... you can't go back. Too many other opportunities instead. Cool car btw.
Its different if it is something you didn't already have. Those don't live up to your romanticized memories and you cannot go into it with unrealistic expectations. I bet many would be turned off to a real 427 Cobra. Nothing made lives up to the mythology. You have to accept it based on the reality of it's time in history.
Yes, to accept as is, and as was (a place in time). I've owned some really cool and interesting vehicles over the years, with many fond memories. But I'd never buy any of them again. For the 427 Cobra, there are two kinds (to me), a genuine (museum piece) to be gazed upon and the rest (donut machines).
Going back has bitten me three times now and with bad results. Had a 92 ZR-1 years ago and wanted another. Bought a Bloomington Gold 93 ZR-1 last year and at first it was great to go back. Then after driving it a few times I did not want to anymore. So I sold it. Before that I found a pristine '89 IROC 5.7L which I had one back in the day. Again I drove it and the brakes and power were nothing compared to the family car. Sold it after a year. And the first time when I should have learned my lesson was I always loved the LOOK of the Trans AM GTA. Found a rare '91 convertible and bought it. What a complete disaster that was. Could not wait to get rid of it. The old saying use to be time makes the heart grow fonder. Not anymore for me at least in stock form. These current resto mods popping up have me thinking again.
The only car from my past I would think to own again was a 1980 z28. Then i remember the doors that went clunk, the crappy cheapo dash, and evrythign else and like an ex grlfirend choose not to revisiit and keep the memories intact. However I would build one up as I would like it today, because the shape and general feel of the car were great. Well maybe I wouldk get a prsitine 77 caddy fleetwood broughm, that car ride on magic carpet, but even then the ckeap dash woudl prbably give me a headache. older maerican cars had power and styling, the build sucked and many of the componants were really crappy.
This 76 Eldorado Convertible has been for sale in Southport, NC at least six months. 37,000 original miles. Of course the 77 Fleetwoods have more of that updated 1981 Caprice appearance. https://wilmington.craigslist.org/cto/6122357843.html Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
C4's pretty much got better and better as the years went by but there are a few key years to get and others to avoid... Yes the 4+3 was a POS, and the ZF 6 speed was a world better, but really, the 89 wasn't the best because it still had the L98 in it. When you hit 4500 rpm it was like running into a wall of jello... The tach said 6k but if you ever ran it past 4500 you were going to get beat. The 93 LT1 was a huge improvement.. I know the LT1 came out in 92, but they changed the cam in 93 that engine had both the low end grunt of the L98 as well as the high end of the LT motor.. The 92 LT1 didn't have much low end grunt at all. They asked Hienrocket when to shift an LT1 and he responded.. 5999.9 rpm.. Just one tenth of an rpm below hitting the rev limiter... I know the Optispark sucks but nowadays you can get a replacement ignition that is very good. While the LT cars aren't as fast as the ZR cars, they are lighter and handle better and aren't that much slower. While the best C4 is probably a ZR1 car, the best non ZR1 C4's are the Z07 cars (bigger brakes, stiffer springs, bushings and shocks) from 93, 94 and 95. After that they softened the springs and even the Z51 isn't close to the earlier cars. Those cars only came with the ZF transmission and they only made about 500 Z07 cars per year, so they are getting harder to find. If you're going with an L98 the ones from 89 to 90 are the best and Z51 cars had bigger brakes too. The 91 Z51 was a nightmare, you had to replace the rear bar not to have handling problems, it was a factory mistake putting the ZR rear bar on with the stiff rear spring. I have a lot of first hand experience with C4's.... I was working for GM at the time and had 13 C4's on the Product Evaluation Plan (PEP cars) from 89 thru 94. I could spec one out, buy it at the end of the evaluation period (GMAC did a 12 month balloon note), keep it for the required time and then take it to the dealer and they would give me a check for $1000 and pay off the balloon note for me. Basically GM paid me $1000 to drive a Corvette and all I had to pay for was insurance and gas.. Those were the days..
solofast, great info. Thoughts on the Callaway C4s? Is the 4+3 that bad? A lot of owners just change the fluid often and everything seems to work just fine if the OD feature is used properly. LSJ
The worst thing about the 4+3 is that it shifts like a truck. The ZF is so sweet that it's like night and day. The ZF is a modern "rail" shifter like any good European box. You are moving the shift shaft and it moves like a rifle bolt. The 4+3 is a classic separate "shifter" mechanism outside the tranny. Most folks get good life out of the 4+3 since they only use it on the highway. If you never use it, it will last a long time, but the switches and the solenoids aren't very reliable either... Why put up with that clunky shifter every shift when you can have a really sweet gearbox that is a pleasure to shift every time... Turbo Callaway's are unique and certainly fast. When you consider how lightly stressed the L98 was, adding some boost probably wasn't a bad idea. The engine could easily handle some boost at the high end since the basic breathing was so bad in NA condition. They actually made a decent number of them (around 500) so they are rare but not unobtainable. If you found a good clean one it would be fun. Just remember that putting any weight in the front of a C4 makes it push and I don't know how much weight the turbo system added but it probably wasn't too bad. The early Callaway's made 360 hp and the later ones just under 400 hp and did zero to 60 in about 5 seconds, which was almost as fast as a ZR1, but they were never cheap. What killed the Callaway was the LT1 motor, When Chevy went to that they would have had to re-engineer the entire thing and that was the end of it. Also if you wanted to you could go out and build a small block and easily make over 400hp and not have to futz with the turbos. A blueprinted LT4 makes 400 hp (I know because we had one built and dyno'd for street prepared autocross) and that was using all stock parts, so the factory cars were getting closer all the time. If you want a C4 with very good performance, even by today's standard, get a 92-95 and build a motor for it and you'll have a car with over 400 hp and it would be a great daily driver.
Personally, if I was looking for a C4 non-ZR1 I would look at a 96 model with the LT4. Blows a ZO7 away on all parts IMO. Plus the GS and Silver Annv (in LT4 form) cars had the better brakes over the base cars LT4 or not.
