1989 Corvette C4 6 Speed Manual
Discussion
Awesome car, I was sad you were selling the 924 after your great thread about them, but you've come up with another, very different but equally cool car to buy instead 
Love the looks of these, very cool. The tachometer in the shape of the engine's power curve is a clever touch, looks like a genuinely informative thing. Of course if you tune it up the shape of the power curve may change
The 2nd gear lockout is a work-around for US fuel economy regs; by locking out 2nd gear, the official government tester is forced to go straight into 3rd at low speeds, thus yielding a higher official MPG number and avoiding the first owner paying the 'gas guzzler' tax.
Of course, nowadays it would simply come with a DCT, default to 'auto', and the ECU would slip it into 3rd gear at 10mph automatically, giving the same, equally unrealistic, result and the same dubiously low CO2 numbers and road tax rate. Plus ca change...
[quote]I put my footdown yesterday and it spun the wheels in 3rd, and that's with 275 section tyres all round.
[/quote]
I don't know, but it's quite possible that the tyres are old, and the rubber has gone hard. With these sort of cars, they often do fairly minimal annual mileage, and so the tyres age rather than wearing out. Plenty of tread depth, but little grip, especially in the cold and damp.
I could be wrong, but I guess if you put new decent quality tyres on there, it would take full throttle in 3rd gear in the dry. And yes, I know that would be expensive - I guess what I'm saying is, don't assume you need to go up to 315 section tyres, good quality 275s should do fine and be cheaper and easier to fit.
New wheels look nice. Have fun, and keep us updated!
Love the looks of these, very cool. The tachometer in the shape of the engine's power curve is a clever touch, looks like a genuinely informative thing. Of course if you tune it up the shape of the power curve may change
The 2nd gear lockout is a work-around for US fuel economy regs; by locking out 2nd gear, the official government tester is forced to go straight into 3rd at low speeds, thus yielding a higher official MPG number and avoiding the first owner paying the 'gas guzzler' tax.
Of course, nowadays it would simply come with a DCT, default to 'auto', and the ECU would slip it into 3rd gear at 10mph automatically, giving the same, equally unrealistic, result and the same dubiously low CO2 numbers and road tax rate. Plus ca change...
[quote]I put my footdown yesterday and it spun the wheels in 3rd, and that's with 275 section tyres all round.
[/quote]
I don't know, but it's quite possible that the tyres are old, and the rubber has gone hard. With these sort of cars, they often do fairly minimal annual mileage, and so the tyres age rather than wearing out. Plenty of tread depth, but little grip, especially in the cold and damp.
I could be wrong, but I guess if you put new decent quality tyres on there, it would take full throttle in 3rd gear in the dry. And yes, I know that would be expensive - I guess what I'm saying is, don't assume you need to go up to 315 section tyres, good quality 275s should do fine and be cheaper and easier to fit.
New wheels look nice. Have fun, and keep us updated!
The skip shift is really designed to force you to go from 1st to 4th gears. They've been on all manual Vettes now since about 1989. I think the trick is to go for 3rd instead though, as 4th always labours a bit when the criteria is met for the skip shift to be activated.
In my opinion disabling this on a manual Vette is one of the best mods you can make.
In my opinion disabling this on a manual Vette is one of the best mods you can make.
300bhp/ton said:
Very nice car op.
I'm a huge fan of the C4. Wish I'd had money to buy one a few years back, as prices have increased loads on them.
There's a really nice 6 speed low mileage L98 in the classifieds at the mo. Steep money at almost £13k, but I think these will head the same way as all other Vettes.
Personally I'd love a 4+3 manual if I was given the choice. But would probably need importing, highly unlikely to find one in the UK.
you're sort of correct... C4s are starting to rise but for some reason the 'porn-star' face-lift C3 (1978+) really is in the doldrums. I was really torn whether to buy one and spend a little on decent engine mods and some rims or get what I ended up with, there's always going to be a part of me that wishes I'd ended up with the 3 though.I'm a huge fan of the C4. Wish I'd had money to buy one a few years back, as prices have increased loads on them.
There's a really nice 6 speed low mileage L98 in the classifieds at the mo. Steep money at almost £13k, but I think these will head the same way as all other Vettes.
Personally I'd love a 4+3 manual if I was given the choice. But would probably need importing, highly unlikely to find one in the UK.
Back to the OP though - well done sir, well done indeed!
Picking the car up from my mechanic tomorrow, almost 30hrs of work in the end, eek! It's now polybushed throughout, new balljoints, tie rods etc along with the lowering wedges/bolts fitted. New Bosch injectors, leads & plugs have sorted my hot start issues too and a new fuel filter for good measure along with some other bits whilst it was apart! Can't wait to drive it again, should be spot on for my trip to Spa this autumn too! He was really enjoyed working on it and the way it was put together, made a nice change from classic BMW's and Brit stuff apparently!
Yeah, I think a bin is actually made of better plastic, but like you say, it's endearing. I love every rattle on this car!
Burned through a tank of petrol already, happy to report it's like driving a different car! The balljoints weren't too bad but the wishbone bushes needed doing. The car is a lot better on rutted roads, especially considering it has 275 tyres on the front! It doesn't wander so much and over bumps there's just the rattle of the dashboard now! The turn in is much better, although the rear is still a bit skittish, but I guess I'm spoilt by previous cars in a way. That's part of the fun with this though, there's massive amounts of torque all the time, so you have to be smooth yet assertive.
The new Bosch injectors have cured my hot start problem, smoothed out my idle and it runs much nicer when it's hot. I guess those original Multecs were well past it! It certainly feels stronger now. After pottering about in my Volvo S80 for 6 weeks it feels quite nippy!
Burned through a tank of petrol already, happy to report it's like driving a different car! The balljoints weren't too bad but the wishbone bushes needed doing. The car is a lot better on rutted roads, especially considering it has 275 tyres on the front! It doesn't wander so much and over bumps there's just the rattle of the dashboard now! The turn in is much better, although the rear is still a bit skittish, but I guess I'm spoilt by previous cars in a way. That's part of the fun with this though, there's massive amounts of torque all the time, so you have to be smooth yet assertive.
The new Bosch injectors have cured my hot start problem, smoothed out my idle and it runs much nicer when it's hot. I guess those original Multecs were well past it! It certainly feels stronger now. After pottering about in my Volvo S80 for 6 weeks it feels quite nippy!
Time for another update!
I polished it. By hand. That bonnet is big.
I went to Santa Pod for the first time to see the MOPAR Nationals last month. It was a friendly event and I liked walking around the paddock but it was weird having one strip of tarmac rather than a scenic race track to walk around! And I was totally unprepared for the noise a pro-mod dragster made...
Happily the ticket marshals sent us to the show & shine, saving our legs walking from the car park, even if my piece of 80's tat sat out of place with all the vintage MOPAR cars!
Couldn't resist this sign on the way home...
I bumped into another PH'er with a Boxster S in Tesco, so we took each other for a spin. The Corvette is 100kg heavier and packs 270nm more torque. He described it as "alarming" and I couldn't help but notice my car went faster on the straights and the corners. Ditto going to Queens Square when I was stuck behind a Cayman S...
Then it was on to the MOT. It's always a nervous time putting an old car through an MOT, especially if it's the first one and it's imported. I ditched the US style plates, fitted a rear fog and was rewarded with a clean pass aside from some play in the rear wheel bearings! Result!
Days later one of the headlight motors would keep turning. GM in their wisdom decided each light should have its own motor, powered by plastic gears. You can guess the rest. No sooner had I removed one pod, stripped the mechanism off, made some new bushings out of a nylon rod and realigned the whole assembly did the other one decide to do the same! I nearly threw my socket at a passing dog.
On the weekend it was back to Queens Square in Bristol, where I bought the car at the start of the year. It's always a fantastic meet-up and it was nice to bump into the previous owner again. I hope he thinks the car has gone to a good owner, he couldn't resist hanging around to hear it again. The car sits just right now it's lowered, see:
Next up is Retro Rides Gathering in two weeks, I'm booked up to take on the Shelsey Walsh hill climb. My rear tyres are pretty wasted already so there's no loss in having a few flamboyant runs. At the moment you can shift to second, finish off making lots of smoke and then start going forwards...
After not breaking it up the hill, mid-September will see me clogging it over to Spa for the 6 hours and then dossing about on the autobahn for a bit.
I polished it. By hand. That bonnet is big.
I went to Santa Pod for the first time to see the MOPAR Nationals last month. It was a friendly event and I liked walking around the paddock but it was weird having one strip of tarmac rather than a scenic race track to walk around! And I was totally unprepared for the noise a pro-mod dragster made...
Happily the ticket marshals sent us to the show & shine, saving our legs walking from the car park, even if my piece of 80's tat sat out of place with all the vintage MOPAR cars!
Couldn't resist this sign on the way home...
I bumped into another PH'er with a Boxster S in Tesco, so we took each other for a spin. The Corvette is 100kg heavier and packs 270nm more torque. He described it as "alarming" and I couldn't help but notice my car went faster on the straights and the corners. Ditto going to Queens Square when I was stuck behind a Cayman S...
Then it was on to the MOT. It's always a nervous time putting an old car through an MOT, especially if it's the first one and it's imported. I ditched the US style plates, fitted a rear fog and was rewarded with a clean pass aside from some play in the rear wheel bearings! Result!
Days later one of the headlight motors would keep turning. GM in their wisdom decided each light should have its own motor, powered by plastic gears. You can guess the rest. No sooner had I removed one pod, stripped the mechanism off, made some new bushings out of a nylon rod and realigned the whole assembly did the other one decide to do the same! I nearly threw my socket at a passing dog.
On the weekend it was back to Queens Square in Bristol, where I bought the car at the start of the year. It's always a fantastic meet-up and it was nice to bump into the previous owner again. I hope he thinks the car has gone to a good owner, he couldn't resist hanging around to hear it again. The car sits just right now it's lowered, see:
Next up is Retro Rides Gathering in two weeks, I'm booked up to take on the Shelsey Walsh hill climb. My rear tyres are pretty wasted already so there's no loss in having a few flamboyant runs. At the moment you can shift to second, finish off making lots of smoke and then start going forwards...
After not breaking it up the hill, mid-September will see me clogging it over to Spa for the 6 hours and then dossing about on the autobahn for a bit.
FelixP said:
Days later one of the headlight motors would keep turning. GM in their wisdom decided each light should have its own motor, powered by plastic gears. You can guess the rest. No sooner had I removed one pod, stripped the mechanism off, made some new bushings out of a nylon rod and realigned the whole assembly did the other one decide to do the same! I nearly threw my socket at a passing dog.
Just a quick (obvious?) point - keep the gears plastic, yes they'll strip but that'll protect your (waaaay more expensive) headlamp motors doing themselves serious mischief!!Edited by irocfan on Tuesday 30th August 18:47
A couple of years ago (already?!) I went to the Spa 6 hours in my 924 Turbo, except the head gasket blew the day before and the transport ended up being my Dad's diesel Megane. Well, that was unfinished business so this year we went again in something less economical...
My itinerary was quite tight, I wanted to revisit the roads in Luxembourg before heading to Spa for the weekend, then drop into Gent on the way home. Starting from Cardiff, it's the drive to Dover that's always the worst. Luckily we managed to navigate the M4 & M25 without too much trouble and soon we were driving off the ferry in France. It was easy going until we got further south towards Luxembourg when the weather got a bit crappy and it started to get dark. With 500nm torque low down, the Corvette isn't most suited to wet mountain roads, especially when you've already driven 400 miles...
We made it to the hotel alright and I had some beers in the only hipster bar in Vianden. Not much fresher the next day we visited the castle, which I'd missed out last time I was passing through. After this it was time to head to Spa to collect our passes. Being close to Germany we managed 165mph on the sat-nav on the way. The car was very planted and felt like it sill had more to give, which surprised me! Having collected the passes we couldn't resist driving down to the circuit and having a quick look at what was to come over the weekend.
On Saturday the weather was so good I had to buy the cheapest hat (with feather) to stop getting sunburned! It looked like it might rain later in the day but miraculously the cloud passed over. This made the 6hrs extra enjoyable, as I could walk the paddock and a lot of the track to soak up the atmosphere rather than my clothes! All weekend we parked in the classic area by the new start/finish. There was some interesting metal there and best of all, a Land Rover Land Train. This was a free shuttle to the paddock going around all day. I bumped into a friend from home and met up with another who I used to work on a journal with which was cool. Oh and I ate my own body weight in frites & mayo.
Heading home we hit rush hour outside Brussels and then the car wouldn't start at the service station. It seemed like a heat soaked starter motor, as we had a slightly longer coffee break and it cranked nicely. This was the only foible in over 1000 miles of motoring at speed and a respectable 19mpg. Dover & back we got 24mpg at a steady motorway speed. The Corvette really impressed, it was very comfortable (if a little loud) and effortlessly pounded the motorways. Come the twisty sections, it was fun & engaging, a true all rounder. LHD and switchable imperial/metric instruments were also a massive bonus. I can't wait to do it again next year!
Luxembourg
Vianden
Arriving at Spa
My itinerary was quite tight, I wanted to revisit the roads in Luxembourg before heading to Spa for the weekend, then drop into Gent on the way home. Starting from Cardiff, it's the drive to Dover that's always the worst. Luckily we managed to navigate the M4 & M25 without too much trouble and soon we were driving off the ferry in France. It was easy going until we got further south towards Luxembourg when the weather got a bit crappy and it started to get dark. With 500nm torque low down, the Corvette isn't most suited to wet mountain roads, especially when you've already driven 400 miles...
We made it to the hotel alright and I had some beers in the only hipster bar in Vianden. Not much fresher the next day we visited the castle, which I'd missed out last time I was passing through. After this it was time to head to Spa to collect our passes. Being close to Germany we managed 165mph on the sat-nav on the way. The car was very planted and felt like it sill had more to give, which surprised me! Having collected the passes we couldn't resist driving down to the circuit and having a quick look at what was to come over the weekend.
On Saturday the weather was so good I had to buy the cheapest hat (with feather) to stop getting sunburned! It looked like it might rain later in the day but miraculously the cloud passed over. This made the 6hrs extra enjoyable, as I could walk the paddock and a lot of the track to soak up the atmosphere rather than my clothes! All weekend we parked in the classic area by the new start/finish. There was some interesting metal there and best of all, a Land Rover Land Train. This was a free shuttle to the paddock going around all day. I bumped into a friend from home and met up with another who I used to work on a journal with which was cool. Oh and I ate my own body weight in frites & mayo.
Heading home we hit rush hour outside Brussels and then the car wouldn't start at the service station. It seemed like a heat soaked starter motor, as we had a slightly longer coffee break and it cranked nicely. This was the only foible in over 1000 miles of motoring at speed and a respectable 19mpg. Dover & back we got 24mpg at a steady motorway speed. The Corvette really impressed, it was very comfortable (if a little loud) and effortlessly pounded the motorways. Come the twisty sections, it was fun & engaging, a true all rounder. LHD and switchable imperial/metric instruments were also a massive bonus. I can't wait to do it again next year!
Luxembourg
Vianden
Arriving at Spa
I've let this thread slip! Here's a little of what I've been up to... Sorry for a bit of a muddle of images and text, I'll do better this year.
Headlights started playing up again, this time the connections to the bulb. I bought a pair of replacements and some new H4 bulbs. Decent dipped & main beam once for the first time, wish I'd upgraded the bulbs before Spa.
Also on the agenda was replacing the tyres. The Falkens were bald on the back after a few thousand miles (oops) and I gambled on a set of Nankangs. It's hard to find 275/40/17 tyres and a set of these was the same price as one Michelin... I have to say next time I'll go mid-range again. Whereas before the car would stick with wide rubber all round, now it comes unstuck suddenly and has turned into a point and squirt machine. I'm not really bothered about wet weather performance as it's hardly a tame car in the rain anyway.
I went to Queens Square once again and bumped into Vesa, who'd I'd spoken to previously. He has a 1994 LT1 auto which he has just put back on the road. It was cool to see another C4 and interesting to note the differences between the two. Personally I prefer the sharper edges of mine, especially the rear. I'd take his sawblade wheels though and the interior falls into dated 90's rather than 80's plastic. I love the digital dash in mine though. Actually, I think every car looks best in its first iteration rather than the face lift, which always loses something from the purity of the original design.
I got some bargain 3 piece split rim wheels from Austria via eBay.de The RH ones I'd bought previously where 5x112 with 5x120 adaptors. This was no good as the Corvette has long studs not nuts and they protruded through the spacer into the wheel, as well as making the offset the wrong side of optimistic. These rims are made by Braid and called Folger Cup 4. I know Braid make some very nice wheels from my Porsche days and these are no exception. 17X10.5 on the rear and 17x9 up front should give a great stance and allow me to swap my tyres over from the stock 17x9.5 setup.
My soon to be neighbour in Cardiff has a cool car too
On New Years Eve I went on a tunnel run organised by PH South Wales. I think a flame spitting V8 was well received?
My girlfriend is a New Yorker and her brother kindly agreed to receive some parcels in the post for her to bring back after she visited at Christmas. He owns this rather tasty Audi:
A full set of quality weather seals was a £500 expense but should make all the difference to the overall look of the car and stop a nuisance leak. I've fitted the door ones so far but the others look more time consuming. There's no metal pinch built in, it's more like foam that has to be glued to the fibreglass body.
Then it started to get cold and I had the first actual failure in many miles of driving. The radiator started to leak. A short drive ended in some steam and I was fearing for the headgasket. A new radiator was only £160 posted from the US but it was with my mechanic and I didn't want to wait on postage. I sourced an excellent used replacement and all is well again! In the coming weeks I'll get the wheels fitted so if anyone is interested in the stock Corvette ones drop me a message.
It stills cleans up nicely after winter grime too!
The other thing I couldn't resist from the states was a set of louvres. I love the red rear lights but these are so retro!
Headlights started playing up again, this time the connections to the bulb. I bought a pair of replacements and some new H4 bulbs. Decent dipped & main beam once for the first time, wish I'd upgraded the bulbs before Spa.
Also on the agenda was replacing the tyres. The Falkens were bald on the back after a few thousand miles (oops) and I gambled on a set of Nankangs. It's hard to find 275/40/17 tyres and a set of these was the same price as one Michelin... I have to say next time I'll go mid-range again. Whereas before the car would stick with wide rubber all round, now it comes unstuck suddenly and has turned into a point and squirt machine. I'm not really bothered about wet weather performance as it's hardly a tame car in the rain anyway.
I went to Queens Square once again and bumped into Vesa, who'd I'd spoken to previously. He has a 1994 LT1 auto which he has just put back on the road. It was cool to see another C4 and interesting to note the differences between the two. Personally I prefer the sharper edges of mine, especially the rear. I'd take his sawblade wheels though and the interior falls into dated 90's rather than 80's plastic. I love the digital dash in mine though. Actually, I think every car looks best in its first iteration rather than the face lift, which always loses something from the purity of the original design.
I got some bargain 3 piece split rim wheels from Austria via eBay.de The RH ones I'd bought previously where 5x112 with 5x120 adaptors. This was no good as the Corvette has long studs not nuts and they protruded through the spacer into the wheel, as well as making the offset the wrong side of optimistic. These rims are made by Braid and called Folger Cup 4. I know Braid make some very nice wheels from my Porsche days and these are no exception. 17X10.5 on the rear and 17x9 up front should give a great stance and allow me to swap my tyres over from the stock 17x9.5 setup.
My soon to be neighbour in Cardiff has a cool car too
On New Years Eve I went on a tunnel run organised by PH South Wales. I think a flame spitting V8 was well received?
My girlfriend is a New Yorker and her brother kindly agreed to receive some parcels in the post for her to bring back after she visited at Christmas. He owns this rather tasty Audi:
A full set of quality weather seals was a £500 expense but should make all the difference to the overall look of the car and stop a nuisance leak. I've fitted the door ones so far but the others look more time consuming. There's no metal pinch built in, it's more like foam that has to be glued to the fibreglass body.
Then it started to get cold and I had the first actual failure in many miles of driving. The radiator started to leak. A short drive ended in some steam and I was fearing for the headgasket. A new radiator was only £160 posted from the US but it was with my mechanic and I didn't want to wait on postage. I sourced an excellent used replacement and all is well again! In the coming weeks I'll get the wheels fitted so if anyone is interested in the stock Corvette ones drop me a message.
It stills cleans up nicely after winter grime too!
The other thing I couldn't resist from the states was a set of louvres. I love the red rear lights but these are so retro!
Fantastic car - a really great example of how some American cars really are much better than many people think. 24mpg! I guess that long sixth gear helps...
I'd really urge you to keep it on the stock wheels though. Pretty much all C4s get sat on aftermarket wheels and, in my opinion obviously, I reckon that means the stock wheels make the car look much more interesting and much more special.
I'd really urge you to keep it on the stock wheels though. Pretty much all C4s get sat on aftermarket wheels and, in my opinion obviously, I reckon that means the stock wheels make the car look much more interesting and much more special.
Car time has been limited so far this year, having moved at the start of the month. This went smooth as a hedgehog. But I did get a tip off the mechanic I use that his friend might have a space in a garage nearby. A few days later and I had my half of a double garage around the corner! It's shared with a dormant Alfa, perfect for me to get my car in and out easily.
With the newfound roof overhead, I replaced the rear hatch solenoid. Unlike the 924's I've had previously, the Corvette doesn't have a key to open the rear screen. There's a button on the edge of each door and one in the centre arm rest. Unfortunately, my hatch wouldn't click open anymore! GM thought of this, and so there's a small wire pull hidden under the carpet in the boot. It's just a case of emptying whatever you have in the boot over the front seats, climbing in the back and trying to find the damned thing. Whilst I had the rear interior in bits, I took the opportunity to replace the rear hatch seal. This was the one I thought about leaving out of my order as it appeared in fair condition. Well, when I came to remove it, the seal fell apart into 3 pieces! How it was holding on I don't know. Keeping the new seal in one piece meant removing the rear hatch struts too and I was able to reminisce about weak hatch struts on the 924 as I tried to hold the hefty glass screen up without assistance!
Out with the old!
But the main reason for posting is that I have the new wheels fitted at last! The stock wheels on my car are 17x9.5 all round and these are 17x9 on the front and 17x10.5 on the rear, with a slightly more aggressive offset. I had the 275 40 17's swapped over and depending on your viewpoint, the fronts are a little over tyred or the rears a little under tyred. It's hard getting wide tyres in 17", ideally some 285 40 17's would look better on the rear or even some 315 35 17, which were fitted to the 11" wide ZR1 rims.
I think the tail light louvres will stay, I love the stance of the car now, shame you can't hear it
With the newfound roof overhead, I replaced the rear hatch solenoid. Unlike the 924's I've had previously, the Corvette doesn't have a key to open the rear screen. There's a button on the edge of each door and one in the centre arm rest. Unfortunately, my hatch wouldn't click open anymore! GM thought of this, and so there's a small wire pull hidden under the carpet in the boot. It's just a case of emptying whatever you have in the boot over the front seats, climbing in the back and trying to find the damned thing. Whilst I had the rear interior in bits, I took the opportunity to replace the rear hatch seal. This was the one I thought about leaving out of my order as it appeared in fair condition. Well, when I came to remove it, the seal fell apart into 3 pieces! How it was holding on I don't know. Keeping the new seal in one piece meant removing the rear hatch struts too and I was able to reminisce about weak hatch struts on the 924 as I tried to hold the hefty glass screen up without assistance!
Out with the old!
But the main reason for posting is that I have the new wheels fitted at last! The stock wheels on my car are 17x9.5 all round and these are 17x9 on the front and 17x10.5 on the rear, with a slightly more aggressive offset. I had the 275 40 17's swapped over and depending on your viewpoint, the fronts are a little over tyred or the rears a little under tyred. It's hard getting wide tyres in 17", ideally some 285 40 17's would look better on the rear or even some 315 35 17, which were fitted to the 11" wide ZR1 rims.
I think the tail light louvres will stay, I love the stance of the car now, shame you can't hear it
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