c4 luggage space
Discussion
c5ragtop said:Oh yes, well at least it's one of a few options.
Are you sure a Corvette is what you really want???
I was just wondering if I can accomodate the practicalities of life too though as it will be my main daily car. To be fair the other options can't do it either.
Regards,
Mark
chrisx666 said:
I used a C4 as an everyday car for 3 years or so. B+Q, Tescos etc. Just a bit awkward lifting heavy stuff into the back, but there is plenty of room in there really.
Thanks. My current boat is roughly 6 foot long (smaller than the one in my profile pic) and fits inside the 944 (sacrificing the passenger seat) so it may go in (edited to add: although looking at the picture of the car that piqued my interest it would seem unlikely
) but it's not the end of the world if it doesn't. Did you enjoy using it as an every day car? Your profile says you averaged 26mpg in it... is that really feasable?
Regards,
Mark
>> Edited by dern on Friday 11th February 10:13
I've been on a long trip down to the South of France, self-catering, in the Corvette: me and the missus, suitcases etc., and we still managed to get the roof on and in the back over all that luggage!!
The boot is actually pretty big that way, compared at least to other 2-seaters.
Another thing I remember reading is that the boot is big enough to accomodate a Chevy small block :-) as well, if you need to carry one of those around in addition to the one driving the motor ...
The boot is actually pretty big that way, compared at least to other 2-seaters.
Another thing I remember reading is that the boot is big enough to accomodate a Chevy small block :-) as well, if you need to carry one of those around in addition to the one driving the motor ...
That MPG really is possible - I used it for a 10 mile commute in light traffic. Computer in car displayed around 22US MPG (*1.2 for UK gallon = 26 which worked out at the pump). Did 35 on a steady cruise. Nobody believed me, but it was true.
Good ownership experience all round. My 91' only left me stranded once - the Delco alternator packed up (cost £100 to rebuild).
Good ownership experience all round. My 91' only left me stranded once - the Delco alternator packed up (cost £100 to rebuild).
chrisx666 said:Blimey, I get about 25mpg on average in the 944.
That MPG really is possible - I used it for a 10 mile commute in light traffic. Computer in car displayed around 22US MPG (*1.2 for UK gallon = 26 which worked out at the pump). Did 35 on a steady cruise. Nobody believed me, but it was true.
This was the car I saw in autotrader which got me interested...
...which is just stunning and up for sale at £6000 which seems a bargain (it's an 87).
How rare are the manual versions by the way?
Is home servicing/maintenance feasible (I've serviced and maintained all my recent cars/bikes - 944, westfield, tvr s3, mondeo etc, honda fireblade)... are the parts readily available?
Regards,
Mark
dern said:
How rare are the manual versions by the way?
I don't know how rare, and of course Automatic is the norm, but manual cars do come up regularly enough.
dern said:
Is home servicing/maintenance feasible (I've serviced and maintained all my recent cars/bikes - 944, westfield, tvr s3, mondeo etc, honda fireblade)... are the parts readily available?
Regards,
Mark
Home servicing is very easy: if you can change an oil+filter, spark plugs every now and then, then that's about it!
Parts are very readily available, a lot can be had next day from places within the UK, and certainly no longer than a week if you need something from the US.
And chances are the people on this forum can assist if you need to know where and what parts to get.
I ran a 1985 C4 for 3 years and loved it to death. Inside, it's quite a wide car and the hatch space is quite substantial for a sports car. However, it is a two-seater and the seats butt up against the rear hatch shelf so the seats don't recline to permit any long objects into the cabin and removing the top and sticking it out isn't recommended.
There are two compartments behind the seats big enough for a 35mm camera or such like and a centre console bin plus the glovebox.
C4's are probably at the lowest in their cycle although rough examples are as little as £3-4000. You have to buy the best you can. Prices shouldn't vary a lot as the C4 is not a desirable car these days (but like the 3rd gen Camaros, it's day will come). Problems on the pre-1990 cars are the digital instruments can pack in altogether (not too expensive to replace), wheel bearings, exhausts that rot and drop off, general demise of the interior which sqeuaks and rattles a lot as standard and as with many Chevy's, the heater matrix can leak and need replacing. Being fibreglass, the paint can also micro-blister. The 1985 produced 235bhp but the 86 and 87 went up to 245bhp then 250bhp until the LT1 was introduced in 1991 with 300bhp. Only the quad cam ZR1 and the 1996 335bhp LT4 Gran Sport command any sort of premium.
Main problem with C4's is most are automatics as the manuals had a 4 speed plus 3 overdrive arrangement which I never sampled. Also, the screen wipers have great trouble maintaining contact with the screen during the rain at higher speeds due to the steep rake on the screen. They also tend to leak quite a lot round the frameless windows and the friendly drip of rainwater onto your knee is never too far away.
Friend of mine recently sold his 1989 white Vette for just under £6k. Still, not bad money for a car capble of 150mph and 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds.
There are two compartments behind the seats big enough for a 35mm camera or such like and a centre console bin plus the glovebox.
C4's are probably at the lowest in their cycle although rough examples are as little as £3-4000. You have to buy the best you can. Prices shouldn't vary a lot as the C4 is not a desirable car these days (but like the 3rd gen Camaros, it's day will come). Problems on the pre-1990 cars are the digital instruments can pack in altogether (not too expensive to replace), wheel bearings, exhausts that rot and drop off, general demise of the interior which sqeuaks and rattles a lot as standard and as with many Chevy's, the heater matrix can leak and need replacing. Being fibreglass, the paint can also micro-blister. The 1985 produced 235bhp but the 86 and 87 went up to 245bhp then 250bhp until the LT1 was introduced in 1991 with 300bhp. Only the quad cam ZR1 and the 1996 335bhp LT4 Gran Sport command any sort of premium.
Main problem with C4's is most are automatics as the manuals had a 4 speed plus 3 overdrive arrangement which I never sampled. Also, the screen wipers have great trouble maintaining contact with the screen during the rain at higher speeds due to the steep rake on the screen. They also tend to leak quite a lot round the frameless windows and the friendly drip of rainwater onto your knee is never too far away.
Friend of mine recently sold his 1989 white Vette for just under £6k. Still, not bad money for a car capble of 150mph and 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds.
dern said:
Thanks for all that, sounds great 
Is chassis corrosion a problem? I had a TVR S3 and it had a fibreglass body so always looked great while the steel chassis slowly rotted away underneath.
Regards,
Mark
No, the C4 has a sheet steel uniframe incorporating the cowl and windscreen frame, a rollover hoop behind the seats and high steel channels in the door sills. Most is covered by fibreglass and any exposed tends to have an adequate coating of oil to protect it. An aluminium channel alongside the driveshaft connects gearbox to diff. Much of the suspension is rather exquisite solid alloy and the transverse springs are composite fibreglass and last 67x longer than steel springs. The lightweight brakes were made and developed by Girling and Lockheed in Australia and endowed the car with excellent stopping capabilities. Always check the handbrake as autos tend to not use them and they get neglected and replacing them is a pig as they run through the sills (the handbrake being on the driver's side sill).
The other thing I neglected to mention is that the 6 speed manual came in, along with the revised fascia and updated, more rounded styling, in 1991. The facelift preceded the fitment of the 300bhp LT1 which came along in 1992.
Look for the Z51 suspension which is hard but gives better handling and also comes with a quicker steering ratio.The later Z52 suspension was a lot smoother but that came with more stiffening to reduce chassis flex
The C4 was a very impressive car for it's time, designed to compete with supercars and was one of the fastest production cars at the time pulling 0.9g on the skidpan. Paul Frere declared it "the best handling road car on road tires I have ever driven" although it's fair to say that on UK roads, that is less true as the suspension can buck about and the softer Z52 is preferable.
As with all Corvettes, the later the model, the more they improved it. Judged against modern standards, the C4 is a very flawed car but it has character in spades, huge wads of torque and is capable of painting a smile on anyone's face. I know because Ibought my C4 instead of a 928. The 928 was probably a better car but more like a big heavy fridge capable of high velocity, it lacked interaction.
OK, I should have bored you enough by now.
LuS1fer said:Not at all, thank you for your insight.
OK, I should have bored you enough by now.
A 928 is one of the other cars on the cards along with a marcos mantula. I have to drive them obviously but the corvette seems to stir the soul a bit more than the 928 and I'm nervous of the marcos having already had a tvr.
All the best,
Mark
As a final word then, I'll add that my 1985 Vette was a lovely car and could easily hold it's own with most cars. It blew away a BMW 840i with little effort, enjoyed a high speed chase with an E-Type one summer's day and was fast enough to cause an XJS to detonate it's engine during a high speed blast one night. It even stayed with a Sierra Cosworth one night despite it being so wet, you could hardly see a hand in front of your face. Tyres on early C4 Vettes are a funny 255/50 x 16 size too. I ended up dropping to 245/45's but 16's are hard to come by these days and later Vette's have 17" wheels so are worth searching out.
For some reason, Rovers wanted to race me all the time. This was 1994-1997. Couldn't figure that one out.
I think the 928 was noticably faster and noticably better built. The Vette likes you to take a few hours tightening all the screws up every six months. LOL. However, the Porsche will have issues on engine longevity and maintenance which a Chevy small block doesn't.
For some reason, Rovers wanted to race me all the time. This was 1994-1997. Couldn't figure that one out.
I think the 928 was noticably faster and noticably better built. The Vette likes you to take a few hours tightening all the screws up every six months. LOL. However, the Porsche will have issues on engine longevity and maintenance which a Chevy small block doesn't.
LuS1fer said:People are strange... I always get golf gtis trying to race me from the light when I'm on my fireblade... go figure.
For some reason, Rovers wanted to race me all the time. This was 1994-1997. Couldn't figure that one out.
Thanks very much (again) for all the info. I'll get my 944 into saleable condition and then go car hunting
Regards,
Mark
Okay, got two minutes to write this reply and so much to say - !!
Read tyhe road tests fo the time - 928 was never the car Porsche really wanted it to be - like in some repsects the Vette also wasn't the car Chevrolet wanted it to be (hence why they always ran options like Zr1, Callaway and now Z06 etc.) But contemporary road tests show only thing porker could do better was top end. Oh, and pointless back seats. Sorry, not convinced, and while a Vette can be had at a bargain of around £6k bottom money, the Porsches can now be had at less than £2k...
Practicality - boot on a Vette coupe (C4) is huge for such a car. I can get a mountain bike in with wheels taken off, loads of bags and I've even got a bike rack that fits two bikes standing up to the rear glass (tested over many miles and at high speeds - ask anyone from CCCUK that went to Le Mans in 2002...) - and it doesn't damage paintwork or such like.
Ecklers do a removeable tow ball for the Vette.
I used to use my 86 every day for a commute to work. Good roads round here (leics/Notts) didn;t help with consumption, I reckon on around 18mpg average, 14-15 around town and 25mpg on a very steady motorway run. But mine is an 86 and to be fair my lock up converter on my autobox is disabled. It is a grewat car to use everyday, just be aware that it is not a cheap car, on the other hand it's not ridiculous to run.
Manuals - best stay away from the 4+3 unless you are a die hard manual fan - they were a bit clunky and a bit specialist, only the Vettes (earlier C4's) had the 4+3, and even then the autos outnumber the manuals 4 to one, the auto is faster (0-60 in 5.6 vs 6.0 for 85-86) and I have to say does nothing to blunt my driving experience of the car at least. 6 speeds are better, and probably also better at making the most of the later small blocks power band (particularly LT1 on, when the mini-ram intake and camming meant it was more of a revvy engine than the L98).
Right, I'm going to be late now, go and buy one - you'll love it!
Francis.
Read tyhe road tests fo the time - 928 was never the car Porsche really wanted it to be - like in some repsects the Vette also wasn't the car Chevrolet wanted it to be (hence why they always ran options like Zr1, Callaway and now Z06 etc.) But contemporary road tests show only thing porker could do better was top end. Oh, and pointless back seats. Sorry, not convinced, and while a Vette can be had at a bargain of around £6k bottom money, the Porsches can now be had at less than £2k...
Practicality - boot on a Vette coupe (C4) is huge for such a car. I can get a mountain bike in with wheels taken off, loads of bags and I've even got a bike rack that fits two bikes standing up to the rear glass (tested over many miles and at high speeds - ask anyone from CCCUK that went to Le Mans in 2002...) - and it doesn't damage paintwork or such like.
Ecklers do a removeable tow ball for the Vette.
I used to use my 86 every day for a commute to work. Good roads round here (leics/Notts) didn;t help with consumption, I reckon on around 18mpg average, 14-15 around town and 25mpg on a very steady motorway run. But mine is an 86 and to be fair my lock up converter on my autobox is disabled. It is a grewat car to use everyday, just be aware that it is not a cheap car, on the other hand it's not ridiculous to run.
Manuals - best stay away from the 4+3 unless you are a die hard manual fan - they were a bit clunky and a bit specialist, only the Vettes (earlier C4's) had the 4+3, and even then the autos outnumber the manuals 4 to one, the auto is faster (0-60 in 5.6 vs 6.0 for 85-86) and I have to say does nothing to blunt my driving experience of the car at least. 6 speeds are better, and probably also better at making the most of the later small blocks power band (particularly LT1 on, when the mini-ram intake and camming meant it was more of a revvy engine than the L98).
Right, I'm going to be late now, go and buy one - you'll love it!
Francis.
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