C4 - how do people avoid the lemons

[Spicer89]

Agreed. They are a lot of car for the money at the moment , and prices in the US are firm and rising
That Smokey mountain car is pretty useless to 99% of the buyers out there. You just can’t use it with that kind of mileage, and your paying BIG for that lack of mileage.
Once bought a 1993 Camaro Indy pace car ( festival car as well ) with about 300 miles on it. Just couldn’t use it for fear of increasing its mileage. Shipped it back to the US eventually.

Here it is, we carefully looked after this for maybe 20 years and within a month of selling it, it was totalled. My dad was gutted
View attachment 16541

Oh Wow looks like a very clean sleek Example. Jumps strait out the 90s!
Shame somebody bumped it up after taking such long term care of her.

 

[stealthyflatfish]

I’ve joined the club - is better go and find this buyers guide and get reading and see what events are in the NE!

Hello! New member ? I haven't been notified yet, about time we had a new member. andy1234 we have a Z51 and a ZR1 in the N/E area, we are a friendly varied bunch when your details come through I'll send a list of events we are attending this year.
Keith Northeast rep.

 

[Spicer89]

I’m 53 year old serial car botherer and high on the bucket list of wants s a c4 corvette. It has to be a c4 due to my age - the coolest American car from my teens - plus my 10 year old son likes them and I have a fantasy of father son bonding adventures.

While I’ve built kit cars and restored Alfa’s I’ve had a real eye opener with the MX5 which has been a battle against astonishingly bad rust and general wear. They hide their problems really well and whilst now I know every bolt, every bushing and every panel of the mk1 NA personally and it’s all new shiny now I don’t want to ever go through that again - I knew it was rough when I bought it but blimey.

So I’m minded to find a late 80s manual c4 with the targa top and whilst cars of that age always need something I’d prefer not to spend an year under one.

How do people avoid the lemons? Are there good books that tell would be owners all the dark secrets or do folks get inspections and if so who does them. Do people like me regularly source from the southern US states or are there enough good ones to go round in the U.K. already. I’ve got a budget of 15 -20k - is that enough to get something okay?

Many thanks for reading so far and if you kind people can offer any advice I’m all ears.
Andy

Off the back of my other comment I’d like to add that you will always pay a few k more for a convertible over a coupe and a manual transmission will always cost you more than an auto provided cars are in similar condition milage, age ect

 

[Nassau65]

Off the back of my other comment I’d like to add that you will always pay a few k more for a convertible over a coupe and a manual transmission will always cost you more than an auto provided cars are in similar condition milage, age ect

Nothing like a convertible. A coupe with a removable roof ie C3 T-Tops or C4 targa top is great, but a convertible is fantastic. The C4 convertible looks very sleek with the top down, not too shabby with the soft top up, and in my opinion very nice with its hard top on.
Convertibles are always worth more than the equivalent coupe, a third more in a lot of cases. Of course it depends on whose selling it.
Stateside, convertibles in the southern states will be sort after and strong money, but more plentiful to find the right one.

 

[Spicer89]

Nothing like a convertible. A coupe with a removable roof ie C3 T-Tops or C4 targa top is great, but a convertible is fantastic. The C4 convertible looks very sleek with the top down, not too shabby with the soft top up, and in my opinion very nice with its hard top on.
Convertibles are always worth more than the equivalent coupe, a third more in a lot of cases. Of course it depends on whose selling it.
Stateside, convertibles in the southern states will be sort after and strong money, but more plentiful to find the right one.

Absolutely this is good correct information.
Hard top C4 convertible still with a good hard top is hard to find rare and will pay more for that luxury but well worth the investment and looks stunning.
after the fist ever corvette only being offered in a convertible I see it as the only way to go top down wind in your face bugs in your teeth.

Good way of anlysing it a third more seems a fairy good accurate measure C4s coupe to convertible prices. Is this the same for all corvette genrations ? Or would you say the gap gets less with earlier and more expensive genrations like C2s & C3s obviously putting the 63 split window aside.

 

[Nassau65]

Absolutely this is good correct information.
Hard top C4 convertible still with a good hard top is hard to find rare and will pay more for that luxury but well worth the investment and looks stunning.
after the fist ever corvette only being offered in a convertible I see it as the only way to go top down wind in your face bugs in your teeth.

Good way of anlysing it a third more seems a fairy good accurate measure C4s coupe to convertible prices. Is this the same for all corvette genrations ? Or would you say the gap gets less with earlier and more expensive genrations like C2s & C3s obviously putting the 63 split window aside.

I’m finding stateside that the difference between the C3 coupe to convertible is growing. Very good convertibles are sometimes double the equivalent coupe. Of course the convertible C3 was produced in much smaller numbers than the coupe. When introduced in 1968 the coupe was a “novelty “ a sales success as buyers loved it. It was a coupe/convertible of sorts.
The C2 is different in that the coupe was produced in much smaller numbers than the convertible So today they are much rarer than the convertible. But overall I think the convertible is worth more depending on where in the states it is. The sun states love rag tops.
1963 SWC is of course a different thing, and priced accordingly.

 

[Spicer89]

I’m finding stateside that the difference between the C3 coupe to convertible is growing. Very good convertibles are sometimes double the equivalent coupe. Of course the convertible C3 was produced in much smaller numbers than the coupe. When introduced in 1968 the coupe was a “novelty “ a sales success as buyers loved it. It was a coupe/convertible of sorts.
The C2 is different in that the coupe was produced in much smaller numbers than the convertible So today they are much rarer than the convertible. But overall I think the convertible is worth more depending on where in the states it is. The sun states love rag tops.
1963 SWC is of course a different thing, and priced accordingly.

So afterall the old saying has it:
When the
“Top goes down, the price goes up

 

[Nassau65]

CORRECT

 

[Nassau65]

And if your C2 convertible has factory AC, it’s goes up even more.

 

[Spicer89]

And if your C2 convertible has factory AC, it’s goes up even more.

And if the AC still works it goes up even more an more

 

[Nassau65]

Certainly in the UK during the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even into the 90’s A/C was a bit of a mystery to most shops. They didn’t want to get involved with it. So most American cars just “lost “the A/C belt, and the rest of the system just went to rack and ruin. Easily fixed nowadays, but if parts missing etc quite expensive if you want the originality. If not, a vintage Air system will look good.

 

[James Vette]

No need for AC when you have targa top.

 

[Roscobbc]

No need for AC when you have targa top.

You need to drive a big block and perhaps re-qualify that James................

 

[teamzr1]

No need for AC when you have targa top.

I have to go back to 1984 when I had my last C3
But even my feet remember how it would get toasted with the engine/tranny/exhaust heat that turned the floor and
center console into BBQ grill and the shifter would get real hot.

Try in hot summer heat in stop/go traffic and see if the targa top on is like using an A/C
Or in the staging lane of a drag strip sitting at idle
Was wonders when with the design of C5 and tranny became a transaxle in the back and the floor stays cool all the time

 

[Roscobbc]

I have to go back to 1984 when I had my last C3
But even my feet remember how it would get toasted with the engine/tranny/exhaust heat that turned the floor and
center console into BBQ grill and the shifter would get real hot.

Try in hot summer heat in stop/go traffic and see if the targa top on is like using an A/C
Or in the staging lane of a drag strip sitting at idle
Was wonders when with the design of C5 and tranny became a transaxle in the back and the floor stays cool all the time

Its 'HOT' when held-up in heavy traffic on a summers day and the view ahead is reminicent of an old movie set in a desert location with that view shimmering and distorted with what looks like an ocean in front and anything in sight appearing to float on top. And when you eventually do move-off the heat build-up from under the dash etc is intense enough to feel like ou next to a blast furnace and make your eyes water badly!

 

[Chuffer]

Its 'HOT' when held-up in heavy traffic on a summers day and the view ahead is reminicent of an old movie set in a desert location with that view shimmering and distorted with what looks like an ocean in front and anything in sight appearing to float on top. And when you eventually do move-off the heat build-up from under the dash etc is intense enough to feel like ou next to a blast furnace and make your eyes water badly!

Well that should frighten off a whole lot of potential buyers of your car . My Marcos V8 Spyder was far worse than my C3 is . In traffic on hot days it was nigh on unbearable so top down driving was essential as it had no AC . It didn`t even have power assisted brakes ! The interior was far more snug than the C3 with the transmission tunnel almost at arm pit level and your legs went straight out flat under the console nearly up to the engine block . The twin pipe exhaust was only a wafer of fibre glass away from you and after a long spirited drive the soles of my shoes were nearly melted onto the pedals !

 

[Roscobbc]

Well that should frighten off a whole lot of potential buyers of your car . My Marcos V8 Spyder was far worse than my C3 is . In traffic on hot days it was nigh on unbearable so top down driving was essential as it had no AC . It didn`t even have power assisted brakes ! The interior was far more snug than the C3 with the transmission tunnel almost at arm pit level and your legs went straight out flat under the console nearly up to the engine block . The twin pipe exhaust was only a wafer of fibre glass away from you and after a long spirited drive the soles of my shoes were nearly melted onto the pedals !

Later C3's were far better insulated for 'sound' and heat - early cars, especially big blocks are known for excessive interior temperatures - even higher output small block suffer - make a bad choice of header selection and the issues become far worse if the headers are close to the footwells. I would imagine that a big block powered C2 coupe would be a nightmare in summer - even more so without properly working AC.

 

[Nassau65]

So correct on C2 coupes, A/C is really a must, however when new it was a very expensive option, and many northern buyers did not order it. Southern cars maybe depending on finances, but certainly more in the southern states than northern had it.
Aftermarket A/C was always an option once cars came onto the used market , and many buyers went this route.

 

[theseoldcars]

Sent you a private message, @andy1234. Hope all is well!

 

[stealthyflatfish]

Just to get this post back on track, and apologies to all and admin if this is ( delete if ) not allowed. I was offered what appears to be a very nice Original C4 1995 manual t/top 49000 on clock. 5000 in last 15 years, interesting reg number, no price mentioned, think he is looking to move it on, as no space left in garage, and new vehicle arriving. Think it's out of a private collection and probably Northeast reg based.