In the spring of 2019 the unthinkable happened: I bought another C4 Corvette. Even more unimaginable, it was a 1984- arguably the worst year for the C4. That's not to say that the '84 is a bad Corvette, far from it, just that it's got the lowest hp rated engine of the entire C4 line-up. The one I picked up had the "doug nash" 4+3 manual transmission and Z51 suspension. The Z51 "track" suspension included a quick ratio steering rack, large diameter sway bars, extra stiff (bone-jarring) springs and staggered rim sizes. I got the car cheap because it had suffered years of neglect mechanically. The clutch was shot, the exhaust manifold gaskets were blown, oil leaks, 1,000 interior rattles, etc.
The body and paint were very nice. I lowered it an inch and added slim wheel spacers at the rear to get the stance right. What I loved most about the 84 was it's total lack of modern safety gadgetry: No ABS, no Airbags, no Traction control, no 3rd brake light. The purest expression of mechanical C4 performance machinery.
I added turbo mufflers and custom tips for a nice mellow sound. I enjoyed driving and tinkering on this 84 for about a year until something even more unthinkable happened....
Almost exactly a year later, in the spring of 2020, I bought a 1996 LT-4 powered C4, arguably the best of the C4 line, excluding ZR-1 which is a mechanical nightmare when things go wrong...I got a good deal on this car also as it had a bad clutch too....Corvette owners...
The 96 was breathtakingly beautiful, a 6 speed car with only 69k miles on the odometer. It felt like a new C4. And it was very fast and fun. Sadly though it did not have Z51 suspension and the handling was a little doggy compared to the 84, despite wider tires and a new set of Bilsteins.
This is the 84's "crossfire" engine, a simple and reliable twin throttle-body injected 350.
This is the 96's LT-4 one-year-only engine. Very fast and very smooth.
I always favored the early C4 digital dash interior, and this one I managed to clean up and restore to a very nice level. I added the flat dash panel and red accent stripe.
The 96 had the updated interior, making it look like a whole different generation Corvette. It was a sporty feel for sure, but lacked much of the quirky early C4 charisma. The 96 was a much more serious Corvette.
I bought the 96 with the idea that I would replace the 84 with a lower mileage and more powerful example.
The more I drove each car the more strikingly the different short-comings of each car stood out. What the 84 lacked in powerful acceleration, the 96 lacked in road-gripping handling. What the 96 lacked in charisma, the 84 lacked in overall fit and finish...parting with one over the other became a very difficult choice.
In an ironic twist of fate, within 3 months of buying and repairing the 96 to showroom condition, I sold both Corvettes. The 96 ruined the 84 for me, and the 84 ruined the 96. Unthinkable.
