For Some Reason I Bought a Cheap Corvette as a Daily Driver & Here's What Happened! 

I know I'm getting old when someone refers to an 88 as a classic lol. You're obviously correct, I just never thought of these Corvettes as classics. My old man was a GM master mechanic when this gen was introduced in 84, they were like spaceships to us at the time. When they came out with the ZR1 dealerships couldn't even get one unless they had a ZR1 certified mechanic, which my old man was.

Mark I Couldn't Agree MORE!!!! This youngman is a One in a Million in his generation 👍👏👏 And Hes ,We Could use Alot More Like Him!!!

@@Jangocat What's great about this young man Is that he Respects the Engineering and the Overall design and aesthetics of this car for the period in which it was made ( 1980's ) Instead of complaining about the car's technology "Shortcomings" He kept the car pretty much stock, didn't Frankenstein -ized the car into a rolling Halloween horror Show, and Maintain the original look and style of this C4 model .. as It should look . This Young guy knowledgeable and is a classic true car enthusiast. .. kudos to him!!!

I don’t really know anything about cars, I want to learn, but I love how old cars look and sound. I’m thinking of getting this one as my first car

Hola un placer verle,soy un fiebru de los autos clásicos,he tenido varios, ahora tengo el C4 1985,todo una joya de autos,muy bueno sus video, desde rep.dominicana

More then a Miata

I agree since I own a 1985 C4 Corvette bought it in spring of 2008 took care of mechanic parts put it new interior and 2010 I took the first road trip to Carlisle Fairgrounds for Corvette National and very good gas ⛽️ mileage it’s keeper always garage kelp now 108000 miles with still run and drive

@@cozyblackstar2374 I've owned a miata now for two years, now I'm looking at these instead of looking at a motor swap. That tell you enough?

Lmao, Miata’s are dead freaking reliable. Non interference motors are very hard to kill.

Reliable and Corvette in the same sentence? My brother owned 3 of them and loved them. But he told my they are not for everyone because they aren't the most reliable. I like vettes, but I like NOT fixing them even more. I'll stick with Honda.

wow that's impressive

Great deal if its in good shape Dont know the mileage on this guys C4 but unless its real low he overpaid.

Corvettes are expensive. Only doctors and lawyers and retired old men can afford them. That's why it's rare to see a young person in one

​@@doctorfeinstone6524 I had a C4 when I was young and I can tell you from firsthand experience, older people do not like seeing a young person in a Corvette

@@doctorfeinstone6524 vettes are pretty cheap. I bought mines a few months ago for a little over $8k

@@doctorfeinstone6524you can get a corvette like this for like 5k

@@BigMexicanCookiein shitty ass condition if you want a nice one your gonna spend at least 8500-10,000 dollars

THANK YOU !! AND THAT ÌS WHY WE CALL THEM 'JUNK'

It's the worst body style Corvette ever made. It's like a wedge of cheese on wheels. There are no body lines or style lines to it. Just a wedge. Terrible lazy engineering design. Even DeLorean looks much better than this.

It is a beautiful design. Still turns heads and draws looks at the gas station.

@@CommonsenseMKlooks like your the only one who thinks that

@@CommonsenseMK So why even watch it. Ever owned one?

How’s the handling of the C4?

So true I loved these cars growing up , and they have the Ferrari Daytona look to them , TPI FEVER

@@flavioc5389 i have an ‘84 C4 which comes with an extra stiff suspension and it handles like a dream!

@@flavioc5389 .93Gs on the skid pad. I used to scare the crap out of my friends while cornering in mine.

More like c8 was a big departure from c7 not c6 from c7. Got your generations off there.

👉😎👈

I have a Zhiyun Smooth 3 as my phone gimbal and it work wonders in these situations.

Getting in and out of a car that is sitting on the ground minimizes the number of 50+ year olds using a Corvette as a daily driver. 💡

@@apj341 😂😅

@@apj341 Its really not that hard if you hook your left foot under the door and rise up to get your center of gravity on the door sill. After 7 C4s and 68 years old I found it is still pretty easy to do. Do not use the steering wheel as a place to muscle yourself out of a C4. it will damage the mounting points that holds the column. Looking for a newer C6 if prices come back down to earth with the inflation spike of the last couple years. Otherwise it will be another ZR-1 like the last one that ran good for 17 years.

I don't know that I would say "everything" they did was well done given the technology of the day. It's like they put all of the money and effort into the suspension, steering, and gauge cluster, and a good portion of the rest of the car was an afterthought. It may have been done as well as feasible with marketing dictating design changes and timing and with the bean-counters dictating that everything be extra cheap.

Yeah, COST!

U really believe 47,ooo miles on a 34 yr. Old car ....yer delusional

@@modus_operandi2508 : You didn't pay attention to the video did you? The odometer at the time this video was filmed reads 47,273.9 miles & it's an old mechanical odometer that can read 6 figures plus 1/10s. You can see it has not rolled over at 8:45 . Yes, 47K on a regular 34 yr. old car would be unusual but there are plenty of low mileage Vettes in the world & some with extra low mileage such as this car. They're weekend toys for most people & some barely get driven at all.

@@oneslackr I agree. Its too nice inside to appear to be rolled back.

@@modus_operandi2508 why not, my 92 Zr1 has 29,000 miles

Agreed.

They do ride stiff, its a low slung sports car, just the way they are. Many raved about them pulling a G or better on the skidpad but complained it didnt ride like a caddy.

I have a c4 for sale 😅 86000 miles 7000 dollars 💸

The retractable antennae apparently isn't working

Also a proud c5 owner (2003), but last month was able to pull the trigger on a beautiful 1994 which the intention of doing some minor restoration and selling it for profit. Long story short, I'm begging the missus to let me keep both! I didn't think I would fall in love the with c4 as hard as I have! It's a joy to drive, and plush with those fun "retro" features!

@@RICARDOALARCOif you are in Florida, we should talk

That center gas cap will burn you if the drain holes ever get clogged

Exactly, plus a few mods around 2k in parts and it’s a 400+hp engine.

@@joshkrause2977 What mods would those be?

@@panchosspeedshop8576 cam not super wild the heads don’t flow for that, headers, Wieland stealth ram intake, tune, gasket matching etc. sbc parts are cheap. The intake alone adds about 60hp.

Then falls on its face after 4500 rpm

@@joshkrause2977 good luck finding an aftermarket intake under 1k plus having to find someone that can burn a chip. The 700R4 is also pretty weak

IDC what he's wearing I'd call him daddy either way 🥵

@@jamesbowman7841 😐

@@jamesbowman7841 you're what's wrong with western society.

Needs a corvette hat and jean shorts too haha

Or some Hey Dudes

I enjoyed my 1989 vette I purchased new. The 245 horsepower L98 was underpowered for a sports car. I Never had any service issues during my 4 years of ownership. Wasn't my favorite Vette I've owned, but far from the worst

@Milo Jones I think you mean LS1 buddy. And your wrong, coolant was routed through the throttle body, and just about everyone bypassed that.

The aftermarket support was great 20 years ago. Good luck finding a better intake for under $1k now, not to mention someone who will tune a chip.

@Milo Jones that’s easy to bypass and the C5 has the LS1, the LT1 died in the vette in ‘96.

@@BlackRam17 Amen about the tuning. Once the LS1 came out everyone abandoned tuning for the LT cars.

These "C4s" will never ever go up in price!

There was no one more than me that defended the C4 to anybody that talked crap about it even when it was sitting on jack stands in my driveway. And this wasn't a C4 that was ragged out it had 79,000 miles on it in one year I had already invested as much in the car as what I gave for the car which was $7,000. I'm not a balls to the wall every time I leave the driveway driver I'm almost 50 years old but the breakdowns and repairs rides home on a rollback just kept adding up I mean it was like they never friggin stopped that along with the accumulated maintenance hours were just unreal. It seemed like when I wasn't working I was working on the car and small details and preventative maintenance I love to do but three top of the line Opti Sparks in one year and no leaking water pump. Always an issue with the cooling system. Warped aluminum heads because of a fan controller from Summit Racing that cost me $300 dollars decided it wanted to take a permanent break about a month and a half or 2 months after purchasing it. fans that don't kick on till 230° is rough on that engine even if you have synthetic oil and coolant with a boiling point of 260°, it's still 230° before it gets any relief. I know there are ways to bypass that but you really shouldn't have to and when you do put a fan controller on it they last Maybe 2 months annd they are under warranty but you're the one that has to take it off and put it back on and I know the 230° is for emissions. I had to get rid of it because it was eating my bank account and my free time alive. I always wanted a C4 lt4 but you Couldn't run fast enough to give me one today. I am forever not a fan of that Corvette. And that's sad to say because one with 79,000 Mi really burnt me on them

@@georgehgordy1690 Sounds like you had a Summit racing problem not a Corvette problem.

@RanByMonkeys My friend that was just one of many things and And those were not summit problems those were Corvette the optitspark didn't get from summit.. GM doesn't make A dual mass fly wheell anymore And neither do aftermarket companies you've got to convert it to a standard clutch And fly wheel And the gear rattle you get from that is ungodly . I definitely had a Corvette problem And i dumped too much money into it That I knew I would never get out of it But that's not why I dumped the money into it I dumped the money into it because I wanted to fix it and keep it but it just made it impossible for me to do that . And I would have Expected that out of a Corvette with a 140 150000 miles on it But it was in the low 70000 mile category Which theoretically should give you a good base to work with But not in my case . 70000 miles being the category not the miles it had 79000 miles on it.. Which for a 1996 LT4 It's pretty low

@@georgehgordy1690 Everything starts going wrong with every car around 80,000 miles that isnt a new car haha no its not a "good base"

@@ranbymonkeys2384 then we'll just have to agree to disagree and I won't throw out the haha.. I can only speak for my personal experience with other cars and with that one I can't speak for yours

80s vettes all have oxidation because the paint formula changed at that time for environmental regulation…most need repainting

I recall reading about recap vette tires some years back.

@@jfruser - Don’t do recaps!!! They will handle poorly and I would never put them on the front. I sold tires out of my shop for 39 years. For highway trucks, gravel trucks, farm heavy trucks 3 ton & up, sure!! Not for car tires or really even LT tires. I wouldn’t sell what I wouldn’t run myself, even when I was strapped for cash.

I beleive that one should make a vehicle his or her own vehicle not necessarily save it for someone else. That being said I typically strike somewhere in the middle. Make personal changes that you enjoy and clean and preserve the original parts so that the next guy/gal can put them back if they desire.

My first vette was a 92 that I bought in 2003. I test drove an 88 convertible. The difference between the L88 and the LT1 was night and day.

I’ve read _Corvette from the Inside_ a couple of times, I don’t recall McLellan saying anything like that?

Look up "old truck 3 speed on the tree with overdrive unit" This kinda overdrive "gear splitter" unit was much more common on very old trucks to make them effective 6 speeds

Actually, I own Z51 coupe with the 4+3. Very cool combo. I can push a button to engage OD at any forward gear except first gear. J Zoe’s for a cool set of gear options for every situation. Plus OD can be set to auto downshift like the old ATs kick down based on throttle position. There are other settings too. My motor is always tuned. It will get real life 30+ mpg on highway at 75-80 on level and rolling hills. Even for today, that is crazy efficient. The classis is solid as block of hard forged metal. Sure the inside has some plastic on plastic squeaks over rough roads. The Z51 overall rides well for the cars intended use. One of these days, it needs to have the original motor pickled, and put a modern 427 small block ZO6 motor that is tweaked. The C4 is so light +smaller compared to C5 and above. Would be a real screamer in the straights. In the corners, Z51 is as better IMO than a C7. The 4 speed and OD could easily handle the extra power. They were way over built for the stock motor. The digital gauges, once used to them, are very good. Not some goofy Tokyo by night set up.

After seeing this car and the SN95 Mustang GT they bought, I’m convinced that I need to start shopping for my project cars in Colorado. Both of those cars were incredible examples for great prices.

That one belongs to our racing driver Paul Gerrard

@@kasevr I came to ask that same question initially but saw this response before adding it to my comment. Very nice. Both vehicles. Good luck on your updates and maintenance and I hope it is a great vehicle for you. Please share updates from time to time with it.

The wheels on this car are factory standard base model only in ' 88

@@wwd4534 These wheels mounted on his car are 92-96 wheels. 91 wheels were the same too but the finish was different. I know which 88 wheels you’re talking about. I don’t care for the style but these aren’t them.

@@wwd4534 Wow I didn’t actually realize that the base model wheels you mentioned are actually 16” wheels instead of 17’s. The ride is probably a little smoother with the extra sidewall. Maybe they’re not so bad after all lol

I was cross shopping C4s and 4th gens. After driving a few, I settled for a nice LT4 96 C4 for less than the average nice 4th gen. Ive had two 4th gens before and the C4 is much more fun to drive.

Depends on the year - early 4th generation Camaros and Firebirds used the LT1. Later models (believe 1998 and newer) used the LS engine. My '95 Firebird has the LT1 engine, producing more power than the engine in the '88 Corvette. It's not the same engine as the Corvette - there are differences that can be found easily by searching, but the basics are the same. To compare fairly, you need to look at same model year Corvette to same model year Camaro/Firebird. The Corvette had different tuning & hardware that always allowed it to produce more power. There's no denying the capability and utility of the LS series engines. However, you can't go wrong with an LT1, either. Modern conveniences? You'd have to define what that is to you - I know of many, myself included, that are simply happy with the modern convenience of power windows, A/C, power brakes, and a working radio. I don't need cup holders, touch screens, or bluetooth in a vehicle.

At 6ft 2 I dont fit in these cars. Not sure when Chevrolet made a vet for big guys

​@@dirtdiggertractor3618 I'm 6'5" and I fit.

They are not backward. They extract air

Yes!

Idiot.

Your brain is backwards lmao 😂😂😂

@@tinkeringtrucker5196 that's how bar fights start