icsmike

Just a little curious cause my new neighbor I never met yet has one. Im eventually going to go down and talk to him but for now its driving me nuts wondering. I know its within the 87-89 years and its a 5spd convertible, rated and 240hp/340tq. Looks very stock and pretty dirty under hood, original wheels etc. He likes to do what all of us big kids like to do when we are riding by ourselves and lay the bat down to the bone when we get out on the road. I have never really been a fan or thought the early c4 "barbie" vettes (except th ZR1) was fast but Im just curious if any of you cats have ever ran up against one? I always see him pulling out and acting all "smug" so before I go out and tangle/meet my new neighbor just wanting to know whats up. All in great fun, what a great way to meet eh?

EDIT:

Just so it dont get stupid.
I dont care about how ****ty the interior is.
I dont care about how ****ty the body is.
I dont care about how they perform on the track (in 275 pop. town here there is no track).
I dont care about how the Chebby engines suck.
I dont care about how the mullets match the cars.
I dont care about how sqeaky and rattly they are.
I dont care how etc. etc. etc.
There maybe this will help. Just curious.

hacker-pschorr

Oh nooooo. I was just going to reply to your PM........bad thread, bad thread!!!

icsmike

heheh, thats why I pm'd YOU and didnt post this for a while...are you ignoring me? I knew this would drive you out.

hacker-pschorr

No.

icsmike

No. what? dont forget what you r dealing with here. I get confused after my 14th beer.

hacker-pschorr

No, I'm not ignoring you.

linderpat

well? Inquiring minds want to know...

SeanR

Yes!

Ed, Ang and I were heading home from an event a few weeks back and a couple of kids raced to catch up with Ed. Me behind, Ang behind me.

A few short runs later the kid pulls up to me and says "WTF is that? I thought 944's were slow?" I smiled and told him what it was, he asked about the motor etc..........this is while we were all going 50mph on the highway.

The classic was when he asked what year it was, I said "this one is an '88, the one behind you is a '90, the one that just blew by is a '91. There was no contest. Granted, we didn't do any stop and go's, it was all 50-I won't say. Mine has a 220 rear end and I pulled on him in a huge way. Ed has the lower gears in the '91 so I know it was worse.

Have your neighbor get on the highway with you, hit that 2nd gear drop and leave him behind.

hacker-pschorr

It's like anything else 20 years old, what is the condition of the car?

The L98 Corvette motor is a torque monster. Check the SCCA records there have been quite a few c4's in the upper ranks for autocross. I have friends that run C4's at various track events and they can hold their own. Huge rubber in the rear they have no issue putting a 340ft lbs to the ground.

Most are automatics (like the 928) the auto in the Vette is not anywhere near the caliber of auto the 928 has (even the early ones). The 4+3 transmission was a nice idea (OD for 2-4 gears). They have a major issue of the OD kicking in whenever it feels like it. There is an easy fix for this.
In 1989 a six speed was added to replace the 4+3 (or was it in 1990?)

Convertibles came back in 1986 along with aluminum heads. The 84 body style was ended in 1991 (nose and tail were "updated"). So a convertible C4 86-90 are pretty much the same.
Interior was updated in 1990. A much more modern cabin.

As for performance...........they are on par with each other.
The convertibles were "updated" with a sort of X brace to stiffen the chassis. So I would not choose a stock convertible for any type of racing (drag or road) since they flex just a tad

The C4 has amazing balance. The engine is technically a mid mount, it's also incredibly low in the chassis. Stiff chassis and huge tires means they do handle very well.

They are nowhere near as refined as the 928, even when new.

icsmike

So there torque plays well of lines? or anywhere on the highway at any speed? Most likely what im lookin at is two of us turning onto the highway and by the time I catch up well be doing 50-60. And you know how that second gear winds up to 80 ......hopefully.

Warren928

I used to work at a corvette shop, we saw all kinds come in.... In the mid to late 80's, At least they got away from the too stiff fiberglass doors and panels and started using more polymerized parts that don't crack under extreme tempuratures. They also got away from the wavy urethane they were using on the bumpers and found a more smooth way to make them. The best thing though was the tuned port injection that came before the spitfire injection and smogged beasts of yesteryear. I also liked the way the hood opened up on those years, the fender wasn't in the way when working on them.

PorKen

With just X'n'chips, your dot-five should have close to 330HP/330TQ at the crank. He's toast.

hacker-pschorr

Some basic back roots tuning and exhaust does amazing things to the L98

Don't get me wrong, I would take an 86.5 over a pre 89 C4 (unless I already had two 928's and needed a convertible..)

Once the LT1 dropped into the base C4 in 1991........decision gets a bit harder. My friends 96 LT4 is a rocket around Road America and a solid autocross performer. His car is making over 340rwhp with simple bolt on mods and a computer tune along with a rock solid 6-speed.

RicerSchnitzzle

Catch him at a light. Rev your engine wildly while turning your wheels sharply in toward him. Start cackling with an Evil laugh while waiting for the green. More than likely he'll run the red and never give you that smug look again.

BTW-RMB helps magnify the effect.

mark kibort

20 years old, can any vet beat the Holbert machine with their original engine?
Right now, my biggest competition is the C5 and you know how much better it is vs the old vets!!!
The Holbert 928 s the fastest oldest production race car in the world with its original engine!

MK