I had two boring, modern sedans picked out for today, but I just couldn’t bring myself to write about them. So instead, I present to you a pair of cheap black Corvettes. I mean, if you’re talking about American cars, you eventually have to get around to the Corvette, right?
Yesterday it was Ford’s turn in the spotlight, and we looked at two inexpensive stickshifts. It sounds like a lot of you wanted to like the Taurus SHO, but its condition put you off. The convertible Mustang was no prize either, but its easier-to-find parts gave it a narrow win.
I have a soft spot for the SHO, but between these two specific cars, I think I’d go for the Mustang as well. I’m not a huge fan of the SN95 styling, but it looks better as a convertible than as a coupe. And somehow, out of the fortyish cars I’ve had over the years, I’ve never owned a V8 with a manual. That ought to change someday, I feel.
Corvettes, frankly, piss me off. Not the cars themselves; they’re actually pretty cool. But the larger-than-life mythos around them is really annoying. GM’s protectionist attitudes towards it, not allowing any other production car to be faster than the Corvette, has robbed us of some really cool cars over the years. And they’re grossly over-valued on the used market, because every owner thinks their car is special. But if you’re willing to put up with a little roughness around the edges, and you’re happy with a base model with an automatic, you can find a few here and there that are decent deals, like these two. One of them just barely sticks its head above the $5,000 ceiling I set for this week, but I bet you could talk the seller down. Let’s take a look at them.
1977 Chevrolet Corvette – $5,500
Engine/drivetrain: 5.7-liter OHV V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Syracuse, NY
Odometer reading: 64,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The 1970s were a ridiculous decade, so it’s only fitting that it gave us a ridiculous Corvette. Yes, I know the C3 came out in 1968, but back then it was cool. As protest songs gave way to disco, and horsepower ratings dropped like a stone, the C3’s wasp-waisted profile became a caricature of itself. And yet, somehow, like disco, even though it was ridiculous, it came across as… kinda cool? This ’77 has seen better days, but it still has some life left in it.
1977 wasn’t the low point for Corvette horsepower – that happened a couple of years earlier – but it still wasn’t great. We don’t really know how much horsepower this one has, though, because it’s not the original engine. It’s a Goodwrench crate engine, installed in 2004. It’s probably close to the stock output, but there is some weirdness going on. It has mismatched valve covers, for one. The left bank has a basic stamped steel cover like most stock small-blocks, but the right bank has a tall cast aluminum cover. No idea what that’s all about. The seller says it runs and drives well, but it does have a minor power steering leak that should probably be addressed.
The interior, like most low-priced C3s, is a bit rough. I’ve seen worse; this one I would at least be willing to sit in. It could be tidied up, but it may not be worth it if you just want a cheap Vette to bomb around in. It does have one big drawback, though: it has no air conditioning, and looking at the controls in the console, I think there’s a chance it never did.
I can’t tell if it has been badly repainted, or if the paint is just dull and faded. Either way, a weekend with a buffer would probably do it some good. I actually really like the wheels on this era of Corvette, and the white letter tires just look right on them. The “Salt Life” sticker on the back window has to go, though. (What is that, even?)
1986 Chevrolet Corvette – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 5.7-liter OHV V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Henderson, NV
Odometer reading: 33,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
For enthusiasts my age, the C4 is always going to be the “new Corvette.” It was such an advance over the C3 that it felt like the future. But as we all know, the future becomes the past much more quickly than we want it to, and now there are four generations of Corvette newer than the C4. I found a dozen automatic C4s for sale in various places around the country for five grand or less; these cars have hit the low point in their depreciation curve. I chose this one for two reasons: it has low mileage, and it isn’t red like most of them.
And here we see the trouble with Corvettes: Most of their owners don’t drive them enough. Any other 1986 Chevy would have racked up a bazillion miles and been used up and junked by now. But because this is a Corvette, it has just under 33,000 miles on its odometer. It’s practically begging for some exercise. The seller says it runs and drives well, but I don’t think they know very much about it. It has markings on the windshield as if it came from an auction. Be prepared to give it a really careful inspection.
The ad doesn’t have any better photos of the interior than this. We can see that the seats are trashed, but I can’t tell you much more than that. I imagine, if this has been a desert car all its life, that the damage to the leather is sun-related. It’s not shown, but the dashboard top is probably cracked, too.
It looks good outside, but there is a blemish in the paint on the hood, near the right headlight. The paint is dull and faded on the rear deck and rollbar, too. I doubt the seller’s “always garaged” claim more and more the closer I look at this car. But it’s probably good enough for a cheap driver Corvette.
Corvettes aren’t supposed to be treated the way they usually are. They’re not built to sit in garages, only driven gingerly to car shows and back. A ship in port is safe, the old saying goes, but that is not what ships are built for. And if the value is going to drop to this level anyway, what are you saving it for? Get it out on the road and enjoy it. Which one of these would you put some miles on?
Make sure the C4 isn’t filled with cocaine in the frame rails or something from the police sting that led to it being auctioned, then go beat the hell out of it. 1986 is when they had already started making great strides in making the C4 the car it always should have been.
I wish they were manuals. Ok, got that out of the way. I’ll go with the C4. I remember when these came out, it was a crazy departure from the old swoopy Stingrays of your dad’s/grandpa’s and his much younger blonde second wife who always seemed to be in the passenger seat of these with him.
The C3 got so low in output by that point in the 70’s that it was just sad. I know this has a newer crate engine installed but there seems to be some weirdness under that hood and even if you sort it all out, you still have an underpowered C3 with an auto.
Yeah, the C4 is definitely an auction car. The HPD (Henderson Police Dept?) writing on the windshield indicates that. So have a pre-purchase inspection and enjoy it for a while making cool noises and lighting up the digital dash.
In this case, I’ll go with the C4.
A 4 speed slushbox is better than a 3 speed. And the C4 has a trunk you can open… a feature the C3 didn’t have until the very last year. And the paint seems to be in better condition. And it doesn’t have a stupid ‘salt life’ sticker.
If that C3 didn’t have a power steering leak, had better paint and was a manual car, it might have swayed my vote.
Eh, throw a dart. Neither of these are what I’d want if I was going to buy a ‘Vette. The C3 is probably better with the auto having driven a manual C3. The C4 would be better with a manual and I prefer the post ‘91 face lift.
Surprise me!
“The C3 is probably better with the auto having driven a manual C3.”
Can you elaborate on that? Is the issue that the shifter sucks? Or is the clutch heavy? Something else?
Clutch is super heavy and the transmission is clunky. It’s like driving a tractor.
Illogical choice today for the C3. I like their styling more, even if the C4 is probably a better vehicle.
The Goodwrench engine makes the C3 far more acceptable to me.
C4 styling (especially interior) is a huge turnoff for me, regardless of the overall improvements in performance and quality between generations.
I’ve said it before, the begininning of the peak of ’80s culture was marked by the introduction of the C4 Corvette. The Malaise was done. Disco was dead. From here on out headlights would flip, fuel would inject, dashes would be digital, and salad would be shot. The future was here.
Today is a both day. I’ll take the 77, and I’ll buy the 86 for my friend.
Both for me too, but if I had to pick, I went C4. My dad has a ‘73 I helped rebuild, so the C4 would provide some variety.
I would prefer manuals in both though. Converting the C3 requires attaching a clutch linkage bracket to the frame (did it on the ‘73) but I’m not sure what the effort would be on a C4. I know it probably makes more sense to start with a manual car anyways. I get the argument that later C3s especially are more cruisers, but having V8 sounds connected to a manual transmission ups the fun for me.
Agree completely about the stick. There was a day when I would have loved a project like that, that day has passed. I’ll find one that came with 3 pedals.
If I’m going C3, I’ll always hate myself for not holding out for an early chrome bumper one. I realize those aren’t $5k cars…
That C4 has the 80s perfectly dialed in. And I’ll always prefer fuel injection to a carb.
C4! Yup, was gonna go C3 since I usually like the older designs on classics in general as you go back in time; but I prefer the C4 for this since I still really like that body style too. The main thing is that it’s NY vs. NV…plus it’s in better shape, lower original miles, etc. Would still check all the rubber bits/seals/gaskets. It will be fun to cruise around in and I’d even let Griffin drive it!
C4 for me, as I have never cared for the late (’75+) C3 looks – an early C3 would be a completely different story.
I like the C4 a lot more than the C3. For $5,000 you can toss some cosmetic stuff at it to spruce up the interior. Or you can leave the interior trashed and use it as a track rat. It’s a bargain regardless of what you decide to do with it.
C3 and C4 are about the only Corvettes I don’t really want. But I think in this case the c3 looks slightly better and doesn’t have 40 year year old electronics to fight so c3.
Tough choice since I like both. I prefer a C3 to a C4, but that C3 is moderately terrible. The paint is bad, there are numerous broken interior bits, there is a really janky aftermarket sound system installed, and it is dirty. This car looks like it has been neglected since around 1985 or so. The C4 has its share of flaws, but overall, it looks like it is in far better condition.
If the price tags were reversed I might be able to overlook a lot of the C3’s jankiness, but I think the C3 is at least $1,000 less of a car than the C4. C4 gets my vote.
Looking at the ’86 Vette Ad: What the heck is up with that second image? That is the dash of a completely different automobile!!!
Thinking late Gen II Camaro.
Which begs the question: How did the seller make this gross mistake?
I DNGAFU and am selling multiple cars at once.
C3: I like the dash and interior better. This one looks really good in black. I don’t usually do ‘Vettes, but this one calls to me.
C4: EFI, ABS, better performance, and clamshell hood. I never liked the look of the digital dash or the oversquare seats, but being an Arizona car, it probably doesn’t smell.
C4 wins by a clamshell hood, although I feel like the C3 will be more collectable someday.
Disco Vette all the way. Sure it is due to my age but that is the image in my mind when you say Corvette. I even came close to going to look at one a couple of years ago when looking for a summer cruiser. It was a ways away, had it been closer I might have at least went and looked at it.
The “new” Vette just doesn’t do anything for me. The styling is too generic compared to the disco and that dash is painful to look at.
The C3 did come with A/C, I can see the suction and liquid lines for the evaporator coming out of the HVAC case. The reason it doesn’t have the tall valve cover on the driver’s side is that it would hit the brake booster. The likely found out they couldn’t get it on after they put the passenger side on. Either way the C3 is old school simple, easy to work on (at least compared to the C4) and adjust the performance to taste.
I’m going to buck the trend and take the C3. Sure, it doesn’t have AC, but it doesn’t snow very often here in the winter. When I was growing up and the C4 was the new, hot, ‘vette, I still preferred the looks of the C3.
Allso, I just don’t trust the seller of the C4. Always garaged? Maybe since he bought it at auction on June 18th.
For basically the same money, the C4 wins out in my life. I love the engine packaging and forward opening hood.
I get to fly to Vegas and dive a Vette home? ‘MURICA!
The C3 is my favorite body style of Corvette and it has T-tops. Its my choice for today.
Mismatched valve covers is probably the biggest sign of what you’re dealing with. That C3 has a rattle can paint job and a shadetree mechanic who couldn’t be bothered to get the basics right. The C4 isn’t exactly a creampuff and pretty sure it’d have the L83 with crossfire injection…but it’s pretty much what you’d expect for the age. So C4 it is.
No, only the ’84 had Crossfire. ’85 and up are Tuned Port 350’s.
This is what happens when I post before coffee, for some reason I thought this was an 84. In this case, TPI 350 L98 is the way to go. Not gonna get an LT1 facelifted C4 for this price. Solid deal.
Overall agree, a TPI C4 will be a solid runner, and anything needed/wanted is avalailble.
The C4 has EFI. Has AC…needs fixed I’m sure.
Low miles are both a blessing and a curse.
Used seats are cheap. It’s the shipping that kills you.
Know what the difference between a Porcupine and a Corvette?
Porcupine has the pricks on the outside! Lol
I have heard the same joke but with BMW drivers…
Yeah, I’ve heard it with Porsche drivers too.
The C4 (probably) has antilock brakes and an airbag, so I’m less likely to die in it.
Is the C3 actually capable of enough speed to be lethal?
An airbag in ’86? Probably not. Google says 1990 was the first year they had airbags, for whatever that’s worth, being an “AI” generated result. Even if it did have an airbag, I wouldn’t trust the ancient explosives after 40 years.
I shouldn’t have assumed.
I DID know it had the antilocks, simply because I was working a corporate ad account that featured that vehicle (red, of course) hitting the brakes on wet pavement.
I wasn’t there for the shoot, but the photo director said the ABS worked like a charm. Which was kind of a big deal back then.
Airbag? Ha! Those didn’t come along until the late 80’s, with a quick search saying 1990 for the ‘Vette. Antilock brakes (new for ’86) and EFI are nice, though.
C4 got ABS in 1986, but didn’t get airbags until the interior was changed to the jet fighter style in 1990.
ABS was optional in 1986 and only made standard in 1987. So this particular C4 may or may not have it.
Thanks for checking. There’s still not enough information for me to switch fiberglass in which to wrap my ass, however.
As a kid, the C3 was what got me into cars. As a teenager, the C4 was the “attainable dream”. Much as I appreciate the C3 for what it was, I have to go C4 today. It’s not going to stop any traffic to be sure but it’s more in line with where I’m at in life. As the temps soar on the east coast today, that A/C is remiding me of exactly where that is.
C4, I have driven the plastic fantastic from the 70’s witht he truck frame and they are terrible. I think Maybe the early 68-69 metal bumper models with a 427 is the only ones I would consider.
Not a huge fan of the TPI in 86, but they do run adequately well around town if the gas in it was never let turned to turpentine. And they are simple to upgrade to the LS350 or even a truck 5.3 to add 100 or more HP effortlessly.