Should You Buy A 1984 Corvette Project Car?

Grumpy

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
I'm a novice when its comes to cars but am very mechanically inclined.
I'm looking at buying a 84 c4 corvette for a first project car.
I saw a thread you were in and you seem very knowledgeable about the 84 engines.
was hoping to get a few pointers on whether it was worth looking for a different year or how to mod the engine or engine parts. as someone willing to learn would it be doable and or worth doing.

Thanks in advance, Elijah
Click to expand...

If your looking for a c4 project car,,,personally Id suggest avoiding the 1984,
yes if you have deep financial pockets it can be made to run rather well,
but if your starting with a clean slate, your at a significant disadvantage with the 1984 vs the later c4 vettes,

as the compressions low the OEM crossfire heads are trash,
the factory throttle body intake and throttle body's are very restrictive,
and only used on two years

you'll be much better off in my opinion,
starting off with a 1996 or at least a 1990-91,
both are now reasonably priced and have more potential


each has advantages, the 1990-91 is a traditional TPI SBC,
yes the OEM heads are trash but the factory TPI,has potential but it
is restrictive, but theres more potential, than the 1984 crossfire,
and they are easy to work on and tune, especially after you gain and work
with a bit of experience,
the 1996 is an LT1 and even in factory condition is a bit better engine, in my opinion,
it has its flaws also, but its a bit better in OEM form,

but less popular as its not completely interchangeable with the first gen SBC
keep in mind any of the engines can have significant gains from the hot rodders perspective ,
being made through doing some research,
and swapping out too decades newer technology,
and better quality aftermarket components

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/can-you-get-there-with-tpi.10494/#post-44299

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...1996-corvette-for-sale-is-it-a-bargain.13293/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ve-friends-with-similar-cars.5976/#post-87197

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/which-corvette-to-buy.15517/#post-92280

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/when-is-your-car-fast-enought.489/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ette-or-newer-used-corvette.11316/#post-90595
 
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Ouch! I've had fun with my 84 but I do have about twice the money into it as I thought I would which would have bought me a newer more advanced car. My car runs really good and can put the fear into much newer cars but for the time and money I have into it I wish I started with at least a 1989-1991 and thats only because I really like TPI systems. Grumpy is correct again though a 1996 would be the best of the C4's to get.
 
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