1987 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible - Car Nerds
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2014
- Episode 4 of 6: Technical Director Don Sherman gets nerdy with Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter in a C4 Corvette. Binge-watch the whole series: blog.caranddriver.com/ride-alo...
- Auta a dopravní prostředky
I happen to love MY 1987 Corvette, which came to me in 2015. I fell in love with the new C4 when I was 15 years old, waited a bit but very very happy.
Tokyo by Night, oh yes!
240HP is ok.. That is good to 155mph or so.. What moves this car is the Torque ! It has tons of that !!
Flaws and all I love these 80's corvettes.
I happen to love 87 corvettes
I have a real soft spot for C4s. They were fun to ride in as a kid. And yes, I loved the video-game instrument cluster. As a driver I could see how it could be a problem, as the driver is not supposed to be entertained by things going on inside the car, but as a geeky passenger it was fun to watch and tinker with the switches.
Yep and I plan to own one. I currently own a 87 z28 and my dad has a 94 Vette. I am kind of stuck right now. Trying to figure out if I should switch. I love the mean design of the Camaro. But the ride of a Vette was so much nicer to me.
The series should be renamed 'Two Old Geezers Complaining About Everything"
🤣😭
Memories! My Uncle owned a 1986 C4 Corvette in white with the same red interior, he let me drive my date to Jr. and Sr. prom in that car... it was so fast and powerful at the time, and everyone noticed you, at least in my neighborhood. Funny how powerful 240 HP used to feel, now we have a benchmark in these cars of 400+ HP!
And 340 lb ft torque. Built for low end and gas mileage, Tons better than a 76 low compression 165 HP vette predecessor of the C 4. Even stronger frame and structural than the C 3's too!
@@Z06Doug Old comment I know, but there is even a huge difference in handling, ergonomics, and overall driving comfort/competence over the course of the C 3's long run. Try driving a late 60's and compare to an early 80's (ignoring the power deficiencies of course)
C4=my favorite Corvettes:)
you poor soul ;D
84-85 Corvette's had black center wheels, 86 had non painted natural centers, 87 had silver painted centers. 88 went to a new wheel design with 17" optional.
Nice series for those of us non-Corvette owners interested in the various generations. Looking forward to the C5 ride - Motor Trend's 1998 Car of the Year.
We had an L98 C4 that we passed around the family for years. It was a fun car, the handling was pretty ok and at the time it was as fast as anything out there. It had nothing on the top end but the low end torque made up for it. The only new car you could buy at the time that could beat it was the Buick GNX.
The clean handsome lines of the C4 make the most recent model look like shit, especially its rear fascia.
I never cared for the C4 when it first came out. But a couple of years ago I found a 1991 that was a good deal. I had to bring it back to life after the previous owner had let it sit for six years! Worst thing you can do to a car! So, after repairs that equal approximately what I paid for the car, she's all sorted out and I love it! Mine's the six-speed...automatics aren't for sports cars!! Did a short road trip this last summer (481 miles total) to see a saxophonist friend that is playing and touring with Steely Dan. Great trip and got great gas mileage: 26.4 miles per gallon average, with most miles spent with the cruise control on at freeway speeds. Pretty damn good for a real sports car, with plenty of power. Mine is red with gray leather interior, with the targa top. I found a Corvette that a sax player can afford!! I didn't buy it to impress anyone...I had wanted a Corvette since my older brother came home from the Army and promptly bought a '56 that was smoking a bit, so he bought a new 365hp 327 and a new Muncie four-speed from the local Chevy dealer. I've been interested in driving since I was four...and I was fourteen when he bought that car and figured I could drive anything! I'll always remember my older brother giving me a hard time...saying: "Oh, you think you could drive my Corvette?" And I promptly said "YES!!"...and he let me drive it. Both with the old engine and then with the new one. It's his fault...the hook had been set and I wanted a Corvette immediately. Of course it took a long time to find one a sax player could afford. But fifty years later, I'm 64 and own a "new to me" C4...and I'm loving it! Yeah, I had to drop some cash into it to save the car, and make it run better than new. But that's okay. I will most likely never sell it...and my nephew can have it when I'm gone. It has its "faults" but I don't mind. The thing is a torque monster! Can leave a stop light almost without touching the throttle. And yes, it doesn't have the high revs that I got used to when building Chevy engines for my '56 2-door wagon I bought after high school. It was a high-revving monster...got me a lot of speeding tickets! But now I'm older and wiser...and simply enjoy driving my beautiful red Corvette. I still would like to have a 1956 or 57, but those are so expensive...out of reach for a guy like me. In the meantime, I'm loving my C4 (never thought I'd be saying that!!) and digging the gas mileage too. If ya keep your foot out of it, I get 17-19mpg around town...26mpg or so, with the cruise control on for a road trip...and it probably would get better if I slowed down to 60-65mph. New tires and the paint is so pretty. And I'm diggin' it and the grey leather interior much more than I thought I would! So, haters gonna hate...I don't care. It's a personal car for a personal experience for this guy that's driven every Corvette from 1956-1995...I've had a lot of friends over the years that let me drive theirs...because they realized my extensive knowledge of all things Corvette and knew I wouldn't abuse the thing. Great 5-link suspension out back, also great front suspension...and it still has the yellow Bilstein shocks on it! Odometer is reading about 82K...and the engine feels like it's just getting broke in. If one treats these cars right, do the maintenance, etc. , they can last a long time. I'm religious about oil changes and I love the six-speed (ZF)...ya just gotta rev it up a bit when leaving stop signs or lights, so it doesn't do the dreaded "1 to 4" shift. I've found if I rev it to about 3 grand in first, it slips right off into 2nd gear...and away we go! Great acceleration for this "base coupe". They rated it at 245hp from the factory. But Chevy's are known to "fudge" their hp ratings, for better insurance. It feels more like a 350hp 327 that a friend had in a 36 coupe that he would let me drive occasionally, back in the day. And I once had a screamin' 327 that was a drag motor set-up in my 56 2-door wagon...it would idle at 1700rpm's and the power came on about 4 grand, on up to 7200. So, totally different car. The wagon was kind heavy, with a high-revving small block, my Corvette tops out at about 5500rpm's, but I've never had it there...yet. It's a better one to "short-shift" and work the torque curve. Doesn't have the cylinder de-activation of the new ones, but I think I get pretty good mileage from it. And the cops see this "old white haired guy" in the Corvette and don't give it a second look. I've got a Geo Metro 2-seat Convertible I drive for the gas mileage...it gets about twice what the Corvette gets. But I got pulled over in it not long ago...for doing 47 in a 35 zone. But the cop was cool and let me go with a warning and a "slap on the wrist". Lovin' my C4!!
I read an article not long ago that said the best C4 to own is the 1992, because of the engine. My 1991 is just fine, thank you very much! Easy to drive...in some ways. Can make an okay driver into a kinda good one. But they also can be a little squirrel-ly when throttle is opened up, especially in lower gears. I still maintain that they all should have manuals. My ZF 6-speed is a more "involving" drive. You can get in trouble quickly and easily with an automatic. They easily have the best handling and aero, for their day. Chevy even brags about it in the literature of the day. And yes, they can be a bitch for "ingress and egress". I always say; "It's a car that you more "wear" than get in and out of...but man, the handling! So much better than the C3's. I've driven every year of the C3's...and they're fun (I like all Corvettes...for the most part). I think I've gotten a car that is fun to drive and involving, what with the six-speed manual. Toe box is tight...wear small, narrow shoes. Boots don't make it...you'll end up hitting the brake and the gas, or the clutch and the brake. Entertaining! That will really wake you up, Ha! Ha!! At my income level, I got a deal and love it. What others think of it doesn't matter. I always heard the early ones (1984-88) could have fuel injection problems. By 91-92 they had that all sorted. And it works great!!
In my opinion.....these two gentlemen work with corvettes all day, everyday.....so they don't have the love and passion as a regular corvette owner with a particular gen. corvette. Myself personally love the C4 gen...this style.....i own a 89 coupe white with the black lining & my dad owns a 88 anniversary coupe.....super clean....as a kid the rotating lights and that digital dash always got me excited.....i love corvettes....there is no car unique like a Vette.....C1 - C7 !!!
A 1987 C4 corvette is my first car that me and my dad bought for about 4,000, we fixed it up and it's almost good to go except a new windshield! I love this car
I love my 87 C4.
any reliability issues!? i want that same year!!!
Tadge mentions the structural deficiencies and I don't think it's too bad, but could be better. I think the cornerstone of the styling was the rolled in rocker panels adn Tadge pointed out and had the frame rails been pushed out and flattened there may not have been the flex. The frame concept was good and used on the later vettes, but in the early 80's they basically did what GM knew how to do and that is to stamp and form metal and then spot weld it together. It appears these spot welds give it some of the flex. I tried the Gordon Kilbrew designed braces on my '90 Convertible and I feel they do make an improvement. I don't have data, but feel and hear reduced flex and groans in the rear hatch and eliminated the "belly dance" it sometimes would take when encountering a bump when turning fast on a sweeper.
We have a convertible 91 L98 and it's a fun car to go touring in. They're right about that flexing but I'm surprised they'd didn't talk about how aggressively the automatics upshift.
Love my 86, 93 Callaway, and my 87
Very enjoyable. Love their affable, laid back chatting. And their honesty. I'll take a C2
as an automotive engineer myself, I can say- yes, you always can make 'em better, that's what we do with each next model... well, I have a C4 convertible just like the one in the video in my collection, very low mileage and very pristine, so I can put some of this into perspective. structural stiffness is not as good as say in a 2-ton Mercedes, but it's not bad taking into account this is a 1987 car. modern cars are better, but in those days, you could get convertibles that were less good, so it's ok and definitively not a problem. softer Michelin tyres help, the originals are very stiff by comparison. for touring, the big L98 offers far more power than you need, esp bags of torque. in fact, the L98 gives a good account of itself even compared to more modern european V8s, just by never feeling stressed. and oh yes, you have to lift your haunches to get in and out, but you get used to it.
the digital display isn't bad either- one quickly gets used to it, just using the big digital numbers and ignoring the graphics. the secondary readouts are very good. in all, a very fine classic Corvette, this is, and thanks to all the team who worked on her back then,
I love the C4. The ZR-1 was amazing and they were fast cars for the time. You can mod these engines so much if you want to get the horse power you need. I’m looking to buy a C4 ZR-1 and loving the search for the right one. Plus these corvettes are so affordable with low miles.
Love the wheels
love/hate those wheels, right?
my boss has a '94 with C5 wheels, makes it look so much better.
Jeffrey Deal Nah I love them. So 80's.
bummaggots
I agree, I hate it when people start jack assing about putting different year corvette rims on their corvette.
I have an '84 and an '82. The '82 design looks far better, but the '84 handles much better.
Its pretty interesting how out of all of the generations, they didnt pick the best. If they picked the best cars, the comparisons of them would have been sweet.
They should have picked:
C1 with a v8
C2 with a 427 (like they did)
C3 with a 427
C4 zr1 or grandsport
C5 zo6 (2002 or newer)
C6 zo6/zr1
But instead, they picked some of the lesser offerings, and bitched the whole way. Its really not too well thought out. They also coukd have done base models and compared them that way for fairness.
Totally agree with you on that. I would have said a 95 ZR1 or the LT4 Grand Sport coupe. Hell a 96 LT1 coupe would have been better even though you could only get it with the auto trans.
Shut up 🤡
@@zwild1160 I have read that many (most or all?) of the 96' model year L T 1's actually used the L T 4 top end due to a shortage of the former (GM was tooling up for the new at the time gen 3 L S)
I have this car I got it for my 16th bday
they should have reveiewed the zr1 version or the LT4 version,
Lov my yellow 87
If I buy one will it give me problem
If so where is the cheapest place to fix
I had a friend who got this car back when I was in college. Red. He wanted to show off his new car so he took me out for a spin. 4 blocks later he took off from a stop sign and hit 60. BAM, cop. Pulled over. 60 in a 30, reckless driving. We then turned around and he dropped me off : (
Your friend needs to learn...Ha! Ha!! Young, college guy with Corvette=testosterone trouble!
You mean, power is UP from 205 to 240. lol
I have a white 87 corvette, the guy in the passenger side from what I can tell absolutely hates this car.
Everyone bad-mouths the 240 horsepower levels, while noting the 400 HP benchmarks of 2020...That maybe the current power standards, but the computerized "Nannies" of today keep tabs on stupid driving, as the drivers of today are less skilled in wise use of those higher horsepower levels.
Vette performance stats are all over the place. I've seen '87s as slow as 6.6 and as fast as 5.8. 135 to 150 mph. The '85s were faster. It depends on driver, track, gearing, and a whole host of other factors.
Tory lanez favourite car
GM got lazy & ford got kinda smart.. 1987 LX coupe ( not a hatchback ) weighing a little over 3000 pounds with a 225 h/p 302 honest 300 foot pounds of torque monster that with a little tuning could out red light to red light the Vette any day of the week, that's just a fact.. I've done it I've seen it done.. The Stang didn't have the flash bells & whistles of the Vette & to tell you the truth Mustang coupes ( not the hatchback ) in 1987-93 were butt ass ugly bad reminders of state police cars but they would make arrogant cocky little smartass's turn off down a side street in shame every weekend all summer long..
Chevy got trolled into the gas mileage game with many Corvettes running 2.59 gears. Add a cam upgrade, a mini ram intake and 3.73 gears.
Nothing beats a fox body mustang dude 🖕🏼
Love C4s, Stangs, Maros, TAs, TTAs and GNXes...love them all.
The '87 was SLOWER than the '85-86s due to stall speeds (0-60 6.3-6.6 vs. 5.5-5.8). I think.
no offence to the dude but they need to find a better speaker and one who is a little more enthusiastic.
Ohh, that´s whay i unsubcirbed.
+Chrstian “Driver” mrclep Because they are having an educational and insightful commentary video? Sounds about right
+Chrstian “Driver” mrclep Because they are having an educational and insightful commentary video? Sounds about right
I hate red interiors in cars...not just this, but any car
Please mussel the passenger and let the driver speak about what he is experiencing at the wheel. Also, his voice is very irritating! Not well done at all. You need to get better at your job. Certainly you have someone who could do a better job than this sorry human.
I do believe you mean muzzle not mussel
The driver in the red hat is such a jackhole. Convertibles are the luxury sports car of Corvettes and have extra X braces under the frame. No need to put the T bar on the coupes. Jack up the right front and the right rear comes up as well. Cars were leap years ahead in 1984, got better in 85 with TPI, better in 86 with alum heads, better in 90 with analog tach and engine gauges. 92's got a higher reving LT-1. Thank EPA and CAFE gas mileage for the restrictive 305 induction on the 350 engines, but most exceed 20 mpg. GM strung the old body along for almost 13 years though, barely changing it. A nice clean C4 will still turn heads and fun to own and drive! No, if you buy one for 800 bucks, it's gonna be ragged and tired.
'87 4 speed, 240 hp, floppy frame, horrid interior = way to go GM!
Ha, this car has nothing to brag about, you forgot to add, it weighs tons. Was this car considered even a sports car? because is the total opposite of being like one.
MvP4eVa1 it weight just as much as any other Corvette 3100-3200 pounds, do your research first idiot...
krauser979 Hey dumbass, and your crooked math, if you compared power to weight ratio to any other Corvette, this one is a fucking tank.
MvP4eVa1 look idiot if you can read i wasn't talking about power to weight ratio... compared to any other car in this era it was pretty good and it was much better than the corvettes of the mid late 70s with 150-175hp v8's...
krauser979 hey dumbass In my first comm I wasn't talking about it weighs like any other vette either , is how under-power to weight ratio it is compared to "most" vettes, it does not matter how you flip it, is still a tank.. I Don't hate it is just a fact... I have a feeling you have one...
What the fuck? You guys forgot to stop at the Dry cleaners and distribute some bibles. Jesus fuck! You could have just used a ford Taurus.
as a lifelong corvette lover and owner, I am confident in saying the C4 is without a doubt... a piece of shit.
Nemesis 11FP mines not
Nemesis 11FP You aren't a true Corvette fan if you say something as unintelligent as that.
And as a C-4 owner, i can say without a doubt......... your full of it-
50 seconds intro. GTFO
L
This series is pretty disappointing....
Whoever chose the rims for the C4s should be shunned! :P
240hp! lol I guess that may have been good back then, we have stock V6s that are 300+hp now.
harpella Right and 345 pounds of torque and also the fastest production car in the world in 87/88 as well.. So 240.. not so shabby
Love how people compare horsepower of C4's to cars 30 years in the future.
@@chickenjo23 Yea really silly. when you have never own one of the C4s because they weren't even born yet! so they go for what there told, not what they had experienced. Your comment is spot on! Different strokes, Different folks. It's all about what you enjoy, when you've owned a lot of cars and trucks you kind of find your comfort zone for the time being and just enjoy the Drive. Better late than never!
Very disappointing video
89 owner. it's ok. needs too much money to get decent performance. and if you need to restore the interior..... your talking about couple grand easy. smh. engine is pretty much sh*t. handling is great. I'd never buy one. (mine was a gift)
joefabuloso r , Also an 89' owner. Doesn't need "too much money" to get decent performance, it's already a great performed vehicle at stock but more speed means more money, that's always been the motto. Engine is beautiful, race with it all the time.. Give me long enough and I'll overtake any vehicle out there unless it's a super car or a modded car. Handling perfect. Looks beautiful.
Of course you wouldn't buy one, I'm sure everything is too shitty for you. I on the other hand love mine.
+Samuel Hawkins I agree. I bought a 90 Vert stock with 32K miles for $8.5K. I bought TPIS headers, TPIS lower, AS&M runners, hi flow cat, corsa exhaust, ported plenum, Lingenfelter heads/cam, dewit radiator, vette to vette braces and put them in myself. Did the tune with a Moates myself. For around $16K I have a absolute brutal street biased C4 that runs in the 12's and looks stock on the outside. I got extreme performance for the price of a Kia. All it takes is some imagination, research, elbow grease, and a few bucks.
That's right on! How much horses do you think she's getting after the mods and spirit you've put into her?
Other people with this combo are around 330 HP to the rear wheels and 430ish TQ. I've been tuning it with a wideband O2 sensor as I drive it so I got my targets pretty close for max power at all areas of the map. It will outright smoke my bolt on LS3 Camaro.
Terrible cars !!!
I love how this guy tears all these Corvette's to pieces. Not being an American, I don't have rose tinted glasses for the Corvette. And other than the way they look, I see no appeal in them what so ever. Sloppy, gutless and poorly designed. Just awful cars up to this point.
Adam Smith Gutless? They were the fastest thing on the road at the time. And had one of the better suspensions and most advanced suspensions that are still good today. A bit biased arent we? When they first came out it made Porsche so nervous because they were winning all the track races Porsche bought 2 of them and tore them down just to see how GM engineered them. I would say thats a testimony to how advanceed they were at the time.