Vette Hack in Hot Rod Magazine

[subtlez28]

ATTENTION: Other forums have the whole negativity thing covered. I'd really like for this thread to be constructive. Please, keep in mind I am building a C4 so to come here and post C4s are turds is both rude, and inaccurate. There is a reason they put C4 suspension under hot rods and muscle cars. And even in lightly modded form they will kill a lot of cars at the road course. So, again lets talk about the possibilities here and if you think it was fun or not. Lets leave the bashing to the other forums. This was an experiment to see how weight effected handling, and is destined to become some sort of track toy. (edit):cheers:

I belong to several forums (including some corvette specific forums) and I cannot believe I only found this today. I did search here, so I apologize if it is a re-post.

The first part of the story is in the Hot Rod Magazine I got today (Nov 2010).
Here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfpQTAFoTU4

I thought the article was really fun. In the video I was a little put off by cutting and sledge hammering the car up, rather than unbolting stuff (it is easy - I have had my C4 quite far apart). That said I liked watching it and it was again fun.

Freiburger talked about the rage on forums such as Corvette Forums, in his editorial so I went to see what the fuss was about:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-general-discussion/2639346-hot-rod-magazine-c4-track-video.html

Needless to say some die-hard Corvette guys (especially C4 guys) are/were up in arms.

Personally, I think it is interesting. In fact I have been searching for more info for a couple hours now. I cannot wait to see what the end product is!

But then I picked up a C4 because it was a good hot rod / track car platform, so I'm not a typical "corvette guy". I figured guys and gals at this site might be more like minded with me on this issue.

I have always thought a company like factory five should make light weigh race/street car kits using C4s as donors rather than mustangs. I'm hoping it is something like that!

What do you guys think?

Anyone have more info?

All I have been able to find is it will get caged, and see track time.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

i actually like it a great deal.. i dont give a fuch what the corvette boys think..

that was kinda rad.

[Chevrolaine]

It's a C4. Who cares? I woulda been more upset if it was a Vega.

[LateNight72]

It's a 25 year old Corvette that makes a whooping 205hp, and was practically run into the ground before HRM got to it. Enough said..

But David Freecheeseburger still irritates the hell out of me.

[mc84_zz4]

So they took a car, a running car, and turned it into a pile of crap.
Great idea. :twothumbs:
Why not make a track car out of it instead? I thought it was kind of funny for a while, a bit like JackAss, until they started hacking it instead of unbolting stuff...

[LowBuckX]

No where near rare-- was a turd from the start of the test ---I say sweet..... Do one more so someone with a cool car can use the suspension goodies.

[LONE*STAR]

the end result would make a hella of a ChumpCar

[DarkBuddha]

C4s are getting seriously cheap, are seriously plentiful, are good donors for other stuff, and a lot have reached the point of being trashed beyond bother, so I think it's totally cool that they documented hacking it down. IMHO, it looked coolest just before the cut the windshield and dash out... it'd make an awesome auto-x/time attack car like that.

[dadto2jays]

I think it was stupid!!!!!!

piece of crap or not still very childish and stupid did I say it is stupid...ha!!

[BonzoHansen]

Look's like fun. Also looks like a freiburger project form this car craft days. Take that as you will.

[68Formula]

They turned a Corvette into a 200hp Smart Car?

[tazzz25906112]

Weight is obviously the focus of the plan so it'll be interesting what they do with the drive train and suspension....

I'd like to see an early C3 project that really kicks butt,,,, that'd be cool.

[oestek]

It was a re-hash of the old "Caddy Hack" story, where they cut up a full size Cad ('69 or '70 I believe) and had it down to the 11's back in the '80s. Nobody complained about that story 'cause the car was a pile to start with, and it went fast.

[Bill Howell]

i enjoyed the video for what it was and the information it provided, period. Even though we pretty much knew what the outcome would be before the video, it is still cool to see it done, it helps prospective when reducing weight on our builds and shows how important weight reduction is to performance. As for the vette folks, so what what they think. If it had been a 52 Nash, there would have been a group of people somewhere that would have bitched too. If the vette guys don't want this to happen, they should start a nationwide rally to buy up all the junk vettes around. Otherwise, the owner is welcomed to do whatever they want with their cars, get over it. C4s are the most unloved vettes, and the cheapest, so whats the problem? There are still plenty left out there if someone needs or wants one for rebuild or parts.

Cool to see Chad working though, that was worth the watch just to see him killing the car, he is a nut.

[ZZ430]

I have never understood why owners of a particular car would be upset about what anybody else would do.

As long as it's not mine, who cares?

I do think however that posting the vid on the C4 forum was trollish.

Oh, and the "talent" in that video made me scream.

[bonecrrusher]

Awesome - as a Vette - owner - good glad the cut it up! LOL!

I could give a rats a$$ about a C4.... :p

See some of you guys @ RTTH's next week!

[DCx]

they should have base lined it in the 1/4 mile!!

i also agree. who cares its a C4!

[Ripped]

My very least favorite style of 'vette.

It's kind of a who-cares video.

There are tons of more constructive things to do with the chassis, unless it was majorly f-d up.

Why not have a contest, throw in a bunch of free parts from manufacturers, and award it to someone who has sheet metal only, and who needs running gear.

Anyway, it's the same as crushing an amc pacer, in my mind, who-cares

[andrewb70]

I read about 3 pages of comments on the Corvette forum. At the end of the day, the car was bought and paid for by Hot Rod magazine. They can do with it as they please. Chevrolet made about 2 bazzilion C4 Corvettes. They aren't exactly rare at this point.

So to all of the dissenters on the Corvette forum, please wash the sand out of your vaginas, and have a cold one. :cheers:

Andrew

[BonzoHansen]

I think 74-77 vettes are worse. just sayin'. :)



<--owner of a big bumper camaro, I can say whatever I want. :p

[DriverzInc]

I read about 3 pages of comments on the Corvette forum. At the end of the day, the car was bought and paid for by Hot Rod magazine. They can do with it as they please. Chevrolet made about 2 bazzilion C4 Corvettes. They aren't exactly rare at this point.

So to all of the dissenters on the Corvette forum, please wash the sand out of your vaginas, and have a cold one. :cheers:

Andrew

my thoughts exactly

[Lowend]

The '84 Vette (specifically) has been considered a turd since about 1987... CFI was a joke and the car had a ton of mid-year changes

That said, I can't image a better platform for a cheap road-racing car.

I'd love to get my hands on a 1996 with a 6-speed

[Lowend]

Just realized the lineage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5xgglhqEWg
How similar to these look...
Of course the Jackrabbit is FWD

[KacyZ28]

thats just sad,by no means am I a die hard corvette fan but that car wasnt trashed to the point it was a perfect car for that.Hell Id have bought it if the price was right.

[MonzaRacer]

Well what about them trashing C4s for street rods, who cares, what about all the C5s/C6s that are trashed moded and even totaled?
Heck what about all the 50s and 60s Vettes that are bashed trashed and totaled.
UNLESS you are a potential bidder on that car, shut up. I see Monza Cut up all the time, I hate it cause so many are gone from rust or wrecks(two of mine) included.
You cant save all of them, now if it was a 5 mile original ultra rare unit and getting trashed, well thats stupid, if its a junker, go for it.

[novaderrik]

i want to find an 88 or so Vette and strip it down to just a rolling shell- i won't go as far as Hot Rod did, but rather keep it looking like a real car. ditch as much of the stock wiring as i can and get rid of the disco dash for a set of Autometers or something. stuff an LT1 or LS engine of some sort under the hood and make it into a lean mean corner carving machine.

[-The Stig-]

Best Video Ever.

Just helps you remember that taking too much weight off can hurt performance.

I laughed soon as I saw Chad Reynolds in the video... oh Chad, you wasscally wabbit.

[moreHP]

It was a re-hash of the old "Caddy Hack" story, where they cut up a full size Cad ('69 or '70 I believe) and had it down to the 11's back in the '80s. Nobody complained about that story 'cause the car was a pile to start with, and it went fast.


Phew. I thought I was the only one who remembers that article!

[twosaturns]

Phew. I thought I was the only one who remembers that article!
I remember it also. and I agree w/ someone who said they should have 1/4mi benchmarked it.
it's just an excuse for frieburger to do something stupid and claim he's working. they didn't 'learn' anything that common sense wouldn't have told them (gee, we go faster if the car is lighter, and camber decreases if the car is higher!)

reading about C4 vettes reminds me of an interesting trivia tidbit: NO corvettes EVER came from the factory w/ 5 speed manuals; they went right from 4 speeds, to the 4+3, to the 6 speed.

[novaderrik]

I remember it also. and I agree w/ someone who said they should have 1/4mi benchmarked it.
it's just an excuse for frieburger to do something stupid and claim he's working. they didn't 'learn' anything that common sense wouldn't have told them (gee, we go faster if the car is lighter, and camber decreases if the car is higher!)

reading about C4 vettes reminds me of an interesting trivia tidbit: NO corvettes EVER came from the factory w/ 5 speed manuals; they went right from 4 speeds, to the 4+3, to the 6 speed.

now durable are the 4+3 transmissions? i know they are essentially an ST10 with an overdrive unit behind them, and the cheapest C4 Vettes have that setup. i almost bought one of those transmissions back in '03 or so for $200 to put in my Nova but passed on it due to them supposedly being a weak trans.

[twosaturns]

now durable are the 4+3 transmissions? i know they are essentially an ST10 with an overdrive unit behind them, and the cheapest C4 Vettes have that setup. i almost bought one of those transmissions back in '03 or so for $200 to put in my Nova but passed on it due to them supposedly being a weak trans.
I've heard they were trouble but never looked into it. but like anything else I'm sure there are fixes.

[Kenova]

It's a C4. Who cares? I woulda been more upset if it was a Vega.
I'm with you on this comment. I would bet a Vega in good condition is harder to find than a C4.
I had trouble reading Caddy Hack the first time, I was laughing so hard. I still get the grins thinking about it.

Ken

[Twentyover]

When the well of creativity runs dry, Hot Rod apparently just recycles the same old crap.

They learned something from this? If so, they were incredibly ignorant before the exercise.

[novaderrik]

When the well of creativity runs dry, Hot Rod apparently just recycles the same old crap.

They learned something from this? If so, they were incredibly ignorant before the exercise.

i've been reading Hot Rod for 22 years, and i've reached the point where it seems like there is nothing new to learn.
i like articles like this one- it might not really teach anything new, but it is entertaining and it reminds me a lot of Car Craft in the early 90's when they were proud to do stupid things like use a couple of hose clamps to fix a broken transmission mount in a Mopar. the fact that a bunch of uptight C4 vette owners got all worked up over it makes it that much better, and the fact that people all over the internet are talking about a stupid Hot Rod article means that they get all sorts of free publicity. i haven't seen anyone mention the 20 pages of "what is a rat rod?" that is also in the same issue...

[DynoDon]

I think 74-77 vettes are worse. just sayin'. :)

Agreed! At least a C4 will actually go around a corner, unlike that horrible swing axle they called an IRS in the C3 cars!

That particular car looked to be a pretty well used up pile, but it still was as someone said, just a childish prank like Jackass.

If they really wanted to learn something as far as weight reduction goes, why not do the same concept by unbolting steel parts and substituting carbon fiber or glass while actually optimizing suspension settings etc. Oh wait, that would take doing real work and having a truly useful article that would do the readers some good.

[67zo6Camaro]

Just like the saying in real estate goes...location, location, location....but applied to this it's set-up, set-up, set-up. This obviously is a poorly, or time constrained, executed sience project. Just wondering, is that why F1 indy cars and/or shifter go-carts perform so poorly?

Im just messing with ya....this looks like it was done mostly for fun... can't we just have a little fun sometimes.

That's my 3 cents.

[twosaturns]

if I learned anything, it's that I'm now thinking of picking up a '85-'91 corvette as a daily driver. it would be parked on the street so it doesn't matter how it looks, and it would be cheap.

[John Wright]

Did I see a carb sitting on top of that motor?...I thought that year was cross-fire injected?

[BonzoHansen]

Was this an 84? 84 was CFI, but people who could not comprehend EFI yet and therefore could not fix it, often tore it out and put a carb in.

[John Wright]

Was this an 84? 84 was CFI, but people who could not comprehend EFI yet and therefore could not fix it, often tore it out and put a carb in.
Now that I think about it...I don't remember if they said what year it was....I was just assuming an 84'

[JEFFTATE]

please wash the sand out of your vaginas, and have a cold one. :cheers:

Andrew

That's the best statement of the year.
Too funny.

BTW , the C4 Corvette was an ok car ..
Nothing wrong with them .

If Hot Rod wants to cut their C4 up , its their own business.
C4's make good donor cars.
I think HR just did the article for entertainment value.

[subtlez28]

i want to find an 88 or so Vette and strip it down to just a rolling shell- i won't go as far as Hot Rod did, but rather keep it looking like a real car. ditch as much of the stock wiring as i can and get rid of the disco dash for a set of Autometers or something. stuff an LT1 or LS engine of some sort under the hood and make it into a lean mean corner carving machine.

See my build. This is exactly my plan. I haven't updated recently, but It will be on the road by 2011! Then we will see what a turd the C4 is... I doubt many people who bash it have a car that will hold a candle to it on the track - especially dollar for dollar.
https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61422

I get the impression many have not read the article.

1- The car was trashed in and out - $1800. It was prime for stealing the chassis.

2- Yes that is a carb. It is a 1985. The ditched the TPI (not CPI) because it wasn't running. This made it easy to install a fuel cell and stand alone harness for the "experiment".

I understand that C4s are plentiful and cheap. However, they posses well engneered suspension, great brakes, aluminum spindles, a-arms, driveshafts, and all kinds of other parts many pro-touring cars get (only from the factory). The basically just lack big HP.

I would think more people on this site would see the huge potential in these cars. They are an LS swap from wiping up most competition.

It doesn't bother me that HRM cut up the car. Again they are plentiful and cheap. The article was fun.

I just cannot wait to see what is next.

[John Wright]

I think 74-77 vettes are worse. just sayin'. :)



<--owner of a big bumper camaro, I can say whatever I want. :pI had a 77'...I enjoyed that car...the only thing that I didn't like about it was that it was a heavy pig compared to my buddy's 73'. My car had all sorts of extra steel in it that the 73' didn't have.

[DynoDon]

The C4's are shown no love but I can tell you from first hand experience that they make great race cars. In 1985 we ran the SCCA Playboy Endurance Challenge with one. The class was pretty much all Corvettes and a lot of heavy hitters came out to play - names like Ron Fellows, Lou Gilotti, Scott Goodyear, **** Gulstrand, Bobby Carradine, Don Knowles, Stu Hayner, John Heinricy, Max Jones, Tommy Kendall, Robbie Unser, Tommy Morrison, Eppie Wietzes, Jack Baldwin, Tommy Riggins, Paul Gentilozzi, Bobby & Tommy Archer, R.K. Smith and a host of others.
Our car ran a series of different drivers, especially on the 24 hours races, including Jeff MacPherson, Steve Millen, Walt Boren, Jeff Wood.
And don't forget the Corvette Challenge that ran for C4's that a lot of the aforementioned guys drove along with other names like Scott Laggasse, Mark Dismore, Doug Rippie, Desire Wilson, Tom Gloy,
Juan Manuel Fangio, Bruce Jenner, Jimmy Vasser, Lou Gigliotti, Jeff Andretti, Paul Tracy, Boris Said, Johnny Rutherford, John Greenwood, Paul Newman (the actor, not the chassis guy) and a boat load more.
They also were pretty successful in Trans Am at the time, so maybe these pigs should be given more respect!

[Bow Tie 67]

I like the AMF on the rear bumper.

Adios Mother F*****

[454bug]

Just helps you remember that taking too much weight off can hurt performance.

I really don't think the loss of too much weight was the culprit to their decrease in performance... Their biggest problem resulted from the removal of items dictated by what they could pull off the easiest and make the biggest reduction in weight. Not so much where it was coming from...

I'm sure when they pulled the entire back end of the car off with the gas tank, bodywork, and rear frame section their front/rear weight distribution went out the window! This corvette is pretty close to 53/47 from the factory... I'm sure it was close to 60/40 by the time everything was removed from the seats back...

I thought it was a lot of fun to watch and think anyone should do whatever trips their trigger! It's their car, get after it!! One guy's $1,000 is another guy's $10... It all boils down to expendable cash and how you get your kicks!

I LOVE BEING "POLITCALLY INCORRECT"!!! :jump:

[John Wright]

I really don't think the loss of too much weight was the culprit to their decrease in performance... Their biggest problem resulted from the removal of items dictated by what they could pull off the easiest and make the biggest reduction in weight. Not so much where it was coming from...

I'm sure when they pulled the entire back end of the car off with the gas tank, bodywork, and rear frame section their front/rear weight distribution went out the window!
I think you nailed it regarding the weight distribution getting all messed up.....that had to kill any chance of balancing the handling, plus the factory spring rates and sway bars at that point are probably hurting instead of helping.

[subtlez28]

I really don't think the loss of too much weight was the culprit to their decrease in performance... Their biggest problem resulted from the removal of items dictated by what they could pull off the easiest and make the biggest reduction in weight. Not so much where it was coming from...

I'm sure when they pulled the entire back end of the car off with the gas tank, bodywork, and rear frame section their front/rear weight distribution went out the window! This corvette is pretty close to 51/49 from the factory... I'm sure it was close to 60/40 by the time everything was removed from the seats back...

I thought it was a lot of fun to watch and think anyone should do whatever trips their trigger! It's their car, get after it!! One guy's $1,000 is another guy's $10... It all boils down to expendable cash and how you get your kicks!

I LOVE BEING "POLITCALLY INCORRECT"!!! :jump:

I'm with you 100%.

I would add that spring rate and more importantly alignment need to be addressed when there is dramatic lightening.

Add some stickie tires, a propper alignment, correct spring rates, cut some more front weight (LS1 swap), relocate the battery rearward, and fill up that fuel cell out back. Then that little vette/go kart will fly!

[rob07002]

The Corvette folks must have had a fit when the Mythbuster dudes put a pig carcass in a C4 and let it rot for 30 days.

[yamadog]

See my build. This is exactly my plan. I haven't updated recently, but It will be on the road by 2011! Then we will see what a turd the C4 is... I doubt many people who bash it have a car that will hold a candle to it on the track - especially dollar for dollar.
https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61422

I get the impression many have not read the article.

1- The car was trashed in and out - $1800. It was prime for stealing the chassis.

2- Yes that is a carb. It is a 1985. The ditched the TPI (not CPI) because it wasn't running. This made it easy to install a fuel cell and stand alone harness for the "experiment".

I understand that C4s are plentiful and cheap. However, they posses well engneered suspension, great brakes, aluminum spindles, a-arms, driveshafts, and all kinds of other parts many pro-touring cars get (only from the factory). The basically just lack big HP.

I would think more people on this site would see the huge potential in these cars. They are an LS swap from wiping up most competition.

It doesn't bother me that HRM cut up the car. Again they are plentiful and cheap. The article was fun.

I just cannot wait to see what is next.

I agree 100% NOBODY would've given that car a second glance driving down the road....Except for the few who would have thought "boy I could use the suspension...." Even the Corvette guys would've looked right past that one. And who cares if it's childish....you can't tell me we all wouldn't of had a blast doing that. Any body ever do a demo derby car? The most fun part is the hacking it apart! Jason

[406 Q-ship]

The reality is that most of the Corvette people snub the C4 cars, but now that a hallowed Corvette is being cut up for an article it is a gem. The next thing is that Vette was already butchered and unroad worthy for Cali due to the carb, and with the EFI gone the dash wasn't working (probably most of the electronics were not working). When I was at Guldstrands the C4 was the performance Vette to have and the 74 - 81 were something you stepped in, not fixed. Now the C4 is crap and the 74 -81 are more collectable, the C4's day will come back around.

I have a huge soft spot for the 1988 - 1994 Corvettes with the zero scrub suspension and would love to LS / TKO600 a 1988 model for a fun track day Vette. Dynodon is right there were a huge number of famous drivers that cut there teeth in the Players Series and the C4s, I started at Guldstrands right after Tricky D*ck was done with that series. BTW Bobby Carradine is a super nice person.

As a side note I was involved in the track testing for Bridgestone RE71 (for the upcoming ZR1) on Bridgestones 1988 Corvette with the Traco 372, at the track one day we got to take a cut off wheel to the body. We were at Willow and one of the Bridgestone engineers had brought 400 - 35 - 17 tires and wanted to try them with 315's on the front, we hacked up a fairly new 88 Vette. The car looked like a dirt modified with the tires sticking out of the body work. So I hacked up a C4 when they were actually cool, I am such a hack!

[Clean Cut Creations]

I wanted to do that to one of those Vettes when they were new!
I hated those cars from day one....Cross Fire Injection....What a P.O.S!

What I can't stand is the way Source Interlink is always consolidating employees, offices and what not, complaining about not having money and stopping production on mags to do whatever they can to generate a "profit" and this is how they think it's a great way to spend money? Letting Hot Rod smash up more junk? Stupid "stunt" in my opinion. They are just looking to get ways to make everyone talk about what they did and they are doing exactly that.....Guess they win again....

[subtlez28]

I wanted to do that to one of those Vettes when they were new!
I hated those cars from day one....Cross Fire Injection....What a P.O.S!

What I can't stand is the way Source Interlink is always consolidating employees, offices and what not, complaining about not having money and stopping production on mags to do whatever they can to generate a "profit" and this is how they think it's a great way to spend money? Letting Hot Rod smash up more junk? Stupid "stunt" in my opinion. They are just looking to get ways to make everyone talk about what they did and they are doing exactly that.....Guess they win again....

One more time it was an 85. No Crossfire Injection!!! It had TPI - Tune Port! Everyone wants to talk (or type in this case). No one wants to read!

Besides the 84 vette was state of the art by 1984 standards. 1984 was not the height of performance, but the 84 vette turned out good numbers for the time. 1G on the skid-pad was unheard of for production cars then. And again a well set up C4 will destroy many a high dollar pro-touring car at the track.

As far as Hot Rod's budget... Do you honestly beleive $1,800 is a lot of money to them?

[Rhino]

We like to give HR crap that they're not "in touch" with a lot of car guys because they're covering old school builds or straight line performance.
Was it perfect? No. But I at least have to give them props for finding a few corners.

On another note... I kinda like the way the car ends up. I'm digging the quasi-roll bar bob tail look. :)

[twosaturns]

One more time it was an 85. No Crossfire Injection!!! It had TPI - Tune Port! Everyone wants to talk (or type in this case). No one wants to read!

Besides the 84 vette was state of the art by 1984 standards. 1984 was not the height of performance, but the 84 vette turned out good numbers for the time. 1G on the skid-pad was unheard of for production cars then. And again a well set up C4 will destroy many a high dollar pro-touring car at the track.

As far as Hot Rod's budget... Do you honestly beleive $1,800 is a lot of money to them?
I think in a lot of people's collective memory they lump all the C4's together; the cross fire was bad enough that people think it was more than a 1st year only thing (actually a late C3 carryover).
the '84 was pretty state of the art, but had quite a few detractors, mostly about the unforgiving ride, low power, and the 4+3, all of whoich were improved/replaced within a few years.
I will always remeber the '84 as one of the 1st, if not THE 1st 16" wheel on a production car. those big 50 series gatorbacks were amazing at the time, we couldn't believe how short the sidewall was!

[406 Q-ship]

I think in a lot of people's collective memory they lump all the C4's together; the cross fire was bad enough that people think it was more than a 1st year only thing (actually a late C3 carryover).
the '84 was pretty state of the art, but had quite a few detractors, mostly about the unforgiving ride, low power, and the 4+3, all of whoich were improved/replaced within a few years.
I will always remeber the '84 as one of the 1st, if not THE 1st 16" wheel on a production car. those big 50 series gatorbacks were amazing at the time, we couldn't believe how short the sidewall was!

I remember the crys of "Who will ever want 17" rims" and the 1988 C4's were there with them and 40 and 35 (ZR1) profile tires. The C4 was the Corvette that giant leapt forward (just like the C3 did in 1963) that brought us the C5/C6. If one really looks at what a C4 Vette brings to the table they should be impressed, remember it was designed in the late 1970's and early 1980's, those were the days of the Citation and Chevette in GM.

[Ishmael]

That was 7 minutes of my life I will never get back. The fact that freeburger doesn't like it makes me want one.

[MattG]

All of a sudden I want to buy a C4 and put an LSX in it!!!

[nekkidhillbilly]

dont care

[WS6]

All of a sudden I want to buy a C4 and put an LSX in it!!!

Bene there, done that. Well, I used a slightly worked over 5.3. Lets just say the TPI wouldn't have stood a chance in any race.

C4s make great starting points for a budget road race car. To get very serious with one is a dumb idea. It would take too much money. The C5s are cheap now and will always be better than a C4. That's what millions of dollars in design/engineering and good number of years to complete the design will do for you. You can still have a tremendous amount of fun with a C4 though. Nothing wrong with the TPI 350 so long as you ditch the TPI intake. Nothing wrong with the LT1 either.

[novaderrik]

One more time it was an 85. No Crossfire Injection!!! It had TPI - Tune Port! Everyone wants to talk (or type in this case). No one wants to read!

Besides the 84 vette was state of the art by 1984 standards. 1984 was not the height of performance, but the 84 vette turned out good numbers for the time. 1G on the skid-pad was unheard of for production cars then. And again a well set up C4 will destroy many a high dollar pro-touring car at the track.

As far as Hot Rod's budget... Do you honestly beleive $1,800 is a lot of money to them?

i highly doubt if Hot Rod even actually owns the car- it probably belongs to one of the editors or one of their buddies. so Hot Rod had nothing into the car beyond renting the place to do the testing and paying for the paramedics and firefighters to be there...
but just look at all the free publicity they got out of this- maybe they should do their next "hack" article using a clapped out 69 Camaro or 70 Challenger and really get some attention- but a "Viper Hack" story would be pretty fun, too..

[John Wright]

I remember the crys of "Who will ever want 17" rims" and the 1988 C4's were there with them and 40 and 35 (ZR1) profile tires. The C4 was the Corvette that giant leapt forward (just like the C3 did in 1963) that brought us the C5/C6. If one really looks at what a C4 Vette brings to the table they should be impressed, remember it was designed in the late 1970's and early 1980's, those were the days of the Citation and Chevette in GM.
That was a radical design and tooling change from the 82 to the 84...so much so that they didn't even have an 83

[gribbs]

Weight never seems to be an issue, so it's cool to see them bring it to the forefront. Import racers have tons of weight loss tricks that I would love to see pro touring guys and manufacturers tapping into for PT markets (light weight rims, lugs, more carbon stuff, more lexan, etc)

and those guys are annoying as f*ck (not the good kind of f*ck either)

[Tuske427]

I agree 100% NOBODY would've given that car a second glance driving down the road....Except for the few who would have thought "boy I could use the suspension...." Even the Corvette guys would've looked right past that one. And who cares if it's childish....you can't tell me we all wouldn't of had a blast doing that. Any body ever do a demo derby car? The most fun part is the hacking it apart! Jason


And I agree with what you said 100%. You nailed it.

[Tuske427]

That was a radical design and tooling change from the 82 to the 84...so much so that they didn't even have an 83


Technically, there are "1983" corvettes, GM just didn't sell any to the public. They have one at the Corvette museum in Bowling Green, KY.

More info here:

http://www.web-cars.com/corvette/1983.php

http://corvetteidaho.com/facts/83.htm


According to the article, only one survives.

[twosaturns]

Technically, there are "1983" corvettes, GM just didn't sell any to the public. They have one at the Corvette museum in Bowling Green, KY.

More info here:

http://www.web-cars.com/corvette/1983.php

http://corvetteidaho.com/facts/83.htm


According to the article, only one survives.
and yet, the first sentence from your 2nd link is:
"Officially, There were no 1983 Corvettes".

if you couldn't buy one or get one, they in effect don't exist. no corvettes are titles as 1983 models, so no, there aren't any.

just like there aren't any Camaros titled as 70 1/2; it was just a late introduction on the new model that's all, and 1969 model production went late because it was so popular.

[John Wright]

Can you buy parts for an 83 corvette?

I used to sell autoparts and we had a whole rack of parts books/catalogues, 5 feet of counterspace worth, that didn't list any parts for an 83 corvette, so in my opinion, just because there were a few prototypes running about,......there were no 83 corvettes.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

some people would like to just forget 1983...

[twosaturns]

some people would like to just forget 1983...
yeah, junior high wasn't anything worth remembering...

[67zo6Camaro]

All of a sudden I want to buy a C4 and put an LSX in it!!!

Im in...Ill build the frame and gage to stiffen up the body. I bet we could keep that thing light and set it up as a Camaro eater....LoL.

Iv driven a pretty decent c4 setup at an Autox in Big Bear....That plat form has some potential if you can ignore the goddy (opinion) body lines.

[buickfunnycar.com]

Read the article last night,funniest part was the letters to Freiburger from the guys on the Corvette Forums...them boys were so mad they were practically spitting blood,lol.

[John Wright]

some people would like to just forget 1983...
LOL...I gradeated highskool that year:smoke:

[moreHP]

http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/1957743029.html

After reading all this, I decided to see whats available near me and here is a $1100 donor car that still runs and drives. So yeah, I think they are fairly cheap and easy to find!

[6'9"Witha69]

At least it wasn't a Morris Marina!

[subtlez28]

http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/1957743029.html

After reading all this, I decided to see whats available near me and here is a $1100 donor car that still runs and drives. So yeah, I think they are fairly cheap and easy to find!

WOW! If I could find a running C4 around here for that kind of $, I would stack them up in my yard!

[mikedc]

-----------


The car is 25 years old, its parts are mainly in demand because they are so dirt cheap, and a whole restorable car still sells for less than the sum of those parts.

It's not gonna be missed.


-----------

[Dragonsnake]

I have been lookin for a C4 for a year now.We have a runnin 30year rule here in Norway..so in 2014 we can have cheap C4 Vettes here too..nowadays a 84 model go for like 30000$..

A LS1 or a 5,3-6,0 with a six speed manual will be my choice.

Also...Hot rod should follow this vid with a build up on a C4 on a serious project..

[JEFFTATE]

I do believe though , that all cars are like Herbie the Love Bug , they have feelings ..

It's a shame to make enjoyment and entertainment out of cruelty.

[novaderrik]

I do believe though , that all cars are like Herbie the Love Bug , they have feelings ..

It's a shame to make enjoyment and entertainment out of cruelty.

Herbie is just another in a long line of abominations that were created by Disney- he was a movie prop that was no more real (or realistic) than the shark in Jaws.
do you also have moral reservations against using a sponge to wash the crud off your dirty dishes because you saw a mildly retarded but yet somewhat socially functional walking and talking sponge on Nickelodeon?
a car is just a pile of parts with no feelings or emotions.

[mikedc]

Suit yourself. I think Herbie was cool.

.

[BonzoHansen]

Herbie is just another in a long line of abominations that were created by Disney- he was a movie prop that was no more real (or realistic) than the shark in Jaws.
do you also have moral reservations against using a sponge to wash the crud off your dirty dishes because you saw a mildly retarded but yet somewhat socially functional walking and talking sponge on Nickelodeon?
a car is just a pile of parts with no feelings or emotions.

spoil sport. :p

[Takid455]

LOL...I gradeated highskool that year:smoke:

I was crapping my pants:moon:

[JChilders]

I was in a meeting with a corvette guy and I mentioned this article. He ended up walking out of the meeting mad as hell that I would bring attention to it. It was kind of funny and sad at the same time.

[mikedc]

Some Vette owners value the car for its status more than anything else about it. They aren't buying it because it's a nice car that looks good and runs ___ lap times, they're buying it because they want to say they have a Corvette.

[JEFFTATE]

Herbie is just another in a long line of abominations that were created by Disney- he was a movie prop that was no more real (or realistic) than the shark in Jaws.
do you also have moral reservations against using a sponge to wash the crud off your dirty dishes because you saw a mildly retarded but yet somewhat socially functional walking and talking sponge on Nickelodeon?
a car is just a pile of parts with no feelings or emotions.

Stop !
You're ruining my childhood memories .
Herbie was real !!!
Real I tell you !

Star Wars really happened a long, long time ago in a galaxy far far away too..

And I don't watch Nickelodeon.
I'm too old for that.

[John Wright]

Stop !
You're ruining my childhood memories .
Herbie was real !!!
Real I tell you !
I remember that movie...it was the first movie that my parents let me go see in the theater(LOL)....seemed real when I was the 3rd grade.

[buickfunnycar.com]

I was in a meeting with a corvette guy and I mentioned this article. He ended up walking out of the meeting mad as hell that I would bring attention to it. It was kind of funny and sad at the same time.

Was he wearing his Corvette jacket and gold chains at the time...?

[406 Q-ship]

Was he wearing his Corvette jacket and gold chains at the time...?


Maybe the corvette owners wife/girlfriend had on her Corvette panties.

[Jim Nilsen]

This has been all too funny to read !

So far I have had a good response from the Vette people about my Cormaro. Not one person has told me I ruined a Vette or a Camaro. I can tell you from my experience that 12" s more in the wheelbase and 400% stiffer chassis makes for a completely different riding car than a stock C4. The several friends that have Vettes can't believe how it rides smoother and tighter all at the same time. I don't regret the C4 suspension for it's so called pitfalls in design by some, it works and looks like a racecar should and with some suspension tuning it is getting better all the time.

The day I find the person that talks smack about how I ruined a Vette or Camaro I had better find a clean spot on the ground so I don't get dirty rolling around LMAO.

The most amazing thing I find is how many people can't see what is right in front of their eyes. When you see a hood open the other way and the engine is back so far you can't see the distributor and the comtrol arms are so shinny that you think they are chrome , you would think people would get it but they don't!

I would like to think someone is going to use the suspension from that wreckage and if they don't , that would be a true shame.

To all of those buttheads that say it was wrong to kill it like that , where were they when it needed their love? I have never respected anyone who says someone is bad for killing something when they would have never rescued it and saved it and let it die! It's just grandstanding a point that feeds their ego from an empty pocketbook! Maybe there should be an "Adopt a Corvette club" to save them all ! LOL!

:cheers: